If you’ve been keeping up with video game film adaptations, then you are probably familiar with both Detective Pikachu and Sonic the Hedgehog. The former is a lighthearted fantasy mystery film, which follows Tim Goodman, a former Pokémon trainer who must team up with a talking Pikachu in order to solve the disappearance of his missing father. The latter, on the other hand, is an upcoming adventure comedy film starring James Marsden and Jim Carrey, complete with a CGI version of Sonic that has received widespread criticism from fans and critics alike.
While Pokémon devotees were originally off-put by some of Detective Pikachu‘s realistic takes on Mr. Mime and Jigglypuff, it seems the fanbase has come around since, and early reviews and reactions to the final film have been positive. The same can’t be said for Sega’s blue blur. Just days after the first trailer launched, the film received so much backlash that its director took to Twitter to announce that Sonic would be getting a visual overhaul and redesign.
Of course, this begs the question: why have fans been hating on one film over the other? Thanks to Newsweek – via ScreenRant – we might have an answer. John Mathieson, who served as the director of photography for Detective Pikachu, came right out to say that his movie looks far better than Sonic the Hedgehog.
Mathieson, who was actually offered the job of cinematographer for Sonic, turned down the offer to work on Detective Pikachu. He explained that the big difference between the two films comes down to how they were shot. Detective Pikachu made use of traditional film, while Sonic the Hedgehog was done on digital cameras.
“If all we’re talking about is how these two films look, our film is better than Sonic the Hedgehog and I’m sorry, I don’t care who I upset by saying that, but I think it looks better. There’s no reason why you can’t shoot a film like [Detective Pikachu] or Sonic the Hedgehog on film. If you had, [Sonic the Hedgehog] would look more realistic. I look at Sonic the Hedgehog and I just go ‘yeah whatever.’ Film hasn’t been made better by digital.
People are lazier, they don’t try as hard, don’t try things out. I find it very difficult to use, especially these huge Marvel superhero films because [director of photographers] all look the same. It all goes in the computer and gets washed up. You don’t see the individuality of the photographer and that’s a shame. It’s difficult to bring a look to a film that’s made by lots of people that’s gone through a big computer. That’s what they are, computers with lens attached to them.”
Thankfully, fans won’t have to wait too long to decide which film looks better. Detective Pikachu is set to release later this week on May 10th, and Sonic the Hedgehog is due out on November 8th.