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toaarcan · 2 years

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Thoughts on Sonic 2.

So, I just finished my Liveblog of Sonic 2.

With that in mind, I thought I’d share some of my more detailed thoughts now that I’m not jumping back and forth between the tabs every few minutes.

I’ll give a disclaimer that I watched this one without seeing the previous film. I wasn’t remotely interested in the story that one was trying to tell, and I jumped straight into this one because the presence of more actual Sonic characters gave me the vague hope that it would be about Sonic and co. and not a bunch of humans. For the most part... it delivered on that front.

Overall, I think the movie was... decent. It wasn’t amazing, but it’s a solid superhero movie. Genre-wise, that’s what this is, and I’d put it on par with the middle-to-good range of Marvel flicks, and miles better than most of what DC shits out. Not that the latter is a high bar to clear, but still decent.

I will reiterate that I think these movies would work significantly better in pure animation than live action. Sonic is a character whose design is rooted in classic cartoons, and the further away he gets from that, the less he works.

Character-wise, it was pretty good. Tails and Knuckles have had a really rough time in official material over the past... decade. When SEGA left the console game, they felt the need to backtrack on a lot of their characters’ growth, and dumb them down for a new audience, and as a result, Tails became a wimp and a useless hollywood nerd trope and Knuckles became a loud idiot who constantly gets shown up by his friends.

This movie didn’t do that. Knuckles in particular is on top form, in a way he hasn’t been since the Archie comic died. Yeah, I know he’s in IDW as well, but literally the first thing Flynn did with him under IDW’s banner was have him be made aware that Eggman was going to ruin the world and then decide to let it happen so he could be the hero and lead the resistance. Then they established than he was never actually the leader of the resistance and Amy did all the hard work.

What I’m saying is that Knuckles has been short on wins, and the movie is a much-needed boost for him.

Less so with Tails. He’s still mostly occupying the same box that SEGA put him in after Sonic Heroes, where it seems like they forgot that he used to be playable in every game and he was just about equals with his comrades. Still, he’s at least using his genius to fight now, instead of just standing around and playing with his iPad like he does in the games.

There were times where he felt like kind of an afterthought. It takes him a long while to turn up, he’s the last of the main characters to actually arrive, and he spends a significant portion of the film unconscious and separated from the others.

I also think that his friendship was Sonic was a little rushed. I got it, but I’ve been a fan of the Sonic series for eighteen years and Sonic and Tails being friends is what I expect and what I’m used to. I do not know if it would’ve landed for me had this been my introduction to them.

He’s better than he is in the games, but that’s not really hard to achieve.

Robotnik made for a good villain, but I’m not sure if he felt right. See, Eggman is a pretty hammy character, and Carrey is a pretty hammy actor, but but it’s different flavours of ham. Eggman is a theatrical showoff, he grandstands and gloats and he slaps his logo on everything. Carrey’s acting is more manic. He unhinged, but still not quite like Robotnik. And frankly, I often thought he was just mugging.

Y’know how sometimes, something that’s *almost* right but not quite there feels weirder and more “off” than something that isn’t even close and wasn’t trying? Yeah, that.

There were several points where Robotnik felt less like Robotnik and more like just Jim Carrey.

Still, he did the job pretty well, and the big picture aspects of how Robotnik works were all there. It’s just the mannerisms and the dialogue that don’t quite land for me.

Also the part where he licked the car’s windscreen was just fucking weird.

Then the sticking point: Sonic himself.

This Sonic is... different. And that’s not new for Sonic adaptations. He’s been a showy, invincible Bugs Bunny type, a nerdy schoolkid’s alter-ego, a grouchy, snarky prick, a laid-back adventurer, a confident and powerful freedom fighter, a lazy, apathetic bum, and even an exiled prince. A young kid looking for a new family isn’t beyond the pale for him.

Still though, something about it doesn’t really feel all that right. The Sonic series doesn’t really tend to put a whole lot of effort into realistically depicting its characters as teenagers or kids, so it’s weird to see them actually doing that here.

Sonic as I know him as always been an extremely confident and self-assured guy. That’s not to say he never has insecurities, but they tend to be more subtle and buried.

I don’t really think the whole “Parents and kid” routine he has with the humans really works all that well.

Still, his personality felt mostly alright. A bit on the over-snarky side but acceptable on that front.

As for the humans, I gotta be honest I didn’t give two shits about them. That might be why the “Dad” thing fell flat for me, but I am just not invested in a bunch of human characters.

The wedding scene was a painful experience. As I said in the liveblog, I do not like cringe comedy, so watching Tom putz around and make a fool of himself for what felt like half an hour in the middle of the film was inarguably the worst part of the film. I spent the entire scene badly wanting to cut back to the characters I didn’t pay to watch. I’m not gonna linger on it, though, because you’ll read or hear the same thing in literally every review of this movie ever made. Trust me, I checked.

The exception to this would be Agent Stone, who I actually rather liked. As I said in the liveblog, I wouldn’t mind seeing him adapted into other Sonic media. It’d be good to give Eggman someone to bounce off who isn’t constantly mocking him like those fucking mini-robots.

The other negative I want to bring up is the music. The instrumental tracks were fine, if a little generic. But the actual songs put into it? Yeah, those didn’t really work. Sonic vocal music pretty solidly lands in the butt-rock genre, and there was a distinct lack of guitar shredding in the songs chosen. When I think “Sonic music scene”, I can assure you that I never think Uptown Funk.

To end off on a higher note, though, I must again stress that I really liked what they did with Super Sonic.

Super Sonic has thus far only shown up in a handful of Sonic’s many, many adaptations, and most of the ones that did use him were comics. Not exactly in the public eye. Sonic hasn’t gone Super in screen-based media since Sonic X finally died in 2007, so it was great to not only see him make a triumphant return, but also be excellently represented in terms of his raw power.

I better see Super Sonic vs. Super Shadow in Movie 3.

#Sonic #Sonic 2 #Sonic the Hedgehog #Sonic the Hedgehog 2 #Review #I guess #Spoilers #Spoiler Alert #Sonic Spoilers #Sonic 2 Spoilers #Miles 'Tails' Prower #Knuckles the Echidna #Doctor Robotnik #Agent Stone #Super Sonic #Shadow the Hedgehog

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egg-emperor · 2 years

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That’s actually a good explanation/headcanon for Eggmans slender arms and legs. Aside from that since Carrey is retiring, if the Sonic Cinematic Universe gets more than three movies and we see that Robotnik lived, he’ll definitely have a 06 appearance mixed with the aesthetic of the movies, moreso than Carrey’s looks. However the big question will be if he’ll be CGI like Sonic or not. Either way, the canon game design shouldn’t be touched for a live action film.

thank you. ^^ well carrey says he's retiring but I highly expect him to make an exception for the third movie. and I guess what they said about how, if carrey won't return to the role they'll simply be no replacement, implying that they'll stop using the main villain of the series in the movies is supposed to be sweet but I was just like wow, really?

if they were being serious, it proves how much they really only saw the character as carrey and wanted him to be classic carrey acting like and resembling in appearance as possible. it doesn't seem to me like they ever really cared about capturing the essence of the character from the second they casted him and a lot of things have continued to insinuate that in my eyes.

but anyway, I would rather him be played by another actor where they don't change the character to shape around the actor like they did with carrey. seeing something closer to the 06 design could be interesting because I actually like it as long as it isn't carrey and it could possibly feel more like Eggman to me when they do more than just mostly carrey looking and acting but just with a big stache and bald cap.

really I would much prefer for him to be CG because I don't think he's the kind of human character that can be captured truly accurately by a real life human in live action because there's no charm of his fun cartoony design, shape, and proportions that way. and I want the whole movie to be CG and for him to be voiced by Mike Pollock but I know it's too big of a dream now. :')

but yeah, either way I don't think they should've changed such an iconic and recognizable character design so drastically for the series' big movies, especially not to the point he wasn't even recognizable as Eggman for 99% of the first one, just spending it being carrey with a mustache wearing black and red. I'm still sad about how little they seemed to want to capture the vastly different essence of the world and characters in the games.

#asks #dr eggman #eggman #dr robotnik #dr. eggman #my post #anti sonic movie #opinion

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crusherthedoctor · 2 years

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I’ve seen it.

After two and a half weeks, history has been made: I finally saw Sonic 2 instead of seeing 75% of it through screencaps and gifs that have watermarks on them. I was arguing as to whether I should even bother bringing it up since everyone's already given their own thoughts by this point, meaning a latecomer like me will probably have nothing interesting or meaningful to add that hasn’t already been mentioned... but I might as well.

Anyway, after being really excited for it, and seeing all the screencaps, it pains me to say that I honestly found it really disapp-PFFFT, just kidding, I loved it even more than the first one. :D Was there any doubt? There's way too much to go over thoroughly this early on when I’m still pulsating with hype, so as I did with the first movie, I'll list the biggest bullet points that come to mind.

- Once again, Ben Schwartz delivers as Sonic, and this time he takes it a step further. While Movie Sonic is still his own being, you can tell that he's becoming increasingly more like Game Sonic, which is exactly what I predicted would happen long before Movie 2 started showing itself, and I'm glad to see the gears in action. Whether it's action, comedy, emotion, or just plain Sonic, Mr. Schwartz hits all the beats perfectly.

Also, after the fandom's fears about Sonic having too much of a superhero mentality with the Blue Justice stuff, it seemed that didn't have much presence past the start of the movie... which I ALSO predicted correctly. Where’s my betting money, Sonic fans.

- Once again (again), Jim Carrey as Robotnik is one of mankind's greatest achievements. I loved the shit outta this portrayal in the first movie, but now that he has the look, and a certain iconic giant robot, my appreciation is now at 200%. He continues to balance humor and menace without even trying, and if there was any doubt that Carrey understood the doctor's character before, that doubt has no reason to exist now.

I know some fans will gripe about him not being fat, but I honestly don't care (and I don't think it counts as fatphobia either... I really can't wrap my head around that in this particular case). An Eggman who looks different but gets the character at his core, is a lot better to me than an Eggman that looks the part, but drops the ball at every turn... Guess which one I’m thinking of.

Naturally I'm hoping with fingers crossed that he does indeed return for Movie 3 and/or beyond, as it just wouldn't be the same if he was a no-show for future installments. But regardless, if that fall towards the Death Egg Robot's wreckage is the last we see of him, then at least he went out like a badass. (“Later, hater!”)

- Once again (again-again), Tom Wachowski is in no way a Chris Thorndyke, as James Marsden continues to make him far more likable and helpful, and all without stepping on the other character's toes and stealing their moments. Maddie also continues to be a welcome face, and they both once again manage to feel important without taking the spotlight away from the character the movie is named after. I'm glad they've continued to be part of this franchise, despite the vocal idiots who claim that any non-Eggman human is automatically bad. (Spoiler: a Sonic character should be judged by their actual character and what they do, not their species.)

- Idris Elba leaves an incredible impact as Knuckles. When he first said those now iconic words, we all went “Wow!” more times than Owen Wilson, and since then, he's proven to add a lot of depth to his initial antagonistic relationship with Sonic, yet his turn to the hedgehog's side is equally organic and believable. You know Robotnik's betrayal is coming, it's a matter of when and not if, but you still feel bad for the guy when the penny finally drops, though that's certainly helped by how the movie is aware that there's a difference being gullibility and full-on stupidity. THIS Knuckles is not an idiot, rather he's simply not used to Earth customs, which Robotnik gleefully takes advantage of.

