Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie

I got the movie on VHS on release day. It's one of the two anime productions in which I prefer the English dub over the original Japanese audio. Seriously, the English sounds like the voice actors are really into their characters while the Japanese dub sounds like they forced a bunch of people into a booth to dub the "movie"; it sounds so boring and plain in Japanese.

 

I always thought that the Sonic OVA was fantastic. It has a very Sonic CD-esque feel to it (probably due to its director being Naoto Ohshima), it's brilliantly animated, and it has a very simple yet enjoyable plot. The sequences really capture Sonic as a character, and his no-bullshit, egotistical, and stuck-up sort of attitude. And I love it! Sonic was always The Original Badass™, and Sonic's movements, dialogue, and the way he traverses vast portions of land really excentuate that trait.

One thing that really struck me, though, was the music. It's awesome! I don't recall the composer offhand; I know it wasn't Naofumi Hataya, but the style is extremely similar—a very backbeat-centric, synthy, house sort of style with strong moog basses, strings, and upbeat melodies. It's very fitting of Sonic as a character, and is extremely reminiscent of the musical stylings in Sonic CD. That really hits home for me; I've always wanted a "full" animation of the Sonic CD story in animation form, and the music and animation style together really make the OVA seem like it is, indeed, a spiritual successor to Sonic CD.

While I'm not the fondest of the new characters, they fit into the universe just fine. There's lot of traditional anime humor, and it feels right at home. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it. :v:

Oh, and of course, we can't forget this. Best part of the movie.

 

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thought that. From the very first time I watched it when I was 6 years old, I made the connection to Sonic CD. I even said the first bit of the movie was "Palmtree Panic" and the part right after in the Island In The Sky was "Collision Chaos." =P

 

Personally one of my most favorite parts about the movie is when Sonic was racing towards Robotropolis through the green valley section. Now if only someone could "rip" or "sequence" that music somehow without the voices, I'll be a happy person.

"Tails! I thought you would never stoop so low!"

 

I love that movie =P

Tail's grabbing Sarahs boobs, and Knuckles with his hat on fire was awesome.

Also, STRAAAANGE ISN'T IT?

 

Uh... Retrogamer, if you have all of these opinions about the movie, how about putting them into one post instead of making like 50 short ones? This is exactly what I'm talking about when it comes to issues with post content, and I'm getting sick of seeing it.

I've merged your posts together, but I won't do it again.

 

I love this movie. It has the perfect portrayal of Sonic's attitude, the art and atmosphere is 110% Sonic, and it's funny to boot. The fight between Sonic and Metal Sonic near the end is one of my favorite Sonic moments, in-game or out.

I love the music, too. This movie needed an OST badly.

 

Thats the sad part about it. I've only ever found a midi version of South Island and every version of "Look Alike" I've listened to is either bugged with clipping or doesn't have all the lyrics. The track I want is when they're racing towards Robotropolis but to this day I've never been able to find it, not even a midi version. At one point, I was even going to attempt making a midi myself but I just couldn't be motivated to complete it.

Wheres my OST Sega/Sonic Team? :v:

 

Has anybody ever thought of a GAME of the movie? That could be a project...

 

There was some rumor that Shout! had got rights to do a special edition of the OVA. That would truly be incredible... although I haven't seen anything of it. It needs a DVD (or a reissue if they did make a DVD) badly so I can watch it.

 

@Epsilonarge, as far as I know, the MP3 I have of Look Alike works perfectly O_o Maybe you just had some bad downloads?

Anyways, I've had the movie on DVD for a while now and I still watch it whenever I need a laugh. It's a really good movie. I hope that in the future there may be a second Sonic movie (Perhaps the events leading up to the opening movie of Unleashed, which in itself is epic)

 

I've owned the DVD on VHS for a long time, good film. I wouldn't really mind a DVD release because I don't even own a VHS player any more and I wouldn't mind a quality increase.

 

I wasn't aware an OST was ever released.

 

Never seen it... it has adult content? o_O wtf?

 

Not much, it was rated PG and it actually removed most of the adult content from the Japanese version.

 

An OST was scheduled to be released not long after the OVA got released in Japan. Unfortunately, it got cancelled and I honestly don't know the specific reasons. It was up for Pre-order and everything, too...

Also, regarding the adult content, the OVA was rated 7+ here and wasn't rated PG or anything. However, the DVD release itself was completely uncensored. ADV Films did produce an edited version of the OVA, but I believe this may have been restricted to certain VHS releases and the maybe the HBO airing. I remember seeing the Sera Daydream sequence censored (Sera's breast feeding is digitally altered to make it so she's just holding the baby) and Sonic's middle finger modified.

 

Got the DVD. It's a pretty bare-bones release, too. It has the option to dub Japanese, scene select, and character "bios" which can be read of the back of the freaking DVD case. Pretty good movie, but I agree it is way too short to really be called a movie. More of a special.