Zack Snyder sci-fi-stroke-fantasy-stroke-adventure Sucker Punch is careering towards our screens like some kind of giant careering thing, promising to wreak maximum carnage and generally punch our eyeballs in the face. Which is an over-excitable way of letting you know that Warner Bros. has released a new animation as a darkly-hued companion piece to the movie. It's right here for your perusal.
The animated short is a collaboration between Snyder and Swiss animator Ben Hibon. Says the director: "It made sense to me to not only approach the worlds from an original direction in terms of story and focus, but also to really push the visual style in a different direction as well."
Yes, it's as visually arresting as you'd expect from Snyder, and fits with his passion for the medium (think back to those pre-**Watchmen **animations and The Black Freighter). The animation takes us into the Great War trenches where Babydoll (Emily Browning), Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens) and co. must venture as they search for five objects that will save them from a terrible fate. Clue: it begins in 'lob' and ends in, er, 'otomy'.
As you'll have noticed, the girls don't appear here, but, like a steampunk Waltz With Bashir, there's plenty of soldierly backstory about the German zombie troops they must face down in the movie. Head here for a dose of them in the trailer.
Sucker Punch is coming to a cinema near you on April 1.