The moments where he shows vulnerability never feel out-of-character either, and his humorous moments are genuinely funny without sacrificing his overall dignity ala Sonic Boom. And although the context surrounding the echidnas and why they all got sent to the Shadow Realm is a little different from SA1's interpretation, it works well for this universe. I don't mind deviations from the source material as long as those deviations work to the adaptation's advantage, and aren't completely stupid (or try to retcon the games themselves, like with Sonic Chronicles and its take on the Knuckles Tribe), so I'm fine with this. And besides, Ken Penders got his panties in a twist, so everyone that’s not him wins in the end.

- As a Tails fan who has suffered through a decade of fans constantly shitting on him for his recent controversial outings (because clearly no other character has had their fair share of bad portrayals...), I am EXTREMELY happy to report that this portrayal is a triumph. Worried about him cowering without reason? Throwing a bitch fit? Being stuck in a clunky mech the whole time? Worry not, because Tails gives it his all here. Sonic makes friends with him almost immediately, and yet it doesn't feel rushed at all thanks to how effortlessly endearing and deceptively capable the fox is. Like many fans, I'm glad that good ol' Colleen managed to nab the role, and the credit she's received is wholeheartedly deserved.

Speaking of, since it's something of a controversial topic, I should note that I personally have no beef with big name celebrities taking the roles of animated characters so long as they're actually suited for it, which this franchise has thus far gotten perfect marks for due to the talents of Schwartz, Carrey and Elba. But with that said, if Colleen's success as Tails inspires more opportunities in general for voice actors to get their kudos on the big screen, then I'm A-OK with that.

- Agent Stone continues to be an Egg Simp, so he still earns my good side. You can easily see Lee Majdoub's enthusiasm shine through, and his chemistry with Carrey continues to be a thing of beauty. It helps that they were able to have Robotnik justify keeping the guy around without softening the doctor up ala Sonic X. One favourite moment of mine is when Stone praises his master's brilliance, and the doctor simply says “Thank you, sycophant! Your admiration is inevitable!” THAT'S how you write an in-character Eggman, folks. He only acts surface-level nice to his robots and other minions if it's a roundabout way of praising himself.

Outside of his direct interactions with Robotnik, I do enjoy how Stone is hinted to be suitably devious when dealing with other matters, which makes sense since there'd be no reason for the doc to bother with a minion - let alone a non-robotic one - if they were incompetent. After all, we did see him listening in on a certain game-changing discussion towards the end... will his overhearing of it pay off in Movie 3? Not sure, but if there's another reason why I hope Jimbotnik sticks around, it's because it means Stone can stick around too.

- The humor is more or less what I said about it in the first movie. One or two eh moments, but extremely funny overall. And why does the humor work? Because much of it is character focused, and works with them instead of against them. Sonic's humor works for Sonic, Knuckles' humor works for Knuckles, you get the idea. No one is ever warped beyond who they are for the sake of the joke, and in a character-focused franchise like this, that's when the humor is at its best.

- Super forms! As someone who isn't the biggest fan of Super Sonic - at least, when it's overused to the point of losing its sparkle and making every finale feel like the same cheerleader routine for everyone else - he was executed perfectly here. You really do feel the power radiating from him, and even before he did The Move™ that served as a direct callback to it, I was already reminded of Sonic X simply with the way it was filmed alone. And don't think I didn't catch the '06 reference where he tippy-tapped the robot... cause I did. :P

But as we all know, it wasn't just him. I won't mince words here: Super Robotnik was a masterstroke. It could have went wrong very easily, and reduced him to a standard comic book supervillain, but instead they remembered what he's best known for - his use of technology - and made the super form and its capabilities revolve around the character instead of the other way around. This ties in nicely to the often forgotten intricacy of how the Master Emerald and Chaos Emeralds actually work, how thoughts are converted into power. Just as well then that Robotnik himself quotes the first half of Tikal's famous quote, “Chaos is power”, but tellingly ignores the second half, “enriched by the heart”... instead, it's Sonic who honors the spirit of the second half.

- And it's for that reason - as well as the action itself and the fact that Tails and Knuckles also have plenty of time to shine despite Super Sonic's involvement - that makes the final battle an instant classic worthy of the robot they're facing. I loved the final battle in the first one, but this is how you raise the stakes in a natural, non-Ian Flynn way. And the Death Egg Robot itself? Fantastic, utterly fantastic. It has the realistic detail to be sure, but is otherwise the colorful robot with the 'stache you all know and love, no Michael Bay Transformer treatment necessary. It was also nice that Stone got to have some presence this time around, rather than mysteriously disappear halfway through the movie again.

- If I had to nitpick (not counting the aforementioned one or two eh jokes), I'd argue that the wedding sequence went on for perhaps a bit too long? I'm glad Rachel got some time to show a nicer side and help Maddie out, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't funny or plot-important, but maybe it could have been a couple of minutes shorter. That's just me though, and it's really not that big of a deal anyway. If that's the biggest critique I can think of, then you know it must be a good movie, and a good adaptation of a longstanding IP.

- So... Shadow. I figured the cliffhanger would be either him or Metal Sonic, so I wasn't too surprised to see him. While I will admit I would have preferred Metal (in part because I'm very curious as to what his design would look like), I'm fine with Ow the Edge, and as someone who has never exactly considered the Ultimate Lifeform a favourite per say (I don't hate him, I just prefer other characters in the series), I'm actually more excited about his inclusion than I thought I'd be. I wonder who they'll get to voice him... “I gotta fevah, and the only prescription is Maria! Ohhh!”

Of course, I'm sure his backstory will be something of an elephant in the room for the developers. I trust that the crew are all too aware that Shadow is a character that requires context to who he is, what he is, and why he’s the way that he is, so I doubt this will be a Boom Shadow scenario. On the other hand, his backstory isn't exactly divisive for no reason whatsoever, and anyone who follows me will know that I'm personally beyond sick of beat-for-beat SA2 adaptations. So with that in mind, I hope they manage the delicate balance of doing something interesting with it, while still keeping true to the overall theme and intended aesop that pays tribute to Shadow for the right reasons.

BTW, I've made this joke before, but wouldn't it be funny if there's a flashback to Gerald, and it's just Jim Carrey with a white moustache?

- Mario, buddy? I like your games, but I think you're gonna have to wish for a miracle if your upcoming movie is to be on-par with this one. Sure, your movie might be animated... but it's Illumination. Does anyone actually like Illumination beyond merely tolerating them at best?

I could go on for much longer, but I'll stop here for now. Love the first movie, still do, but this is undoubtedly the superior of the two, and isn't that what you want from a sequel? Words can't describe how relieved I am that it's been doing even better than the first one, despite the efforts of the initial “critics”. I’m sure they'll continue with what they did with the first movie - “It wasn’t THAT good!” this, “It’s no masterpiece!” that - but who cares what they think. I can think for myself, and I think that this movie is excellent. A great time if you're not a Sonic fan, and even better if you are. In my humble opinion, of course. :>

Oh, and one last thing...

Trudy confirmed baybeeeeee

#Opinion #Sonic Movie 2

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blazehedgehog · 3 years

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Do you think the Sonic franchise would be universally accepted if it were to go into the direction set out by the SatAM cartoon (e.g. roboticization, Robotnik with demonic pitch-black eyes and a robotic arm, Sonic being part of the Freedom Fighter ragtag group) instead of the direction it took from the country of origin (e.g. Eggman being round and wears glasses, having colorful and surreal places)?

Well, let me ask you what you mean by that, because by 1993 Sonic the Hedgehog was a pretty big household name. Kids knew who he was, their parents knew who he was, and just in North America, he had two TV shows and a comic book. He was everywhere. That counts as "universally accepted" right?

And I suppose this is what you mean, right? Sonic was massively popular in the 1990's, when Sega of America changed so much about his identity to suit the region's tastes. And now, Sonic isn't as popular, so are the two data points related?

To me, this just feels like a broader version of "Robotnik was a better name than Eggman, because things were better when they called him Robotnik." And that has always been extremely circumstantial.

To my viewpoint, SatAM was extremely of its time. Cartoons were shifting in a certain direction -- typically the "Saturday Morning Cartoon" was something colorful and funny. There wasn't a lot of serious storytelling going on. It was stuff like Looney Tunes, but also things like G.I. Joe or Transformers, where they were more about action than meaningful plot.

That probably started to change around the time Fox debuted the X-Men cartoon in the 90's. This cartoon took stories from the comic books and (poorly) adapted them in to a Saturday Morning format. It was inscrutable and kids like me found it hard to follow, but my brother, who is 14 years older than me and was probably in his mid-to-late 20's, found it pretty fascinating. It broadened the format a little bit and soon the floodgates broken open.

Spider-man, Batman, Gargoyles, soon Saturday mornings were awash with darker, edgier, more serious cartoons for older kids. Even the Ninja Turtles, who were broken from the Transformers mold of colorful, action-based shows, was reworked to look darker and more serious. And right at the end of that first wave of shows was SatAM. Right place, right time, right vibe.

That... ended. Batman was eventually replaced with Batman & Robin, that was eventually supplanted with Superman Adventures, then the two shows were combined in to Batman & Superman Adventures, and every time it got retooled, the tone got lighter, and lighter, pushing back towards the old action shows of the 80's. Gargoyles went in the opposite direction, retooling itself in to "The Goliath Chronicles," becoming so self-serious it borderlined on a Saturday Morning soap opera. It lasted barely a whole season and most modern continuations of the Gargoyles mythos ignore it entirely. The "Red Sky" Ninja Turtles has more or less been treated the same, with extremely sparse home releases until it eventually landed on streaming a few years ago.

The Sonic comics kept the SatAM cast alive and relevant, yes. But obviously Batman comics stuck around, too. And Spider-man, X-men, and Ninja Turtles. That was the format a lot of these shows were trying to copy to begin with, so it makes sense that SatAM would transition to comics fairly painlessly.

To circle back around to how successful the games are or aren't, it's hard for me to cite this now because I always looked at the TSSZ article for it and now that's gone, but somewhere around 2010 or 2011, the Sonic franchise was actually listed as one of the most profitable entertainment franchises in the world that year, rubbing elbows with the likes of Pokemon and such. This was years after SatAM had fallen out of favor and the comics were starting to hit the skids because their availability was going down (this was a problem in the comics industry as a whole, not just for Sonic).

Meaning that, largely, the success of Sonic at that point was due to the games and 8 year old reruns of Sonic X. And it still landed in this top ten. I'd love to find this article, really I would, but it's impossible to google now thanks to so many other articles praising the Sonic movie for being the highest grossing video game movie of all time, mixed in with articles about how the Sonic fast food chain is dying and what happened to it.

At the very least, Sonic rates to make it on the Wikipedia list of "Highest Grossing Media Franchises." It rates high enough that it beats out Fortnite, Halo, Minecraft, My Little Pony, and Roblox.

Also, to back up a bit, consider: the Sonic movie did really well. And it wasn't Ken Penders' pitch for a SatAM movie, it was something wholly different.

And then consider the outrageous success of Sonic Mania. The most critically acclaimed Sonic game since 1994. Though sales figures aren't super clear, I'd estimate it's also probably the best selling Sonic game in the last decade and a half. There is nary a hint of the Freedom Fighters or "that Robotnik" in that game anywhere.

