Sonic Live Action Movie Thread (Read OP for topic rules) "Trailer 2 on Page 482)

[LongcrierCat]

I guess an artist has to come in and show you all what they see in the silhouette so as to help give a better idea what Sonic looks like.

Alright.

I  guess I'm up to the challenge. See you all later. 

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

5 minutes ago, Bucket said:

Whoo boy, here we go again with the internet negativity train X_X

I saw the poster, and while I was surprised by what I saw... yeah, the instant negativity and outrage and mockery is once again, in my opinion, way beyond overblown and overly dramatic.

I think he looks fine based on this teaser, and I won't be able to fully judge until I see a clear picture of him with all of his features.

The problem is that Sonic could've worked fine in a live-action..

They absolutely did NOT need to warp his body and proportions so terribly. 

They should've just pulled a Detective Pikachu.

This silhouette looks terrible and doesn't leave too much to the imagination. 

[Wraith]

3 minutes ago, JokerJovahexeonJoranvexeon said:

Well,  ever since Last Jedi,  it may be, but that's besides the point.

If its beside the point then why bring it up? 

Don't do this last jedi bullshit with me anymore unless you want to be blocked. 

[CaptainRobo]

1 hour ago, PeterPancake said:

"With Sonic being thrown into the real world and out of his own, it's unclear what presence fan-favorites like Tails and Knuckles will have in the new film. Miller confirmed that part of this new story will not take place on Earth, while Moritz said, "I think the audience can expect to find some Easter eggs. We don't want to reveal any of that stuff, but I think there will be some very exciting things that fans of Sonic will get to see in this movie."

Wait. Does this quote from Tim, confirmed that some of Sonic’s friends will appear in the film? Also, guess this probably confirmed that the beginning of the movie will take place in his world.

[Blue Blood]

Just now, Wraith said:

Everyone understands Sonic is for kids so releasing something explicitly seen as 'for kids' wouldn't actually hurt all that much. It's not like animated films don't make money every year.

It's an angle they could have taken, but Sonic isn't just for kids. Its not an "adult" franchise, but if there's one other thing that it definitely isn't is focused only children. Boom is the closest the series has come to focusing on children as a target demographic for a long time, and the rest of the brand is constantly trying to appeal to its older fans who might be feeling nostalgia for the 90s as well as the older kids or tweens. It's approachable to everyone, and that's always very important. 

[Tarnish]

16 minutes ago, Plasme said:

I really do feel sorry for Sonic. It's almost like some kind of sick joke, like some high ups in SEGA get off on fucking up the franchise in the worst ways imaginable on a consistent basis.

Have all of my Emmerdoods.

[Nicky Nicardo]

7 minutes ago, JokerJovahexeonJoranvexeon said:

The problem is that Sonic could've worked fine in a live-action..

They absolutely did NOT need to warp his body and proportions so terribly. 

They should've just pulled a Detective Pikachu.

This silhouette looks terrible and doesn't leave too much to the imagination. 

See, I don't think it looks terrible. Just different and unexpected. And personally, I don't know that I can fully formulate an opinion until I see more than a silhouette.

[Emerald Chaos]

Sonic's normal design in absolutely no way precludes a story that takes itself seriously.

[Wraith]

1 minute ago, Blue Blood said:

It's an angle they could have taken, but Sonic isn't just for kids. Its not an "adult" franchise, but if there's one other thing that it definitely isn't is focused only children. Boom is the closest the series has come to focusing on children as a target demographic for a long time, and the rest of the brand is constantly trying to appeal to its older fans who might be feeling nostalgia for the 90s as well as the older kids or tweens. It's approachable to everyone, and that's always very important. 

There are plenty of animated films that tow this same line though. 

 

And no, I don't think all the shallow grasps Sonic has taken at older fans changes that who the series is directly targeted toward is the 6-11 demographic. It only makes sense to make Sonic an animated film. The strength of the character is the appeal his design has to kids especially. Begin by leveraging this and work from there.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

Just now, Bucket said:

See, I don't think it looks terrible. Just different and unexpected. And personally, I don't know that I can fully formulate an opinion until I see more than a silhouette.

