Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie (NR, 1998)

Sonic the Hedgehog must save the Planet of Freedom from the plans of the evil Dr. Robotnik in this animated take on the video game character. Sonic the Hedgehog and his pal Tails are summoned by the President of the Land of the Sky. The president and his daughter Sara are being held hostage by Sonic's nemesis, Dr. Robotnik. It seems that an evil Metal Robotnik has taken over Dr. Robotnik's home, the city of Robotropolis, in the Land of Darkness. Metal Robotnik has sabotaged the city's robot generator, and if something isn't done about it soon, the entire Planet of Freedom will be blown up! Dr. Robotnik wants Sonic to rescue the planet. Sonic agrees, especially after Sara pledges her undying love to him if he succeeds. But once Sonic and Tails enter Robotropolis, they must fight Dr. Robotnik's creation Hyper Metal Sonic--a robot double programmed with Sonic's personality. If Hyper Metal Sonic wins, Dr. Robotnik will destroy the Land of the Sky.

The gleeful, anything-goes approach to Sonic's story is charming, and the elaborate visualizations of his futuristic, surreal, anime-ish world are impressive. It's the kind of world where a character named Old Man Owl breaks into laughing fits for no reason at all, and when the heroine cries, huge torrents of water spring from her eyes. It makes for fun, unpredictable viewing, but it's a type of humor that generally works better in a shorter format. At feature length, you begin to notice that the plot would benefit from a little more character development.

 

Nevertheless, kids should get plenty of enjoyment from this one. The characters are given suitably spastic voices to match the action. The filmmaking style is very similar to that of Pokémon videos, with fast cutting and characters prone to sudden (but humorous) mood swings. Teens may be outgrowing this sort of thing, but fans of Japan-imation will find enough virtues here to make it worth a look.

Studio: A. D. Vision
Director: Kazunori Ikegami
Cast: Gary Dehan, Lainie Frasier, Martin Burke
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 60 minutes
Theatrical release: September 9, 1998
DVD release: September 7, 1999
MPAA Rating: NR
MPAA explanation: Not Rated