Vertical Slice: Just Like The Movies

54 Comments

1. Kindaaaaaaaaaaa worried.
   I mean to this day we don’t really have a good video game movie (NO WRECK IT RALPH DOES NOT COUNT bish), and like you said, stuff like TMNT and the Smurfs have been pretty badly handled, soooo…

2. While I’m always optimistic for anything Sonic related, you do bring up a few good points. I thought it was going to be a Sonic Boom film myself, since the “TV and movies” tab is on Boom’s website.
   Also, I noticed a typo:
   “Since Sony Pictures Entertainment is an American subsidiary of Sony proper, >doest< his mean the Sonic film will be some sort of East-meets-West collaboration, and if so, what will the resultant vision of Sonic be?"
   Thought you might wanna fix that. XDD

   1. I’d love a feature length Sonic film as much as the next Sonic fan, but all of what Sony/Sega has announced is so confusing. It weirds me out.
      And thanks for the heads up about the typo. I proof read the article several times, but as is usually the case, something always manages to slip through. It’s fixed now though.

3. You mean four separate versions Michael – there’s still Archie 😛

   1. That did go through my mind, but in all honesty the Archie comics don’t have much of an impact on people’s perception of Sonic outside of North America.
      Even here in the UK I have to go to specialist US import comic shops to get it, and the one I used to go to didn’t even stock it unless it was specifically requested. When I lived in the Netherlands it was absolutely nowhere to be seen.

      1. I know what you mean about how hard it can be to find them. But then I found DisposableHeroes.co.uk, so now I just use them 🙂

      2. I think Forbidden Planet stocks them now if you have one near you?
         I don’t go out of my way to hunt them down but I’ve noticed at least two comic stores in Birmingham have had a few in stock.
         (Nostalgia & comics and Forbidden Planet).

         1. I go to the Forbidden Planet and Nostalgia & Comics in Birmingham city centre every now and then, but I’ve never seen them in there. That said, I’ve never actually LOOKED for them, so there’s every chance that I just missed them.
            The Forbidden Planet in Leeds actually had a large selection of Archie’s trade paperbacks, which was really surprising. Unfortunately they were hella expensive and I was only in Leeds on a trip.

4. I welcome an east and west Sonic hybrid project. Think about past Sonic projects that involved both sides of the world working together like this, example: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis), Sonic Adventure 2 (Dreamcast/ Gamecube). Feel better now?

   1. Different place, different time. Still, a point worth making 😉

   2. Good point, but in those cases both teams were working towards the single goal of pushing the Sonic videogame series forward. In this case we have several non-Sega parties working on a spin off of a series that has recently undergone a major change (Sonic Boom), with an uncertain future in Japan.
      A comparison between the development of this movie project and Sonic 2/ Sonic Adventure 2 just can’t be made.
      Thanks for the comment!

5. Remember the good ol’ days when Ken Penders was talking about making an Archie Knuckles movie before he went crazy?
   That was your window Sega. At this stage in the game, this idea is a catastrophe just begging to happen.
   Prove me wrong. For the love of God, please prove me wrong.

   1. My thoughts exactly X(
      Don’t screw this one up, Sega/Sony. Pleeeaase don’t screw this one up…

6. This already sounds absolutely awful. Good Lord. There is nothing but misery up ahead if this enters production.

7. After the battlefield that were the comments on this article, I’m glad people arent’t hating on these comments.
   I hope I don’t jynx it.

   1. I SUDDENLY HATE THIS ARTICLE
      BECAUSE OF YOUUUUUUUUUU

   2. Unlike with that article, Westgarth didn’t attack any fans in this one. I have nothing to gripe about, this article is pure opinion. 🙂
      Nice job, Westgarth.

8. Well i actualy quite liked this article. Its ok to have opinion piecea as long as they dontuse baseless and uncited information as the backbone of the opinions, like verticle slice often does.

9. Well I guess we shall see what all becomes of this…but I’m worried…that’s all I’m going to say for now I’m worried.

10. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: as long as this film has absolutely nothing to do with a certain “filmmaker” by the name of Richard Kuta, I’ll be perfectly fine with it.

