'Sonic the Hedgehog' ... the movie... the trailer
Fun fact: no movie directly adapted from a video game has ever scored as "fresh" on the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. Oh, there have been movies about video games that have reached the "fresh" side of the Tomato-meter. And we may have a soft place in our heart for, say, the oeuvre of Paul W.S. Anderson, but most of us will admit 46% for Mortal Kombat is probably fair, if a bit harsh. The point is, unless Detective Pikachu somehow lives up to the surprisingly positive amount of hype it's gotten, there may not be a "fresh" video game adaptation for a while yet.
But, a new challenger approaches! Starring James Marsden and Jim Carrey (as Dr. Robotnik), Sonic the Hedgehog, an adaptation of the classic series of Sega games, will hit theaters November 8 of this year. The newly released trailer is below.
Update 5/2: The director of the movie has Tweeted that the design for the titular character will, in fact, be changed before the final movie is released. Also, while we're here, quick correction; 2018's Rampage did garner a score of 52% on RottenTomatoes, and the article has been edited to more accurately reflect this. This has also caused the movie to be delayed until February 14, 2020.
Update 11/12: New trailer with new design has dropped.
Okay, we're below the fold, so let's just drop the pretensions. The question of whether this movie is going to be any good, perhaps unfairly, has mostly already been answered by the Internet. The answer so far has been no. No. Just no. Okay, maybe Jim Carrey? But otherwise, why? Why the human teeth? Why ten times?
There's an old photoshopped parody poster featuring Keanu Reeves in a blue shirt that has been on the Internet for years, originally meant to be a worst case scenario for how Hollywood would treat this franchise. Suddenly, many have found themselves pining for that treatment instead. Even before the trailer showed the CGI hedgehog in action, their were many who found the character design questionable.
And to be honest, Sonic hasn't exactly had the best track record, pun not intended, on the gaming scene either. His original 2D games are well remembered, but the ones after the jump to 3D, not so much. Since Sega has quit the console race, some of Sonic's most well-regarded titles have been the ones where he's a guest of one-time rival Mario. He had a couple of old Saturday morning kid's cartoons, which are mostly remembered now for a collection of memetic, so-bad-they're-good lines (oh, boy, but this one's going to get a workout) and a fandom that even the newer versions take potshots at (and, while we're here, have you tried this yet?). Even his long-running, again pun not intended, comic series came to an abrupt end two years ago. He got a new one, but it wasn't a continuation.
On the positive side, Flayrah contributor CassidyTheCivet apparently worked on an extra for this movie, which is helping towards the purchase of a fursuit. So that's something!
About the author
2cross2affliction (Brendan Kachel) — read stories — contact (login required)a red fox
New teeth. That's weird.
Comments
WHEN FUCKING COOILIO STARTED PLAYING HAHAHAHA
Christ almighty. Look, I'm nostalgic for the 90's sometimes, like a lot of people. But this doesn't appeal to that nostalgia and even if it did, it would still be hard for me to have any confidence in this movie, because I'm not nostalgic one bit for the way movies were made/marketed back then and it's aggravating how little has changed in terms of the thinking (or lack thereof) that goes into movies like this. If it's a movie about Sonic, I don't give a fuck what exaggerated, blatantly pantomimed emotions the generic stock-photo brigade is experiencing as the camera zooms in on them all, like I'm supposed to be experiencing their story of "every awkward moment in every corporate setting of every movie like this ever" and not the potentially unique story of the alien hedgehog who has to save earth.... Fuck, I threw up in my mouth a bit when I wrote that. Because that wouldn't be unique either.
Unique would be setting the entire movie on Mobius, doing the entire thing in CG, and maybe having Jim Carrey voice Robotnik. And no, a movie like that wouldn't by itself be different from a slew of 3D animated movies. But it might be unique for taking a cast of characters that have fans for being unique, and keeping them unique, and telling their story in their unique little self-contained world that doesn't have to exist alongside earth or interact with it in any way. Again, it's a movie about Sonic, and I don't "relate to him better" when there's masses of generic human NPCs sharing (or crowding him out of) the stage. And I don't relate to his co-star (who I suspect is probably supposed to be the audience surrogate and real star of the movie) any more than I relate to anyone else who does whatever the fuck that kind of "acting" is. You know, where you just stiffen your back, roll your eyes and your heady lazily lulls about while you say things that are just downright wrong in the most deadpan fashion possible.