Err, I mean more power to you for that.  But we can see quite a bit. I'm okay with more for,  but the arms and limbs just look all wrong. The body looks too humanoid. 

Remember,  this is supposed to be a teaser, and one would hope we get good impressions. Unless they manage to pull off an adaptive look on par with say,  the Angry Birds movie, it may not be that pleasant to look at. 

I'm not passing final judgment either, but even as an optimist, I can't say that I like the look of Sonic. 

Heck,  the movie could actually be good,  but he might still look bad. 

[Sonic Fan J]

1 minute ago, PeterPancake said:

Because it's like I said before, casual fans do not analyze every single detail of Sonic's design.

There's analyzing every detail (something I am very familiar with as I personally do so as both a writer and an artist) and then there's calling a square a circle, and that is what happened in this comparison. Besides being blue, fuzzy, and having his trademark quill shape (though both fail to understand what quills are) there is no other comparison. Maybe it's because I'm self trained to notice this stuff, but calling a blue square a blue circle is still a false equivalency. A blue square is not blue circle no matter how you try to spin it (metaphorically since if you spin a square fast enough it will look like a circle... hmmm...) and that is the case here. Either there is some crazy stuff going on behind the scenes (always a possibility) or the twitter poster was just trying to throw out the first thing that they could that was somewhat comparable. Considering one is traditional Sonic but fuzzy and the other is a Sonic headed ripped human there is a very serious difference being actively ignored here. I'd love to see the twitter poster defend their stance but I would need someone else to track them down and ask as I pretty much don't do twitter or speak Portuguese/Spanish (sorry, I don't know which when it comes to Brazil)

4 minutes ago, PeterPancake said:

If the trailer presents itself in the same light as Fast and Furious/and/or Guardians then NOBODY is going to believe it's a kiddie movie for 7 year olds. This is why I did NOT want them tk go the Pixar route because the era of Sonic I grew up with in my early childhood was the self-serious era in the Adventure series and 06. I watched Sonic X, SATAM and read the Archie comics based on the modern era. I've alway preferred Sonic as more serious, story-driven games and I don't care for the post-Colors Pontaff era we're living in now. Going back the old games, it was alway about the balance of nature.

 

The poster for the movie alone gives off a Sci-Fi, alien vibe. Sonic looking like an alien is the point because that's exactly what he is in the movie, a creature from another planet being chased by the Government. Just because it's a CG creature does not mean people will laugh and think it's funny.

This is all kinds of interesting to try and figure how to address but there is a contradictions here that is bothering me. You point out that you experienced all of this in your early childhood, which makes sense since all of that media was aimed at that target audience and not this PG-13 audience that you insist Sonic should be aimed at. Sonic is a children's franchise, always has been and always will be and believe it or not, but despite Walt Disney warping the perspective of animation being for kids in most of the west, animation can be used for so much and being for children does not mean it does not have to take itself seriously or appeal to an older audience. I don't know how much Japanese media you ingest regularly, but taking itself seriously and tackling difficult subjects is actually present still in most Japanese animation with any kind of serial narrative regardless of the age range of the intended audience, including children with many adults who consume animation enjoying so called children's media.

As for the alien thing, there is just so much wrong with that. The whole point to a Sonic the Hedgehog movie is to tell a Sonic story with Sonic as the actually selling point. It's one of the reasons I've been against a live action movie from the get go because a live action movie totally misses the point of the cartoon medium in the first place. The freedom to do anything within the artists ability which Tim Miller has said is not what they want for this movie. They are actively disregarding what Sonic is to make their movie. And for what? It makes all of no sense.

4 minutes ago, Emerald Chaos said:

Sonic's normal design in absolutely no way precludes a story that takes itself seriously.

Sonic subverting expectations and norms has always been part of his charm and why so many people have issues with a cute mascot character being a cheeky jerk with an attitude problem. So his design not implying taking itself  seriously actually plays to one of Sonic's strengths; upending expectations.

[PeterPancake]

6 minutes ago, Emerald Chaos said:

Sonic's normal design in absolutely no way precludes a story that takes itself seriously.