11. If they DID make it on Sonic Boom somehow, I’d start petitions to bring it down.

    1. Why exactly would you do that Sonaco? Don’t you think that a fully CGI film based solely on Sonic Boom is more likely to to turn out well rather than a CGI/ live action hybrid based loosely on the entire Sonic series?

12. There’s going to be a Sonic movie and its going to contain a DEEP, DARK story, Shadow the Hedgehog, elements from the Adventure series, and it won’t have any stupid jokes or childish humor. You know why? Because that is what made Sonic popular. See SATAM, the Archie Comic, and the insane sales of Sonic Unleashed. And I for one will love it!

    1. If I were to place a bet, I’d say that none of what you just said is going to happen, and that none of the things you described originally made Sonic popular.
       I mean, you’re aware that most of the world doesn’t have easy access to the Archie Comics, right?

       1. Well, I would not say NONE of those things made Sonic popular. In fact I would say the cool and edgy factor of the 90s mascot is one of the reasons he became so popular. While games like STH and 06 maybe went to far, I don’t see childish humor and very cheesy dialogue as “way past cool”.

          1. Same, I mean, I’d like humor as much as the next guy, but judging by how the “Sonic humor” has been in recent games, I’m all for a darker take. That is, after all, one of the reasons I loved SA so much :/

13. Since when is franchise milking EVER a good thing?
    “Dragonball Evolution” and “The Last Airbender” say hiya!
    It’s gonna blow massive horse balls.
    And you all know it lol xD

14. so SONY is going to save SEGA ill brand franchise, a dark toned SONIC movie and sonic movie based game with that made by both sides east and west since it was like sonic adventure 2, sonic unleashed, sonic 2006, and this one coming to PS4 and Xbox ONE… the game could be the final version of the story after the events of the events that never happen from sonic 2006 but Mephiles did mention shadow fortune telling future faith even he succeeding of defeating Mephiles

15. Calling it now, the movie’s gonna be a mess of an amalgamation of SATAM but with Modern looks with a dash of Archie to combine elements of all the shit American Sonic in one movie. Betting on the forced and uninteresting love interest in the form of Sally Acorn to be in there just to be Sonic’s GF and nothing else, just like she always was.

