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

[Tani Coyote]

The way I see it, the only person who could work in live action is Eggman since he's human. And if he's going to be a human in a world filled with CGI animals... they may as well make him CGI as well. It allows for his cartoonish dimensions, which makes him less weird among the rest of the cast.

On top of that, he also doesn't look as if he's on the set of one of those shows for small children where the human is the only thing that's real.

[Salamander]

Aye, I can only see live-action Eggman in an otherwise CGI film working if there's a deliberate stylistic contrast and he quite purposefully looks out of place.  Eggman's so cartoony as a human that I think he would have to be CGI.

[BonkersTheAutomaton]

Personally.  If I end up finding out that "Sonic The Movie" is going to be live action and have a darker feel to it, than I will literally leave this fans base sell everything I have that is Sonic related.  You think I'm joking?  What happened last time Sonic when with the dark and gritty concept.  We got 2 games that are considered to be the worst in the franchise.

 

May I remind everyone that this is a game franchise about a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog who can run really fast, who is best friends with yellow 2 tailed fox that can fly and has an IQ of 300 and is enemies with an egg shaped "doctor" who places little bunnies and penguins into robots to build an army.  And now it wants to take itself seriously!?  GIVE ME A BREAK!?

 

I am fully serious.  If this thing becomes a reality than I am out fully.

[Enesephus]

Personally.  If I end up finding out that "Sonic The Movie" is going to be live action and have a darker feel to it, than I will literally leave this fans base sell everything I have that is Sonic related.  You think I'm joking?  What happened last time Sonic when with the dark and gritty concept.  We got 2 games that are considered to be the worst in the franchise.

 

May I remind everyone that this is a game franchise about a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog who can run really fast, who is best friends with yellow 2 tailed fox that can fly and has an IQ of 300 and is enemies with an egg shaped "doctor" who places little bunnies and penguins into robots to build an army.  And now it wants to take itself seriously!?  GIVE ME A BREAK!?

 

I am fully serious.  If this thing becomes a reality than I am out fully.

That's rather extreme. Knowing what you'd be missing out on if you'd left because of Sonic 06, a mainline game, you'd be willing to leave altogether just because of some crappy live action movie?

...

Alrighty, then.

[sonfan1984]

If this is true then a hand drawn animation or fully CGI Sonic movie is the way to handle it.

[Badnik Mechanic]

I will literally leave this fans base sell everything I have that is Sonic related.  

 

I am fully serious.  If this thing becomes a reality than I am out fully.

 

Can I have your stuff?

[Nepenthe]

Personally.  If I end up finding out that "Sonic The Movie" is going to be live action and have a darker feel to it, than I will literally leave this fans base sell everything I have that is Sonic related.  You think I'm joking?  What happened last time Sonic when with the dark and gritty concept.  We got 2 games that are considered to be the worst in the franchise.

 

May I remind everyone that this is a game franchise about a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog who can run really fast, who is best friends with yellow 2 tailed fox that can fly and has an IQ of 300 and is enemies with an egg shaped "doctor" who places little bunnies and penguins into robots to build an army.  And now it wants to take itself seriously!?  GIVE ME A BREAK!?

 

I am fully serious.  If this thing becomes a reality than I am out fully.

 

"Hey guys, let me break down a fictional concept into its base parts to exemplify why it's absurd while completely ignoring context and huge modern media trends where fictional concepts are actually taken seriously."

Not to say that I'm not wary of the direction of this movie (live-action + CGI = lol this is already starting out awful), but I really hate this argument to explain why the series shouldn't do anything interesting. It's dumb to expect the series to have faith in its concepts in order to present a straightforward adventure story because it has talking animals, but it's perfectly fine to sit stone-faced in a theater watching a fucking basket case in a bat outfit wobble around groups of inept criminals like a roided-up inflatable clown?

[Kuzu]

Personally.  If I end up finding out that "Sonic The Movie" is going to be live action and have a darker feel to it, than I will literally leave this fans base sell everything I have that is Sonic related.  You think I'm joking?  What happened last time Sonic when with the dark and gritty concept.  We got 2 games that are considered to be the worst in the franchise.