I love the Freedom Fighters. I love SatAM Robotnik. I'd love for them to come back in an official capacity. I'd love for the Archie comics to officially pick up right where they left off and keep going as if they never missed a beat. It burns me that Archie or Ken Penders or both forever tainted a lot of that stuff so badly that it's become an exclusion zone nobody wants to touch anymore. I've talked at length on this blog about how I think a character like Princess Sally was a perfect foil for Sonic and how they played off of each other extremely well. I want that back. I want Bunnie Rabbot back. I want Antoine back. I want Robotropolis back. And Snively. And Ixis Naugus.

But also, at some point, you have to look at the cold, hard truth: Sonic doesn't need those characters, it doesn't need that universe, and the SatAM version Sonic would not exist at all if it wasn't for the original Japanese Sonic first. SatAM was supplemental material to the main version of the thing people already liked. That's the entire reason something like Sonic Mania could achieve the success it did.

And that's all there really is to it.

#questions #anonymous #sonic the hedgehog #sega #sonic team #satam #archie comics #ken penders #sonic mania #robotnik

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cutegirlmayra · 3 years

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Oh here's a prompt idea: Movie!Sonic meets Game!Sonic and they marvel at how different they both are. Amy finally catches up after chasing Sonic and is heaven seeing two Sonic's. Movie!Sonic having never met another hedgehog let alone one as forward and open as Amy is enamored and Game!Sonic is conflicted if he's happy a version of himself is loosening up but worried Amy will take too much of a likening to him. So like a sprinkle of jealous Sonic but we know where Amy's heart lies.

PROMPTS ARE CLOSED DO NOT ASK FOR MORE PROMPTS, MY CUTIES I LOVE YOU, BUT YOU MUST WAIT.

You’ll find my response to this prompt here: The pajama blogs 24:25

Prompt:

After a dimensional rift is created by Game!Eggman, the game counterparts are flung into Movie!Sonic’s world.

After some zany fun and shenanigans', the two finally realize the ‘double-ganger’ wasn’t ‘Shadow’ or ‘Metal Sonic’ at all, but actually a different Sonic!

“Woah!” Before Game!Sonic could even say anything, mimicking Game!Sonic’s actions a second as they both think they’re staring in a reflection behind a fountain’s waterfall effect, Game!Sonic is the first one to to actually say something. “You’re-! The other me! Oh, this is awesome!” Zips to his other side, as Game!Sonic is amazed but kinda used to these things by now?

So he simply smiles, opens his mouth to say something but then Movie!Sonic continues to zip around him and lift different parts of him up.

“I saw you save that rich Chris kid from falling off that tower. I also save people from towers, long story, quick spark notes, they’re now kinda my mom and dad. Oh~ Buckles! Shiny, but why a buckle? Do you not know how to tie shoes? Me neither. Do slip-ons exist in your world? What’s your world like? Never really knew mine. Were buckles ever in season? Trendy? Why are your arms the color of your skin and why is your quills a solid form, do you compact them with gel? That’s a lot of gel. Why is your blue darker than mine but my fur tanner than your... again, skin? Why do you shave? Also, you look a little like a two-eyed cyclops-HEY!”

Game!Sonic, rolling his eyes at the young energy, swipes the Chaos Emerald from Movie!Sonic’s quills and moves away from him, waving a finger.

“Thanks, that’s cool, weird. Buckles are always cool. No, okay, yes but no, exciting and beautiful, that’s a shame. Always and forever, because they are, no gel, all natural, I guess I get more sun while you get more bleach, and nice joints, stick-figure.”

Game!Sonic waited a second... looking a bit confused and/or offended... before giving off a goofy grin and simply stating, “Touche.”

“Do you know what this is?” Game!Sonic pointed to the Chaos Emerald.

“No idea, but it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.” Game!Sonic teased and hugged himself, “But in all seriousness, that weird, pudgy Eggman with the wild stache has been trying to snatch it from me like Chilifries!”

“Always the chilifries.” Game!Sonic shook his head and looked up as though relating hard with that, “Well, It’s important. I need 6 more of these... and wait, was Eggman ever NOT fat?”

The two stared at each other a second, and then Movie!Sonic looked away and puckered his lips back as though not wanting to say anything to the look that Game!Sonci gave him.

“Soniiiicc!!!”

Turning around, Game!Sonic winced and spread his mouth back, showing his teeth and an expression of ‘uh oh’ at the voice and figure coming towards them.

However... when Movie!Sonic turned around...

‘I know a girl who's tough but sweet She's so fine, she can't be beat Got everything that I desire Sets the summer sun on fire.’

As the song played, Amy’s quills swished around as she ran, her dress also scooted to one side and her smile lit up the world. She winked, but it was really just her ducking from the reflection of the water glaring her eyes and then jumped into a starstruck Movie!Sonic.

Game!Sonic looked down at them.

‘IIII~ Want candy~ I~ Want candy~’

“Oh! I’m so glad I was able to find you again, Sonic! Hehe! You can’t separate two fated lovers!” She squee’d, nuzzling in as Movie!Sonic’s eyes were a bit loopy but he shook himself free of the music and looked greatly conflicted.

On one hand, this is totally awesome.

On the other hand, fated lovers?!

“What just happened?” Movie!Sonic gently tried to get her off but her grip was ferociously strong. “Emm! Lady! I-It’s very nice-! Ah! To meet... you...toooooo!” He finally gasped for air when he got her off of him, but Game!Sonic just snickered into his hands.

“Amy, meet Other Sonic from this dimension. Then meet again.” Game!Sonic introduced them before giving a sarcastic look to her when he pointed back to himself.

She had to study them a second but then flew her hands up by her face, getting up off the ground she was sitting down on. “Oh my rings! I’m so sorry! Are you alright?”

She leaned over Movie!Sonic, “Wow! Now that I look at you... you really do look young!”

“And I’m fluffy too.” Movie!Sonic zipped back up, shaking himself off as he suddenly turned poofy from the friction in his quills.

“Ah! Haha!” Amy pointed and got lightly zapped, then clapped as though easily-amused by his antics. “He’s so cute!”

Game!Sonic had to do a double-take, folding his arms as she said that...

“You’re even taller than Sonic!”

Then pouting.

“And you’re uhh... As pink as a gumball!” Movie!Sonic thought fast, scratching behind his head in his nerves and leaning one foot out and up towards her, then skidding it on the ground to then move closer to her, where he had placed it. “N-not that I like gumballs.” He saw Game!Sonic’s expression and immediately grew nervous, shaking his hands out in front of her, “They get stuck in your teeth, but the sugar is nice.”

Amy just giggled, “Amy. Amy Rose.” She offered him her hand and instead of taking it... though reaching out for it, he looked over his shoulder at Game!Sonic and stood back, bowing to her instead.

“You must be a secret princess or something from your world, right? Is he here to protect you or something?” Movie!Sonic threw a thumb back towards Game!Sonic as she giggled into her hands, then swayed back and forth as her hands intertwined and laid at her front.

“Hehe, he’s a charmer... for sure!”

She then noticed the Chaos Emerald in Game!Sonic’s folded arms as he groaned at how sweet they were being to one another.

“Oh! A Chaos Emerald! I almost forgot! I was trying to tell you I found one, but I lost it to that Metal silver robot...”

“That’s gotta be Metal Sonic!” Movie!Sonic suddenly stated, “I saw him come through the portal when you guys did!”

“Two Metal Sonics? Oh no...” Amy cupped her face, worried about their own world’s Metal Sonic... “But it definitely looked funny...”

“Yeah, Dr. Robotnik is a funny sort of fellow.” Movie!Sonic thought she meant the doctor...

“Umm...” Amy looked confused, about to correct him but Game!Sonic stuck out his arm.

“It’s nice to stay and chat like old pals, Amy, but we could use a direction on where he went with that Chaos Emerald.”

“Oh, right!” Amy immediately gave them the locations, and as they sped off, Movie!Sonic kept showing off for Amy instead of actually trying to get the Chaos Emerald.

It was annoying Game!Sonic, “Hey, focus, man!” he cried out as Movie!Sonic was too distracted to realize that the robot was shooting straight at where he had dived to catch the Chaos Emerald.

“Oh no!” Amy covered her eyes, but then threw her hammer, “Just kidding~” she jumped into the battle and saved Movie!Sonic.

He was deeply embarrassed after that, and found he was becoming lamer and lamer the more he tried to impress her, being clumsy and the like.

With all the flattery too... Game!Sonic started to worry about Amy.

“Hey, ease up, will ya?” He finally told Movie!Sonic. “You’re making me look bad here...”

“Wait, really?!” Movie!Sonic shook his head pretty quickly, “I thought you were being cooler than me! That’s why I tried so hard to make a good impression!”

“What? Dude, I know you haven’t known Amy for very long, but she’s not someone to judge that fast. She’s got a good sense of character, and she knows you’re just nervous, loosen up and quit trying so hard. You’ve gotta be naturally cool to be a Sonic.” he dusted himself off and gave him his typical Sonic smirk and wink, pointing out his thumb and index finger and tucking it up under his chin. “If you believe it, then you are it.”

“Ohhh... Attitude. Got it!” Movie!Sonic stopped trying so much to impress Amy and went back to the mission, only concerned about his image looking pathetic around her.

Later, it was clear Amy was favoring Movie!Sonic, trying to get his attention in normal ways again, but he absent-mindedly disregarded her each time.

Feeling ignored, Amy went to Game!Sonic, asking if she had insulted or hurt Movie!Sonic on accident, and wanted to make things right.

“Gee, you’re really worried about how he sees you, huh?” Game!Sonic was pitching up a tree-tent to sleep under, tying a rope below the tree as Amy nervously fidgeted.

“I just don’t understand! I didn’t do anything to make him feel like I wasn’t be polite or kind enough...” she twiddled her fingers, but then, just as Game!Sonic was gonna tell her the truth, she embraced him from behind.

“I’m glad you’re not like that Sonic... at least, when I talk to you, you hear me out, right?”

He suddenly had a crooked smile on his face, and all honesty went out the window.

His ears curled as though horns and patted Amy’s arm. “Oh, of course, Amy! I would never treat you so poorly...”

She sniffled, and he beamed even more.

“Tell ya what, maybe you should stick with our universe for a while... make you feel better.” He patted and stroked her head in a condensing way, smirking at his own devious plans.

Amy was now very dismissive of Movie!Sonic, causing him to wonder what he did wrong. She was a bit vicious in her absolute disregard for him, not like his unintentional way with her.

Discussing it with Game!Sonic, he put two and two together and realized he had turned her against him.

It sparked a rivalry, a figurative tug-o-war before Amy finally saw them both work together to help her when she was surrounded by Eggman’s robots, threatening to make her a lab-experiment.

“This Dr. Robotnik is nuts!”

“Wasn’t he always?” The two said at the same time, fist-bumping and chuckling, as Game!Sonic let Movie!Sonic carry her back to camp.

After that, they didn’t let Amy get in-between their fun, and they sort of bonded over it.

Amy... was still confused, but was now fighting for both their attentions, as they led her on thinking they were ‘just too busy’ but secretly just liking her work for their attentions instead of the other way around!

Oh, but she got back at them!

By the end, they had two nasty bumps on the head to prove it!

“Phew! That was fun, but maybe... I don’t think I’ll be seeing her again.” Movie!Sonic lightly rubbed his large bum on his head before... “Oh great...” His eyes shrunk as a yellow fox he now knew was ‘Tails’ arrived and with him... a new rosy pink hedgehog...