    1. Holy crap, dude. I never thought of that until now. If they bring Sally in, I’m gonna fricking die of shame…

16. Okay, thankfully not as opinionated as I was afraid it was going to be.
    I have to say though, I AM interested and a little excited about the prospect of a Sonic the Hedgehog movie! It’s something that I feel had been denied from us for too long. The Night of The Werehog definitely showed off the possibilities of a fully-animated movie using the same studio and technology that made all of those amazing CG cutscenes in the past 10 years of games.
    However, as hyped as I am, I still have my share of concerns, as I’m sure everyone else does. First off, I have to admit, although I kind of saw the idea of a live action/CGI hybrid Sonic film happening (that IS kind of the thing nowadays), I can still see how that could also be a problem. I mean, fan-made movie or not, we’ve all seen how bizaare an awkwardly animated and rendered Sonic looks among real people in the Eddie Lebron movie. Now comparing between a fan-made film and a licensed big name professional company like Sony is like comparing between a ping-pong ball and a tennis ball. Both perform much differently, but they’re meant for different sports that almost mirror each other. Seeing how this is Sony we’re talking about and they’ve taken great care in animating their own property for the upcoming Sly Cooper and Ratchet & Clank movies, I doubt Sonic is going to look at all bad. Sony is a video game company, they understand the weight of portraying a video game character. So it’s not how Sonic (and any other friends who might be part of the adventure as well) looks that worries me, it’s how he might fit into the world he’s placed in that I’m concerned about.
    All we know is that it will incorporate CG and live action filming, meaning that Sonic and other characters who aren’t human will be animated while human characters will be filmed live and in person (which may or may not include Doctor Eggman…which I feel is inevitable, unless you want to explain why live humans and animated humans share the same plain of existence). However, we still have no idea what the SETTING is supposed to be. Will it be like a Michael Bay movie where everything takes place on contemporary planet Earth and military forces seem to be WAY too available (this is honestly what I’m hoping DOESN’T happen), or will it be a sort of Speed Racer type environment where it is an alternate Earth or future Earth where technology, society, and the military are depicted in a much more different way that fits into the Sonic mythology? Will it be that Sonic somehow ends up on our world (huh, deja vu…), or will the movie be in Sonic’s world, however that is to be portrayed? Personally, I would hope for either the Speed Racer-esque future Earth or Sonic’s world ideas, because the games have always kind of leaned towards this sort of idea, in some degree or another. In the games, Sonic and co. seem to live on SOME kind of planet Earth that mostly resembles our own modern day Earth, with some sci-fi and fantasy differences to make it stand out (futuristic cities, nearly impossible land formations, highways that I wish existed but could probably never support an existing car). While Sonic’s Earth has always been made to resemble our own world, it’s still meant to be a world all of it’s own, and it sounds like a fun one to be in. With that in mind, I hope that that’s the sort of setting we have in store for us, because Sonic, in our world I think, would feel very bored and I would feel kind of bored watching him in our world (especially if the military felt like hanging around with him a lot for some reason).
    Another concern I have is acting. As always with any good movie, a huge load of the weight has to lie upon the actors’ shoulders. My first guess would always bee that Sonic will always be portrayed by his current voice actor in all media, which at this point in time would be Roger Craig Smith. Though I am sad that I might never hear Jason Griffith voice the blue blur on the big screen, Roger is a decent actor and I’m sure he would handle a feature length portrayal of Sonic rather well (provided the writing is actually DECENT this time around). If for some crazy reason they decided to cast the characters with people other than the official cast, then I would at least hope they get really really good, talented, and deserving actors (whoever they may be). I’m not against the idea of a famous celebrity voicing someone, but it has to be because they do a really really good job of it, not because they are a famous celebrity.
    I also hope that the story is really really good, whatever it may be. Would it be a retelling of the original games, or would it be a series of events that take place after all of the current games? Would it be a new telling of the tale, perhaps with an origin story? A lot of it may depend on the setting, but if they went any route, I would be fine with it as long as it’s good and there was a lot of effort put into it. Seeing as how they intend to release a film each year, I really hope that they’ve already begun progress on the first three films or so and won’t get around releasing them until at least 2 years from now.
    Quality. I really hope this series is good given the yearly release of these movies. I mean, animating movies in 3D is a lot easier than traditional animation, but there’s still a lot that goes into a production, so I really hope most of the work has already been done by this point. If they plan on doing this this frequently, then I hope they put in as much effort as possible.
    The only other concern I have is content. I’m not super picky when it comes to Sonic content, unlike most fans I’ve come across, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want whatever I’m given to be delivered well. If gritter and edgier is what they want to give me, then fine. At least try to make it good. If there’s still humor in it, fine, at least make the humor decent and in good taste. But even with an edgier tone, I don’t want this to be an angst fest. The Sonic games have been a rainbow of all sorts of different moods, and I think the movies should display that same amount of variety. There can be a subtle edgy undertone, but there should still be a sense of wonder, joy, freedom, adventure, excitement, stuff like that.
    I’ve got a lot of concerns with this movie branch, but I’ve also got a lot of hope with it. It’s Sony, and they’ve been pretty good at stuff like this most of the time(and come on, where the Smurfs even that good to begin with anyway?). As they are a fellow video game company, I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt that they can make a decent main screen theatrical debut for Sonic. There’s a lot of sharp corners that they could slip on, but I’m going to pray and hope that they do a good job on maneuvering them.
    I’ve always liked you Sony! Please try not to let me down! 😀