 

May I remind everyone that this is a game franchise about a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog who can run really fast, who is best friends with yellow 2 tailed fox that can fly and has an IQ of 300 and is enemies with an egg shaped "doctor" who places little bunnies and penguins into robots to build an army.  And now it wants to take itself seriously!?  GIVE ME A BREAK!?

 

I am fully serious.  If this thing becomes a reality than I am out fully.

 

 

......

 

 

.....

 

 

 

Ya know what, since at this point I know people will continue to repeat the same thing and blame the wrong things, I'm going to start taking a shot every time I hear this same exact sentence, and any variation of.

[Willsy]

If the movie turns out to be real (and suck), I'll just point and laugh at it like everyone else. *insert Nelson's "haw haw" here*

Honestly though, I don't think it's real. If anything, I think it would be based off Boom. The rumour also just sounds very dubious to me. I have no doubt in my mind that there is a Sonic movie, but I can't beleive this rumour until SEGA, Sony, or a leak confirms it.

Another thing is, they really want to give Boom a push. If the movie was based on Boom, for the sake of longevity I don't think they should put put all of their eggs in one basket and release a series, a game, and then a movie soon after. They should let the series run for a while, do some special episodes, and then release a movie when the Boom universe has been around for a fair amount of time.

If it's not a Boom movie, then it might hinder the success that Boom has. Boom is supposed to be the big multimedia push for Sonic, and a movie would probably just steal the spotlight. Not to mention, we don't need yet another canon on top of SEGASonic, Boomiverse, and Archie. It would be a mess.

[Mania Pipe]

Live action films on cartoon-based games are NEVER the way to go, yet Hollywood always seems intent on making them for the sake of making a lot of money. If it turns out to be true, then that's good as long as it's CG cheesy family friendly fun. Personally, I just want to see the Sonic movie in full CG thank you.

[BonkersTheAutomaton]

Can I have your stuff?

 

Knock yourself out Hogfather.  Granted I don't have a lot to begin with.  But I do have Issue #1 of Sonic the Hedgehog on display in my room which just sits there and do nothing so I might give it or sell it to someone anyway.

 

The point I'm saying is, is that Sonic has already tried the whole dark and gritty and taking itself seriously tone before.  And they were both utterly terrible.  SEGA know that making this franchise go back there would be a bad idea so why would be letting Sony-Columbia pictures think it is good.

 

 

Not to say that I'm not wary of the direction of this movie (live-action + CGI = lol this is already starting out awful), but I really hate this argument to explain why the series shouldn't do anything interesting. It's dumb to expect the series to have faith in its concepts in order to present a straightforward adventure story because it has talking animals, but it's perfectly fine to sit stone-faced in a theater watching a fucking basket case in a bat outfit wobble around groups of inept criminals like a roided-up inflatable clown?

 

Like I said, the series has already tried being "interesting" and they both failed harder than anything else out there.  But your right, IPs feature talking animals can be taken in a serious manner.  But not when that IP has been designing games for kids for nearly 25 years and was designed specifically for kids.

 

Think of it like how Micheal Bay is doing TNMT.  Every person I know or know of has seen the trailer have done nothing but say "NO".  And can you blame them.  They are seeing a franchise that they know and love being destroyed in front of them just someone with enough money or power had make things their way before even consulting the fans.

[Nepenthe]

Like I said, the series has already tried being "interesting" and they both failed harder than anything else out there.  But your right, IPs feature talking animals can be taken in a serious manner.  But not when that IP has been designing games for kids for nearly 25 years and was designed specifically for kids.

 

Think of it like how Micheal Bay is doing TNMT.  Every person I know or know of has seen the trailer have done nothing but say "NO".  And can you blame them.  They are seeing a franchise that they know and love being destroyed in front of them just someone with enough money or power had make things their way before even consulting the fans.

 

They failed at being perfectly lighthearted too; you know how much I and many others don't like Colors, Generations, and Lost World, and are praising the gods for Boom actually being a thing? Sonic was designed to be edgy and grandiose within reason whether people want to recognize that or not. Literally all you have to do is just read the translated Japanese manuals and listen to the creators to understand this. Ultimately, there's little to nothing to look forward to in proposed directions where the balls are cut off because they propose that there be little agency in the characters and thus little action. And it boggles the mind that we're still having to argue that action and adventure should be notable elements in a action-adventure franchise in 2014.

