Old Man Owl, the old owl of the Sonic OVA

An old blind owl who flies burning planes and dances in a neon tracksuit: Old Man Owl is the resident comic of the 1996 Sonic OVA. A minor character, but one whose scene has become one of the film’s great memes.

Who is Old Man Owl?

Old Man Owl — “the old owl” — is a supporting character in the Sonic OVA, the 1996 animated film. He is an elderly anthropomorphic owl with brown plumage, purely comic: the film’s comic relief.

His name is a wiki label, with no elaborate canonical proper name. And he is a character exclusive to the OVA: he turns up in no game, nor in the other Sonic cartoons or films.

The gag of the owl who can’t see a thing

His tastiest trait is a fine piece of irony: this owl is blind, or as good as. Poor eyesight or badly made glasses, the running gag keeps coming back — right up to the scene where, wanting to warn Sonic of danger, he speaks to a flower thinking he is talking to him.

🌞 Poor eyesight or badly made glasses, Old Man Owl ends up warning a flower he mistakes for Sonic about the danger. Your own eyes deserve better: in the car, one of our Sonic sunshades set against the windscreen keeps the sun at bay.

Absent-minded, a little doddering, easily frightened, he screams at the top of his lungs and does absurd things at random. His passion? The “wild life”, which mostly comes down to his taste for driving dangerous vehicles — despite his blindness, which reassures nobody.

The villain of his film

Sonic Pop Figure - Dr. Eggman

Old Man Owl moves through a film in which Dr. Eggman sows chaos. His POP figure, €27.90.

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The President’s messenger

Contrary to what one might think, Old Man Owl is neither an adviser nor a strategist: he is the President’s messenger. The film actually opens on him: Tails crashes into his little plane — whose engine is burning without the blind owl noticing — and Sonic saves them both in extremis before the crash.

The owl then passes on to the heroes the President’s urgent message: he wants to see Sonic as soon as possible. Then he stays on the island to look after Sonic and Tails’ house — which is what will earn him his most famous scene.

🏠 Old Man Owl stays on the island to look after Sonic and Tails’ house, round glasses and failing eyesight notwithstanding. Your own home can do without a feathered guard: a few pieces from our Sonic decorations on the wall are enough to show whose place it is.

The cult tracksuit scene

When Hyper Metal Sonic — the mechanical copy of Sonic created by Dr. Eggman — lands on the island and mistakes the owl for Sonic, the robot wrecks the house and forces the old owl to put on Sonic’s old sportswear: neon pink T-shirt, backwards cap, shorts, trainers, skateboard — the early-nineties look in all its glory.

And then, against all expectations, the owl loves it: he starts dancing freestyle everywhere, much to the annoyance of Tails and the President. This sequence is by far his most memorable image — a small cult moment for fans of the OVA.

🕺 Old Man Owl never chose the neon pink T-shirt and the backwards cap: Hyper Metal Sonic forced him into them before the freestyle. In your wardrobe, our Sonic T-shirts at least let you pick for yourself the top you hit the dance floor in.

His place in the OVA

It has to be said plainly: Old Man Owl is a minor character, present in only a handful of scenes. Next to the stars of the saga such as Sonic, Tails or Knuckles, he inevitably pales. His fame rests almost entirely on the costume scene.

He does get one fine moment all the same: at the climax of the film, it is him, along with the President, whom Hyper Metal Sonic saves from an explosion just before his sacrifice — proof that the robot really does have a heart. The resident comic thus finds himself, for a moment, at the centre of the film’s most moving scene.

Recap

Frequently asked questions

• Who is Old Man Owl?
  An elderly anthropomorphic owl from the 1996 Sonic OVA, a comic character and the President’s messenger. He is exclusive to the film and appears in no game.
• Why is the owl funny?
  Because he is blind — the height of irony for an owl. The gag keeps coming back, right up to the point where he talks to a flower thinking he is addressing Sonic.
• What is his best-known scene?
  The one where Hyper Metal Sonic forces him to put on Sonic’s old sportswear: the owl loves it and starts dancing freestyle everywhere.
• Does Old Man Owl have a real name?
  No, “Old Man Owl” is a name given by the wikis. The film does not give him an elaborate proper name.
• What is his role in the story?
  He passes the President’s message on to the heroes at the start, then looks after their house. At the end, he is saved by Hyper Metal Sonic, along with the President.