MARIO VS SONIC!

Okay, before I rank Sonic 2, I'm going to compare and contrast both movies with the recent Mario movie. Not only am I doing this for fun, but even though I'm counting both Sonic movies, this will determine which one will rank higher: The Super Mario Bros Movie...or Sonic The Hedgehog 2!

MAIN HERO: First, let's start with the Italian plumber himself. Mario is totally serviceable in his own movie. He didn't need a character arc necessarily, he just needed to go rescue his brother and do everything he can to prepare himself for battle, which is exactly what they did. He's likable enough mainly for the fact that he and Luigi have such a strong, brotherly bond. Besides that, he isn't as great of a character here as Bowser, Peach, or even Luigi despite getting captured and less screentime. This is not a knock against the movie in any way, this is just a knock in terms of what I prefer, because Sonic wins this round in spades!

Not only is Sonic known for having a lot more attitude compared to other video game icons at the time he was introduced, but his enthusiastic and charming personality transcends him from simply being a video game character. This blue hedgehog has more cartoon shows compared to Mario, and the stories in many of the games tend to go for a more cinematic approach anyway, leading to Sonic and his friends feeling more like fleshed out characters than corporate mascots. And Sonic in these movies is just an absolute delight! He's super energetic yet is calm at the right moments. He's cocky and arrogant, but he's also sympathetic. He had an actual character arc in both movies, and it's interesting to see him mature and grow while also getting the opportunity to do fun things that he couldn't have done just by being all alone. And unlike Chris Pratt who was decent enough but felt like he was casted due to namesake, Ben Schwartz was the absolute PERFECT choice for Sonic and I can't imagine any other celebrity actor in the role! He is irreplaceable in my opinion! So again, point goes to Sonic!

THE VILLAINS: Now this one is a lot trickier. On the one hand, Bowser is a bit more intimidating and resembles the video game counterpart down to his overall design. Robotnik on the other hand, had a much more gradual process in becoming more and more like the game version. He starts off as a government scientist who then gets the red suit, bushier mustache, bald head, and the goggles over time. He is also confirmed to be fat in the upcoming third movie. He even said that he has been binging carbohydrates! So while Bowser is a lot closer to the game version right off the bat, Robotnik had a lot more creative liberties that payed off extremely well! And both Jim Carrey and Jack Black give amazing performances! Jim Carrey was mainly acting like himself, but it works because he's so hilarious, and his performance just has a different vibe from everyone else. Jack Black deepened his voice for Bowser in order to suit the character more, but he still had some of those Jack Black-isms, mainly with the iconic Peaches song. Both of them are hilarious while still being legitimate threats in their respective films. I will say that Robotnik is funnier overall and also benefits from an interesting character progression, while Bowser feels more authentic and is definitely more physically imposing. So because I can't decide between the two, I'll have to call it a draw.

THE SUPPORTING CAST: This is going to be a weird comparison, because even though I generally prefer Sonic's cast of characters over Mario (even though I do like the Mario characters), the thing is that, as of now, there's only Sonic, Robotnik, Tails and Knuckles. Everyone else is a human character character not from the games. Meanwhile, everyone outside of Mario's extended family are characters from their respective franchise. I will say that while Knuckles clears almost the whole Mario movie cast with Bowser being about on par, most of the human side characters pale in comparison to Luigi, Peach, and in some cases, even Toad. The one knock against Mario though, is Cranky Kong whose voice is annoying. But the humans in Sonic aren't annoying, they're mostly just kinda there. Tom is fine, Maddie is fine, Agent Stone is good, and Rachel has grown on me more in the sequel. But between Luigi being Mario's lovable, younger brother, Peach being the one to train Mario and kick the most butt, and even Donkey Kong being useful in action while also having a fun rivalry with Mario, I feel like I might have to give the slight edge to that supporting cast. Maybe in the future, once we get plenty of Sonic's animal friends in the games brought into the film franchise, they'll earn this point over Mario. But for now, point goes to Nintendo.

THE MUSIC: Mario! Not even a contest! Hopefully, after Mario's soundtrack being such an amazing love letter to a lot of the games, maybe we'll hear some actual Sonic movie in upcoming projects. It was announced by the lead singer of Crush 40 himself, Johnny Geoili, that Live and Learn will be in the next movie, but only time will tell if Paramount will let it be used in the final product and not get someone else to do a lackluster cover of it or just leave it out entirely.