And the hammer thumping on the head never ceased from then on in~<3

#cutegirlmayra #sonic prompt #movie!sonic #sonic movie prompt #sonamy #sonicxamy #amy rose prompt #crossover #sonamy prompt

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welcome-to-green-hills · 4 years

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You it's possible for eggman to get redemption?

Hi, friend!👋😊

Sorry this took so long, I was thinking about your question. Do I think it’s possible for Dr. Robotnik to get a redemption? Hmmm... very good question... I’m going to be bold and assume that this question is strictly for the Dr. Robotnik in the film, not Game!Dr. Robotnik.

I think, in the end, it’s really up to him. I can lead a horse to water, but I can’t force him to drink it.

Let’s take a minute and lay out everything that we know so far if this particular Dr. Robotnik:

We know that the Dr. Robotnik in the film has gone through lots in his childhood and adult life.

We are aware that he was bullied a lot... as well as bullied other of he was in physical and mental abused.

Grew up as an orphan

Has five (5) PhD’s—not all of them are named—and was taken in by the USA government at a young age.

He’s stopped wars and eliminated groups of people with his revolutionary drone tech.

He’s very well respected at The Pentagon... to the point where they’ve erased his existence in America to only a select few.

He very much prefers to be alone with machines, they are really the only ones he can be open to.

I’m going to use myself for an example here to explain my point. I did not grow up like Dr. Robotnik, I was very fortunate to have a mother and a brother with me, but in my past it was easier for me to shut people out rather than be open with others. I remember as a kid I was very afraid to let people in my life. It’s taken a very long time for me to learn how to get out of that dark place, I’m still learning and working on myself about it, but it’s hard to break habits. It takes years to get over that fear... I’ll say from what I’ve seen of this particular Dr. Robotnik, I do not think that he knows that it’s okay to be open to people, to positive change, and to want something better for himself. He’s an intelligent man, but there are some puzzles that not even the smartest man in the universe know how to solve. The information is presented to him, but he can’t figure out how to get them connected. What I am proposing here is that he can be open, but he figured out how to be open.

In psychology, you are taught two very evident theories: developed growth by inheritance and development growth in surrounding environment. It’s split into two halves that work hand-in-hand with one another. Ideologies/thinking, emotions, and characteristics can be inherited, very much like inheriting the trait of blue eyes or blonde curly hair. This is a very popular theory that many individuals have worked to solve. We’ve found that you, yourself, can be born with this negative voice in your head telling you that “you’re not good enough,” or similar harsh words of negativity. I recall saying in my own post about my psychology experience on “The Psychology of Happiness.” He could have felt like he was never good enough to be in a relationship due to being alone at a very young age. Being in an orphanage, or being bullied at school, could imply further evidence towards that thinking as well. Being bullied and pointing out flaws can make a person feel weak. Dr. Robotnik has felt that weakness before in the past. There needs to be a willpower and a sense of guidance in assuring someone that they are okay to want more and that they are good enough.

As far as I have seen, I do not believe that he has a lot of positive guidance in his life. He depends on machines to keep him company because they do as they’re told by him. They’re easy to get along with and he doesn’t really have to remain emotionally attached to them. If he doesn’t like it, then he can upgrade them. That’s easy. Human interaction is scary to him. Though, I will say that I’ve seen positives. One of the positive change, hopefully, is Agent Stone.

From my understanding, it hinted in the book that Agent Stone was just assigned to Dr. Robotnik and he liked Stone because he wasn’t like the idiots that were assigned to work under his care—they guys in the black SUVs when they arrived at the baseball field. Even when Dr. Robotnik beats Agent Stone up for not pursuing an unspoken plan that he’s thought up of, Agent Stone is loyal and he keeps him close to his side. Agent Stone doesn’t necessarily put up with the crap that Dr. Robotnik throws at him, he toughs it out and tries to cheer him on for small things. Cheering and compliments may not even register into his head as compliments and praise like most would. This trait of receiving is taught in an environment, he grew up on his own and had to learn his own coping mechanism. Rolling his eyes and giving quick one-liners are his response and appreciation of being recognized. Getting five PhD is not because of smarts—okay, it is smarts, but it also has to do with that lack of “not feeling good/worthy enough to be noticed.”

Dr. Robotnik needs Agent Stone whether he admits it or not.

Another one is Thomas Michael Wachowski. His rural chum.

Dr. Robotnik is fascinated with Tom. Tom does obtain the amount of intelligence as Dr. Robotnik, but he’s wise enough to know how to look for clues and hidden puzzle pieces in order to outsmart him. Tom has wisdom is what I’m saying... that appears to be something that Dr. Robotnik could lack.

I recall a great many of times that Dr. Robotnik does not interact so much with Sonic. The argument here was that Jim Carrey does not know how to talk to CGI characters. I do not think that at all. Here’s my hypothesis: Dr. Robotnik sometimes refers to Sonic as “it.” It could imply that our lovable Space Hog might not register as a threat to him sometimes. The main threat, mentally, is something else. Dr. Robotnik has almost always talked to Tom. He’s found out where Tom works, tracked Tom and Sonic down and taunts Tom the most, and even goes as far as attacking Tom’s partner/love of his life. He never picks on Sonic that way at all. Dr. Robotnik, until his final fight with him, has mistakenly labeled Sonic the weaker individual... even with the quill that he stole from Tom’s home.

In the second movie, Tom could more than likely be the one that promotes the concept of change to Dr. Robotnik. Sonic would just be the end result... or in this case, Sonic would be the “result” in Tom’s experiment. Jim Carrey has also made a comparison that Dr. Robotnik and Sonic are the same. The difference between him and Sonic is that Sonic has Tom help him and learn to somehow ignore that negative voice in his head.

Dr. Robotnik has a shield around his heart, yes, but I think that it might lower a bit with Agent Stone to somewhat have the deemed norm of human emotions. That takes a level of wisdom and maturity to understand how to use it. Smarts and wisdom are not the same thing.

In the end, I think that he could have a form of redemption if someone was willing to work with him like Agent Stone appears to do. The thing that I would be worried about is the mental guard that he’s created: ego. That is a characteristic that he’s adapted onto himself in order to protect his heart. Possibly, if he could learn to let it go in little bits, maybe he could have some sort of redemption. But again, I can lead a horse to water, but I can’t force him to drink it. It’s all up to him.

I hope that this answers your question, buddy!😇

#mystery anon #off topic #sonic movie #space hog #donut lord #dr. robotnik #My thoughts

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aawesomepenguin · 4 years

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“[The Sonic Movie] was always one of my dreams”, Takashi Iizuka and Sonic Movie staff reveal new details

The Sonic Movie release in Japan is very close, and in order to celebrate, 4Gamer has done an interview with Takashi Iizuka (Head of Sonic Team), Nakahara Toru ( Senior Executive Officer of SEGA SAMMY, and also SEGA’s Lawyer), Jeff Fowler (director of the Sonic Movie) and Toby Ascher (Sonic Movie Producer), and in it, they gave us some details about the movie and what the experience was like.

Remember that the translation isn’t 1:1, but it gets the point across.

Q: What advice did Sega give to the movie staff in the making of the Sonic movie? Iizuka: Advices related to Sonic in various situations, such as how he looks and moves, and his character, as in "Sonic would never say that". Sega has some guidelines for giving advice to people who do not know Sonic, but it is not a comprehensive guide, so I commented a lot during production. Toby: Mr. Iizuka's advices on Sonic's personality and design were very helpful. I wanted to make Sonic the correct Sonic that fans know. Iizuka: Since this work is a hybrid movie that combines live-action and animation, there are many scenes where actual actors and Sonic are involved. The movie isn’t set in Sonic’s World, so I proceeded to think on how he would react to all of it. The biggest challenge for us this time was that we had to think about Sonic from a completely different perspective when compared to the games.

Q: What did you pay most attention to not betray your fans? Toby: I was under pressure because I knew that the expectations of fans were very high because we are from a generation that played Sonic games when we were kids. But at the same time, I also wanted to make a movie that a newcomer to the series could also enjoy. I was very concerned about that balance. I wanted to make it possible for people who don't know Sonic to enjoy the world of Sonic, while putting in a lot of material that fans can still enjoy. Nakahara: That was the mission behind this movie. To please our generation raised in Sonic and children who have little experience playing with Sonic. I hope this movie will create a new generation of fans.

Q: Are there any differences between the Sonic from the games and the one from the movie? Jeff: This is the first time we're introducing Sonic's backstory! Iizuka: Baby Sonic is a young Sonic that hasn't appeared in games. In the movie, it’s shown how his experiences as a baby changed him, and how his personality was formed. The games feature an already grown up Sonic, so it's good that the story up to that point wasn’t very clear [in the games, allowing the movie team to be creative with Sonic’s backstory].

Nakahara: Baby Sonic is being compared to Baby Yoda's in Star Wars. They’ve become big rivals. Jeff: Let me tell you, Baby Sonic is an idea that we came up with before Baby Yoda was revealed (laughs). It takes time to make characters and CG... Nakahara: Baby Sonic’s design was created under the supervision of Mr. Iizuka, but the actual CG animation was created by Marza Animation Planet Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the SEGA SAMMY Group. Hollywood companies are included in the special visual effects of this movie, but Japanese companies such as Marza and Sega played a central role in the animation of Baby Sonic and Sonic. Toby: That's one of the great things about this film. As a fan of Japanese animation, a collaboration between Japan and the United States made me very happy.

Q: When you hear that it's a joint production movie between Hollywood and Japan, there are some movies that didn’t succeed, but this time it seems different. Nakahara: Most of the Japan-US collaboration in movies so far involved only the Japanese content holders signing IP licenses. So Japan doesn't get involved with the production, and they don't pay much for the production. As a lawyer, I've seen many contracts where you only get a license fee. That's not really the case. However, this time, we have invested in the production costs for Sonic, and we are on an equal footing with Original Film, the company that has produced the blockbuster movie series, Fast and the Furious, the director of "Deadpool," and Paramount Film Company. There was also a big discussion, "Can you do a movie with an equal partner with so many different creative visions?" That's a big risk. But in the end, including the terms of the deal, the decisive factor that brought all of us together was that Sonic needed to be a movie star. Sonic is a big star in America. Because of that background, we joined hands in conditions that everyone was satisfied with. As SEGA, they jumped over the license agreement and suddenly became an equal partner, and there was a mix of expectations and anxiety. As a lawyer, I've been involved in a variety of works, but I was able to establish a relationship of trust that surprised me, "How can we collaborate so well?". Of course, small issues have come up every day, but I feel that we have been able to overcome them comfortably throughout.

Q: Weren't you able to make a case against Hollywood because you Nakahara-san, are a certified American lawyer? Nakahara: I may not be the one to say it, but this all truly is Sonic. Everybody loves Sonic. Whenever some big development occurs, a lot of it can be attributed to Sonic. Sonic is like Tom Cruise in the way that he has this presence of greatness that makes him feel like a star from throughout the years. Q: Is there any reason for making it a hybrid movie? Jeff: I thought it would be more fun and more enjoyable for the audience to get into Sonic's sense of speed when it gets put into the live-action world. From Sonic's point of view, the world is always slow, but from a human perspective, he is always moving at super-fast speed. The important thing was to express the power and speed of Sonic in a fun way. The baseball scene in the trailer is my favorite, and he uses his speed to enjoy baseball alone. From a child's perspective, if you were to move at that speed, you would want to play all the positions yourself, right? Q: Sonic has established a star position in the West, but what do you think was the reason why Sonic is particularly popular with Westerners? Iizuka: Sonic is a character born in Japan, but from the beginning we were aware of the West. With a Californian image of the blue sky, blue sea, and palm trees, we added a sense of speed with a deep blue appearance. Sonic’s character of strongly sticking to his morals and to his justice without ever being affected by anything else was also a characteristic of Western characters. And also, Sonic’s World doesn’t take much elements from Japan, or Japanese culture. In fact, Sonic’s World is more Western, and the coolness of the Western people we always see around have been incorporated into Sonic's world, so it has been accepted by Westerners and supported so far. Sonic has always been western in nature, so our goal in a way has always been making Western-style games, create characters with Western-ness, and that eventually landed us a Hollywood movie... so I feel like I've finally arrived there in the 27th year.