I dunno, maybe I'm too hard on that kind of acting. It's just, I kinda watch movies like this hoping for escapism from the way people act in real life, and this "aloof wrong-talking douchebag who still somehow keeps his job" schtick is "charming" when and pretty much only when it's someone like Hugh Laurie or Sacha Baron-Cohen. Maybe because when they do it, it's still acting like a specific character and not that co-worker you're one day going decide it's worth losing your job to kick square in the taint.
It's really bad when it makes me wonder for a moment if Ken Penders might've at least written a better script. Seriously, could you imagine say, trying to do a Legend of Zelda movie set somewhere other than Hyrule? Or how about a Zootopia sequel where there were humans all along and their "world" from the first movie had literally been a zoo the entire time? Okay, could that work? Maybe, if it was used to explore something deeper, like what it really means to be human, how sentient animals are, etc. But you know it wouldn't and you know that's not what this is about either. It's cynically deciding you need a Coolio song to sell "this is a 90's movie" but then not getting Coolio to do a new song, a cheesy ass Coolio song about spin-dashing badniks or something. Why the fuck not? Embracing the cheese is what's cool now.
And yeah, I haven't said a single thing about how bad on how many level's Sonic's character model here is or how poorly it blends with the live-action. Because I don't know where to even start.
I don't think they're aiming to hit millenials' sense of nostalgia here really, I think they're aiming for the current generation of like, eight-year-olds, or whatever age bracket Sonic was originally marketed to. They recently pivoted all their branding to fit the design principals of him here, didn't they? I don't have a link handy on that, but I think it was put up in Newsbytes at some point.
I guess they're changing the design now, and it doesn't look quite that bad in this poster, but I agree that the acting we saw left a lot to be desired, especially Ben Schwartz's.
Do today's kids even care about Sonic?
Probably about as many as who care about Coolio and that's the main reason my assumption is they're going for nostalgia here. I mean, upon hearing the first few notes of that song, which I first heard when I was like 12 and was at the height of my own Sonic geekdom, everything else kinda seems to just fall into place with all the cliches that follow it which, admittedly, are often pretty hard to distinguish from stuff trying too hard to appeal to the now times. So if they aren't trying to reach "kids" from the before times they probably shouldn't have had the first impression in the trailer, which is the first impression for the whole movie, be "hey, here's a song that has dick all to do with Sonic or this movie pretending to be about him, but you remember it from the days when dressing up Bugs n Taz like fucking Kris Kross was so Word To Your Mother!"
Kids these days don't.
Its us old-timers who care, actually.
No, hence a likely motive for a significant rehaul of the character timed with a big movie tie-in.
Here's the thing see, they did that, Sonic Boom was Sonic (with MINOR changes) aimed at kiddies (specifically the 5-8 year age bracket). Even that wasn't a DRASTIC change. Sure the characters are full of bandages but its not serious. Amy Rose got the best of the lot, she wears a different outfit and she looks even hotter in that.
This trainwreck is none of that. Its open-loop, pure, adulterated, shedloads of glue sniffing output. This is what I'd expect people to come up with while on a heroin fueled bender.
"And to be honest, Sonic hasn't exactly had the best track record, pun not intended, on the gaming scene either. His original 2D games are well remembered, but the ones after the jump to 3D, not so much."
The adventure games were overall well executed and liked. SaTaM was liked. Quit talking out of your ass.
A lot of the problems are due to Sega not knowing if they want to make a serious character or something that perpetually caters to todlers.
Dude, not one of those examples has aged all that well. Sonic Adventure 2 is a better game on a technical level than the first and you could even argue tells a better story, but it had to practically pretend the first game never happened to accomplish that, when Sonic Adventure 1 even at the time was a game I feel like a lot of us were extremely forgiving to for its ideas and because it was a pretty damn nice looking game for the time. But it plays like ass in a lot of sections and the few NPCs in that mostly empty open world serve virtually no purpose except to say "YES ME I AM HERE IN A GAME AND YOU HAVE NOTICED ME ON MY WAY TO DO BUSY PERSON THINGS!"