VIDEO GAME REFERENCES: Now it may seem that Mario is the clear winner here, and if this was solely based on the amount of references, then yeah, obviously. But it's not about the amount of references, rather the way they incorporated them. What the Sonic movies might lack in certain areas in terms of staying true to the games, it more than makes up for it with a lot of great references and the way they used the games' lore! Sonic keeps rings as teleportation devices, the Chaos Emeralds grant ultimate power, and the human world is used to separate the stuff from our world from Sonic's. At first, we assumed that it was just because the filmmakers were lazy and just wanted to cash in with Sonic being transported to our world in live-action. But the thing that you gotta keep in mind is that the world in the Sonic games is highly inconsistent. First it's like an alien world where cartoon animals roam and magic jewelry is a thing. Then we start to see normal locations such as San Francisco being a thing, with the magical stuff being mostly hidden and cartoon animals are just a thing that coexists with normal humans. And it keeps going back and forth between those two different kind of world building attributes to the point where it got needlessly confusing. No wonder Sega are doing everything they can to streamline the franchise as much as possible! So with there being a clear distinction between the two worlds, it allows the films to feel like a mix of Sonic Adventure and the classic titles at the same time, more so in the sequel's case.

Now with Mario, they definitely throw a lot more at you in terms of references and world building. This is also an inverse of what I just talked about where Mario is the one transported to a fantasy world. Through his perspective (and a little bit from Luigi as well), we get to see these weird and crazy things happen from his perspective. Some things blantly happen onscreen and even Mario himself starts to question what is even going on, while other things happen in the background and it may require multiple viewings in order to spot everything. In terms of creating a fantasy world and throwing more game references in there, Mario takes the cake in those regards. But in terms of establishing its own rules and incorporating game lore in a more natural way, that's when it becomes a bit tricky. I don't need them to examine everything, and I am fine with certain things happening just because it's accurate to the source material. However, while I don't have a problem with the way that movie does these references, Sonic does feel more natural in some ways despite being a film series where the fantasy stuff comes to our world instead of the other way around. So because of that, I'm going to make this another tie.

THE STORY: Okay, none of these movies have Oscar worthy screenplays or even the best stories in any video game adaptation. And while I like the fact that they kept things simple for the Mario movie, it also could have benefited from taking a short breather here and there. But with Sonic, even though the first movie had a basic story and the themes in the second film may not have been as well emphasized as they could have been, there's still a stronger emotional core with these movies (and just imagine how even more emotional things will get once we dive into Shadow's story). Again, Sonic had a much stronger character arc that made you feel for him. And Knuckles also gets a solid arc of his own that's reminiscent to the story in the game that introduced him to the world! They're not mind blowing stories in all of cinema, but they do have stronger narratives than the Mario movie, even though I do prefer it over the first Sonic movie due to it being more entertaining and being set in a fantasy world. But still, point goes to Sonic!

Wait a minute! It's a tie! But I can't just let it stay that way! I need to determine which one I prefer! Well, here's the thing: when I saw the Mario movie in theaters, I was convinced that it was a slightly better movie than Sonic 2 because not only did it take place in this gorgeous fantasy world that I loved seeing unfold, but it also didn't rely on needless pop culture references or trendy dances. Aside from the licensed songs, the Mario movie felt more timeless overall and also benefited from being more authentic to its respective franchise. However, I have always been more of a Sonic fan myself, so there were certain moments in the second film that got me even more excited than the Mario movie did, and that got me excited during many parts as well, don't get me wrong. So even though I'm a much bigger Sonic fan, I did go from slightly preferring the Mario movie to then becoming indecisive with which one I prefer. For the longest time, I just had it as a tie. And while my thoughts on the Mario movie haven't changed with my latest rewatch, I think I have grown even more appreciative of Sonic 2 with time. I've always had a blast watching it, but I thought that the wedding subplot and the out-of-nowhere dance battle kept it from being as great as it could have been since I initially thought that they were kinda cringe. And yeah, I still have my critiques with the way they're implemented, but they have sorta grown on me over time. And the more that I thought about certain other aspects, the more that I've grown to appreciate them alongside the stuff that I've always adored. I would be totally honest if I feel like that the Mario movie was better despite being more of a Sonic fan. And while I still stand by that they're pretty much even overall, I will give a bonus point to Sonic since, like I said, there were moments that got me even more giddy since I am a much bigger fan of this particular franchise. Yeah, it's got more cringey moments here and there, but a lot of the stuff that's good is so incredibly awesome that it more than makes up for its flaws! And that is why Sonic the Hedgehog 2, is now the number one video game movie of all time! And hopefully, the third installment will live up to the hype and claim this spot, further cementing how great it is to be a fan of my favorite video game franchise!