Chili Dawg

I think that Sonic can speak to multiple ideals is one of the reasons that despite jumping on a lot of trends, Sonic was massively successful enough to keep going forever and ever regardless of quality and not just a flash in the pan 90s thing. One need only look at the character to see he's got a kind of secret sauce of various elements at play here. The character is broad enough to be reinterpreted and reinvented again and again across medium, but as long as he has that spiky hair and confident smirk he has that inherent coolness factor that will always attract new 6-11 year olds, and his timeless welcoming Mickeyesque elements are inviting to the very young and the older set who may not be as wowed by 'tude but are charmed by the inherent likability. Whether it's freedom vs opression, man vs nature, order vs chaos, blue vs red, America vs commies, Sonic as a character just kinda works, and I think that ultimately grants him more staying power than some googly eyed squirrels who are gonna talk about recycling (which is a worthy cause). On AoStH vs Satam, I've always felt SatAM was Sonic the Hedgehog by people who never really cared for Sonic the Hedgehog. Not to say AoStH is a show written by a bunch of Sonic fans, but I feel like the folks making that one sorta saw Sonic 2 and were given the characters and decided to have some fun with 'em. SatAM to me feels like a show that desperately wishes Sonic wasn't even part of it.

Western marketing perhaps more blatantly spelled out that Eggman was a Republican guy who doesn't like the environment, but such things were present in Sonic from the beginning. I mean the very concept of animals being turned into robots is a pretty simple nature vs mechanization thing, and one need only look to Sonic CD's bad futures to see Sonic Team warning against unchecked industrialization and pollution. And just ask the man himself: “Dr Robotnik is a slightly radical representation of all humanity and the impact humanity is having on nature. In 1991, it was a very sensitive subject to talk about the environment and while I had my viewpoint, I did not speak of it. With Sonic, I was given an opportunity to express my views in a different way and did so, showing Robotnik using pollution and creating machinery which desecrates the environment and it is down to Sonic to change his ways.” -Yuji Naka, 2010 https://www.sonicstadium.org/2010/10/naka-sonic-created-with-environmental-themes/

Alright, let's have some goofy fun with this: Sonic: Hmmm, what makes Sonic's voice work? Well, he's had a lot of voices and most of 'em don't! But I think the Sonic character must embody a sort of youthful cool guy 90s righteousness, while having just a bit of squeakiness to it that makes him not just a dude, but a dude who happens to be a three foot tall Hedgehog wearing Mickey gloves with one giant eyeball with two pupils. This is not to say Sonic should do an over the top cartoon voice ala the aforementioned Mickey, but I also don't expect his voice to be just straight up be "a dude." This is why Drummond and Burke, for all that can be said of the quality of their acting, had great voices for Sonic (you know when Burke wasn't randomly developing accents). Those Sonics are dudes, but just a biiiiit squeaky sounding which makes them sound like a Hedgehog dude. White and Smith, while fine actors and please for godsake I don't want to have a Sonic VA debate cause this ain't 2008 anymore, either go too squeaky or too dude for my liking. Ideally I would have Michael J Fox sounding like Marty McFly, but acting like more of a cock. I know he still does occasional work particularly in voice over, but I'm not sure how realistic the prospect of him straight up starring in a movie would be these days. But this is a fantasy scenario so my choice remains Michael J Fox. Tails: Tails is a tough one. He is Sonic's young ward, and as such his boyish idealism and aspirations for greatness must be front and center. I think the best way to go is with an actual kid, but I don't really know any kid celebrities. Maybe just grab one off Stranger Things, I don't know. Knuckles is a fun one to think about, because I think there're a lot of ways to interpret what exactly Knuckles should sound like. Look at the two Adventure games- SA1 he had more of a mysteriousness to his voice, kinda serious business. By SA2 he still sounds inherently more serious than Sonic who has that inherent chillness to his voice. These voices concentrate more on Knuckles as a man married to his job, the very serious business of guarding the master emerald. Of course you can also choose to emphasize the tough guy aspect of Knuckles or the dumb guy aspect. Knuckles is in theory a character of much nuance- he wants to be as profoundly chill as Sonic, but can't because of his duty, he's tougher than leather, and serious minded but a bit bumbling. For Knuckles the Echidna there is only one actor I would cast. AND HIS NAME IS JOOOOOHHHHHHN CEEEEEENAAAAAAA! Or Dwayne "The Emerald" Johnson. Or Jim from The Office. Amy is another one who has multiple facets to think about. You can cast her as a crazy Sonic fangirl who would push Sonic off a buliding to... marry his corpse I guess? Or the Amy of the Sonic Adventures, who masked greater depths, whose idealism and ability to see the best even in a creation of Doctor Robotnik helped the robot reconnect with the animal inside him, or who managed to convince Shadow to help save the world with her steadfast belief in the inherent goodness of humanity that allowed Shadow to recall what Maria. She is many the ways the heart of the Sonic cast, and her voice must reflect that I think. But her infatuation with Sonic is also an aspect of her character that cannot be denied so we need not just a paragon of faith in humanity but also someone who can pull off that "girly girl with a crush" thing. For Amy, I'll say either Ellie Kemper or Anna Kendrick. Now here comes a big one. The Eggman. Eggman again depends on how much you wanna emphasize which traits of his. He can be truly sociopathic and scary, he can be goofy and bumbling, he can be menacingly flamboyant... There's a lot of ways to go. In many ways it would depend on how funny vs how serious you want the movie to go. That said I feel that by nature Eggman is a pretty hammy character, and for him to work I think you need a funny person goofin around. My vote goes to John Lithgow. The man can effortlessly pull off vanity and flamboyance, just make sure he brings some evil crazy to the table. Now I think Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Eggman are the only characters who would be more or less guaranteed to show up in a Sonic movie, but let's assume some of the others are making it in... Shadow: Johnny Depp Rouge: Scarlett Johansen Omega: Thomas F Wilson Blaze: Allison Brie Vector: Danny Devito Espio: Christian Bale Charmy: see Tails, but get a more annoying kid Cream: see Charmy and Tails Silver: Michael Cera Big: Bill Faggerbakke, AKA Patrick Star Orbot: Paul Bettany Cubot: John C Reilly Froggy: Morgan Freeman Gamma: Rainn Wilson Tikal: Samantha Mathis Pachemac: Idris Elba Gerald Robotnik: Christopher Lloyd Mama Robotnik: Jane Lynch The President: Barrack Obama, chuckling the whole time