Call it a lack of imagination, but it's hard to imagine a reason to make this a CGI hybrid that doesn't involve Sonic walking around in the "real" world. And a further lack of imagination to think of a decent original plot in which said happens. The plot will be this... for whatever reason Sonic is transported to the human world, and some kid has to hide Sonic in his backpack, then for whatever reason Robotnik is also in the "real world" to snatch some McGuffin, and then everybody discovers Sonic is there, and he runs around some famous American city, and some guy (Jaleel White) looks at the camera and says, "way past cool". Then everyone holds there hand to their heart and chants "Sonic, Sonic!". Then Sonic saves the day. Then Sonic kisses the boy with the backpack on his tender lips, and the wormhole closes sending Sonic and Robotnik back to "their world", and Robotnik says, "I hate that hedgehog". The End. Prove me wrong...
Also... Was that series any good, to begin with? All I remember about it is watching the first trailer and going "meh".
And thus heralds a new era of Sonic fandom where no one knows which Sonic is the best Sonic. Children of the current era will later have nostalgic memories of their movie Sonic, crafting a whole new fandom to be at war with the others... Boom against Movie, OVA against SatAM, Adventure against Adventures of... All the while Classic never stops tapping his little foot, glaring impatiently at his countless progeny. :v: I don't get why they're so set on a mix of Live-Action, is it cheaper or something?
I really can't get excited for this movie, as much as I'd like to... What would raise of expectations significantly would be to discover that some legit Sonic fans or custodians were on board. Even Sega can't seem to understand the brand, so bringing in a bunch movie types with zero understanding of the brand and its roots is bound to be nothing more than superficial. You would think Sega/Sony would see the positive reception to Mania and want to emulate that, want to expand their audience to include children and up to the 30+ crowd. This would mean a significant amount of research, to understand what the series was founded on, it's influences, it's narrative, manga, aesthetics, etc. This is extremely unlikely. I mean... as if anyone even wants to see Sonic in the "real" world. A movie taking place entirely in his world, in CGI, would be visually stunning. This movie reeks of "sell-out". But hey, I hope I'm wrong. Sonic could be a pop-culture icon, an artifact of that era just before computers and digitalization, but it takes dedication and vision to make that happen. Anyway, I'm loosing focus. I'm worried this film will be Sonic in name only.
More aptly, Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, and Winnie the Pooh were all adaptations that they even had to license, because those franchises were still under copyright. Not public IPs at all. I don't have high hopes for this movie. Tim Miller, so far as I can tell, isn't enough to save it from its director, writers, or concept, none of which have a particularly good track record behind them.
I am not trying to defend Sega, and there might be a calculated market somewhere down the line. Yes Mania has ?n overwhelmingly good reception, but is it from a somewhat limited audience? Is it going to make as much money as Generations or Sonic 2017, or is it a more niche consumer target, and the casual gamers are going to pass it by for the flashy 3D ones?
But you see, Mania isn't even JUST about 2D platforming, at least not to me. 2D platforming is obviously a huge aspect of it, but it's also about the tone, music, aesthetic, and lineage. If Classic/Mania is limited to a niche it is only with respect to the 2D platforming aspect, but then again the raceing style games of Modern Sonic are also pretty niche. Modern Sonic was a major departure from the world of Classic/Mania Sonic. The thing about kids though, is that they incredibly fickle by nature. They don't (generally) care if it's modern Sonic, or Boom Sonic, or Adventure Sonic or they inhabit those respective worlds. Heck when I was a kid we had video game Sonic, The Adventures of Sonic, and Sonic SatAM. Classic Sonic could appear in a series which was not 2D platforming and so long as the other aspects remained consistent it would still be considered the Classic Sonic variant, similar to Paper Mario. Modern Sonic is very generic in terms of visuals and music, but Classic Sonic is incredibly unique. If the movie goes the Modern Sonic route the result will be very similar to Pixar or the Smurfs movie, and it looks like we are getting the latter. If they went the Classic Sonic route you would have an art form for a CGI movie to which I cannot even think of an analog. It would be stunning. You would also then have a far bigger audience: fickle children, classic fan adults, and people who love unique and original art forms. It could also draw on Manga influences like the classic did, which creates an even greater potential in terms of audience. I am aware that a Modern Sonic movie can be done well, but I see it as far less likely, especially considering what we already know. With CGI I think the best we can hope for is something similar to The Incredible, but as far as the Hybrid goes... I just don't even know...
Speaking of alternative art forms when doing CGI/big budget films, I'd love to see something like this realized with a big film budget, CGI or otherwise. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lft02DuvqnQ Specifically with that kind of retro-chic music. God, it'd be so cool.
Certainly a shame the animation company who did the Sonic CD cutscenes and the Sonic OVA went defunct not long after.
Sonic CD's intro and the OVA were animated by different studios though. CD's intro was produced by Toei with help of the now defunct Studio Junio (which is what I assume is what you're talking about). The OVA was animated by Studio Pierrot. And modern anime studios could probably produce a pretty cool Sonic animation. Like Studio Trigger's energetic animation style would work incredibly well with Sonic.
Don't you even dare get my imagination going like that. I would love that so much. But it'll never happen But on that note, why on earth haven't we had a traditional Sonic anime since the OVA. No matter what language you watch it in, Sonic X was a wreck and never capitalizes on the potential of the characters or their abilities. The OVA proved what could be done to translate Sonic's speed in an aesthetically awesome way. It doesn't have to be anything like the OVA, but the strengths of that style needs another pass with the series.
I completely agree. There's untapped potential there as with Mega Man*, but the majority of Sonic animation has been western; three American shows to one Japanese show and an OVA. I think a high-quality OVA is more likely than a show with the same style. The trend nowadays with movies and TV shows seems to be either cheaper, stylish 2D Flash shows or bigger CG productions, and the pretty successful Sonic Boom show reflects the latter. I'll bet Sonic will look spectacular in CG, but man. It's just a question of how well he blends into live action with other actors. And for what purpose. I really hope it's not another "young boy discovers Sonic" deal, but that's most likely. I'd much rather it be something like Sonic Unleashed, and now that I've brought that up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL9EtmAUwM4 * Spoiler Also guys plz post in the mega man general, pretty please. I know boy blue is dead but I'll be your best friiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeend
Same, and even the Night of the Werewolf CGI example (Animation wise) though I'd prefer the OVA style.
You're close, but I think that instead of a plot you have a sequence of events that amounts to not much more than pop music, one liners where a secondary character replies with "Awk-waaaaard!", group dancing while chaning a motivational mantra, and that hip new lingo and things that the kids like. The sequence ends with Sonic defeating the enemy by believing in himself. That's how these things go, I think you're holding out too much hope. This is what we get now. Look what they did to Smurfs, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Transformers, TMNT, etc. Licensed animation, especially CG animation, is the country music of the industry. It is cookie cutter shit that doesn't stray from the formula of "X -- IN THE BIG CITY!"
So, I'm assuming the regular game cast is going to be voicing their characters. Do you think they'll add a movie only character so they can have a celebrity voice?
