What I Think of Animated Live-Action Films

By now, you may of heard of the new Sonic the Hedgehog live action film, and didn't know what to think. This is the first live action film for the iconic character. Also, people were pretty upset at the design for Sonic, however the studio listened and gave him a facelift. But today, my concern is turning something as weird and quirky like Sonic into a real-life character.

First, I'll share my experiences with Sonic. In the early 2000s, I used to watch the Sonic X series on Saturday mornings. I still love the series to this day. Occasionally, I play the original, Sega Sonic games on my PC. So, I would call myself a casual Sonic fan. When I saw the trailer, it just looked too weird for live action. For example, a blue hedgehog wearing sneakers, the stale dialogue, and a cheesy villain. It works better animated, because of the odd characters and situations.

This leads me to more terrible live adaptations of cartoons. I will not include Sonic because the film isn't out yet. These include Yogi Bear, Alvin and the Chipmunks (all of them), The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Aladdin, Underdog, Scooby-Doo, Dragon Ball: Evolution, The Smurfs, Dora the Explorer, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. These are all prime examples of why most animated series can't be converted into live action. This is due to the fact that cartoons are limitless and can be used to create anything.

However in live action, there is only so much you can create and utilize in reality. The challenge is being able to use characters based in a fictional world, and making them adaptable to realistic situations. This is something that annoys me. Another challenge is recreating the likeness of an animated character into reality. Some characters will not work in live action, because of the outrageous and quirky designs in animation. The Dragon Ball Z anime is a good example. In the live action version, none of the characters match their animated counterparts. In a way, it makes sense that they don't look like the characters, even though the movie was awful. Think about it, would the movie look right if the actors looked exactly like the characters. Imagine over-buffed men with two feet of spikey hair, flying through the air. Do you get the point?

Another thing is the lack of creativity and heart. Most of the live-action films are just poorly made. This is what I mean. The cartoon characters are almost always made into CGI, they're not their in reality, just in computers. Seeing animated characters interacting with real life environments is just stale. The writing is another factor that goes into the poor quality of these adaptations. The dialogue is not realistic or understandable. Rarely is any intelligence put into these movies.

Not all live-action animated films are bad though. Some good examples are 101 Dalmatians, Fat Albert, and Christopher Robin. These particular movies have a realistic tone to them, even though they're based off cartoons. The character's personalities are grounded, and the environments, life like. I wonder though, what are the motives for turning cartoons into live-action films? My opinion is that they're mostly cash grabs. They are meant to make money off merch and ticket sales. It also shows a lack of creativity to recreate cartoons into live-action films that lack the heart and spirit of their predecessors.

Finally, I have nothing against animated series being created into films. However, as long as they're written realistically, they stay true to the characters, and listen to the fans.