“What do I look like, an imbecile? Of course I want a latte. I LOVE THE WAY YOU MAKE THEM!”
– Dr. Robotnik
Year Released: Feb. 14th 2020
SEGA’s favorite blue blur stepped into the Live Action world with this film which came out at an unfortunate time. If your guess is right, then yes, February 2020, just a month before the lockdown began so the sales took a significant drop just a month after it was released. Enough about that, let’s cover the details shall we? Firstly, director Jeff Fowler worked with Paramount Pictures, Blur Studio, Marza Animation Planet, Sega Sammy Group, and Original Film in order to bring their vision to life. Unlike the Mario movie, this was always meant to be “What if Sonic was brought to our world” and so a bit of a redesign was needed. The original design was…well have a look for yourself. I’ll even share the original video as well.
These designs are like night and day and we have artist Tyson Hesse to thank for that. Some have speculated that the first trailer was a plan to farm for attention, but honestly, most of the evidence just looks like they were serious. As far as the plot goes, James Marsden plays a sheriff in “Green Hills” by the name of Tom Wachowski. Sonic was chased off of his planet and his surrogate mother sent him to hiding where he came to Earth for an escape as a child. From there, he spends a few years around Green Hills learning the culture and living alone while growing a one-sided relationship with Tom (he doesn’t know Sonic exists). Sonic’s identity is revealed to the government after accidentally causing a massive power surge, due to hitting a peak in emotional loneliness. If you’ve seen the movie, then you know the rest of the plot but it was quite the departure from what Sonic fans know and love about the hedgehog, in a good way.
I was fortunate enough to catch the movie before the lockdowns and what a treat that was. Sonic himself was voiced by Ben Schwartz and it was the first time he’s played as the character. The other cast members, Jim Carrey (Dr. Robotnik), Tika Sumpter (Tom’s wife Maddie Wachowski), and Lee Majdoub (Agent Stone) were beautiful additions and aced their roles. As a bit of a gift, fans were treated to the ever loved post credit scene where we see Tails come out of a portal and hope he isn’t too late. The treat here was that the voice was that of Colleen O’Shaugnessey, the voice of Tails for the past 9 years as of 2023.
-By Jamarri Taylor