Fails the Bechdel test

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Name: Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Released: 2008

2008. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, written by Guillermo del Toro and Mike Mignola.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

0 / 3

Fails

No 1. At least two women
Fewer than two women characters.
No 2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other.
No 3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.

The film

After saving the world in Hellboy (2004), humankind's strange protector Hellboy now struggles to cope with a challenging reality. And as if that weren't enough, the emergence of Elven Prince Nuada only spells trouble. Now, the powerful being is bent on retrieving the fragments of a mystical crown that commands the indestructible Golden Army: an omnipotent legion of clockwork warriors designed to seek and destroy humans. Before this unstoppable new menace, all hope rests on Hellboy and his squad of supernatural defenders. But they are no match for Nuada's invincible forces. Has Hellboy and his justice team bitten off more than they could chew?

Released: 11 Jul 2008
Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 7 / 10
Metascore: 78 / 100
Awards: Nominated for 1 Oscar. 6 wins & 36 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

Hellboy 177 lines, man
Abe 111 lines, man
Johann 109 lines, man
Liz 88 lines, woman
Manning 53 lines, man
Princess 48 lines, woman
Prince 46 lines, man
Leno 13 lines
Auctioneer 10 lines, man
King 9 lines, man

Full cast, 45 people

Ron Perlman as Hellboy
Selma Blair as Liz Sherman
Doug Jones as Abe Sapien / Chamberlain / Angel of Death
John Alexander as Johann Krauss / Bethmoora Goblin
Seth MacFarlane as Johann Krauss (voice)
Luke Goss as Prince Nuada
Anna Walton as Princess Nuala
Jeffrey Tambor as Tom Manning
John Hurt as Trevor Bruttenholm
James Dodd as Johann Krauss
Brian Steele as Wink / Cronie / Spice Shop Troll / Cathedral Head / Fragglewump
Andrew Hefler as Agent Flint
Iván Kamarás as Agent Steel
Mike Kelly as Agent Marble
Jeremy Zimmermann as Auctioneer
Santiago Segura as Distinguished Buyer
Roy Dotrice as King Balor
Aidan Cook as Two-Headed Shop Owner
Jeanne Mockford as Bag Lady
Montse Ribé as Young Hellboy
Ferenc Elek as Fat Slob
Alex McSweeney as Policeman
Justin Pierre as Policeman
Matthew O'Toole as Limb Vendor
Jamie Wilson as Cat Vendor
Clive Llewellyn as Tadpole Vendor
Sándor Svigelj as Bagpipe Player
Brian Herring as Silkard / Fish Vendor
Pálma Pásztor as Mummy Vendor
Jimmy Kimmel as Jimmy Kimmel
Tim Flavin as Newscaster
Belinda Henley as Newscaster
Blake Perlman as Newscaster
Matt Rippy as Newscaster
Judit Viktor as Lady with Dog
Szonja Oroszlán as Woman with Baby
Michael Mehlmann as Auction Bidder Man
Todd Williams as Auction Bidder Man
Beatrice Zentai as Auction Bidder Woman
Peter Horkay as Steward
Richard Rifkin as TV Pundit
Guillermo del Toro as Creature Vocals (voice) (uncredited)
Tim Larsen as Street Thug (uncredited)
Gavin McKenzie as Auction Room Steward (uncredited)
Julia Papp as Reporter (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 13% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 128

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers

Scenes	Women's lines	Men's lines
1 to 3	0	2
4 to 6	0	18
7 to 9	3	16
10 to 12	0	0
13 to 15	7	15
16 to 18	0	14
19 to 21	2	7
22 to 24	4	6
25 to 27	1	1
28 to 30	0	1
31 to 33	2	27
34 to 36	1	1
37 to 39	3	12
40 to 42	4	49
43 to 45	3	9
46 to 48	6	17
49 to 51	3	12
52 to 54	0	12
55 to 57	0	16
58 to 60	20	20
61 to 63	3	1
64 to 66	5	0
67 to 69	7	9
70 to 72	8	34
73 to 75	0	15
76 to 78	6	35
79 to 81	10	27
82 to 84	0	18
85 to 87	1	11
88 to 90	4	17
91 to 93	4	8
94 to 96	0	1
97 to 99	2	5
100 to 102	5	15
103 to 105	4	3
106 to 108	2	6
109 to 111	2	8
112 to 114	1	3
115 to 117	9	26
118 to 120	6	15
121 to 123	7	42
124 to 126	4	16
127 to 128	0	0

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 21 are women's.

149 lines from women, 570 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

9 women and 32 men in the cast. 4 women and 19 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 38 of 827. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 62 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 21% of the words (2,624), men 79% (9,720).

Exhibit D: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Two women

Two men

Exhibit E: behind the camera

1 of the 14 people in these jobs is a woman. Across the whole crew, 17% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Guillermo del Toro (man)
Written by: Guillermo del Toro (man)
Story by: Mike Mignola (man), Guillermo del Toro (man)
Produced by: Lawrence Gordon (man), Lloyd Levin (man), Mike Richardson (man)
Shot by: Guillermo Navarro (man)
Edited by: Bernat Vilaplana (man)
Music by: Danny Elfman (man)
Production design by: Stephen Scott (man)
Costumes by: Sammy Sheldon (woman)
Cast by: Zsolt Csutak (gender not listed), Jeremy Zimmermann (man)