Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) Review

Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

Sonic the Hedgehog follows Sonic, who after being sent to Earth as a child, makes the small town, Green Hills, his home. After he causes a severe blackout however, he must enlist the help of a local cop to escape the clutches of the evil Dr. Robotnik. 

Considering the initial first look of this film was horrifying, opting for a more realistic interpretation of Sonic that prompted major backlash, thus causing the design team to scramble to switch to a more faithful, cartoony design, I’d say the final product turned out rather enjoyable. From a story perspective, I like how simple they kept it, going the buddy cop route and never doing too much to the point where the final product is unrecognizable, especially for a game about a speedy, blue hedgehog who just runs around, destroying stuff. It lets the chase, and Sonic’s budding friendship with Tom, carry the movie, allowing for plenty of fun thrills, emotional moments, and tense standoffs that just scream how much this team appreciates the character and the games. 

All of this though hinges on Sonic’s final design, which would’ve either made or broke the movie. Thanks to the last second redesign however, this is Sonic through and through. Even with such a short turn around, he looks and feels perfect, going the way of the Pokémon in Detective Pikachu where he looks accurate to the source material but hyper realistic and apart of the real world all the same. It certainly makes it easier to watch, and allows the viewer to then, and only then, get invested in the rest of the story because without a good looking Sonic, the rest of this doesn’t work. 

We get a super fun cast, starring Neal McDonough, Natasha Rothwell, Adam Pally, Lee Majdoub, Tika Sumpter, Jim Carrey, James Marsden, and Ben Schwartz. Not to discredit his merits as an actor, but I was pleasantly surprised with Marsden’s performance in this one. Typically, the human half of the duo just phones it in for a paycheck, but that’s not the case here, working especially well with the energetic Schwartz, as well as Sumpter. Carrey is admittedly a bit too cartoonish for my liking but that’s to be expected with the territory I guess. Schwartz also particularly nails every bit of Sonic, from his childish demeanor, to even his more tender moments, it always feels right. 

Sonic the Hedgehog, directed by Jeff Fowler, is a childish but genuinely pretty fun little adaptation of one of my favorite game characters, blending animation with reality in what is sure to be a good time for kids and fans of the series alike. 

8.2/10