When I watched the Sonic movie, I managed to pick up on a few of the in-jokes.
So here's a list possible references I picked up on:
Sonic Levels
Green Hill
We see Sonic's old home as the first Sonic level, Green Hill Zone (complete with breaking land-bridges and loop-de-loops). The town on earth is called Green Hills, also named after the level. A bit of remixed music plays near the end of the movie--Green Hill Zone's theme.
Other Classic Stages
Sonic also mentions beaches and other locations, while his old dwelling resembles South (or possibly Angel) Island. The "Mushroom dimension" Sonic dreads has to be based on Mushroom Hill Zone (Sonic and Knuckles). A road sign labeled "Hill Top Rd" is named after the zone from Sonic 2. Sonic also goes to Egypt briefly, where many desert levels have been based (Sandopolis, etc).
Other Modern Stages
It's worth noting modern Sonic levels often mention characters as streets on their city levels, like Blaze RD (perhaps the "Hill Top" idea came from this). Sonic treks to San Francisco, where most of
Sonic Adventure 2's locations were based. What is shown resembles many Sonic-city levels like "Empire City." Sonic also visits the Great Wall of China, where the
Sonic Unleashed level Dragon Road was based.
Other Game Stuff
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| Sonic 3 |
The rings were inspired from the Giant Ring gimmick (the entrance to the special stages from the first game...as well as some of the others such as Sonic 3).
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| "Hold still you devil!" |
"Commander Waters" may be some version of the video game's "Commander." The Commander, who debuted in
Shadow the Hedgehog, is the head of the game's good-again/bad-again military, GUN ("
Guardian Units of Nation"). Walters, who seems to be in a high spot in the US military, is the one who chooses Robotnik for the job of investigating Sonic (and later, embarrassed, works to cover the situation up).
Sonic's red shoes are similar to his soap shoes from
Sonic Adventure 2.
The symbol on Sonic's bandanna is from the start of Sonic 1. Sonic also mentions having "an extra life." Having "lives" is a common Sonic element.
Sonic slowing/stopping time is an ability first used in Sonic and the Secret Rings ("Time Stop"), although slowing time had previously been established as a possibly with Chaos Control. Interestingly, while this is normal for "Movie Sonic," in the games Sonic usually needs a "skill" enabled or outside help before doing the move.
Sonic turning blue could be a version of the boost, while it's electric qualities could be a reference to Super Sonic or even the Lightening Shield.
Sonic also preforms the spindash, his signature move.
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| Miles Electric in Sonic Colors |
Tails has a small device that he uses in his appearance, likely some version of the Miles Electric.
At the end of the movie, Robotnik is left in the Mushroom zone. This mirrored the ending of
Sonic Generations where the Doctor was left in "White Space."
Nicknaming Robotnik "Eggman," is something Sonic did nearly two decades earlier in
Sonic Adventure.
It's mentioned that Robotnik has a high IQ. Most game descriptions often state his IQ as 300.
One of the labels on Robotnik's break-switches reads "Badniks," which is what his robots are called.
Sonic also mimics parts from the games such as looking at his wrist and tapping his foot, "falling off," and posing like in Smash Bros. The moment when he slides under a truck is also similar to part of the
Sonic Unleashed' opening
.
Sonic wanting a friend reflects the theme of friendship and teamwork the games often mention. This Sonic's origins are also similar to Blaze, who was likewise lonely had dangerous powers. However, she chose to isolate herself.
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| Tom Wachowski |
It's likely a coincidence, but "Tom Wachowski" has a name similar to "Tiara Boobowski," the scrapped character from the scrapped game,
Sonic X-treme.
Past TV shows, movies, comics
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| Sonic with a Chilidog in Sonic and the Black Knight |
Sonic eats and seems to enjoy Chilidogs, an occurrence that has been in practically every media since it's debut in
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (and in the games'
Sonic Unleashed).
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| Sonic with his guitar in Sonic Underground |
Sonic is shown to own a guitar. Sonic playing a guitar has also been a reoccurring gag in many cartoons, playing it's biggest role in
Sonic Underground. On similar lines, Sonic was supposed to be a singer in a band in the original Sonic 1, but the idea was scrapped for space.
Sonic shares a dislike of salt-water. In
Sonic Underground,
Sonic X,
Sonic Boom, and in the Archie comics, Sonic was hydrophobic. Others have mentioned that he doesn't like water, and all of these drew on the fact that in the Sonic games, Sonic can not swim, run fast, or breathe long underwater.
