Sonic the Hedgehog | |
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Directed by | Jeff Fowler |
Written by | |
Based on | Sonic the Hedgehog by Sega [lower-alpha 1] |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Stephen F. Windon |
Edited by | |
Music by | Tom Holkenborg |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures [3] |
Release dates |
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Running time | 99 minutes [4] |
Countries | |
Language | English |
Budget | $85–90 million [7] [8] |
Box office | $319.7 million [7] |
Sonic the Hedgehog [lower-alpha 2] is a 2020 action-adventure comedy film based on the video game series of the same name published by Sega. The film was directed by Jeff Fowler and written by Pat Casey and Josh Miller. It stars Ben Schwartz (as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog) and Jim Carrey. The plot follows Sonic, a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog who can run at supersonic speeds, who teams up with a town sheriff to stop mad scientist Dr. Robotnik.
Development for a Sonic film began in the 1990s but did not leave the planning stage until Sony Pictures acquired the film rights in 2013. Fowler was brought in to direct in 2016. After Sony put the project in turnaround, Paramount Pictures acquired it in 2017. Most of the cast signed on by August 2018. Principal photography took place between September and October that year in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island. Following the negative reaction to the first trailer's reveal of Sonic's appearance in April 2019, Paramount delayed the film release by three months to redesign Sonic.
Sonic the Hedgehog premiered at the Paramount Pictures studio lot on January 25, 2020, before its theatrical release in the United States on February 14, and received mixed reviews from critics. It set the record for the biggest opening weekend for a video game film in the United States and Canada and grossed $319.7 million worldwide, becoming the sixth highest-grossing film of 2020 and the highest-grossing video game film adaptation in North America until it was surpassed by its sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022).
A third film, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 , is scheduled for release in December 2024. A spin-off miniseries, Knuckles , starring Idris Elba, is scheduled to premiere on Paramount+ in April 2024.
On a distant planet, Sonic, a young anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speed, is unexpectedly attacked by an echidna tribe. His guardian, an anthropomorphic owl named Longclaw, gives him a bag of golden rings that open portals to distant locations. She uses one to send him to Earth while she stays behind to hold off the echidnas, leaving Sonic alone.
Ten years later, a teenage Sonic enjoys a secret life in a cavern under the rural town of Green Hills, Montana, but longs to make friends. He idolizes the local sheriff Tom Wachowski and his wife Maddie, unaware that the pair are planning to relocate to San Francisco as Tom plans to accept a job at the SFPD.
One night, Sonic grows upset over his loneliness while playing baseball alone and, while running at unusually high speeds, accidentally triggers an electromagnetic pulse that causes a massive power outage across the Pacific Northwest. The U.S. Department of Defense reluctantly enlists the services of eccentric roboticist and scientific genius Dr. Robotnik to determine the cause of the outage. Realizing his cover has been blown, Sonic reluctantly plans to leave Earth for a different planet only containing mushrooms and fungi.
As Sonic prepares to leave, Tom discovers him in his shed and tranquilizes him. Upon reading the writing on Tom's shirt, Sonic accidentally opens a portal to San Francisco and drop his bag of rings through the portal to the Transamerica Pyramid's roof before passing out. After Sonic recovers, Tom hesitantly agrees to help him and the two flee when confronted by Robotnik, who falsely labels Tom a domestic terrorist. The two bond as they make their way to San Francisco, with Tom relating to Sonic's desire for friends. Sonic creates a bucket list in a western-themed bar where Tom helps him complete several entries, culminating in a bar fight.
Meanwhile, Robotnik discovers that one of Sonic's quills holds an almost limitless amount of energy and plans to capture and use Sonic to empower his machines. As he tracks them down, Sonic and Tom manage to fight off several mechanized drones sent by Robotnik, but Sonic is injured in the battle.