 

Also, you're equating a young demographic with non-offensive material which is a false equivalence by overwhelming precedent: Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, eastern European animation, nearly the entire anime industry. Highly-respected animation companies and individuals put out work that contains tonal shifts between dark and light, as well as the risk of death in media, that is also marketed at children. You're also making the mistake of assuming that children's icons cannot actually be reinvented for older audiences. The entire superhero comic book industry for much of its lifespan was basically considered disposable entertainment for children, but it wasn't until the 80s where companies began turning towards this dark, serious, adult direction for major mainstream comic characters. And these books are essentially the thematic starting point for many of the popular Marvel and Batman movies coming out today. "The Dark Knight" wasn't the initial vision of the character, and for good reason- Bruce Wayne is a psycho rich dude running around in a bat-themed rubber suit. Why does no one understand this when they watch the Nolan films?

 

I must also say that TMNT is a bad example to illustrate your point. The comics are actually dark and violent, as well as the first live-action movie. People are saying "no" to the new one because the designs are horrid, the given backstory presents thematic problems, and because Michael Bay is a hack and involved in it, not because this is the first time they've seen a dark interpretation of TMNT and thus their sensibilities are suddenly super-offended. Anyone complaining about it somehow being too dark doesn't actually know the franchise that well at all.

[Celestia]

To add onto what Nepenthe's saying...

Like I said, the series has already tried being "interesting" and they both failed harder than anything else out there.  But your right, IPs feature talking animals can be taken in a serious manner.  But not when that IP has been designing games for kids for nearly 25 years and was designed specifically for kids.

I can only assume you're referring to Shadow's game and '06, in which case, that's not what people are asking for when they want the games to be more interesting. I mean, they're certainly asking for more elements that you'd expect in stories featuring a bunch of teenagers with attitude talking animals with superpowers, but casually and "subtly" grouping them in with the sort of fans most of the fandom dismiss on the grounds of liking a game they don't like (see: '06 fans, though admittedly the vocal individuals in that group do make them look pretty bad), in an attempt to discredit their views...isn't helping your case.

 

This is coming from someone who actually likes Colours and Lost World, mind you. Gens was pretty insulting story-wise, though, so I'm not gonna blame anyone for being bitter at this point.

 

 

 

More on-topic, as much as I'm looking forward to Boom, I'd rather a Sonic movie be based on the main continuity. It'd be...odd for the first non-OVA Sonic film to not be based on the series everybody already knows rather than the one that hasn't even started yet. I wouldn't be upset about it, really, just kind of confused. But I guess SEGA is putting a lot into Boom as a sub-series, so who knows?

[Wittymations]

I admit, it was easier for Sonic to be edgy when he was created, because, well... who was his competition? Mario. I mean, Mario was cutesy, Sonic was cool, fast, attitude, probably more angsty. Then, nowadays, what do we have? Call of Duty, Halo, Grand Theft Auto, Fallout -- games that would give parents heart attacks if they were created back then. Hell, Doom was a real pusher for this (if my game history is good -- feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).

 

I say Sonic should shoot more towards a preteen-young teenager crowd. Granted, those kids are also playing GTA (I'm sure we got six year olds that do, let's be real), but that area can be the audience. I was about that age when I got into the Adventures. I mean, those are probably the guys who make most of the fanart and fanfiction anyway (quality is a different topic).

 

Shoot for an area that, on the surface is pretty cheesy yet cool, but with some depth to it. The giant truck that fills two streets and chases Sonic through a city while destroying everything in its path (enhanced with hacksaws, rockets, and wall running in Generations) is absolutely cheesy. Really. But it's also cool.

 

I say Sonic games should be the ones to exaggerate what's cool. It takes itself seriously at some points, but it also knows it's a cartoony substance. It's self mockery, but not to the point where it's nothing but that. It can subtly poke fun at the film industry with the concepts it implements in a B-Rated film way.