Q: Please tell me about the character that Jim Carrey plays. Iizuka: Dr. Robotnik, the villain in the movie is called Dr. Eggman in the games, but in them, he has a round body and thin legs, and a figure that can’t be seen in a live-action human being. So if we wanted someone actually human, we had to create a new Doctor Robotnik look. Should Dr. Robotnik in the movie resemble Dr. Eggman from the games? Would they talk in a similar way? Jim Carrey splendidly created a new Doctor Robotnik! Dr. Robotnik always was a crazy scientist, but Jim Carrey's Dr. Robotnik is crazy, unlike anything we had imagined. That's very interesting. Did Jim Carrey bring half the fun for the movie? I think he played a really good Dr. Robotnik. Nakahara: Jim feels like a gentleman and a calm philosopher during the breaks. But once the camera turns, he becomes a different person and a lot of energy comes out.

Q: What are the highlights of this work? Jeff: Jim Carrey and James Marsden, of course, but the star of this film, Sonic, is definitely the highlight. Laughs, charming, confident and laid back. Fans will definitely enjoy it. There are many easter eggs. If you send me a list of how many you have found, I will tell you that there are still some that have not been found yet (laughs). Toby: It's a movie designed to be enjoyed over and over again, so every time you watch it, you'll discover something new. Also, Dr. Robotnik's dance! It's great!!

Q: Please tell us about your future plans for Sonic. Iizuka: This year, we finally made a movie about Sonic. That was one of my dreams, and since we are about to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sonic next year, many people will have been brought in by the movie, and then they’ll have more opportunities to come into contact with the series through the [30th Anniversary] game. I hope we can get you a better game. Sonic is evolving with the evolution of game technology, so I hope we can continue to release surprising game titles.

SPECIAL thanks to @dizzydennis for helping in the translation in some parts.

Source

#Sonic News #Sonic the Hedgehog #Takashi Iizuka #Sonic Movie #Toby Ascher #Jeff Fowler

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bulgariansumo · 4 years

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The Messy Relationship Between Sonic and Localization

Ask any Sonic fan and they’ll tell you that the fandom is one of the most fractured things to ever exist. It’s a miracle whenever we can all agree, and that usually comes from us collectively hating something (Sonic Movie’s original design, Ken Penders, etc.)--and even then, there’s a dedicated few who disagree. Many of us have such differing opinions on what the series “should” be, that satisfying all--or even a majority--of Sonic fans is next to impossible. How did it get this way? I think it has a lot to do with localization.

Classic Era

The 1990’s wasn’t the best decade when it came to localizing anything, especially not video games. Often, some creative liberties would be taken when adapting a source from Japanese to English. The Sonic franchise was no exception to this. The first split comes from the game manuals. Me and @rontufox already made a post discussing this, but the Japanese manuals gave a little background info on the series’ lore and worldbuilding. The English versions gave a bare-bones description of the premise of each game, but that’s about it. There were no mentions of an apocalypse caused by people misusing the Chaos Emeralds, of Sonic finding the ring that would foreshadow Knuckles Chaotix, or of Knuckles thinking the Death Egg was a ‘Dragon’s Egg’ described in ancient legends. Sonic went to a bunch of colorful zones, beat up Dr. Robotnik, collected some magic stones, and maybe a new character or two would tag along, but there was nothing else to it. There was no dialogue and few cutscenes in the games at this time, so the English localizers could get away with this.

Since there wasn’t much to go on games-wise, English fans at the time got their perception of Sonic and his world from various comic and cartoon adaptations. The American-produced ones portrayed Sonic as an in-your-face smart aleck who was almost completely full of himself. The UK-produced Sonic the Comic starred Sonic as a self-described “cool guy” who cared little about the people around him, including friends. Whatever worldbuilding these adaptations had either didn’t exist or diverged completely from the games, because the writers, even if they did care, didn’t have much to go on. There also weren’t a lot of Japanese Sonic adaptations at the time, and the only one that got localized was Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie (aka Sonic OVA). To English-speaking fans, Sonic was an arrogant but funny hedgehog who despite everything, got the job done. Aside from Dr. Robotnik, other characters were an afterthought and could be replaced as needed.

Adventure Era

Sonic Adventure released in 1998 with fully voice-acted cutscenes, and localization differences started catching up. Some things were easy to fix, such as Dr. Eggman (Robotnik’s name in Japanese) being a nickname for Dr. Robotnik. Other things weren’t that simple. For instance, some of those little things mentioned in the Japanese manuals started showing up again, specifically the apocalypse caused by people misusing the Chaos Emeralds. Sonic Adventure was a soft-reboot, where most previous characters and worldbuilding are still there, but some details are left behind so that newcomers have an easier time entering the series. There also might be changes in the series’ tone. For example, Sonic Adventure was somewhat more serious than previous games could be, but still overall lighthearted. This was also the first of many mainline games during this time to have an ensemble cast. Instead of just playing as Sonic, or maybe Tails and Knuckles, you were required to play all three of them plus other characters, with different stories and gameplay styles. This was a tall task, but these games pulled it off well enough to be very popular at the time. Themes of friendship became very prominent in the games around this time, and to further cement it, Sonic X, a Japanese-produced anime came out and got localized in the United States. Sonic was still a little cocky in English dubs of the games and anime, but he was also free-spirited and very supportive of his friends instead of being preoccupied with being the coolest person in the group. For the most part, his English and Japanese portrayals were nearly indistinguishable. Other characters also got more screentime and focus on their personalities, and popular new characters like Shadow and Rouge were introduced to the cast. All was going great.

Then 2006 came around. Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog (aka Sonic 06) came out, ushering in a period of very poorly received Sonic games, the latter being seen as a contender for the worst game of all time. Shadow the Hedgehog was an attempt at explaining why the titular character was alive after apparently being killed off Sonic Adventure 2, but the gritty and somewhat melodramatic tone was seen as ill-fitting for the Sonic franchise. The gameplay was also lacking, in part due to other characters tagging along with Shadow and repeatedly telling him hints and mission objectives. The problem of characters talking a lot mid-gameplay was present in Sonic Heroes, but the gameplay itself was passable enough that the game didn’t completely suffer for it. Shadow the Hedgehog tied up the last plot threads the Sonic Adventure series left behind, so the series had to go somewhere different. Sonic 06 was another soft-reboot, so that newcomers wouldn’t have to study up on the games from Sonic Adventure to Shadow the Hedgehog. Because the game was rushed for the holiday season, it was glitchy, didn’t feel good to play, and the writing was… very flawed. The game’s tone was slightly lighter than Shadow the Hedgehog, but still a little too melodramatic for most fans.

With all of these changes in mind, further splits in the English-speaking fandom occurred. Many vocal Classic fans were thrown off by the series being heavier on plot, worldbuilding, and Sonic’s friends. They wanted to go back to a time when none of that existed, and when Sonic was just an arrogant jokester--a time that only existed in 90’s US and UK. Newer, Adventure-era fans grew up with these new changes and loved them, though many of them were also not happy with Shadow the Hedgehog and subsequent games’s handling of these things. Because of Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic 06’s spectacular failure in handling different characters’ gameplay, one sentiment was repeatedly echoed--that only Sonic should be playable. Since then, with very few exceptions, only Sonic has been playable in mainline Sonic games. This still wasn’t enough to save the games. Games after Sonic 06 often had a core gimmick to them, many of which weren’t received well, and the ones that were got replaced by the next game. The writing had the same feeling to it, though. It shied away from the melodrama of the most hated entries, but still retained the sincerity of entries like Sonic Adventure.

Modern Era

That changed in 2011 with Sonic Colors. Instead of Sonic Team writing the games, they hired Ken Pontac and Warren Graff, two American writers known for working on Happy Tree Friends. Neither had much knowledge of the previous games’ characters, worldbuilding, or stories, but this was intentional. Sonic games sell less in Japan, so Sega probably wanted to put more focus into pleasing audiences in America and Europe. The two went off some basics about the characters and setting, and what little they knew previously. There is some supervision by Takeshi Iizuka, a longtime Sonic Team member who is currently the head of the series after creator Yuji Naka left in the mid-2000’s, but he is interested in the series going in a new direction. Sonic Colors was another soft reboot of the series, but because of the writer’s lack of knowledge about the series a lot more details were lost and changes made than in any of the previous ones. The writing is lighthearted, but most of the sincerity has been traded for attempts at comedy, which tend to be hit and miss. Sonic as a character retains his free spirit and some kindness towards his friends, but some of the self-importance of his English interpretation is making a comeback. Many of the characters from previous games make returns, but they’re written oddly (“Y’got this, Sssonic!” - Shadow, Sonic Generations (2011)) and the writers don’t quite know how to integrate them. Sonic Colors was well-received for its gameplay, and even the writing was praised at the time, but most subsequent games have middling reception. None are considered outright bad (except Sonic Boom, but that was a spinoff that Sega contracted a different company to do) or outright good (except Sonic Mania, which Sega contracted a team of fans to do.)

Conclusion

As it stands now, the Sonic franchise is a strange hybrid of the Japanese and English interpretations of Sonic. A lot of the Adventure Era fans are old enough to start noticing the changes in the writing in the Modern Era, and some aren’t big fans. Some are, though. Some of the Classic fans are satisfied with these changes, others aren’t impressed either preferring the Classic or even Adventure Era. Some people like the Classic Era, but not the English interpretations of the series. There are likely Modern fans who grew up with this version of the Sonic franchise and love it, but there may be ones that have seen previous iterations and prefer those better. There are many differing opinions and few can agree on what would be good for Sonic. Would things have been different if localization had been handled differently in the 90’s? Who can say? All we have to go by are ripples from the errors of the past.

#sonic the hedgehog #this concludes my text-form video essay #in this essay i DID #can write an essay about sonic but not for college

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thankskenpenders · 4 years

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So, about the movie...

At long last, a week after it came out, I was finally able to see the Sonic movie. The Daytona 500 being held across the street from my favorite theater and conflicting work schedules had been keeping me away, but now I’ve finally seen it. And it was...

Decent!

Which is way, way, way, way, way better than a movie with this awful premise has any right being. That’s for damn sure. I enjoyed my time at the theater. I don’t know how they did it, but they did it. If you like Sonic and haven’t already seen it, you will probably get a kick out of this film. If you don’t like Sonic (or Jim Carrey), there is very little in this movie for you

Okay, now that that’s out of the way, it’s time to break that whole movie down. This will contain full spoilers for the Sonic movie

This movie kinda gave me deja vu because it’s set up so similarly to the Bumblebee movie. Both open with a slavishly faithful CGI sequence on another planet to ensure long time fans that the creative team gives a shit, but a conflict sends the title character to Earth. There, they form an emotional bond with the human lead as they’re pursued by the bad guys, who are working with the US government and tracking the energy signature of the title character. This setup worked extremely well for Bumblebee, because it’s so similar to the usual plot of Transformers. For Sonic, it was... a mixed bag. But it worked better than I expected

(This shot does not happen in the movie.)