In live action, yes. 

[Balding Spider]

5 hours ago, Blue Blood said:

Exactly as horrible as any Sonic fan would expect.

Didn't know its gonna be a horror movie. Will watch.

[Pawn]

9 minutes ago, Blue Blood said:

It's an angle they could have taken, but Sonic isn't just for kids. Its not an "adult" franchise, but if there's one other thing that it definitely isn't is focused only children. Boom is the closest the series has come to focusing on children as a target demographic for a long time, and the rest of the brand is constantly trying to appeal to its older fans who might be feeling nostalgia for the 90s as well as the older kids or tweens. It's approachable to everyone, and that's always very important. 

There's no reason this couldn't have been approachable to potential Sonic fans of all ages. If you're willing to embrace such a franchise to begin with, then I don't see why something along the lines of Pixar would be more of a risk. Plenty of adults watch those films.

[Bobnik]

Now please explain to me why this wouldn't work in a movie compared to that blue rat with spikes and human-esque muscles without going "casuals don't care about design" or "it wouldn't fit at all" without anything substantial to back this up with.

And I understand it's not the best choice, but this sure looks more what people would've liked to see than, again, human-esque muscles on a blue rat

[Graystripe2000]

Already we have someone who’s staying positive about the design complain and getting mocked for it. 

 

[Detective Kaito]

This design is much, much worse than I expected. He looks fucking horrible.

[UpCDownCLeftCRightC]

I dont know who the target audience of this movie is. 

[Blue Blood]

Just now, Wraith said:

There are plenty of animated films that tow this same line though. 

And no, I don't think all the shallow grasps Sonic has taken at older fans changes that who the series is directly targeted toward is the 6-11 demographic. It only makes sense to make Sonic an animated film. The strength of the character is the appeal his design has to kids especially. Begin by leveraging this and work from there.

I agree. The line is definitely walkable. I'm just trying to understand their decision. The film should be totally animated, with just a much milder change in artstyle if they don't want it to look too childish. Like you said,leverage what they've got to begin with and work from there. The solution they've come up with is horrible. It's the worst of all worlds. 

Totally wouldn't call Mania a shallow grab though, nor a lot of the merchandise that gets produced (there's a fuck ton of shallow grabs out there however, like Forces). Sonic isn't just about aiming for children and I understand if the movie wants to present itself in a way that more people can behind. It just so happens to fail hard.

[Sonic Fan J]

1 minute ago, Operationgamer17 said:

Already we have someone who’s staying positive about the design complain and getting mocked for it. 

 

I may be pretty disgusted but this is totally uncalled for. We can argue and debate all we want but attacking someone for staying positive is uncalled for. Even for as much as I'm arguing with @PeterPancake I have no intention of attacking him for his opinion. He's darn happy with what he's gotten and I think that's awesome. My problem comes with him thinking the rest of should feel the same and thus I'm arguing and debating against why at least I'm not. There is no malice or ill intent in that even if I get heated about. Honestly people, lets be mature and respect everyone here even as we disagree.

[Balding Spider]

1 minute ago, Detective Kaito said:

This design is much, much worse than I expected. He looks fucking horrible.

I have it on good authority that this silhouette is just Sonic mid transformation into the Werehog

[Tarnish]

3 minutes ago, UpCDownCLeftCRightC said:

I dont know who the target audience of this movie is. 

Well they just pissed off most of the actual fans, so they better start praying mutant hedgehogs have a mass appeal among casual moviegoers.

[Sapphirine Wind]

I knew I was speaking too soon and acting on too much good faith, but jeez. A full, actual look (no silhouette) may be the hammer to the final nail to the coffin for me. Even then he's still too muscley...

[Marcello]

5 minutes ago, Balding Spider said:

I have it on good authority that this silhouette is just Sonic mid transformation into the Werehog

Funnily enough, I showed my brother a few hours ago and he said Sonic looked part Werehog.

[UmbraTheHedgehog]

I wonder how things like this can happen when there are so many people working on this movie. No one said this was a bad idea at any point?