The ‘Sonic The Hedgehog’ games were an overnight sensation when they hit the shelves back in 1991. They very quickly became the must have game on the SEGA MegaDrive (also known as the SEGA Genesis in the US. Yeah I know it’s confusing) during the early 90’s. Over the recent years though the Sonic games have struggled trying to stay relevant forcing SEGA to come up with ridiculous ways in order for the games to stay in the spotlight (I’m going to pretend Sonic being in love with a human doesn’t happen).
In short, Sonic’s transformation into 3D platforming was…not great to say the least. There have been some acceptations such as ‘Sonic Racing’ for the Wii and DS, the ‘Mario and Sonic At the Olympics’ team up series in which Mario and Sonic and their friends compete in various Olympic events and ‘Sonic Colours’ in 2010. Oh and the 20th anniversary celebration game ‘Sonic Generations’ for various platforms.
However, Sonic’s on-screen appearances have fared much better than on the video games through various cartoon appearances such as the unfinished ‘Sonic Underground’ musical series (which was rather good from what I can dimly remember) and the original animated ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ series.
So you might be wondering this; why has this cute little blue hedgehog not had a film yet? After the negative reaction from the live action ‘Super Mario’ film SEGA were understandably very hesitant about doing something similar with their own mascot.
Then we finally got one in 2020. I admit that I wasn’t sure what to think at first because I was always hesitant on a live action Pokemon film. Maybe because the thought of a live action Sonic film didn’t cross my mind at a young age. The Sonic film was supposed to come out in 2019 but when the trailer first hit fans were appalled by the design and demanded that Paramount changed it. They got their wish and the studio delayed the film for several months so that they could work on the design. When the next trailer arrived fans were overjoyed at the new design.
Personally I was also very delighted and surprised that Paramount had listened to the fans as not many studios (looking at you Disney) usually like to listen to the fans in this day and age.
The story starts with Sonic speeding through San Fransisco’s streets as he tries to take down the film’s villain Dr Robotnik (excellently played by Jim Carrey) but is then paused by Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) as he tells his audiences about his childhood in a place that looks very much like the iconic Green Hill Zone from the original Sonic game.
It isn’t before long before Sonic’s peaceful childhood is ruined by a tribe of echidna archers (clearly a nod to Knuckles the Echidna who will be voiced by Idris Elba in the film’s sequel). Sonic’s protector and mentor Longclaw tries to save Sonic by taking a ring which turns into a portal and throws him into the world on the other side of it where he will be safe.
Ten years go by and Sonic is living in a hideout next to a small town called Green Hill (a nod to the first game’s first level). We first see “teen Sonic” (as I like to call him) trying to break his speed record…by using the local sheriff Tom Wachowski’s (James Marsden) radar gun as Tom sits- clearly bored out of his mind- in his police car waiting for someone to speed past him.
As Tom is called to deal with an incident, Sonic then saves a turtle from being run over by a truck by grabbing the poor startled animal as he zips past at sonic speed.
Of course, it isn’t before long before Sonic’s speed causes a problem for everyone and Robotnik shows up on the screen.
As I said earlier, I had little to no thoughts on the idea of a live action Sonic the Hedgehog film despite the fact that I’m a huge Sonic fan and I love him very much! Of course, Jim Carrey steals the show as Dr Robotnik and there’s an excellent post-credits scene which gives a nod to the up and coming sequel. I’m also very pleased that Paramount took their time to listen to the fans and not bully them for complaining about Sonic’s design.
My only complaint was that the media were whining on about the fact that a mere kid’s film based on a video game was doing so much better than any film coming out at the time (notably ‘Birds of Prey’). They should’ve been happy with the fact that we finally got a decent live action video game adaptation that didn’t look awkward (although I thought Fox’s attempt at doing ‘Assassins Creed’ was alright).
If there’s any other SEGA franchise I’d like to see on the screen (if this encourages them to bring other titles to the big screen) it would be the fantasy game ‘Golden Ax’, another classic MegaDrive game.
I’m really looking forward to seeing what they do with ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ and Idris’ performance as Knuckles.
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