Arriving in San Francisco, Tom brings Sonic to Maddie, who treats him at her sister Rachel's home, where Rachel's daughter, Jojo, gives Sonic new shoes. The group heads to the roof of the Transamerica Pyramid and recovers the rings as Robotnik arrives in an advanced hovercraft powered by the quill. Sonic fights off Robotnik's drones, hastily using one of his rings to send Tom and Maddie back to Green Hills to protect them; however, Robotnik uses the quill's power to match Sonic's speed. Sonic fights Robotnik in a chase across the world utilizing the rings before Robotnik subdues Sonic in Green Hills. Tom and the townsfolk intervene, and Tom acknowledges Sonic as his friend, causing Sonic to regain consciousness and strength. The empowered Sonic defeats Robotnik by obliterating his hovercraft and banishing him to the mushroom planet through a ring portal with a help from Tom.
Following the incident, Tom and Maddie decide to stay in Green Hills and let Sonic live with them, treating him as a surrogate son. The government erases all evidence of the events, including records of Robotnik's existence. Some time later, Robotnik, who is still in possession of Sonic's quill and usable equipment salvaged from the remains of his hovercraft, plans to return to Earth and get his revenge against Sonic.
In a mid-credit scene, an anthropomorphic two-tailed fox [lower-alpha 3] emerges from a ring portal on Earth, searching for Sonic.
Development for a film adaptation of the Sonic the Hedgehog video games began in 1993 during production of DIC Entertainment's television show Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog . Michealene Risley, the newly appointed consumer products director who helped license Sonic for Adventures, negotiated with several Hollywood producers. Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske was wary of damaging the brand, citing the commercial and critical failures of the Super Mario Bros. and Street Fighter films. Despite Kalinske's concerns, Sega was enthusiastic. In August 1994, Sega struck a development deal with MGM and Trilogy Entertainment Group, with Pen Densham as executive producer. [24]
MGM and Sega hired Richard Jefferies, an associate of Risley from her days at Marvel Comics, to write a film treatment. At the time, Sega was developing the video game Sonic X-treme (which was canceled in late 1996) for its next console, the Sega Saturn, and asked Jefferies to feature the Saturn in the screenplay. Jefferies' treatment, Sonic: Wonders of the World, was submitted in May 1995. While the draft received a positive response among MGM and Sega executives, Sega COO Shinobu Toyoda suggested Kalinske replace Robotnik with a meaner villain. MGM canceled the project after a failed attempt to revive it at DreamWorks. Jeffries suggested that the film was scrapped as both Sega and MGM wanted a higher share of the profits, while Densham said it followed creative differences between Sega and Trilogy. [24]
During the late 1990s, Ben Hurst attempted to revive and properly conclude the animated Sonic the Hedgehog television series, in which he worked as a writer. After failing to tell the conclusion in an Archie Sonic Super Special comic, [25] and after being dissuaded from attempting to continue the series as a network show during an interview with Robby London,” [26] a DIC Entertainment executive, he decided to pursue telling the rest of the SatAM story in a feature film. Robby London put Hurst in contact with a Sega executive interested in the idea. Hurst was contacted by Ken Penders, writer of the Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series, who had been alerted of Hurst's plans. Though Hurst told him his strategy and offered to include him in his effort, Penders allegedly told Sega that Hurst was trying to co-opt the franchise, leading Sega to dismiss Hurst and his proposal. [27] Ben would attempt to get the movie made once more from 2005 to 2006, but this ultimately fell through.
