Video game adaptations to film. Who would've thought this would become a lucrative business move? It worked with comic books, why not video games...we guess? And, the most successful examples we can think of are the recently released Sonic The Hedgehog movie, and last year's international hit Detective Pikachu. Why compare the two? Well, they both involve an overly furry creature with electric-based powers as they bond with a human going through a big change in their life and ultimately grow to become best friends. So you know, they do have a thing or two in common.
10 Sonic: More Emphasis On The Gameplay Making It Into The Movie
Sonic's movie has been really popular since it came out on the day of pure love and all. If we're comparing which one succeeds more at being a video game movie, Sonic would have to get some extra points for making the entire point of the movie getting Sonic to go somewhere fast. The core gameplay loop of those titles is that Sonic wants his rings, he wants to stop Robotnik, and he wants to go fast, and all three of those were central to the film. Meanwhile, Detective Pikachu, while unique in its approach, has very little actual catching of the Pokémon, barely any classic battle representation, and not a single instance of EV training. Detective Pikachu is a spin-off from the core of what makes Pokémon unique, while Sonic stays true to what makes those games so beloved.
9 Pikachu: More Franchise Representation
Here's the thing, other than Robotnik and Sonic, none of the other cast from any of the Sonic games make an appearance (other than a cameo in an end credits scene). No Shadow, no Knuckles, not even a hint of Cream or Big the Cat. Meanwhile, Detective Pikachu has a bunch of Pokémon everywhere! Not just Generation 1 creatures either, a pretty decent spread of Pokemon from all different timelines. Let's simplify it with an easy comparison, Sonic is a movie about a super-powered creature dropped into the human world and making a place for himself. Detective Pikachu is about a human being in the world of Pokémon and learning to love them and live with them. Out of the two, which represents the franchise they come from better? It should be pretty obvious.
8 Sonic: Honestly? Better Acting All-Around
Ken Watanabe was a great cameo, Justice Smith had some moments, and Ryan Renolds was awesome as always. Still, the overall acting in Detective Pikachu was pretty mediocre. Lucy Stevens was a hokey character and the scriptwriting for the other side characters was sub-standard.
Meanwhile, Jim Carrey breathed new life into the character of Dr. Robotnik, Ben Schwartz couldn't be a better fit for the Blue Blur, and James Marsden played the relatable everyman just like he always does. It feels odd to say, but the acting was way better in Sonic.
7 Pikachu: Higher Quality VFX, And Tons Of It
And, while we're on the topic of those adorable VFX Pocket Monsters, they nailed a faux realistic style with those little things! Usually, realistic Pokémon end up purely horrifying or gross, but that isn't the case in detective Pikachu (most of the time). All of the Pokemon translated into the film quite well, and Pikachu himself was just so dang adorable! Meanwhile, the Sonic movie had to completely redo their VFX to fix that monstrosity of a design from before. Plus, they cleaned up a ton of the shoddier effects work like with Sonic's lightning, etc. Still, while Sonic looks great for the most part, we can tell a lot of it was finished up last minute and didn't get quite the polish it could have.
6 Sonic: That Love-Infused Credit Sequence
While Detective Pikachu does a bunch of stuff right, it can't beat the Sonic movie in terms of their credit sequences. There's been a real trend lately with artistically designed credits that harken back to the source material in some really inventive ways much like Into the Spiderverse does.
And the way Sonic does it is by creating this awesome retelling of the events of the movie (ignoring all the unanswered stuff) using the old 16-bit sprites from the 2D Sonic games. There are new sprites for Robotnik and his battlewagon, Agent Stone, and even James Marsden's character Tom. Overall they're some beautifully made credits that make waiting for that Post-Credit scene (something Detective Pikachu doesn't have) all the easier.
5 Pikachu: The Fresh Take On A Pokémon Story
But, while Sonic wins in the credits department, Detective Pikachu wins in the overall plot structure. Sonic's plot is insanely safe and simple. Sonic leaves home, gets lonely, causes EMP, Robotnik/Government hunts him down, he loses his rings, he and Tom go to San Fran to recover them and become friends along the way, the get them, beat Robotnik, and send him to Mushroom Planet. The End! It's a bit cut and dry and that's totally fine, but Pikachu's plot had us enthralled all the way through. And somehow, we didn't guess the big twist at the end either. Though, looking back now, it was pretty dang obvious.
4 Sonic: Just An Overall Funnier Movie
Ryan Renolds makes any movie funny. The guy exudes charm, charisma, and relatability. Some say he plays the same character in every film, and we'd say they're sort of right, yet he still nails it every time. But, otherwise, the movie's humor falls flat a lot of the time. Meanwhile, Sonic is telling jokes left and right and they feel so on brand with his character. It's why we say Ben Schwartz was made for the role, and why Sonic was our favorite part of the film. Plus, any of the jokes involving Jim Carrey, Agent Stone, or any of the slapstick humor landed for us as well. It might be a shallower film, but it's definitely funnier.
3 Pikachu: Isn't Packed With Sponsors Like Sonic
And, we say Sonic is shallow for a lot of reasons. One, the film has a cookie-cutter format. Two, it might be enjoyable to watch, but that doesn't mean its world is well-developed at all. And three, this movie is packed full of ads and sponsorships.
We get it, they had to re-do Sonic's design and re-render all the VFX, which cost at least a couple million bucks, but did we really need three Olive Garden Jokes? Or the Zillow reference? Or multiple closeups on Tom's Toyota-brand truck? There are obvious brand inclusions in films that are done well and ones that aren't, and we say that Sonic's fall mostly in the middle. Meanwhile, we can't remember a single one in Detective Pikachu.
2 Sonic: Plays Into Its Silly Concept
The Sonic movie knows its dumb. It knows the plot revolves around a Hedgehog that can run many times faster than the speed of light. And, it knows the idea of a genius-level professor chasing after it to "harness its power" sounds like a fever dream. So, it embraces it, it plays into the stupidity and campy style. And it's a good portion of what makes the film so enjoyable. And, Detective Pikachu, for the most part, does the same. They really nailed the feel of a Pokémon inhabited world, and Ryme City as a concept seems well-thought-out. But, the film about a tiny thunder mouse wearing a detective cap takes itself too seriously at multiple fronts, which feels weird.
1 Pikachu: Does Everything It Set Out To Do
And lastly, we've got to give Detective Pikachu credit, it set out to tell a story about a guy who had a bad past with Pokémon and had to learn to love them again. It promised mystery, a well-developed world full of all your favorite Pokémon, and tons of Ryan Renolds charm. And, at the end of the day, it absolutely delivered on that. Meanwhile, Sonic was enjoyable and wasn't the train-wreck we thought it would be, but there are a good amount of aspects we could tell they were aiming for that just didn't land.