That opening though, huh? Green Hill Zone looked great, and I was pleasantly surprised to see they did, in fact, use the Hyper Potions track from Sonic Mania in the actual film. (The piano rendition of the Green Hill theme used later was also lovely.) Longclaw was also interesting. I’ve seen one person bring up all the bird-themed ruins in Sonic 1 and 2 as a possible source of inspiration for the character, and I think that’s a valid take. And man, the echidnas! I wasn’t expecting that AT ALL. I guess that was probably the Knuckles Clan or something? I would never, ever picture them being alive during Sonic’s lifetime, but like... I guess Knuckles had to come from somewhere, right? If they do another movie with Knuckles, will the rest of his kind have died out?

Sadly, though, this sequence felt like it was over in a heartbeat. We barely see Sonic’s life on his home planet, and we’re expected to feel emotional over Longclaw’s sacrifice when she only gets like three lines before Sonic is sent to Earth. This is a common theme with the film--it goes for these big emotional beats that it just does not earn with its rapid fire pacing

Anyway, then we fast forward and Sonic’s a teen. This is actually kind of an interesting one if you’re constantly neck deep in Sonic Character Analysis like me, because it’s a pretty different take on the character. It’s hard to give them credit for doing something somewhat fresh with the character, though, because like... how much of that was intentional, and how much was just Hollywood writers trying to squeeze a generic action-adventure movie out of Sonic? (Honestly, it’s probably mostly the latter.)

The closest other piece of Sonic media to the movie would probably be Sonic X, a story in which Sonic isn’t really the protagonist. The Sonic of the anime is fairly emotionally distant. He cares deeply about his friends, and does nice things for them, but he’s totally fine with running off on his own for extended lengths of time, and he doesn’t really talk about his feelings. He’s not the character the audience is meant to sympathize with, but is instead this cool older kid who Chris wants to impress. This is pretty much in line with how Sega likes to depict the character. He cares about his friends, but he’s also cool with being a loner. It feels like he only runs into them incidentally, usually when Eggman is causing trouble, and then when the crisis of the week is taken care of he’s back to going on his own adventures. There’s a reason why one of his catchphrases is “long time no see”

The Sonic of the movie is the polar opposite. His main conflict is that he’s lonely and desperately seeks friendship. He’s also an overly-eager, extremely earnest goober. He literally flosses twice. (Which I loved.) I’ve seen him compared to Silver, and honestly, that’s not a bad comparison. I did like it, though! I don’t mind Sonic being a more emotionally open character, like he was in a lot of older Western media. I mean, he cried in like the second or third episode of SatAM

It’s just that, like many things in the movie, it feels less like a deliberate creative choice and more like a logical string of decisions to make when writing a generic action-adventure film for general audiences. Sonic’s the only one of his kind on Earth, so of course he’d be lonely. He has to have some sort of arc for audiences to connect with him, and if he’s gotta be accompanied by James Marsden for the whole movie, well, his arc’s gotta be about them becoming friends

I’ve gotta say, though: Ben Schwartz is great as Sonic. As much as I like Roger Craig Smith, I wouldn’t complain if he became the new main voice of the character. And thanks to the redesign, he looked great. I can’t imagine how nightmarish this movie would’ve been if Sonic wasn’t cute

My main fear with this movie, though, was that Sonic wouldn’t really be the protagonist. As a fan of Transformers, I know all too well that the cost of doing a full CGI character usually means that said character can’t really be the star of the film. Optimus and Bumblebee aren’t the stars of the Transformers movies--they’re supporting characters who are primarily present for the sake of the action scenes. The humans are the real stars in those movies, and the robots are barely even characters. I was terrified that Sonic would be the same, with the actual character I paid to see taking a backseat to James Marsden The Cop

I’m not quite sure if they struck the right balance there, but they did better than I worried they would. Sonic is central enough to the film and gets enough screentime that you can easily say he’s the protagonist. BUT there is absolutely too much of Tom and his family. The human cast is fine, the performances are fine, and there were a few good jokes, but every time the movie tried to get me to care about Tom’s life I was bored out of my mind. It’s just so trite and passionless. The other characters barely felt fleshed out at all, including Tom’s girlfriend (wife?) and Agent Stone. The little girl who gives Sonic the shoes had some cute moments, though

I do, however, love the part in which James Marsden is walking around in a San Francisco t-shirt, to remind us that he’s planning on moving to San Francisco... which then becomes the excuse for Sonic to think about San Francisco and accidentally send his warp rings there, which becomes the excuse for the buddy road trip aspect of the film. And as much as that was a focus of the marketing, the actual road trip part is like... maybe 20 minutes of the movie? There’s like three scenes with Sonic and Tom on the road and then they’re in San Francisco for act 3. The movie tries to act like they’ve formed this deep bond and I just did not give a shit. I don’t care about the cop. All Cops Are Bastards, and that absolutely includes Tom, whose dream in life is to join the extremely corrupt San Francisco PD

The whole excuse for Sonic having to sit in the passenger seat of a car going the speed limit for a good chunk of the movie is also, just. Stupid. If he doesn’t know where San Francisco is and time is of the essence, just... give him a map?

And then there’s Jim Carrey. I was worried about this one. The previews tended to highlight his most Jim Carrey Being Wacky moments, and as fond as I am of movies like The Truman Show and Bruce Almighty, that’s just. That’s not Robotnik. I was pleasantly surprised by the actual movie, though! I thought he was pretty good. I’m not sure what incarnation of Eggman I’d most compare him to, but like... it was close enough, and he was entertaining enough. I’d pay to go see another movie with him as Robotnik. Sure. (Especially with how he was looking at the end of the film.)

There were some other little interesting tidbits here with Eggman, although again, a lot of that is less “let’s do a new take on Eggman” and more “let’s do a marketable movie with Eggman in it, which requires us to explain some stuff.” Like him straight up just being a normal human from Earth, with none of the confusion present in the current “two worlds” canon of the games. Or him apparently being an orphan who was bullied in school, and who trusts machines more than other humans. It’s a safe way to depict the character in a Hollywood movie, but I thought it worked

The way they got to his nickname was kind of funny, though. Like, obviously they didn’t put Jim Carrey in a fat suit, and thank god for that. So instead of mocking his weight, the nickname is derived from the egg-shaped robots he uses. Which made sense, I guess. It at least felt logical for this incarnation of Sonic, who had annoyingly been calling Tom “Donut Lord” the whole movie, to make up the nickname “Eggman.” (Said robots, by the way, were a weak point of the movie to me. They just didn’t have that Eggman whimsy and felt very safe and very Hollywood. Honestly, though, if they had just made Robotnik’s ship grey and slapped some hazard stripes on it, it’d probably be fine.)

As a whole, I thought the humor of the movie was... okay. Sonic had a lot of good moments thanks to Schwartz’s great performance, as did Robotnik. There were just so many weird lines, like James Marsden telling Robotnik that he was breast fed, or the agonizingly long child trafficking joke with Sonic in the duffel bag. Stuff like that

The action was great, though. They definitely owe a lot to the Quicksilver scene in that one X-men movie (I forget the one), but they had a lot of fun with Sonic’s powers and it felt extremely true to the character. Seeing him do one of his Smash poses during the San Francisco fight was great. The action scenes were an absolute delight

And then the ending. Oh, that ending

So, I had already heard that Tails shows up in the stinger before I saw the film. And when I heard that, I expected it to be like, the classic Tails origin story. Maybe Sonic would return to his planet, and run into this precocious kid who decides to follow him around... but no! Not at all! Tails is already the Tails we know and love. He’s already an inventor, he’s already tracking down Sonic. I’m shocked that Sonic actually stayed with Tom instead of running off to have new adventures, but hopefully this is a sign that more characters will be brought into the fray if they make a sequel

And boy, they better make that damn sequel. This movie had a great opening weekend and a positive reception. They have no excuse not to. GIVE US SONIC AND TAILS GOING ON AN ADVENTURE

Other stray thoughts

Holy shit they put Sanic in the movie

The Sega logo animation meant that Kiryu from Yakuza was in this movie for a few seconds

The pixel art credits sequence, which featured both the Sonic 2 special stage and Get Blue Spheres as well as the Eggman logo screens from the Studiopolis Zone boss, was cute

The Saturn logo could be seen on the diagram of the other habitable planets

Robotnik had a label for “Badniks” on his circuit breaker. I wonder if the drones in the movie are intended to be Badniks, or if we’ll see actual ones if a sequel gets made

Also, was it implied that Robotnik committed war crimes for the US government

One of the government guys who I think only got one line was played by Garry Chalk and as such sounded exactly like Optimus Primal

I can’t tell if Sonic getting a red race car bed was an intentional shout out to the Archie comics or if it’s just a coincidence, but I loved it

A dude about my age wearing a Sonic Mania t-shirt literally stood up and clutched his head in shock when Tails showed up

After the movie a very excited kid got his mom to take his photo with the Sonic display in the lobby. Afterwards he was so excited that he flossed

I can’t believe they talked about Olive Garden so much

#tkp post #other media #sonic movie spoilers

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moomingitz · 4 years

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It really gets me whenever these rabid Chris hater Sonic fan types say your and other fans art and fics portrays Chris too differently saying he might as well be an OC but think the way they portray him should be exempt. If they want to portray Chris as the anti-christ so bad they cant hold a shitty double standard against how other fans portray him contrary to how they interpret him!

It’s like this comparison my friend @natarisaru made one time about this sort of thing. It’s like Drizella and Anastasia from Cinderella. They don’t like something and throw it away, but then want it back once they see someone else use and enjoy it.

Or the whole macaroni and cheese analogy, and I know I’ve brought it up several times already. Why care about how someone makes something you don’t like and don’t even intend to consume in the first place? You hate the damn thing, anyway.

It’s a stupid way to try and invalidate “stans” fan works of him, either way, considering Sonic and Eggman alone have had so many drastically different incarnations throughout the franchise’s history. SatAm Robotnik feels like a completely different character from Eggman. As much as I enjoyed Jim Carrey’s performance in the movie, a lot of people who don’t have prior knowledge of Sonic really wouldn’t know that he is supposed to be Robotnik just by looking at him or if it wasn’t for them calling him that name you’d think he’d just another weird eccentric scientist dude, seeing how there’s just as much people saying it just felt like Jim Carrey just doing his usual comedic schitck. Comparing game, Fleetway, Boom, and movie Sonic to each other is like comparing a fruit, vegetable, and squash against each other. Don’t even get me started on Knuckles in Sonic Boom. But the people who use the whole “It’s too different from canon!” to shoot down how evil “stans” want to portray Chris tend to, unsurprisingly, be the purist types, anyway.

#Sonic the Hedgehog #asks #rant

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claire-starsword · 4 years

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Thoughts on a Sonic Movie sequel

I don’t have my thoughts fully organized yet but I’ve been vibrating about this movie for over 24 hours by now so I’m just ramble here

(note: I know Mobius and mobian are not words anymore and Sonic’s world in the movie is nothing like cartoon/comics’ but I use them because it sucks not having a name for things. I didn’t want to do it to avoid confusion but it is what it is, take it up with Sega for refusing to name things)

Metal Sonic must absolutely be in the sequel, and I’m not even a big fan of the guy, it’s just obvious. Robotnik’s entire shtick in the movie was wanting Sonic’s power to power his machines. He keeps the quill by the end of movie and clearly plans to use it. Also, no better way to spice up a sequel than a brand new enemy, and in recent years Sega has been very keen of establishing Metal Sonic as THE Eggman Robot. So yeah, make it happen. No better way to finalize Eggman’s origin story here.