In September 2003, Penders pitched his own concept for a Sonic film, Sonic Armageddon. In Penders' words, the movie would have been an origin story and a series reset, resolving the plot threads which began in the animated Sonic show and continued in Archie's comic series. The project was dropped in 2007 due to a corporate upheaval and the death of Sega licensing manager Robert Leffler, who had supported Penders. [28]
In 2013, Sony Pictures Entertainment acquired the rights to produce and distribute a Sonic film. [29] On June 10, 2014, a live-action animated film was announced as a joint venture between Sony Pictures's Columbia Pictures and Marza Animation Planet, a Japan-based subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings which had produced CGI cutscenes for several Sonic games. [30] It would be produced by Neal H. Moritz by his Original Film banner alongside Takeshi Ito, Mie Onishi, and Toru Nakahara, and written by Evan Susser and Van Robichaux. [30] In February 2016, Sega CEO Hajime Satomi said the film was scheduled for 2018. [31] Blur Studio's Tim Miller and Jeff Fowler were hired in 2016 to develop it; Fowler would make his feature directorial debut, and Miller would serve as executive producer. Blur Studio previously produced cutscenes for the games Shadow the Hedgehog (2005), for which Fowler directed cutscenes, and Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). [32] Patrick Casey, Josh Miller, and Oren Uziel were writing the screenplay, while Casey and Miller wrote the story. [32] [33]
On October 2, 2017, Paramount Pictures announced that they had acquired the rights after Sony put the film in turnaround. Almost all of the production team remained unchanged. Coincidentally, Paramount and Sega had once been sister companies under Gulf and Western Industries; Gulf and Western sold Sega's assets in 1984. [34] In February 2018, it was announced that the film would be released in November 2019. [35] [36] During production the film used the working title "Casino Night", named after one of the stages in the Sonic games. [37] Early drafts featured Sonic's Super Sonic form from the video games; the ideas were latterly discarded, as Fowler felt that "it didn't make sense to obviously bring in the Super Sonic thing just yet" and instead wanted to focus on the origins of Sonic and Robotnik's relationship. [38]
In May 2018, it was reported that Paul Rudd was in talks for a lead role as Tom, "a cop who befriends Sonic and will likely team up to defeat Dr. Robotnik"; however, this was later denied by Paramount. [39] A day later, it was announced that James Marsden was cast in an undisclosed role, but later revealed to be Tom Wachowski. [13] In June, Tika Sumpter was cast as Tom's wife Maddie, with Jim Carrey cast to play the villain, Dr. Robotnik. [40]
In August, Ben Schwartz joined the cast to voice Sonic. [41] This marked a rare occasion in which the character would not be voiced by Roger Craig Smith, who voices Sonic in most incarnations since 2010. [42] Schwartz, a fan of the original video games, was chosen for the role after Fowler and Miller cast him for a test reading as they pitched the project to several studios. [43] Having enjoyed his performance, they officially cast Schwartz as the voice of Sonic. [43] Adam Pally and Neal McDonough were added to the cast later that month. [44] Debs Howard and Elfina Luk joined the cast the following November. [45] Riff Raff was cast in an undisclosed role, but was cut from the film. [46] [47] [48]
Principal photography began in mid-September 2018 and ended in Vancouver, Ladysmith, and Vancouver Island on October 16, 2018. [49] Key production scenes were also filmed in Liwa Oasis, United Arab Emirates. [50] During filming, Ben Schwartz was unavailable, so a stand-in performed alongside Marsden. [51]
The visual effects are provided by Moving Picture Company (MPC), Marza Animation Planet, Blur Studio, Trixter, and Digital Domain. [52] The production team created a live-action version of Sonic using CGI, adding fur, new running sneakers, two separate eyes, [53] and a more human like physique. [54] They used Ted, the living teddy bear from the Ted films, as a reference to insert a CGI character into a real-world setting. Executive producer Miller said: "It would be weird, and it would feel like he was running around nude if he was some sort of otter-like thing. It was always, for us, fur, and we never considered anything different. It's part of what integrates him into the real world and makes him a real creature." According to Miller, Sega was not "entirely happy" with the design of Sonic's eyes. [53]
On May 2, 2019, in response to the criticism, Fowler announced on Twitter that Sonic would be redesigned. [55] The film was delayed from its original release date of November 8, 2019, to February 14, 2020, as a result. [56] Artist Tyson Hesse, who worked on previous Sonic the Hedgehog media, was brought on to lead the redesign. Sonic was given larger and differently colored eyes, new sneakers, white gloves, and a less humanlike body to better resemble Sonic's video game design. [57] Sonic was redesigned by Marza Animation Planet. [58] The redesign added an estimated $5 million to the production budget, [59] took around five months, and was achieved without overtime. [60]