    1. Ah man, SPEED RACER. If they took that route, this movie could turn out just fine

    2. *Applauds*
       Hero, I absolutely love you.
       You’re so rational you don’t even belong here. 😛
       I agree with absolutely EVERYTHING you said.
       I for one think the movie should take place on Sonic’s earth, perhaps bringing back the prospect of normal-looking humans living on the planet, and not the funky people from Unleashed. Albeit they probably fit into the world, they were just… Weird. I’ll manage if it ends up being a “Sonic-accidentally-opens-portal-using-chaos-control-and-goes-to-earth” kind of thing, because they could easily do a sort of “Sonic Adventure” style thing with that, having elements from Sonic’s world leech into our Earth slowly, causing many events to happen.
       …That actually doesn’t sound half bad.
       But it won’t happen.
       Don’t you wish we were the ones writing the movies, sometimes? 😛
       Anyhow, I’ll give Sony the benefit of the doubt. But my case still stands,
       If there is a human love interest (Which they better not pull that again) I will proceed to run away from home, find the person responsible, and give them a good smack across the face.
       And throw them out of a window for good measure.
       But, realistically, I appreciate every long, thought-out comment you make, Hero. It really gets me thinking, and usually makes me more excited for something then I already am.

17. “But in the mean time you can have a a gander at my Vertical Slice article “Anything But Shadow”. With over 300 reader comments its popularity is indisputable, and goes to show how much Sonic fans truly love me and my writing.”
    The ego is strong in this one.

    1. Or he’s taking the piss

    2. *Sarcasm*

18. I’m choosing to remain optimistic or unopinionated about this until I see screens for myself but I feel Disney and Pixar have proven that live action/CG hybrids can sort of work if they’re played subtly like in Wall-E, and there could be potential for sonic to work on the big screen if it’s done in similar veins to his and Eggman’s wreck it ralph cameos.
    But that’s Disney proving it can work, I don’t know what Sony’s approach to all of this could be.
    You brought up interesting points with Garfield, Transformers and The Smurfs where as I was personally thinking it’ll be more akin to the upcoming Ratchet and Clank movie (which to my knowledge is fully CG) – Isn’t that being handled by Sony?
    I haven’t followed Ratchet and Clank since the 3rd game on PS2 so I don’t even know if fan’s opinions of that franchise are still positive or negative by this point as from what little I know about the PS3 games, the fans have slowly gotten tired of the whole thing.
    But I’m hoping whatever they have planned for a Sonic Movie(s) will be similar to what they have planned with the Ratchet and Clank movie and not the Smurfs or Transformers.
    And if they’re really planning to make a Sonic movie every year, wouldn’t it be more along the lines of the Sonic OVA or some kind of 30-50 minute short film? I can’t imagine them being able to even pool the kind of resources into making a full length CG film every year without fail. Sega are a big company but they’re not Disney.

    1. It’s, believe it or not, easier to make a CG/Live action then it is to make a full CG. It’s cheaper to hire CERTAIN actors, and of course making a set doesn’t take as long as rendering Sonic’s whole world for the film.
       But I am also dubious as to how they could pull that off.

19. I’m not optimistic about the Sonic Movie for all the reasons you listed. I’m not sure how well it’s been thought out and we have nothing to go on.

20. “And nobody in their right mind would want a gritty reboot of Sonic.”
    Pfft. I would LOVE a dark/gritty reboot of Sonic, and I know many others online who feel the same. People like you are the reason why SEGA releases sugary-sweet, mega-cute shitty games like Heroes and Lost World.

    1. >Heroes
       As much as I hate that game, I don’t think it’s sugary-sweet or mega-cute at all.

       1. I personally think Colors falls more into that spot than Heroes does.

       2. Even tho, in my opinion, we shouldn’t have a game that goes balls overboard with the gritty tough feel to the point it’s past Shadow’s game with the gritty-ness, but a more edgy feel to the games would be appreciated.

          1. Shadow’s game was barely any darker then SA2, especially with the Eggman and CPU terminal levels. The majority of the action came from the intro, while in game, it’s mainly Shadow collecting his thoughts, having flashbacks, or taking orders from other characters. While yes, Shadow is gritty, it’s barely anymore then both Jak 2 and 3.

