Millennials grew up playing Sonic the Hedgehog on their Sega Genius and Game-Gears. While these gaming consoles are obsolete now, the nostalgia for the spirit of Sonic clearly is not.
After the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie trailer landed, there was some immediate push back directed at Paramount from the initial Sonic CGI of the character, we can proudly state that a comprehensive makeover clearly made all the difference as the flick has landed on home video
Throughout the film, Sonic the Hedgehog tries to survive on Earth by using his rings to teleport himself and audiences to faraway locales such as The Great Wall of China and the Pyramids in Egypt in an effort to escape those who seek to do him harm. The shots of the natural wonders of the world are spectacular and on par with Disney-Pixar; truly breathtaking. Parks and Recreation star Ben Schwartz voices the furiously fast blue-devil, who seemingly just wants to make friends, is arguably a perfect match for the 90’s gaming icon.
Personally, I took a friend of mine and his son just to gauge their reactions. He and I both played the game when we were younger, and it was his two-year old’s first movie in a theater! How did he do? Well, he was in complete awe of Sonic and couldn’t take his eyes off the screen. We were dancing when the music was playing with fast-paced sequences and laughing together at mostly the same parts. However, there’s even some great adult yet kid-friendly comedic content embedded in the storyline that makes this flick fun for all ages.
The main source for that comedic relief is Jim Carrey, who channels some of those older Ace Ventura classics, and is impeccably cast as the villain, Dr. Ivo Robotnik.
With family films such as these, it’s important that the filmmakers take pages from the Disney-Pixar playbook and cross-pollinate ideas with deeper meanings that resonate with a broader demographic than just youngsters, and Sonic the Hedgehog does just that.
Sonic is seeking what every human is: connection and friendship. In this case, he aspires to find kinship with the local Sherriff Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) and his wife (Tika Sumpter), who help protect the furry little guy from being captured by Dr. Robotnik.
Director Jeff Fowler successfully captures the heart and nostalgia of Sonic, while wowing us both visually and emotionally.
Bonus features run the gamut and faithfully explore how the film was brought to life, a spotlight is (rightfully) placed on Carrey and his seismic characterization and the history of the blue wonder is also explored. Speaking of that, The Blue Blur: Origins of Sonic is a nice, six-minute, featurette that has the cast and filmmakers chronicling the otherworldly hedgehog and how he was born in video games and transcended that medium to permeate all of pop culture.
After the titanic turn by Carrey, having his own featurette seems like the least producers could do to salute the comedic legend who added another chapter to his impressive resume with Sonic. Building Robotnik with Jim Carrey is a fabulous look at Carrey and how he created the character, his performance, and also creative types talk about the character’s look and what it was like to film Carrey when so much of what he does cannot be scripted!
Around the World in 80 Seconds is exactly as advertised. By utilizing simple animated drawings, the character of Sonic chats some of his global jaunts. Hey, if I could run as fast as the speed of sound, I might go around the world a few times as well.
For the Love of Sonic explores the origins of the little guy as members of the film’s ensemble and filmmakers talk up playing the video games in the “old days” and how important it was to all involved to tribute the source material. Longtime fans of Sonic will surely notice some of those adoring Easter Eggs, but in case you missed them, this featurette shows them off.
Sonic on Set has the voice of Sonic, Schwartz, joined by his live-action co-star Marsden, as the pair delight us with a makeup chair session and Schwartz doing some amazing motion capture work. It really is stunning how far mo-cap has come since Lord of the Rings made it a household-known method of filmmaking.
There are about 13-and-a-half minutes of deleted scenes as well as a hilarious two-minute gag reel. The music video for Speed Me Up is featured, as is an audio commentary track.
That commentary track has director Fowler and Sonic himself, Schwartz, offering their behind-the-scenes insight into making the movie as you watch it, that is about as enjoyable as any audio commentary track that we’ve reviewed this year.
Film Grade: B+
Bonus Features: B