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| "No time for Relaxation" |
Sonic says, "Gotta' go Fast," and the unused theme of the movie shares the same name. This are both from the opening of
Sonic X, which repeats "Gotta' go fast, gotta' go fast, gotta' go faster-faster-f-f-f-f-faster."
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| Sonic and Tom running from Robotnik |
Sonic is called an "alien" and hunted from the government. This also happened in Sonic X. The idea of Sonic having a male human friend was also in
Sonic X first, although Chris was much younger than Tom.
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| Sonic and Chris "on the run" in the end of Season 2 |
Complaining, Sonic mentions he doesn't even have any pants, which was a running gag on the show,
Sonic Boom.
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| Sonic sneaks in a bar. |
To avoid suspicion, Sonic dons a disguise. This was a re-occurring element in the cartoons that was most used (and used first) in
Adventure of Sonic the Hedgehog.
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| Sonic as a Western Sheriff |
A woman mistakes Sonic as wearing a mask, which would often happen in
Sonic X (mistaken as a stuffed animal or costume).
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| Agent Stone with Robotnik |
Robotnik has an underling, Agent Stone. The idea of Robtonik having a sidekick or two to do his dirty work has been used through out many cartoons and comics. The concept is also in the game
Sonic Unleashed, with a robot who was later remade (as Orbot along-side a new character, Cubot, in
Sonic Colors).
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| Robotnik with his latest "underling," Dr. Starline. |
A little girl gives Sonic his red shoes when she was concerned about his feet. This is a reference to early Sonic canon that Sonic needs his shoes because of the intense friction he endures while running.
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| Sonic in socks |
This can be seen as early as
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, where Sonic's feet smoked when he ran with out them. Other sources say Uncle Chuck was credited as the creator of Sonic's "power shoes" and that he created them for the same reason (and/or to make him faster).
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| "At the plate...Sonic! At the pitcher's mound...also Sonic!" |
Sonic plays a game of baseball, ping-pong, and other games by himself. This has been a joke in the past, too. In
Sonic Underground, for example, he plays tennis with himself on each side and also acts as the referee.
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| "I hate it when I'm a sore loser." |
Sonic's origin is somewhat resembles his in Sonic Underground:
In Sonic Underground, "Beginings," young Sonic lives with two adoptive parents who tell him to run and not to come back. The two are taken to be robotized, and the house is burned. Sonic runs back too late, but is found by Uncle Chuck.
In the movie, Long Claw--an Owl--acts as in a mother-like manor to a young Sonic. In a bad situation, she likewise tells him to run and not to come back. Sonic
does run back, just barely missing his chance to return. Sonic was then on his own.
While I am not sure the real reason an owl was chosen (because owls as "wise?"), it's possible it was a reference to old man Owl from the first "Sonic Movie" (the OVA). There have been a few owls in Sonic before, but I fail to see any other connections.
Several Echidnas are seen as the villainous group that drives Sonic away from his home. While this could be a reference to the game's own ancient echidna clans, even that may have been inspired by the history in the Archie Comics.
Speaking of which, the character of Long Claw may not have been Sonic's actual
mother because of one of Sega's mandates: video game characters cannot have family unless mentioned in the games. This rule, along with others, was created after the "Ken Penders lawsuit" (former comic writer making a mess). This isn't really a reference, but a possible explanation.
Sonic zips through many Flash comics, likely a nod to the fact that the hedgehog has appeared in several of his own series. In a short, comedic portion of the Archie Comics, Sonic even appeared similar to the Flash in a joke.
Archie's "Warp Rings" (also based on the giant rings from the games) were very similar to the rings in this movie. They served as a means of inter-dimensional transport.
Sonic has a red race car bed, which must have been inspired from the comics.
The "blind him" move Sonic decides on is something that has been common in many of Sonic's appearances.
Real World
The name Ivo Rotonik came from the US, while Eggman came from Japan. Later these names were combined so that his name was Ivo Robotnik and his nickname was "Eggman."
An old man draws a picture of Sonic, but it's really an image of Sanic, an online internet meme.
Sonic pretends he has a livestream...he does in the form of the "Sonic the Hedgehog" Youtube Channel.
Having Sonic drive (and asking how he knew) may have been a jive at the common question some of the racing games caused: "why would Sonic drive a car?"
[End]
So that was more than I expecting to remember. I'm sure there's more and that people will catch on better when they release it on DVD...
I think it's pretty cool they added so much in and it makes me hopeful for the future. Still, it's hard to image that the same company that snuck "badnik" labels and "Sanic" in their move allowed that first design. I'm hoping they add in something that makes fun of it if they make a sequel.
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| Sonic and ALSO Sonic |