          2. @Heat Seeker0
             Agreed, but to me I always saw Shadow’s game a bit darker than SA2 since the stage themes were more gritter feel than SA2’s, comparing the two city intro levels both games have, while Adventure 2 starts out with Sonic skatboarding down a completely intact city with a really upbeat intro song, Shadow’s opening stage for his game has the whole city being completely destroyed at the hands of the Black Arms with a more headbangin’ intro song. I’m not saying that Shad’s game is bad at all, heck, I rather enjoyed it, but my main point I’m trying to make is, going past the grittyness of those 2 games wouldn’t really be the greatest idea in my eyes.

          3. I actually wouldn’t mind a darker Sonic game, like Shadow’s. There’s nothing wrong with brighter games, of course, but I just prefer them to be a bit darker than, say, Lost World.

    2. And here I was thinking I’d be able to write a least one article where I’m not accused of destroying Sonic, Sega, and the world as we know it.
       Although I respect your want of a “gritty reboot” Sonic movie, I still want to know, just what do you mean by “people like you”?

21. I enjoyed your article, Mr. Westgarth, but I really think you’re underestimating kids. I don’t remember being especially confused when I was growing up with SatAM (VHS rentals), Archie Comics, Sonic Adventure 2, etc. It really isn’t that weird to have a variety of continuities.
    And besides, is Sonic Boom really all that different from the other iterations of Sonic? Sure, the character designs have changed, but they still look essentially the same. (Knuckles is the main character that might end up confusing kids if you go back-and-forth on the design…) And yes the setting is new, but the setting of Sonic games has always been all over the place.
    Interestingly, in addition to Michael Bay’s TMNT, there’s also a TMNT show on Nickelodeon — And they’re all wearing sports tape! (Yeah, I really don’t get what the deal is…)
    Also, one thing to remember here is this: Without any doubt, every major Hollywood studio has been wanting to make a Sonic movie for years. The idea just screams “MONEY!!!” I’m guessing that the reason none of those have happened is because Sega is protective of Sonic and won’t let the studios take it in their own directions.
    So, maybe Sony finally agreed to the stringent rules that Sega put forth for what a Sonic movie would have to be like, and Sega will be closely involved in the production, keeping them from over-Hollywoodicizing it. But maybe I’m just trying to be optimistic.
    I personally do hope the movie has a serious tone to it. I know you’ve given a defense of Ken Pontac’s writing (“Sonic Fans Are LOVE”), but while I agree that sticking to previous continuities is unnecessary, the writing itself for recent Sonic games prevents me from getting into the stories. Sure, the Sonic Adventure 1 & 2 cut scenes were cheesy, but they were still taken seriously, and thus I really got into those stories as a kid.
    But nonetheless, the movie will probably stink.

    1. Yes, a movie that’s not even in the pre-production stage will stink because it has Sonic’s name attached to it.
       Because, screw having an open mind. We’re the Sonic fanbase, we don’t know what that is.
       Pffttt.
       The movie will do fine. There’s nothing wrong with CGI-Live Action hybrids, and even then, you don’t even know how or why Sony’s using the CGI-Live Action hybrid approach.

       1. It’s called “Intuition”…you should try it

22. Please don’t let it be like The Smurfs. PLEASE DON’T LET IT BE LIKE THAT.
    I had to suit through both while babysitting… I wanted to rip my eyes out.

    1. Spoiler alert: It will be like The Smurfs, if not worse.

23. It depends who the target age demographic is. If it will be darker in tone, then we may get a decent action flick. If its a movie targeted at a younger crowd well, parents have something to keep kids occupied for about 2 hours and Sony Pictures still makes a boatload at the box office. The plot itself is in question, rumors say itll be set in new york with a live action and cg cast. This already reeks of smurfs and chipmunks. But those werent dark in any way shape or form. Sony Pictures is also responsible for other movies like Spiderman so I have some shred of hope it will turn out somewhat decent. Also Michael Bay is directing TMNT, not Sonic so maybe itll be good. Can you imagine if megan fox ended up as Princess Elise? *cringes*

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