In February 2019, Tom Holkenborg, who previously worked with executive producer Miller on Deadpool , was hired to compose the score. [61] The soundtrack was released alongside the film on February 14, 2020, in both digital and physical formats. Riff Raff, who had a role in the film but was cut due to controversy against him, appears on the soundtrack. [62] An original song, "BOOM" by X Ambassadors, appears on the soundtrack, the single was released on January 24, 2020 by Atlantic Records. "Speed Me Up" by American musicians Wiz Khalifa, Lil Yachty, Ty Dolla $ign, and Sueco The Child received 15 million streams, along with 1.8 billion views for the "Speed Me Up" TikTok challenge. [63] "Friends" by Hyper Potions, which previously appeared as the opening theme of Sonic Mania , also appears, along with arrangements of tracks from Masato Nakamura's score for the original Sonic the Hedgehog (1991). [64] Holkenborg attempted to capture the feel of Nakamura's soundtracks for the Sonic and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992) games, using Yamaha digital FM synthesizers (such as the DX7) similar to the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive console's Yamaha YM2612 sound chip. [65] [66]
Test footage was screened at the Comic Con Experience in Brazil on December 6, 2018. [67] It was followed by a teaser poster released on December 10, 2018, revealing the silhouette design of Sonic, with the tagline "A Whole New Speed of Hero". [53] It received a negative response from critics and fans, [68] and was compared unfavorably to another 2019 video game film adaptation, Detective Pikachu , which added fur and skin textures to the Pokémon characters. [54] Sonic's humanoid appearance was described as evoking an uncanny valley response. [69] Former members of Sonic Team, who created the Sonic the Hedgehog games, also expressed surprise. [70] A second poster was leaked online shortly after. Fans complained of a lack of resemblance to the games and criticized the positioning of Sonic's legs, spawning an Internet meme in which users recreated the position. [71] [72] The film's official Twitter account posted an image of Sonic behind a sign reading: "Can't a guy work out?" [73] Images of the Sonic design were leaked in March 2019 to more fan criticism. Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka was "shocked" by the design and felt the ratio of Sonic's head and abdomen was imbalanced. [74]
The first trailer premiered on April 4, 2019, at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, [75] and was released online on April 30. It received near-unanimous criticism, [76] [77] [78] with Gita Jackson of Kotaku calling it "horrific" and "a blight upon this weary earth". [76] Sonic's design was heavily criticized by fans for its humanoid appearance, [76] [78] while some found the use of Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" jarring. [79] [80] Conversely, CNET 's Sean Keane praised the humor and references to the games. [81] Within two days, the trailer was viewed more than 20 million times on YouTube, and had received hundreds of thousands of dislikes, drastically outnumbering its likes. [82]
A second trailer revealing the redesigned Sonic was released on November 12, 2019. [83] The trailer received far more positive responses, with many praising Sonic's new design. The tone and the humor also received positive reviews, as did the choice of song, J. J. Fad's "Supersonic" and Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop". [84] Naka said he felt the new design was "much more Sonic-like". [85] The second trailer received thousands of likes and the highest like-to-dislike ratio of any trailer on Google in the last three years. [86] The trailers have garnered a total of more than 500 million views worldwide. [63] As a promotional tie-in, the version of Sonic seen in the film was added as a playable character to the mobile games Sonic Dash and Sonic Forces . [87] Since Sonic the Hedgehog, other films and television series based on video game series have made it a production priority to assure characters and the details of the film are true to the works they are based on to appeal better to viewers that are fans of the games. [88]
A modified version of the original design, named "Ugly Sonic", appears as a minor character in the 2022 film Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers , playing off the Internet's reaction to the first trailer. According to that film's director Akiva Schaffer, they had also used Moving Picture Company for their animation studio, and MPC was able to provide the original Sonic model for the film. [89] The character was voiced in the film by comedian Tim Robinson. [90]
Sonic the Hedgehog was scheduled for 2018 by Sony Pictures Releasing. [31] In February 2018, shortly after taking over the rights, Paramount Pictures rescheduled the film to November 15, 2019. [91] It was later moved a week earlier to November 8, 2019. [92] Following the announcement of Sonic's redesign in May 2019, the film was delayed for the final time by three months, to February 14, 2020; this was to provide enough time for the redesign to be completed. [93] Playing with Fire took the original release date. [94] [95] The world premiere took place at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles on January 25, 2020. [96] The film was released theatrically in the United States in 4DX and Dolby Cinema formats. [97] [98] The film was originally going to be released in Japan on March 27, 2020, but had to be moved to June 26, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [99]
