Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Good start, but then it gets ruined

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

When Sonic the Hedgehog debut in video games, the games were such a hit that some studios went on the make TV shows based on the games. The early games and early TV shows were things done in the appropriate way, therefore making them like classics. But this "movie" marks the beginning of a certain ugliness the would eventually change the Sonic franchise forever. I'm starting to wish it never happened.After appearing in successful video games, Sonic was picked up to appear in two TV series: Sonic SatAm, and the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. What makes those two shows good is that the selection of the cast is good. In fact Tails is played a boy in both series.Then they made this movie which had little or no theatrical run. I wonder. Why was a bimbo selected to play Tails instead of a boy? Is a boy too difficult to hire? Whatever that is, it certainly started the ugly era where bimbos overtime take over the role of that fox in both video games and TV series. Such a sick thing that makes me want to quit my fandom in Sonic stuff.

"Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie" is a direct-to-video anime film released by ADV films in 1999. It's actually not a movie though. It's really two failed Sonic anime pilots put together to make a 60 minute movie. While this movie is very close to the Sonic games, it's really not as good as the previous Sonic cartoon, a short-lived animated TV series on ABC simply titled "Sonic the Hedgehog". I believe that show is one of the greatest cartoons of all time. So of course it's gonna be pretty hard to live up to that show. And even though this movie is okay, I truly think it could've been so much better. Here are my problems with the film: Terrible voice acting. Sonic sounds like Fanboy from the terrible CGI Nicktoon "Fanboy and Chum Chum", Tails sounds like he has a cold, and Robotnik sounds like an ordinary, generic villain. Not only are the voices annoying, but the voice actors just don't show any effort in doing good voices. It's like they're trying to be annoying. The ABC Sonic show had a superb voice cast with stars like Jaleel White, Kath Soucie, Jim Cummings, Rob Paulsen and Tim Curry.Weird characters. Some of the new-to-this-movie characters are just plain weird. Like that human girl Sara. Why does she have cat ears and a cat tail? I did like the old man Owl though.Overall this movie is decent. It has a lot of funny moments, I love how the animation looks like the cut-scenes in "Sonic CD" and the story was pretty good. It has nothing on Sonic SatAM, but it's an okay movie. Rating: 6/10 "Decent"

Released in 1996 as two OVa episodes and edited together into a movie in 1999, Sonic the Hedgehog is a fun little animated outing for the light-speed blue hedgehog and his fox friend Tails. However, "fun" is all that this movie has going for it, especially when compared to other animated adaptations of Sonic that have graced TV screens over the years.Its first most obvious flaw is its animation, which for all intents and purposes seems worse than some of the episodes in 1993's Sonic the Hedgehob TV series. It boggles the mind how an OVA, which is meant to have a higher animation budget than a TV show, can look worse than TV animation from years ago. The animation and artwork can only be classified as "lazy". For example, Tails no longer flies by spinning his tails like a helicopter. His tails disappear and in their a brown and white disc forms over his head which gives him the ability to levitate. Similarly, whenever Sonic runs, you do not see a blur of feet but a simple red ribbon-like object that is meant to represent his feet.(at times those said "feet" are not even attached to his body). A couple of scenes do stand out such as Black Eggman chasing sonic and tails through the streets of "EggmanLand" and some scenes involving Metal Sonic, they look really good. But overall, the artwork and coloring is flat and the characters lack a sense of fluidity. Some off-model art does creep in, possibly due to poor quality control.Depending on one's expectations, the story could be seen as either a flaw or a boon. But either way, one cannot deny the childish nature of the story nor the absurdity the plot. Dr Eggman has kidnapped the president and his daughter in order to enlists the help of Sonic and Tails to destroy "Black Eggman" who has taken over his realm of EggmanLand. However, it is all a ruse to trick Sonic into being an unwilling subject in Dr Eggman's latest evil plot. One involving the might Metal Sonic. Sure the games were not exactly shining examples of good storytelling either, but an anime deserves to be compared to others of its kind. And sadly, it falls short in the comparison.Most fatal flaw of all is the portrayal of the characters. Despite many claims of the superiority of the Japanese version over the English version, it does not do justice to the characters at all. THe character of Sonic has always been a smart mouth and a braggart, but in this movie he definitely crosses the line and comes across as a truly unlikable jerk. This impression is further amplified by the Japanese script which as a good bit of harsh language coming from both Sonic and Tails (tails screaming at Sonic to "Go to Hell" kinda kills the whole innocent perception of the character). As villains go, Dr Eggman is a complete idiot and the President's daughter, Sarah, is one of the most irritating damsels in distress in anime history.Fans of the game, do check out the much superior Sonic the Hedgehog series from 1993(Known in fan circles as "Sonic satAM), or the Japanese version of Sonic X. This so called "movie" is not even worth the time to stream on youtube.