Speaking of that, a lot of people (including me) disliked that Robotnik’s machines in the movie completely lack the whimsical designs they have in the game, but at the same time I understand that this is a version of the character that actually works for a government and is therefore a little (just a little tho) more down to earth. So now that he’s alone and independent I think his machines’ designs should change and get closer to the game ones.

I wonder if the Mushroom Planet will just become Eggmanland. Normally Eggmanland doesn’t exist because it’s his goal but in a setting with multiple dimensions I feel it would work, he’s not building it by destroying people’s lives.

In fact I loved the they established right from the start that there are several dimension and that the rings are a well known way of travelling through them. It opens up endless possibilities for settings in the future while keeping the focus on Sonic and the other mobian characters because they know all these dimensions already and might even live on them.

Now, Tails. I am so hyped for a completely new take on this boy. I spent the entire movie thinking how Movie Sonic would be thrilled to meet Tails as a friend. It’s going to be great, but certainly very different from their dynamic in the games. Mostly because Movie Sonic is way more childish than his game’s counterpart and Tails in the teaser already looked like a confident and determined hero (and even kind of fast too), so I don’t think they’ll have a idol/fan relationship like in the games, I doubt there will even be a significant age gap mentioned. Which sure, big departure from canon, but I loved their take on Sonic so I think it can be good. Also honestly, to this day I don’t but Tails’ canon age. Younger than Sonic? Sure. Half his age? Weird, especially given that he’s never, ever treated any different from Amy and the other teens. So if the movie decides he’s a teen it won’t be any kind of big deal.

I guess he might still come to idolize Sonic for some reason? He might have come for Sonic because Mobius is in danger and he knows of Sonic’s power somehow (Longclaw is alive and told him? The threat is Robotnik and he let slip that someone defeated him once? Are they gonna bring the Angel Island prophecy mural? Honestly there’s a bunch of options since we don’t even know why Sonic has the powers first of all). So in that case he might have built up some idea of Sonic as a savior, so it will be interesting to see how they clash with what the guy actually is (though obviously Tails’ gonna come to like him anyway).

And Sonic might want to live up to his expectations? I mean, Sonic’s a cool kid that loves to impress. The entire movie there were only adults around rolling their eyes at him, so if he gets a younger brother that is already all over him? Man he’s gonna love him. He’s gonna really get into it. He’ll definitely bite more than he can chew and get in mortal peril and learn a lesson about not being so arrogant, while Tails learns that he has to pull his own weight as the sidekick if he wants a hero’s tale to unfold. There, it’s a perfectly good kid movie script, Paramount Pictures can start giving me money any time now.

The Longclaw theory only makes it better because what if she raised him too? What if he grew up all his life hearing tales of a brother he never knew? What if he looks so confident from the get go because he’s already inspired by a hero he might be destined to meet? What if his powers/mutant tails have the same origin as Sonic’s power so he has this idea that Sonic will understand him more than anybody else?

See my main point here is that is hard to pull Tails’ canonical backstory of “I was a lonely bullied boy and then I befriended Sonic” when the first movie already did a good lonely kid story, so I’m trying to imagine some twist to it. Sonic was a kid with a big heart who quickly got attached to humans and movies and pop culture and simply enjoying life. So I’m wondering if Tails would be different, if he’s a kid with a mission as shown in the teaser and not very into the silly antics Sonic gets himself into. If he’ll just try to get Sonic into some big hero job without any idea of how Sonic feels, or why he is attached to Earth, or why he is a hero. A universe where what Tails has to get from Sonic is not an adventurous spirit or confidence, but compassion and fun. Like, if this ends up with long travels and Sonic showing Tails the wonders of Earth and the like it will be extremely cliche and yet I’ll love every second of it get on it already Paramount.

It would also draw some parallels between Tails and Robotnik, and I always love when that happens. I’m not trying to picture Tails as a Mini Robotnik here, I can’t imagine the dude having any kind of evil goals, but he is the kind to get caught up in his genius sometimes and can be kind of arrogant too, so I’d like to see that. Jim Carrey has talked a lot in interviews of how he sees Robotnik as someone with a Sonic shaped hole in his heart. I’d like to watch someone get said hole filled. Joy and fun aren’t exactly inherent to kids, if Tails comes from some sort of harsh situation/crisis he might’ve not had the time to care about these things. Give Tails a friend. Give Tails his friend.

I had other things to say in this post I think but I’m too overcome with love for those two to function right now. I almost teared up just from seeing Tails in the screen. You’ve put them both in the screen already Paramount. Now do both in the same scene. Please. That’s all I want

#sonic series #sonic the hedgehog #sonic movie #tails prower #dr. robotnik #dr. eggman #cannot remember which tag i use for him and honestly it just got more confusing #sonic movie spoilers #unbreakable bond #so good to have this tag back it's brotp loving hours here #by which i mean 3 am

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egg-emperor · 2 years

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tell me I'm not the only one that notices how, even when people do take inspiration from official media for their modern Eggman fanon content, it never actually comes from the games. it's always taken from Boom who is a waaay different version overall, from selected parts of Archie and IDW (while still ignoring parts of either comic that they didn't like), from the OOC parts of X that weren't even in character for that version with X's strange inconsistencies, or more recently by trying to involve similar sad backstory aspects of movie Robotnik's too. they apply all of this to what they say is a fan depiction of game Eggman but really isn't at all and I wouldn't have as much of an issue if they'd actually admit it.

but it's also sad how it's very hard to find people that actually like game canon Eggman as he is and respect his canon portrayal when creating fan content. they treat game canon Eggman like he's the worst depiction that deserves no recognition or consideration in fan content portrayals whatsoever, despite him being the original and main. when it isn't because they think he's just a lame incompetent villain and big dumb joke, it's because they think he's inferior for not having any traits and moments they feel are redeeming, unless they heavily change, misinterpret, and ignore all the aspects they don't like. it sucks how it's commonly treated like the worst and is the most misinterpreted portrayal both accidentally and intentionally.

#dr eggman #eggman #dr robotnik #dr. eggman #rant #my post

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wlwtangle · 4 years

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Sonic for Beginners Guide (as of the 2020 Sonic Film)

Heya! I don’t think I’ve seen anyone make a post like this yet, or I haven’t seen a post like this yet, but if you just saw the newest Sonic film in theaters or on digital, and you’re interested in going into the Sonic community and trying out tons of other Sonic Media and don’t know where to start, here’s a guide that should help you where to go next if the only thing you have to go off of is the newest movie!

Intro

Everything that I will recommend you to in this post only assumes you’ve seen the full Sonic movie (yes, that includes the post-credits scene) and will prominently feature the following:

Dr. Eggman/Robotnik

Sonic

Tails

(No, this guide won’t feature Owl Mom, as she only appeared in these movies so far. She was never in any other Sonic media, and I doubt you’d see much of her outside the movies)

With that out of the way, let’s begin!

Games

There are quite a lot of Sonic games, and this can seem the most overwhelming, especially since SEGA has been trying their hardest to get new fans from the games rather than the films. But there are a few good games to start with if you only saw the film!

In terms of emulating any of these games: I am fine with emulation. There is nothing wrong in terms of finding ways to preserve these games for years, and if you don’t have the money to own any of these games, then I do recommend emulation. The only emulator I can recommend in terms of the old, 90s Sonic games would have to be Kega Fusion, and if you want to find the ROMs/ISOs, good luck. I can’t tell you how to find ROMs/ISOs, as that is illegal, so I’d recommend asking a friend for help or DMing me if you need help finding a place to find ROMs/ISOs, but legally I can’t post where to find ROMs/ISOs. Despite all of that, when possible, please support SEGA by buying them officially when possible. With that out of the way, let’s truly begin!

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) - The very first Sonic game, of course, is the best place to start. Not the 2006 one! The 2006 game also titled Sonic the Hedgehog for Playstation 3 & Xbox 360 is not a good representation of the Sonic brand SEGA has been trying to push today, and it’s not a great game overall to start with. Sonic the Hedgehog from 1991, however, is! It isn’t based off the new film, but it is what the current film has the most based off of. It starts off with the basics; you play as Sonic, and you have to stop Dr. Eggman from taking over the world, while saving all your animal buddies. It isn’t too long of a game, and better yet, this game is the easiest to get. It’s available on the Playstation Network store, Xbox Store, Nintendo Eshop (both for the Switch and 3DS), Steam (for Windows and Mac), and it’s even available on both Apple and Android devices! It’s free on phones, but you have ads, so that’s probably one of the best places to start in terms of games!

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992) - Now, if you just saw the film, including the post-credits scene, then this is another perfect place to start. Not only can you play as Sonic, but you can also play as Tails! There are tons of more levels than in the first game, and there’s even a little secret if you collect all the Chaos Emeralds! (can’t say much about those as they haven’t been introduced in the films yet) And like the first game, there are tons of places to get this game. You can get this on the Playstation Network store, Xbox Store, Nintendo Eshop (on both Switch and 3DS), Steam (Windows and Mac), and on both Apple and Android devices! Like the first game, it’s also free on phones, with ads, so if you played the first game or only saw the newest film, this is another great place to start.

Sonic Mania (2017) - Another perfect place to start, and one of the best Sonic games in the past decade, this is an official catch-all Sonic game made by fans for not only the classic 90s games, but also features new levels and new playable characters that haven’t been seen in any recent games, including Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel. Now, I don’t think we’ll ever be seeing Mighty or Ray anytime in the films, but Knuckles is in this game as well (and in Sonic 2, I forgot to mention that), and I got a feeling Knuckles might show up in the next Sonic film. But yes, you can play as Sonic and Tails, of course. And this game does also have a multiplayer mode as well, and tons of extra secrets. And honestly, if you do want a recent game to start off with, Sonic Mania might have to be the best place to start with. And the best part is, this game is available on all recent modern gaming hardware, including Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Steam (Windows and Mac). Sadly, this game isn’t available on smartphones, but that shouldn’t detract from how good this game is. While the base game is cheap, only running you at $20, the DLC for this game only costs $5, while the physical release of this game (which includes the base game, DLC, and more), should only cost you $30.

Now, I hear ya, platformers aren’t really your thing. You don’t have the most modern, recent gaming devices, and your computer/laptop isn’t that powerful either. You only have a smartphone, and you only play mobile games. In that case, SEGA does also deliver in smartphone games, especially for Sonic! There is really only one I can recommend for beginners that even did include a limited event based on this film (that sadly has already passed), and that is

Sonic Dash (2012) - Possibly the easiest place to start with in terms of Sonic games on smartphones. Even though Sonic 1 & 2 are available for smartphones, SEGA did make and release this before those games came out. And with 100 million downloads, who could deny how huge this game has been for them. You really only start out as Sonic, play through Green Hill Zone, and you fight Dr. Eggman. Gameplay-wise, this game is very similar to Temple Run/Subway Surfers, so if you played those games, then this game shouldn’t be that hard to get into. As you play this game, you’re able to unlock more characters, including Tails, and you even get to unlock more levels, and even get to upgrade your characters as well. It is available on Apple and Android devices, and is free to play, despite all of the ads, so you can start off there if you don’t want to play any big Sonic game and just want a casual, light mobile game to play.