 

I dunno, I'm trying to explain it, I hope I get some of my thoughts across.

 

I think the film here should reflect that idea, as well as the game catch the concepts and implement them.

[BonkersTheAutomaton]

Right so have I got this?  No one here is understanding where I'm coming from.

 

True you are right.  I am being over-the-top with my reaction to this.  But only because I don't want to see a franchise I know and love go back down the c!"£$%^ again just because someone wants it to be dark and gritty.  If the film took a more DBZ approach than maybe I would be okay with this, because that show was still funny when it needed to be and really epic and awesome when it didn't.

[Nepenthe]

No one wants the film to be "dark and gritty." Forget tone; no one even wants the film to be live-action and CGI. But the argument you used to dismiss it has been the exact same annoying argument used to downplay even the most basic characteristics that are imperative for the franchise to even function properly, and it's part of the reason why people are bored to tears now: ignore context and media trends to illogically reduce the entire concept of Sonic into its most basic parts to make it seem too pants-on-head stupid for even basic consideration as an adventure serial. We can't even have adventures anymore because people are insistent on pointing out that Sonic is a blue hedgehog which can't be "taken seriously." Mmmmnnnngh.

[Wittymations]

This also really depends on how dark and gritty something is.

 

If I were to describe a movie that was about conspiracy in a kingdom where a man commits the heinous act of murder through convincing a smaller, weaker nation to support his regime and then banishes the king's son to the wastelands where the son is only saved thanks to a small group of outcasts. Then the murderer, through his bloodline, becomes king and brings about an age of starvation and oppression -- you'd probably think that's pretty dark and gritty.

 

What if I told you the movie is also about singing jungle animals?

[anna]

I would like it to be as dark as Archie can be sometimes...I mean, Eggman went flippin' INSANE. People DIED (not that it's spoken of) and...stuff. If...they go deeper then Archie, I am very worried they won't pull it off very well- unless, of course, SEGA is out of the picture.

At the same time, if you think about what Sonic really is- a madman polluting the world and turning animals into robots to take over -it is kinda dark. Does Eggman actually care whether Sonic & friends die in battle or anything? No. They're just in his way. Plus, he did send him flying into space and such on numerous occasions...

If they emphasized on that, maybe it won't be a trainwreck.

[NikoS]

i would prefer an archie type based movie,

but if it became true i will watch it anyway...

still waiting official information

[Tani Coyote]

Archie won't happen by merit of Penders alone, the lack of relevance of SatAM not withstanding.

The film would be based off the core material of the first games, a la what Ratchet is doing, or be based off the Boom cartoon, as is standard fare.

If Boom gets the film I'm officially considering this a reboot, even more so than I do now.

There's the chance of it being a whole new story similar to the OVA, but I don't know if they want to invent a fourth continuity on top of the other three official ones. Closest to that would be a continuity with heavy references to the original titles.

[NikoS]

yes, it´s more possible it being like OVA,

a movie without connection to any of the official continuities but with a lot of references to the original mega drive triology

at least by my point of view

[Tani Coyote]

The OVA was really its own continuity overall, though. It had lots of characters and concepts alien to the main franchise. Theoretically a Sonic film could go this route, but so think they'd probably reference the stories of the first three games instead. An adaption rather than mere references.

[ImPantsAtThis]

What you've also got to consider is Boom. It'd be a big risk for SEGA to launch the Boom continuity and a separate 'movie' continuity -- it could easily confuse newcomers. I don't think an adaption of the early games will happen either; Sonic Team seem to be pretty stingy about anyone altering the classics in any way (see StealthTax's Boss Rush zone idea getting rejected), so I doubt they'd want anyone writing a full-on plot for the trilogy. I think an original Modern Sonic film that isn't an origin story but establishes the universe is more likely.

[Tani Coyote]

I suppose they could make a film that established the basics with no real need for continuity. Sort of like what most of the genes do with each other.

That or a Boom film, which is a very likely option.

[ImPantsAtThis]

That or a Boom film, which is a very likely option.

 

While I agree it's likely, a part of me questions why they'd need it -- they already have the game as the prequel to the status quo of the series. A film would either come after the show, or just re-tread the game's story.