Sonic the Hedgehog (OVA) facts for kids
| Sonic the Hedgehog | |
1999 North American VHS cover
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Quick facts for kids ソニック★ザ★ヘッジホッグ(Sonikku za Hejjihoggu) |
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| Original video animation | |
| Directed by | Kazuho Ikegami |
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| Written by |
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| Music by | Mitsuhiro Tada |
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| Licensed by | |
| Released | January 26, 1996 – March 22, 1996 |
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| Episodes | 2 |
Sonic the Hedgehog (ソニック★ザ★ヘッジホッグ, Sonikku za Hejjihoggu), also known as Sonic the Hedgehog the Movie, is a two-part Japanese animated video. It was released in 1996 and is based on the popular video game series by Sega.
The animation was made by Pierrot and directed by Kazuho Ikegami. The first part came out in Japan on January 26, 1996, and the second on March 22, 1996. Later, a company called ADV Films brought it to English-speaking countries. They combined both parts into one movie. This movie was released straight to video on September 7, 1999. It came out around the same time as the video game Sonic Adventure.
This animated story features many well-known characters. You'll see Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Dr. Eggman. In the English version, Dr. Eggman is called Dr. Robotnik. The story also includes Metal Sonic and other characters made just for this video.
Contents
Explore Planet Freedom: The World of Sonic's Adventure
Unlike other Sonic the Hedgehog stories, this one takes place on a unique world called Planet Freedom. This planet is divided into two very different areas. These are the Land of the Sky and the Land of Darkness.
The Land of the Sky: Floating Continents
The Land of the Sky has many continents that float high up. They are in the stratosphere, which is a layer of the planet's atmosphere. All these floating lands are connected by a huge ice formation. This ice also helps to keep them connected to the planet's surface below.
Knuckles explains that if this ice network were broken, the Land of the Sky would be thrown into space. This would happen because of the planet's spin. Everyone living there would be in great danger.
The Land of Darkness: Robotnik's Home
The Land of Darkness is the actual surface of Planet Freedom. It's a wild, post-apocalyptic place. Dr. Robotnik is the only known person living there.
You can get to the Land of Darkness in two ways. One way is through a special "portal" that looks like a whirlwind in the Land of the Sky. The other way is through a warp zone. This is like a secret shortcut between two points on Planet Freedom. Most of this land is wild and mountainous. However, there's also a crumbling city where Robotnik has his base. The city and land suggest that Planet Freedom might be a future Earth. It looks like floating islands were built on top of old ruins. Some parts of the city even look like New York City.
The Story of Sonic's Adventure
The story is split into two exciting parts.
Part 1: The Robot Generator Threat
The adventure begins with Sonic and Miles "Tails" Prower relaxing on South Island. Suddenly, Old Man Owl arrives with an urgent message. The President needs Sonic's help!
When they get to the President's office, they find Dr. Robotnik has captured the President and his daughter, Sara. Robotnik explains how Planet Freedom works. He talks about the two "dimensions": the Land of the Sky and the Land of Darkness. Robotnik then tells them that a giant robot called Metal Robotnik has kicked him out of his city, Robotropolis. This robot has also damaged the Robot Generator. The generator will explode by sunrise the next day!
Robotnik asks Sonic to go to the Land of Darkness to stop the generator. In return, he promises to free the President and Sara. Once in the Land of Darkness, Metal Robotnik tries to stop them. But then, Knuckles the Echidna shows up and saves Sonic and Tails. The three heroes team up to destroy Metal Robotnik. They don't know that Dr. Robotnik was controlling Metal Robotnik all along, with Sara by his side. The first part ends with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles heading to Robotropolis.
Part 2: The Rise of Hyper Metal Sonic
In Robotropolis, Knuckles creates a distraction. This allows Sonic and Tails to reach the generator in the city's center. They get there just in time. But when Sonic pulls the lever, the machine traps him and scans his body. Knuckles frees Sonic just as the machine breaks apart. From its ruins, Dr. Robotnik's newest robot appears: Hyper Metal Sonic.
Dr. Robotnik explains that he lured Sonic there to copy his mind, personality, and powers for Hyper Metal Sonic. Sonic and Metal battle, but Metal is much stronger. Tails and Knuckles return to the Land of the Sky. There, Tails learns Metal plans to destroy the planet. Metal is digging into the ice caps that hold the Land of the Sky together. This will let lava come out and melt the ice. Sonic wakes up in Green Lake City and goes back to the Presidential Palace. He learns about Metal's plan from the President.
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles go to the ice caps. Sara is being held hostage there by Robotnik. He plans to marry her so they can rule Planet Freedom after the Land of the Sky is destroyed. Sonic fights Metal in a long battle. Tails manages to mess up Metal's data, and Sonic badly damages him. During the fight, the President and Old Man Owl get trapped in their aircraft. But Metal saves them! Sonic realizes that Metal has emotions because he was programmed with Sonic's feelings.
Metal falls into a crack and into a volcano. Sonic tries to help him, but Metal refuses. He says, "there is only one Sonic" before the rising lava destroys him. Robotnik says he still has Sonic's DNA and can rebuild Metal Sonic. But one of his missiles accidentally blows up the disc with Sonic's DNA. Knuckles then punches Sonic as revenge for Sonic stepping on him during the fight. The two start a chase, with everyone else following, ending the story.
Meet the Voice Cast
| Role | Japanese | English |
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| Sonic the Hedgehog | Masami Kikuchi | Martin Burke |
| Miles "Tails" Prower | Hekiru Shiina | Lainie Frasier |
| Knuckles the Echidna | Yasunori Matsumoto | Bill Wise |
| Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik | Junpei Takiguchi | Edwin Neal |
| Metal Sonic | Masami Kikuchi | Gary Dehan |
| Sara | Mika Kanai | Sascha Biesi |
| President | Yuzuru Fujimoto | Edwin Neal |
| Old Man Owl | Chafuurin | Charles Campbell |
| Butler |
How the Movie Was Made and Released
The Sonic the Hedgehog OVA series was created by Studio Pierrot, Sega Enterprises, and General Entertainment. Sonic Team, Yuji Naka, and Naoto Ohshima oversaw the project. Kazuho Ikegami directed the series and drew the storyboards. Mayori Sekijima worked on the story, and Masashi Kubota wrote the scripts. Tsuneo Ninomiya designed the characters, and Mitsuhiro Tada composed the music. Both episodes feature an ending song called "LOOK-ALIKE." Mitsuhiro Tada composed and arranged it, and Riyu Konaka wrote and sang it.
The OVA was first available for rent in Japan from January 26 to March 22, 1996. It was then sold in stores starting May 31, 1996.
ADV Films announced they would release the OVA series in English in May 1998. They dubbed it into English and released it as a single movie. It was called Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie. This movie came out on VHS and DVD on September 7, 1999. This was to match the worldwide release of the game Sonic Adventure for the Dreamcast. The movie was re-released on DVD on January 13, 2004. However, ADV Films no longer exists, so these releases are now hard to find.
Fan Projects: Sonic Rebuilt
In 2020, a group called 3GI Industries created something special. They had previously made Shrek Retold. This time, they released Sonic Rebuilt. It's a new version of the Sonic the Hedgehog movie. Over 200 artists worked together to recreate it.
See Also
In Spanish: Sonic the Hedgehog (OVA) para niños