I remember back when I was around 10 I saw this movie on VHS at my local Fred Myers and being the huge sonic fan I was (and still to this day is) I bought it and I loved it through voices and all and I dunno if I followed the plot that well either. Now years later, I get my hands on the DVD with the Japanese sub and now heres where my real opinion of the movie comes in.The plot is actually really clever, as far as a 60 minute movie goes. Eggman comes to Sonic and Tails for help. He's been kicked out of his home by a monster known as Black Eggman (metal Robotnick or something in English). Why should Sonic care? The generator powering Eggman's city is about to explode putting all of Planet Freedom in danger and everyone is counting on him. The whole trip seems like its from a Sonic video game itself and things get really heated up when Sonic and Tails face Black Eggman in a deserted city. When things look bad, the two get a helping hand from Knuckles and a well animated battle takes place what with great action (how they take out Black Eggman was pretty cool) and some nice humor (After taunting Black Eggman, Sonic and tails begin to leave him until he reveals a pair of metal wings and rocket jets, getting ready to run them down. Their expressions are great and how they both say the exact same thing "Noooo waaaayyy..." always cracks me up.) But Sonic soon has to fight something much more dangerous than Black Eggman, or anything Eggman has ever cooked up. A robot that not only looks like Sonic but thinks like Sonic, acts like Sonic, and fights like Sonic takes on the his perfect match, the fastest thing alive.I remember the days of Sonic CD and boy oh boy did I love that intro. Never got to see the ending until Sonic Mega Collection. It was these two videos that opened my eyes to what the blue hedgehog can do. Never slowed down, thinking on his feet, looking cool all the while. The animators, as probably most of you know, where behind this. Compared to todays standards the animation might seem dated, but it still works nicely The voice overs in Japanese are done real nicely. Sonic has a tough voice with a bit of sarcasm thrown in there. Tails sounds more like a female, but in turn sounds younger and his voice is much more tolerable than the English. Knuckles sounds tough but in a way friendly. Eggman sounds good, though he sounds more goofy than serious usually. Supporting characters have fitting voices as well.I will be honest, I haven't heard the movie in English in years so I can't compare ^^; The music deserves to be put on CD, nothing seems out of place really and the main theme of the movie, Look Alike, is done very nicely.As for my rating I'm taking one point off for some dated animation and another point for the English dub over. At least they didn't edit anything and the dialogue is pretty much the same in either one.Recommended to Sonic fans, highly recommend Japanese dub. 8/10 I have heard some complaints about this movie that have to do with this film being to different from the cartoons of the early 90's, like being set on Planet Freedom and not Mobius. The game is based off of Sonic CD and from what I can tell the the writers used most of the ideas from the game for the movie (Metal Sonic *of course*, time warps, and the areas in the movie reminded me of the game as well.) This Sonic world was made in Japan so it has nothing to do with the cartoons and comics of America. At least I don't think Mobius was the planet they used in Japan.Comparing them seems a little unfair in my eyes. And don't give me a hard time if I'm wrong.