Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie
 Mike Toole  rates it:    

Nintendo have a pot-bellied Italian plumber with a 20-foot vertical leap. Sony have a marsupial with huge dentures. And Sega have a blue hedgehog that can break the sound barrier. Video game mascots may not make much sense, but they sure are entertaining. I wish I could say the same about cartoons based on the mascots. Because, let's face it, every single goddamned video game cartoon has pretty much sucked, be it Q-Bert, Legend of Zelda, that retarded Captain N thing, Megaman, or the American Sonic the Hedgehog cartoons. And sadly, that trend is also pretty consistently true in Japan, especially with fighting game anime. Not surprisingly, Sonic the Hedgehog doesn't really do much to reverse that trend.

Despite having played and enjoyed many Sonic games, I have no idea what the hell the background characters in this story are all about. Aside from the quite-familiar Tails and Knuckles, Sonic also has allies in a weird owl-thing known only as "The Old Man", and in the mayor of Sonic's homeland and his daughter, Sarah. Anyway, the problem is, Sonic and Tails visit the mayor, only to find Dr. Robotnik waiting there with him. Before he can beat the stuffing out of his egg-shaped nemesis, the doctor explains that he's come to ask for Sonic's help-- the underworld that he inhabits has been taken over by an giant, evil robot Robotnik, and if the real doctor's power reactor is left untended, it'll explode and ruin both the underworld and overworld. Typical.

Is it a trap? Of course it's a trap! Video game bad guys are always bad, even when they're waving an olive branch. Sonic and Tails, however, being good guys, decide to see if the doctor is as good as his word. The underworld turns out to be crawling with Dr. Wily--er, Robotnik's terrors. The duo quickly confront the robot Robotnik, and we're treated to what is easily the video's finest moment-- Sonic giving the robot the Finger. They easily get rid of the robo-Robotnik, but it's all part of the doctor's evil plan to trap Sonic and-- oh, for god's sake, just see the thing if you're that interested! Knuckles shows up soon enough (inexplicably wearing a bush hat) to lend a hand in facing the real bad guy-- an evil robot version of Sonic!

There's only so much plot you can cram into a relatively-simple video game before it starts to seem idiotic. Sonic the Hedgehog isn't immune to that problem, it's just very simple and contrived. Also, the real joy of the Sonic games is the way the player can run around at super-high speeds. Sonic is certainly fast in this cartoon, but it's really impossible to convey the same sense of speed you get when playing. Beyond that, there's some vaguely humorous interplay between the mayor's daughter and Dr. Robotnik (he has visions of marriage and kids; she just wants to play with his gadgets, and goes berserk when he suggests a wedding), and a couple of other zingers, but the Sonic anime really doesn't have that much to offer. The dub isn't bad (they'd have to be trying really hard to mess it up), though Dr. Robotnik seems to have a Slavic accent that keeps switching on and off.

What can I say? This is certainly better than the American Sonic cartoons, but that just isn't saying much. I'd say Sonic the Hedgehog makes a good thing to throw into the shopping cart if you're a.) an unrepentantly-huge Sonic fan, or b.) buying a Dreamcast for little Billy and have a few extra bucks to spend.

Added:  Tuesday, October 14, 2003

Related Link:  ADV Films
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