Sonic Chronicles: Sticks/Tropes

* Adaptational Angst Update: The film potrays Sticks' paranoia as the result of living in the jungle out of fear of Eggman finding her, and her hatred of technology being a response to a traumatic experience in childhood regarding Eggman experimenting on her.
* An Aesop:
** Sticks: The wounds of your past may hurt a lot, but is up to you whether to geal them and move forward or let them become scars.
** Sonic: Be empathetic and understanding towards tjose with mental health issues. Not everyone is easygoing and may not handle traumatic experiences the way you would, but that dosen't invalidate their pain.
*Adaptation Backstory Change:
**Buster of Sonic Boom goes from a robotic trap by Eggman to Tails' self-made pet, later adopted by Sticks.
**Downplayed. Sticks is shown in this version to have been an orphan before living in the wild. In the Sonic Boom series, she identified the town's corrupt former leader as her ancestor and refers to one the stick beehive Amy forced her to sale as an heirloom from her great aunt, indicating she had some knowledge her family tree, but her backstory was otherwise never revealed.
*Adaptational Badass: The Ladybuggys in the film can use theur ckaws, for one.
* Adaptation Expansion: The film delves into Sticks' past and shows her and Team Sonic's first meeting, both of which were never shown before.
* Awesome Music:
** The credits are underscored by "Endless Possibilitues" from Sonic Unleashed and "Reach For the Stars" from Sonic Colors. Not only are they as catchy as ever, but are both songs about keeping going and not letting anything slow you down, which fits perfectly with the film's message of moving on and not letting your past weigh you down.
** The score isn't to slouch either. But, hey, what else could be expected from the combition of popular Sonic themes and Hans Zimmer?
* Beware the Silly Ones: Stick is a nutty and paranoid feral badger. But make no mistake, she is a skilled fighter that will take you down.
*Casting Gag: Chao is voiced by Ashleigh Ball, who voiced Tails and his variations in Sonic Prime.
*Central Theme: Tying to the franchise's theme of keeping going no matter what, this film centers on how we can let fear and our past traumas slow us down, but we must find the strength to come to terms with them so we can move on.
*Composite Character: Eggman's space fortress is modeled after the one in Sonic Unleashed but its world-destroying properties are more in line with the ARK.
*Cross-Dressing Voice: Ashleigh Ball provides the vocal effects for the male Cheese.
*Dark And Troubled Past: As a child, Sticks was captured by Eggman, planning to use her as a living battery for his Badniks. While she managed to escape, she was forced to hude in the forest so that Eggman's functioning Badniks could not find her. She then spent the next 13 years there, hidden and paranoid of being found.
*Darker And Edgier: Sticks' paranoia and hatred of technology in Sonic Boom was Played For Laughs. Here? It is potrayed as the result of spending her life hiding from Eggman, who wanted to use her as a child to power his Badniks.
*Deconstruction: The film potrays Sticks' personality and characteristics in a more realistic light. While Sonic Boom potrayed them as funny quirks, the film instead asks "why would she hate technology?" and explore the origins of her paranoia, as well as potraying them as severe issues that need to be adressed and dealt with.
* Establishing Character Moment: Sonic's first scene has him runming around, cracking jokes, and playfully racing with Tails, establishing as cocky and friendly.
*Funny Moments: Sticks, upon meeting Sonic, tries to interrogate him. The problem? She keeps beating him before he can answer.
*Heartwarming Moments: 
**A small one, but Amy dosen't doubt Knuckles in any moment that he heard a Badnik on the sewers. Her only concern is that they might be too far away from home. And Knuckles concedes her point, proposing to call it quits for the day if they don't find anything in the next few minutes.
**Sonic and Knuckles' relationship. Instead of the cold rovalry from the games, we get a Friendly Rivalry between the two, and is clear they geniuenely like each other.
**Speaking of Knuckles, he quickly likes Sticks after seeing her in battle, saying the young girl "has spunk". He is also very understsanding of her upon seeing her paranoia get the best of her, noting that "everyone has a battle to fight at one point. Most of the time, they take place outside. But hers' is much harder than that".
**After her paranoia gets the better of her, Sticks locks herself inside her new room, only to notice Buster is in there too. She at first panics wnd threatens the robo-pup, only to realize he just brought her a toy for comfort. She takes it and is geniyenely thankful to him, starting to grow fond of him. Sticks then begins to pet him, just as Team Sonic opens the door, and watch in pride.
**The ending and credits, where Sticks, having somewhat (if not fully) recovered from her past wounds, is shown hanging around Team Sonic as their new friend. The inclusion of the song "Endless Poseibilities" just makes it better.
*Musical Nod:
** Much like The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the film's score heavily features themes from the videogames.
**Sonic's first scene features Sonic and the Black Knight's "Knight of the Wind".
** The ending sequence and credits feature "Endless Possibilities" from Spnic Unleashed.
*Mythology Gag:
** The title is a reference to the videogame Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood.
** To the live-action films:
*** The film opens with a flashback to Sticks' childhood that shows her Dark and Troubled Past and how she ended up living by herself in the forest. This is pretty much how the first live-action film opened.
*** At one point, Sonic greets two citizens named Tom and Maddie.
*** Sticks calls Tails' two-tails a "buttcopter", like Sonic did in his second live-action film.
** Upon meeting Sonic, Sticks threatens to impale him with spikes on the ground, a classic trap from the 2D games.
** Sticks initially calls Sonic a rabbit. Original concepts for the character actually had him be a rabbit.
** While introducing himself to Sticks, Knuckles says "You may call me Knuckles". His theme from Sonic Adventure features the lyrics "You can call me Knuckles".