I played SA1 DX on Gamecube and was thinking the whole time "wait, this game's supposed to have improved graphics?" and it was obvious they were different somehow, just not necessarily better. And yeah, I still prefer the look of the Dreamcast version even though it's worse on a technical level. I never did play the Dreamcast version of SA2 but I doubt it would've made a difference in my impression of the game which was as much disappointment as approval, mainly for how none of the story/world from the first game continued on, nothing that drew me in anywhere near as much as the Mystic Ruins and the story attached to it, for example. And I rewatched the entire series of SatAM back when it got that DVD release and it wasn't nearly as deep or dark as I remembered. It was just really good at frequently hinting at being that only to mostly break from that in the second season, and my guess for why that happened was because ratings dipped part way through the first season as happens all too often.
Point is, a lot of this shit is extremely subjective and frankly, it's not even that Sega don't know as much as they can't know anymore because so many other people have had their hands in trying to make Sonic something in their own image rather than Sega's image that as much as I hate to say it, it probably just isn't even worth it anymore to care beyond just being glad you could enjoy Sonic for what it was at the time, whenever that was and whatever it was trying to be at that given time.
The games did the job of taking you through a cinematic adventure well enough. They didn't have to be perfect. Raising technical issues like this is just being nitpicky.
I have personal gripes with the adventure games myself: they traded character freedom and openness of levels so they could tell cinematic setpieces. At least the thing they did they had focus.
SaTaM had a real sense of threat and danger, which made you actually care about the good guys.
Yes, Sega has a problem of ditching continuities and keeping everything "baby's first adventure".
Yeah I'm here, one of the biggest Sonic fans in the world:
This trailer is my worst fears. In fact its even worse than I could imagine.
I am not going to comment on the chequered past of Sonic The Hedgehog as that would take up too much time (and space). Yes I think some of the games are UTTER GARBAGE (Sonic '06 and Sonic Unleashed in particular), however I really loved his transition into 3D. I felt it was the best way it could have been handled.
As a serious fan of Sonic since 1991, I have been totally outraged by what they are doing NOW. This is the second time I've felt this way. The first time was in February 2001 when I found out they canned the SEGA Dreamcast.
As we all know, SEGA is known throughout history for making poor decisions. This is just another such poor decision, and let's be honest here- how do they think they're going to "fix" this movie? Time is running short. How? By working people to death, and incurring a loss? How can that horrible sasquatch version of Sonic be unseen?
This movie trailer is like looking at Jack The Ripper in action. You cannot unsee that, nor avoid the PTSD.
It's funny you mention Unleashed because I've recently seen a review saying that the werehog sections play a lot like God Of War and that it was originally conceived as a kind of third Adventure game and retains a lot of those concepts. And strangely, that makes me interested now, when I couldn't have cared less at the time. I was probably put off by the risk of yet again combining several gameplay styles into one game and building yet another pretty looking world that's going to be abandoned and forgotten about by the next game. Probably the reason for that is because what drew me in to SA1 was Knuckles and his story and exploration both in and out of the action levels and I was really let down when that was never touched on again. But now that I'm mostly over that it doesn't seem so threatening now to play a game and try to enjoy it for what it is without being too emotionally invested in it. And I'm guessing there were probably people who hated Knuckles' levels and even the whole "echidnas are basically Mayans" angle when I would've loved for that idea to have been spun off into its own game. All because at one time, I thought it was mind-blowing to see these giant pyramids with a bunch of lower-poly-than-Knuckles echidna NPCs skating across the map aimlessly.
I like the way you think-
Basically, I am firing up a Wii to see why I disliked that game Sonic Unleashed. I do think it had to do with the whole "werehog" concept. I also seem to recall frustration at the gameplay being out of kilter with Sonic games past and future.
Yes I loved the story in SA1 regarding Knuckles and Tikal and the Mayan angle. It should have been explored further.