On March 20, 2020, Paramount announced that Sonic the Hedgehog would be released to home media in the United States and Canada before the end of the usual 90-day theatrical run, as many film studios took the decision to release films earlier due to movie theaters closures in mid-March because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. [100] The digital version was released on March 31, 2020, [100] and was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray by Paramount Home Entertainment on May 19, 2020. All home media releases include an original short film, Around the World in 80 Seconds. [101] [102]
The film topped the American Blu-ray and DVD charts for several weeks upon release. [8] It was the sixth top-selling home video title of 2020 in the United States. [103] The DVD and Blu-ray releases crossed 2 million units sold in the United States by January 2021 and earned about $50 million in US sales revenue as of 16 April 2022 [update] . [8]
After its release to Digital HD in 2020, Paramount Pictures announced that the film would land on the streaming service EPIX on November 20, 2020. The movie then made its move to streaming service Hulu on February 18, 2021, and on Amazon Prime Video the next day on February 19, 2021. [104] Paramount Pictures also confirmed that the movie as well as its sequel entitled Sonic the Hedgehog 2 would release later on Paramount+ with its sequel being released 45 days after its theatrical release window. [105]
Sonic the Hedgehog grossed $149 million in the United States and Canada, and $170.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $319.7 million. [7] It was the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2020, and the highest-grossing superhero film of the year, ending Marvel Studios ' decade-long run of having the highest-grossing film of the genre (from 2010 to 2019). [106] [107] The film's budget was estimated at being between $85 million [7] and $90 million. [108] [109] [8]
In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Fantasy Island , The Photograph , and Downhill , and was initially projected to gross $40–50 million from 4,130 theaters in its four-day President's Day opening weekend. [110] [111] After making $21 million on its first day (including $3 million from Thursday night previews), estimates were raised to $64 million. [112] It went on to top the box office with a $58 million debut over the three-day weekend, and $70 million over the four, breaking Detective Pikachu 's record for the biggest opening weekend by a video game-based film. It was also the fourth-best President's Day holiday weekend and Jim Carrey's second biggest opening weekend, behind Bruce Almighty (2003). [63] The success was attributed in part to the redesign of Sonic and the publicity it created, and the delayed release date, which meant it opened with less competition from other family films. [113] Opening day audiences were 56% male and 44% female, with 70% under 25 years. [63] In its second weekend, Sonic the Hedgehog made $26.2 million and retained the top spot at the box office, bringing its ten-day domestic gross to $106.6 million. [114] [115] Sonic the Hedgehog made $16.3 million in its third weekend and was dethroned by newcomer The Invisible Man . [116] On March 14, 2020, it became the highest-grossing film based on a video game in US box office history, surpassing Detective Pikachu. [117]
Sonic the Hedgehog was released in 40 countries during its three-day opening weekend, topping the international box office with $43 million. Its strongest international regions were Latin America and Europe, with its largest openings being $6.7 million in Mexico, $6.2 million in the United Kingdom, $4.3 million in France, $3.3 million in Germany, and $3 million in Brazil. Worldwide, it made $101 million over the three-day weekend and $113 million over the four days. [118] [119] In its second weekend the film again topped the international box office with $38.3 million from 56 countries for a ten-day overseas gross of $96.5 million, and topped the global box office again with $64.6 million for a ten-day worldwide gross of $203.1 million. Its largest international markets in its first ten days were the United Kingdom ($19.1 million), Mexico ($12.3 million), and France ($9.1 million), retaining the top spot in these markets. The film opened in 16 new markets, led by a number-one debut in Russia ($6.3 million). [120] The film was released in Japan on June 26, 2020, after being postponed from a previous March release due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and debuted at No. 6 that weekend. [121] [122] In China, the release was also postponed due to the pandemic, [123] eventually receiving a July 31 date and underperforming at the Chinese box office due to new pandemic-related theatre policies there. [124] [125]
In terms of box office admissions, the film sold 15,876,790 tickets in the United States and Canada (annual rank #3), 6,811,679 tickets in Mexico (annual #1), 893,634 tickets in Peru (annual #2), 468,697 tickets in Ecuador (annual #1), 67,230 tickets in the Dominican Republic (annual #2), [126] 12,454,206 tickets in Europe (annual #3), [127] [128] 3,001,403 tickets in Brazil (annual #3), [129] 698,500 tickets in China, [130] 687,740 tickets in Argentina (annual #3), [131] and 118,725 tickets in South Korea, [132] for a combined 41,078,604 tickets sold in these territories.