Now, Sonic didn’t only have games to boot. He also had tons of cartoons and comics! And let’s talk about those cartoons!

Cartoons

There are tons of Sonic cartoons out there, and there really aren’t that many to start off with if you only saw the film. These are the only few I could recommend to start off with.

The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (1993-1995) - One of the first Sonic cartoons by DiC (animators behind the old Mario cartoons), this is honestly one of the few Sonic cartoons I could recommend to beginners, or only those who have seen the film. It stars Sonic and Tails, as they defeat evil plans by Dr. Robotnik, and it does include characters exclusive to this show. And despite the reputation this show has, I’d say this is one of the better cartoons to start off with. Sonic the Hedgehog 1993, or better known as SatAM (Saturday Morning Sonic Cartoon), isn’t really that good of a place to start off with if you only saw the movie. Not only does this show feature tons of characters that aren’t really seen outside of this show and the Archie comics, but this is a little bit more serious, and I don’t really recommend this to beginners who only have the film to go off of. AoSTH, however, is a lot more light, comedic, maybe even a little more childish, but it is one you can have on in the background and don’t really have to pay attention to, and it’s one you could show to kids. You can find this show currently on Netflix, as well as a number of episodes have been uploaded to YouTube in HD, so you can choose wherever you want to see this show.

Sonic Mania Adventures (2018) - A short series of shorts based on Sonic Mania, I’d say this is another great place to start especially in terms of cartoons. They’re all silent cartoons, and are based on Sonic Mania, but also features an original story to boot. Best part; you can watch them on YouTube now. Here’s a video with all of the episodes combined, and they also made a Christmas Special as well. The whole series is only 15 minutes long at most, and it’s something I definitely recommend checking out if you have the time.

Sonic the Hedgehog the Movie/the OVA (1996/1999) - An absolutely different movie from the actual Sonic movie we got a couple months ago, despite some obvious problems within the script and writing itself, I’d highly recommend checking out this movie! This is a really good movie that captures the speed of Sonic perfectly, and is one of the only few Sonic cartoons based on that 90s anime aesthetic. So if that suits you, then I’d recommend checking out this film on YouTube.

Comics

Now, this is even harder to decide on where to start with when compared to the cartoons. Not only are all the comics not that good, but they are all especially dependent on whatever type of knowledge you have on Sonic. The Archie comics are really only dependent on SatAM, and are cancelled! But the IDW comics are heavily dependent on if you played Sonic Forces, which isn’t that great of a game to begin with if you’re only knowledge of Sonic is based on this new film. But the IDW comics aren’t even on that good of an arc now. The British Fleetway comics aren’t that great either; not only are they ableist (with Super Sonic being “mentally insane” and evil), those comics are also cancelled as well. I really only have one comic series to recommend to beginners, if you can even find them.

Sonic -Mega Drive- (2016) - Made by one of the best writers for the Sonic comics, Ian Flynn, and drawn by the same person who redesigned Sonic for the new film, Tyson Hesse, these are a series of one-shot comics based on the original Sonic games. Very easy to get into, the cast isn’t that large, and overall it’s just a whole lot more appealing than the Archie or current IDW comics! There’s only two issues, with a third one that was cancelled due to SEGA withdrawing the Sonic license from Archie in 2017. If you can find them, I recommend checking them out.

Misconceptions About Sonic the Hedgehog and the Fandom

Now, coming out of the new film, you are really interested in Sonic the Hedgehog, but you already know about a whole lot of misconceptions about Sonic and his fandom, which may turn you off from going into this. So I am here to smash down a lot of those misconceptions, because a majority of them are all wrong, and I’m pretty sure anyone can enjoy Sonic after watching the film.

1. The Sonic Fandom is only full of overgrown babies who complain about all the newer games and only love the old games.

This is an absolutely terrible misconception! This is absolutely not true for the entire fandom, and despite the bias I have towards the 90s Sonic era as seen in this guide, let me say this: There is no one wrong place to start with in terms of games. The Sonic Adventures games are good, Sonic Colors is good, and so is Sonic Generations and Lost World. There is no terrible Sonic game, and if there is, then that game probably has a small fandom of people who see the positives of that game, and only wish to improve on it. You are not wrong if you have an unpopular opinion on any Sonic game, and you can honestly enjoy any Sonic game of your choice. Yes, there are gatekeepers in this fandom, but they are small in numbers when compared to the majority of this fandom. This fandom is absolutely welcoming of any Sonic fan who enjoys any part of Sonic, and if anyone online is making you feel bad about enjoying any part of Sonic, then you can either ignore them or block them. You don’t need to hear their voices, as their voices are only minor when compared to this whole fandom.

But yes, there are people like SammyClassicSonicaFan who do have a bias towards 90s Sonic games, and there are people who have a bias towards the Modern games. But overall, it doesn’t matter what type of games you do enjoy, it’s just that you don’t bully or harm anyone else for enjoying those games. And again, mostly everyone in this fandom are fine with whatever Sonic game you like. Not that many people really bullies anyone in this fandom, and if they do, then again, they are the minority.

2. The Sonic Fandom is full of furries who only draw porn of the characters.

Yet again another terrible misconception about the Sonic fandom! Just because you’re a fan of Sonic, doesn’t make you a furry. I am one of the rare exceptions, though, as I am a Sonic fan, and a furry as well, and Sonic is partially the reason why I am a furry. But overall, I have met Sonic fans who aren’t furries, and I’ve met furries who aren’t Sonic fans.

And to that other half of this misconception; no, just no. Not only are the majority of the cast practically children (Tails is 8, Amy is 12, and Sonic is even 15), a majority of the characters who are 18 or over only barely fit that range (Rogue is 18, Vector is 21), and a majority of adults don’t even have confirmed ages (Dr. Eggman doesn’t even have a canonical age, and there’s been debate over whether Shadow is 15 or over 50 years old). So no, we don’t draw porn, and almost all of us are grossed out when we find Sonic porn (the only exception of this are the creeps who do draw that porn, but we don’t consider them apart of this community).

So there you go! That’s all I could think to mention in this whole guide! I hope you have fun enjoying these shows and games, and I hope you especially have fun in the Sonic community!

If you do have anymore questions about anything related to Sonic, feel free to DM me or send me asks/anons on this blog.

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ebachan · 5 years

Text

Sonic’s Movie is Good

Okay, I have heard quite a few ridiculous claims Sonic’s Movie will suck despite the redesign. That is quite a claim with nothing to back it up. Or almost nothing.

Not much is known about the plot, but before we move to it, let’s remind ourselves what each Sonic game was about.

Games:

Sonic 1

Sonic 2

Sonic 3

Sonic 3 & Knuckles

Sonic A1

Sonic A2

Shadow the Hedgehog

Sonic Colors

Sonic Generations

Sonic Forces

Sonic and Black Knight

Sonic ...

Uuuuf... Let me catch my breath first, I’m not that fast as Sonic ;-)

So, here we have a small sample I cooked up at the spot. So, what is the plot? It can be summarized in four words - Save the world/stop Eggman

Okay, theoretically it’s five... But, my point still stands.

So, people kind of complaint Sonic’s Movie is about him saving the world = simple/primitive even. (Do I get it right?) If “saving the world”-trope/plot is lame, I guess LOTR or Star Wards are lame too. After all, they are “just” about saving the world as well.

Now, please notice the sarcasm. I use it when dealing with close-minded humans. Thank you for understanding. My point is - every story has a theme. Being it save the world, go on an adventure, or solve a mystery. I have somewhere read an article about Seven Main Plot Lines in Books (Maybe it was more of them ^_^;). Each book, no matter how awesome it is, can be categorized in one of those “cliché plots”.

Surprisingly, it doesn’t make them bad or boring. Do you go and read a book to know how it ends? Yes, some books have shocking ends you don’t expect. With some, you know how it will end - hero will beat the baddie and lives happily ever after.

Well, how about the journey in the middle? Isn’t it the most exciting part of the story? It sure is. It can have anything - humor, action, adventure, mystery, romance, angst, twists, character’s growth, world building. The list can go on. The end is just a cherry at the top, it’s the middle part that sucks us in.

In other worlds - Stop judging Sonic’s Movie based on the premise. It’s stupid.

What do we know for sure:

Sonic is an alien.

Different planet, but in one universe

Or different dimension means two different universes like in games.

Government is after Sonic

You telling me this is stupid? I would be knocking on my forehead if no military was involved when Sonic appears, especially after the shockwave knocked out half of the continent. You can’t ignore him. This part reminds me of Season 1 of Sonic X when Sonic was chased by humans to find out how he ticks.

Also, this has E.T. vibes, and nobody says the premise of a human kid helping a lost alien to escape from the government to return home is stupid ;-)

In other words, Sonic is a too big deal to be ignored by the military. They have to take action.

Pair up Sonic and Tom

No problem here. We often see two unlikely individuals joining forces to beat bigger baddies. It provides nice dynamics and often helps both parties to see the world from a new perspective.

Game inspiration

There seems to be still the confusion about what type of story Sonic’s Movie tells. I think it was even officially stated, that this movie is a prequel to Sonic 1 and partly Sonic 1 too. So kinda like Sonic 0.5.

It tells how Eggman/Robotnik and Sonic became enemies. The game never explained this, nor why Eggman wants to conquer the world. At least that Amusement Park of Death is an original tidbit :-D So, in a way we can get some answers or the alternative way how to look at their frenemies relationship from games.

We can also get more about how the Two Worlds (Mobius, Earth) are connected. For me, I still can’t wrap my head around it. It kinda feels they made it up to cover some plot holes, but whatever. The idea itself is interesting.

It has a lot of Easter Eggs but introduces Sonic to kids

There was a test screening during January/February and here is the comment from that person (found on Reddit).

The movie aims to bring a new origin story for Sonic and Robotnik. Its main goal is to introduce children to Sonic the Hedgehog as a character, but at the same time throw references and pay homages to details from the original game series for the longtime fans. It aims for a PG Rating.

He gave the movie a 7/10 grade. “It’s geared towards new fans with respect for the older peeps. Just go into it knowing that new kids will fall in love like we all did at one point.”

About how the movie was like, he said that “ Id say it is more TMNT with reference to story and action balance. It’s a solid mix between engaging action which continues to develop the bromance between sonic and Tom.”

“Its definitely being targeted towards youth demo. It seems their goal is to intro sonic to the next Gen of fans. More so with access to their parent's wallets for the spin-off merch and happy meal toys. I enjoyed it similar to seeing transformers. Don’t expect the green mile storytelling but turn your brain off and just enjoy for what it is, The cast does a great job” Robotnik is only called by the Robotnik name in the movie, no mention of the Eggman name at all.

It's about 90 minutes long

“ It’s a good balance between giving the old fans something but introducing him to kids. I went in not knowing it was gonna be screened or any expectations. Cheesy but enjoyed it from start to finish. Jim Carrey kills the role.”

“ Action scenes were great in storytelling and execution wise. Effects weren’t complete so a lot of it was still early CGI and the hidden actors playing sonic. At one point he was just a blue doll on the counter lol”

The post contains some “plot” for the movie, so I won’t post more. I actually skipped once I noticed this ;-)

I don't know how you, but I’m going to watch this movie no matter what!

@movie-sonic-positivity @movie-robotnik-positivity

#sonic movie #sonic movie 2019 #sonic movie positivity #sonic movie 2020 #movie sonic #sonic the hedgehog #dr. eggman #dr. robotnik #jim carrey

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