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- “From the studio that brought you Mulan & The Lion King now introduces a new speedy hedgehog from another world!”
- ―Disney Marketing tagline
Sonic the Hedgehog is a 1998 Disney Action-Adventure animated film based off the video game series developed by Sega, and takes place in the Fleetway Comic's Continuity. The film was directed by director Mark Hiemlin and this was the first instance of a film directed by him. And was one of the few Disney animated films to have the rating of PG-13 for more direct violence
SYNOPSIS[]
Sonic the Hedgehog is a young blue hedgehog in the world of Mobius. and is the soul protector of the realm. Born in a family of 7 siblings and 2 parents Sonic grew up with the concept of good morality and a sense of justice, though trouble starts brewing when evil scientist Dr, Ivo Robotnik begins to turn his world in to a mechanical wasteland. Sonic and his friend Tails and Knuckles have tried repeatedly to foil the doctors plans, but he continues to return. But this time, instead of kicking him back to the curb. Sonic failed in his mission, causing Dr, Robotnik to plunge the world into an endless night cycle of violence and segregation. Though this hedgehog isn't giving up that easily, he finally returns to mobius to find a group of mobians called "The Freedom Fighters" and they want Sonic to lead the resistance. Sonic can't help but agree to that idea, but it suddenly goes downhill when the CHAOS EMERALDS are involved. As when Sonic attempts to use them, he becomes an insatiable beast known as "Fleetway Super Sonic". It isn't known where this transformation came from but when it's active Sonic loses all control of his bodily functions and begins to attack anyone who comes close to him, Now Sonic and the Freedom Fighters have two problems to deal with. The upcoming project DOOMSDAY led by Robotnik, and Sonic's uncontrollable chaos energy.
CAST[]
- Jaleel White (Sonic the Hedgehog) - Reprising his role as the cartoon adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog, Jaleel White returns to voice the blue blur in the animated film
- Christopher Welch (Tails the Fox) - Reprising his roles as the Saturday Morning Cartoon voice of Miles Tails Prower, Christopher Welch was credited for voicing the young fox in the animated film
- Garry Chalk (Knuckles the Echinda) - Garry Chalk takes the role of Knuckles the Echinda, known for voicing Grounder in the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Optimus Primus in the Transformers Animated series
- John Lugh Baldry (Dr, Ivo Robotnik) - John Lugh Baldry reprises his role as Dr, Ivo Robotnik in the animated film, known for voicing Dr, Ivo Robotnik in The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and the Sonic Saturday Morning Cartoon
- Harrison Ford (Nack The Weasel/Fang the Sniper) - New to the Sonic the Hedgehog universe is Harrison Ford, who voices Fang the Sniper in the animated film. And is known for protraying Indiana Jones
- Russell "Russi" Taylor (Amy the Hedgehog) - Russell "Russi" Taylor comes into the hedgehog's universe as Amy the Hedgehog's, Sonic's love interest. Russell is best known for voicing Minnie Mouse
- Mel Blanc (Bean the Dynamite) - Mel Blanc was tipped off to voice in the Sonic the Hedgehog animated film by Sega themselves, giving him the role of Bean the Dynamite. Mel Blanc is mostly known for voicing many of the looney Tunes
- Jim Cummings (Dr, Ivo Robotnik's Singing voice) - John Lugh Bladry couldn't do most of the songs for Ivo Robotnik in the animated film, so Jim Cummings had the chance to do them. Jim Cummings is most known for the voice of Pete the Cat in the animated Mickey Mouse series
- Abie Hadjitarkhani (Metal Sonic) - Abie Hadjitarkhani is introduced to the Sonic the Hedgehog universe by vocally protraying Metal Sonic, Abie Hadjitarkhani is most known for voicing Jotaro Kujo in the JJBA OVA
Theatrical Release[]
Sonic the Hedgehog was slated to appear in theaters on January 12th, 1998 in New York. Alongside appearing in various other theaters around the world. The theatrical release of Sonic the Hedgehog was crowned as one of the biggest theatrical releases of that year, and grossed around 1.1 Billion Dollars in the box office after operating on a 7.5K budget. The Theatrical release was accompanied by a special promotion Sega was doing with Disney at the time to produce exclusive Sonic toys under the studio's name.
Re-Releases[]
Sonic the Hedgehog like most disney classic's is no stranger to re-releases, starting as early as 1998 with a VHS and DVD release for VHS players and DVD players of the time. The DVD version of the movie also featured behind the scenes and an interactive experience called "Sonic's Guessing Game" which was a simple card based guessing game featuring characters and scenes from the movie. Later in 2001 the Sonic the Hedgehog animated film would garner another re-release with a specially marked copy of the movie signed by Yuji Naka himself as part of a promotional deal with Disney, Later in 2007 the animated film would gain a golden blu-ray collectors edition with a pull-out poster, the full animated movie, 4 shorts done by Yuji Naka himself, Behind the scenes, theatrical trailers and more. And finally in 2017 Sonic the Hedgehog appeared in a specialized anniversary edition with all previous perks from the Golden Collectors Edition. But now with 15 shorts done by Yuji Naka and a hand-written note by him thanking viewers for liking the movie so much
Cameos in Other Media[]
Following the success of the Sonic the Hedgehog movie, Sonic and his friends would begin to have cameo's in other media related to the Disney studio. Below is a list of all the cameos Sonic has had in official Disney Media
- In who framed Roger Rabbit, Sonic the Hedgehog & Miles Tails Prower can be seen in the Toon-Town song section singing along in their cartoon depiction. Despite the fact they were considered a Disney property. They were included after a deal with Sega came through to have them feature in it
- Sonic the Hedgehog could be seen briefly in a portrait in Pixar's Monsters Inc. With a caption underneath that reads "World's Fastest Monster" poking fun at Sonic's hedgehog appearence
- Sonic later appeared in another Pixar animated film, that being the Incredibles where he appeared as a plushy in Jack-Jack's room
- Sonic the Hedgehog has appeared alongside Mickey Mouse numerous times in various short skits from 1999 to 2005
- Sonic had a cameo in Disney Pixar's Wall. E in the scene where Wall. E first enters the Axiom, a billboard for a Sonic the Hedgehog game could be seen
- Sonic the Hedgehog featured in Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts series, specifically appearing in Kingdom Hearts 2.5 as an NPC in a location similar to Green Hill, talking to Sonic allowed you to gain some money from him.
- Sonic and Friends have appeared as part of the Disney Channel & Disney XD logo's, with a halloween version of the Disney Channel Sonic splashscreen featuring the online horror creation "Sonic.EXE"
- Sonic the Hedgehog appeared in Once upon a Studio alongside Mulan, though he had no speaking dialog. Due to Sega's current voice actor for Sonic, Roger Craig Smith not wishing to voice him in the short.