Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie

Scrape your Knuckles. Catch some Tails.
 — Tagline.

1999 North American DVD cover

***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***, or the ***Sonic the Hedgehog OVA***, is a two-episode original video animation about the classic video game series, *Sonic the Hedgehog* and is produced by Studio Pierrot and General Entertainment Co., Ltd. The anime originally released in Japan between January 26th and February 4th of 1996 with two thirty-minute long episodes. One being *Welcome to Eggmanland* and the other being *Sonic vs. Metal Sonic!!*. Both of these featured the same ending theme: *Look-a-like*. Speaking of the song, the composer was named Mitsuhiro Tada.

In 1999, A.D. Vision had the license rights for a North-American release. They dubbed and edited the two parts together to make ***Sonic The Hedgehog: The Movie*** available for VHS and DVD on September 7th, 1999.

## Home Releases

Between January 26th, 1996, and February 4th, 1996, the anime was first released in Japan as two original video animation rental-only VHS tapes distributed by Taki Corporation. Both VHS tapes were released for retail sale several months later on May 31, 1996. The *Journey to Eggmanland* VHS also features the beginning advertisement for *Nights into Dreams.*

The series was licensed by A.D. Vision in North America, and was was dubbed in English and compounded into a direct-to-video film on VHS and DVD as *Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie*. The English dub was first released in North America on September 7, 1999, a few days before the North American release of *Sonic Adventure*, albeit with several scenes cut out. It was distributed in North America and the United Kingdom by A.D. Vision, and in Australia by Madman Entertainment.

The movie was later re-released on DVD in North America on January 13, 2004 by A.D. Vision and featured the fully uncut version of the movie. The extras on the DVD included character bios and a picture gallery. Since the sale of assets and dissolution of the distributor in 2009, A.D. Vision's license for the film has expired.

### Deleted Scenes

The original 1999 VHS release and early copies of the DVD release have scenes that were edited or cut out due to its suggestive imagery. These scenes were later brought back for the uncut DVD version in 2004.

* In the scene where Robotnik and Sara are trapped under the debris of Metal Robotnik, Robotnik gropes Sara; Sara exclaims, "Just where do you think you're putting your hands?!" In the English version, Robotnik replies saying "It was an accident!" but the Japanese version he instead replies "They feel so nice."
* When Sara regretfully imagines her future as Robotnik's wife, it is shown that Sara is pregnant and breastfeeding a baby.
* Sara calls Hyper Metal Sonic a pervert because of him looking up her dress. Sonic (who basically sees, thinks, and feels everything Metal does) has an adverse reaction to this event.
* When Sara, Knuckles, and Tails crash after being rolled up into a giant snowball, Tails is shown holding onto Sara's breasts. Knuckles tells him to "Get off!" and later comments, "I'd never thought you'd stoop that low!"

## Trivia

* Confusingly, the official trailer found as extra content in *Sonic Jam*, incorrectly advertises both episodes of the anime as being set for release on 31 May 1996, while the "History of Sonic the Hedgehog" gallery section in *Sonic Jam* mentions that the anime was first released in January 1996.
* Tails' new, jet-propelled body-board bears similarities to the Extreme Gear.
* When Sara and Robotnik are playing the video game, Robotnik's name in the video game reads "Eggman" and Sara's name is spelled "Seira".
* Tails has a severe case of astraphobia in the movie. This is a reference to his astraphobia mentioned in his character bio in *Sonic Jam*.
* The cowboy hat that Knuckles wears in this move has appeared in various *Sonic the Hedgehog* medias:
	+ In the *Sonic the Hedgehog* video game series, the hat appeared as a part of the attire worn by Treasure Hunter Knuckles in *Sonic Forces: Speed Battle* and *Sonic Dash*.
	+ In *Sonic the Hedgehog* comics published by Archie Comics, the hat was a gift to Knuckles from his great-grandfather, Hawking, and a story arc surrounding a possible future for the characters depicts Knuckles wearing that hat regularly.
	+ In the *Sonic Boom* comic series, Knuckles is seen with this hat in *Sonic Boom* #11 after buying a pile of hats.
* The abandoned city bears an uncanny resemblance to a post-apocalyptic New York City. This can be further proven as one of the skyscrapers in the city resembles the Empire State Building.
* When Dr. Robotnik notices on the screen in his Egg Mobile that Hyper Metal Sonic has found the point of destruction, the text "SEGA" is seen on Robotnik's monitor.
* The ending climax where Sonic tries to save Metal Sonic may have been inspired by the ending climax of *Terminator 2: Judgment Day*.
	+ Similarly, the anime's climax is also mirrored in *Sonic the Hedgehog* #87, where Metal Sonic is being buried alive in lava and rock as his last act of free will for saving Sonic and Tails.

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