** Amy has a CD in her room. Her debut was in Sonic CD.
** To Sonic Boom:
*** Sticks at one point sees the same dress she wore in the Sonic Boom episode "My Fair Sticksy".
*** The jungle seeen at the opening resembles the one from the opening level of Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric.
*** Somic namedrops Lyric as he asks who's holding him hostage.
*** Sticks lives in a borrow modeled after the one from the TV series.
*** While walking througth a sewer searching for a Badnik Knuckles saw, Amy says she dosen't think of Knuckles as a dummy... which he was in Sonic Boom.
*** At the climax, Eggman name drops one of the series' episodes' titles when he quips, "You know what they say, it takes a village to defeat a hedgehog. Or a city in this case".
*** During the credits, Sticks can be seen dancing with Buster, which was one of her fake flashbacks in the Sonic Boom episode "Buster".
**In the flashback sequence, Eggman has a design that is evocative of the 2006 game.
**During his opening sequence, Sonic is shown running at 761 km, a reference to his origin in Sonic the Comic.
**While jumping from a ramp, Sonic imitates his pose from Sonic Adventure.
**Sticks believes Eggman can hear her througth trees, calling back to Gnarly's paranoia about trees in Sonic Prime.
**To Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
***Upon meeting Sticks and realizing she never heard of him, Somic calls himself "the fastest thing alive", hoping she would recognize the nickname.
***After Sticks almost starts a public fight, Sonic reprimands her by telling her doing that is "no good".
***Eggman at the end says his famouse catchphrase "I hate that hedgehog", througth also adding the species of Sonic's friends.
***Much like in the series, Sonic uses Eggman's hatred towards him against the Doctor during the climax.
**To Sonic SatAM:
***The climax sees Sonic and Sticks destroying one by one a part of Eggman's base. This was inspired by the Sonic the Hedgehog animated series' finale episode, where Sonic and Sally destroy together the Doomsday Machine.
***When Sticks meets Amy, she accidentally calls her "Sally".
***Eggman using living, sentient beings as energy sources for his Badniks calls back to how robotization work in the series.
**The Casino Night Zone theme from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 plays as the Casino Night's in-universe music.
**Knuckles and Amy's first scene has them walking througth a sewer, much like in the third episode of Sonic X.
**A photo on Team Sonic's house has Sonic dressed as a werewolf.
* Nightmare Fuel:
** The film delves into the process of animals being used as batteries for Eggman's Badniks, and hell, its really creepy. Imagine being stuck insode a killing machine whike your body is connected to cables that drain your life force while you are consciouss.
** Sonic's interrogation by Sticks can be quite froghtening, even if tye scene is partially played for laughs. Imagone being kidnspped, held hostage, and interrogated by a nutcase you've never seen, is incredibly paranoid, and makes clear she'll kill you if you answer something she dosen't like, which you don't know what that means.
** Eggman's plan this time? To launch a worldwide abduction before destroyimg civilization and repopulating Mobius wuth people powered machines.
** Doubles as Tearjerker. We get a brief look at Sticks' perspective. Its claustrophobic and chilling, with everybody seeming threatening. You will believe everybody is out for Sticks, that's for sure.
** In the Oil Ocean Zone, Sticks' technophobia causes her to stumble and fall into the oil, where she would have drowned hadn't Amy showed up.
** The scene where a young Sticks hides herself from the Badniks is quite unnerving, and ripped straight from a slasher film. The moment where Sticks mistakes a Ladybuggy with an animal can provide quite a Jump Scare.
* The Other Darrin:
**Jessica DiCicco replaces Nikita Futterman as the voice of Sticks.
**Andrea Libman takes over Cream from Michelle Ruff.
* Role Reprise: Aside from DiCicco, most of the film's cast is compised by the characters' current game voice actors.
* Rule of Symbolism: In the games, rings are used as a form of healing from attacks. In the film, Sticks' first action in the climax is to grab a bag of rings, representing her healing from past wounds.
* Salvaged Story: A major criticism in Sonic Boom was how Sticks never really played a major role in spite of being promoted as an Original Generation character. Now, she gets to star on her own film, which gave her a lot of character depth.
* Shout-Out:
** Sticks gets stuck in a washing mashing and screams for help, much like Harley Quinn in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Joker's Millions".
** The moment Sticks first sees a shining object is a parody of Barbie and Ken's first meeting in Toy Story 3.
**After Sticks begins to pet Buster, Sonic says "That'll do, Sticks. That'll do".
**Sticks stopping herself from using a soaceship to escape Eggman's ship and Sonic comforting her was inspired by Blu reminding Pearl he can't fly before trying to flee a plane in Rio.
*The Stinger: Cream the Rabbit and Cheese show up in Team Sonic's house, only to be freaked out by Sticks.
*Take That!:
**While asking who's holding him hostage, Sonic asks if its Mephiles in a very resigned tone.
**Sticks and Sonic's first meeting is a lampashade of the narmistic aspects of Batman and Bane's final clash at the end of The Dark Knight Rises.
* Tearjerker:
** In this film, Sticks has been living in the woods, fearing for her life, for 13 years.
** After the Casino Night incident, Sonic angriñy reprimands Sticks for "going nuts every time [she sees] as much of a toaster", after which Sticks goes ballistic on him and calls him out for failing to understabd how she had to grow up in the jungle fearing Eggman may find her for years, visibly in ñain over having to relieve her traumatic childhood. It is also this moment where it dawns on the easygoing Sonic how someone he just described as a paranoid nutcase is in truth someone with a lot of inner pain... and has no idea on what to do.
* Truer to the Text: Unlike the live-action films, Sticks is set in a world closer to the videogames, with several of the game's zones appearing in the film.
* Unexpected Character: Seeing as how he was a one-off character, seeing Buster the Robotic Dog from the Sonic Boom series was quite a surprise for fans.