It seems you touch on points I enjoyed in SA1 immensely.
Rest assured there's something in every Sonic game that people hate out there. However, with respect to this film and its trailer, I suspect EVERYONE hates it. Have yet to find anyone who "kind of" likes it.
So, I have played a total of I think, two Sonic games ever, and one of them was Unleashed, and I actually kinda liked it? I remember it was pretty, had a good soundtrack, and I liked the gameplay. Can you elaborate on why you didn't like it?
Well the controls and gameplay sucked... however... there's an update:
I have fired up the Nintendo Wii version today, and its obvious that the Wii version is different from the XBOX version I played, as in, quite different. Hmmm.. I might have to eat my words.
I've played most every Sonic game there is. I am currently trying to finish Sonic Forces and I am waiting for Team Sonic Racing to become available this month.
An update for you:
The Wii-mote is broken, will have a new one by the weekend, but from what I've managed to play so far.. I think I will say I retract what I said about it being a bad game. Apologies.
This trailer was clearly made by Eggman as anti-Sonic propaganda. I mean, he hinted at giving himself an interesting character arc and made Sonic look and act quite flat and one dimensional in comparison.
Since they're now redesigning Sonic, if they don't show Jim Carry's Eggman cackling to himself at the master plan of creating the dumbest looking Sonic possible to use in some sort of propaganda to turn the people against the rebel of the Eggman Empire, then that would be a missed opportunity.
Similar to how Wreck it Ralph 2 gave a after credit nod to the cut scene they put in the trailer with the ice cream and pancakes.
I have actually proposed that... I also proposed that us Sonic fans are being trolled, but of course I am not sure. The backlash was real enough.. Only time will tell I guess..
At thirty-seven reviews Detective Pikachu is at 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, so it's a real nail-biter as to whether or not it's going to be the first "fresh" video game adaptation (I think it's chance at "Certified Fresh" is blown already). We'll know by the end of the week.
In fairness, it'd be hard for a new game based on a two-decade-old property (that arguably involved doing the same thing in different locations for most of that time) to be considered "fresh", let alone a movie based on said games. Just having Pikachu talk in human language only became a thing recently - and contentiously. I fancy its chances more than Sonic, though.
Well its a fair comment you make. SEGA CORPORATION has had its head up its arse with regards to its mascot for years. Fans say they want X, SEGA delivers Y and anger ensues. I've been there, for over 20 years. Unfortunately I am at that point whether I wonder if I've had enough, endured enough. There's just something about that Sonic hedgehog. I am trying to find out what it is that draws me and so many others to him. The day I have it all figured out I will be here to publish the entire story. I am getting close to that point though.
When it comes to crap such as this movie, there is a user manual (believe it or not). If you care to dig, there's some pretty BAD Sonic games out there. Sonic '06 is considered blasphemy in the Sonic fandom. So you know what happens? The manual says to just ignore it. The fans pretend it doesn't exist, move on and carry on.
And yes, one of the reasons I decided to plunge into Flayrah was because of the movie and to monitor and possibly add content about what goes on in Green Hill Zone.
What?
What are you not understanding Equivamp
I can answer any question you might have
You know that manual you were talking about that suggests just pretending Sonic 2006 doesn't exist? That's the best way to deal with Equivamp most of the time. Occasionally, she has an actual reply. But most of the time, she's really just making her presence known with some smart-ass (but utterly pointless like in the above example) comment. This is pretty much how we all acted in the fandom back in 2010. I guess we're all nostalgic for different things.
Thank you. Now the Sonikku understands.
* runs off to find Amy Rose *
There was a Hole here.
it's Gone nOw.
Wow, the Internet really combines a lot of things.
In my headcannon they're the same universe. Actually I found this pic of an Autism flag with a cannabis leaf superimposed on it and was trying to post that but couldn't (probably too big) because sometimes LMFAO just doesn't cut it.
Are you seriously rping in fuckin' Flayrah comments? XD
It was a joke, evidently a bad one, aimed at Equivamp
Right, meanwhile, you've both been talking pretty much just to yourselves for like two weeks now
I almost bothered.
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