Several publications reported that Sonic the Hedgehog received mostly positive reviews upon release, with critics praising the redesign of Sonic and the cast performances, but criticizing its "boring beige of the real human world", product placements, and screenplay for its lack of ambition and "had nothing to do with the games or what makes them so fun", [133] [134] [135] [136] while The Independent stated that the film garnered mixed reviews. [137] On Rotten Tomatoes, 63% of 254 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Fittingly fleet and frequently fun, Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game-inspired adventure the whole family can enjoy -- and a fine excuse for Jim Carrey to tap into the manic energy that launched his career." [138] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [139] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, and PostTrak reported it received an average 4 out of 5 stars, with 66% of viewers they surveyed saying they would definitely recommend it. [63]
Akeem Lawanson of IGN gave the film a score of 7 out of 10, praising the performances and the nostalgia, stating, "While this family-friendly action-comedy suffers from a simplistic story and leans too heavily on tired visual clichés, Sonic the Hedgehog is nevertheless boosted by solid performances from Ben Schwartz as Sonic and Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik. Their ongoing cat-and-mouse game is entertaining, and passionate fans of the Sega franchise should appreciate all the nods to Sonic's history." [140] Dami Lee of The Verge gave the film a positive review, praising the nostalgic elements seen in the film, writing that it "shines when it remembers it's based on a video game, and there's some genuinely fun stuff—like when Sonic uses his time-stopping powers or Robotnik's elaborate 'evil-plotting' montage that makes you wonder why more movies don't feature bad guys with choreographed dance sequences. Carrey plays up Robotnik as the cartoon villain he is, and it's a true delight to watch him in his element." [141] Corey Plante of Inverse called it a "road trip superhero movie" and "the best superhero movie of 2020" so far. [142] John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter , gave the film a positive review, saying: "Flesh-and-blood actors help keep this game derived kids' flick afloat." [143]
Gene Park of The Washington Post gave the film a positive review, saying it was "the furthest thing from Cats , despite the early comparisons. Wary fans expecting the usual easy target to mock will instead find something to fervently celebrate for years." [144] Amon Warrman of Empire gave the film two out of five stars, writing, "An on-form Jim Carrey can't stop Sonic's live-action debut from feeling like a missed opportunity. If the teased sequels do materialize, here's hoping the storytelling levels up." [145] Ben Kenigsberg of The New York Times gave the film a negative review and wrote, "Sonic now resembles a cartoon hedgehog instead of a spray-painted marmot. But if anything was done to de-genericize the script, it hasn't helped. Not that the Sega games—in which the fleet-footed hero zips around doing flips and collecting gold coins (which here encircle the Paramount mountain) gave the director, Jeff Fowler, much to work with." [146]
Variety 's Owen Gleiberman criticized the tone: "For all the borderline tedium I felt at Sonic the Hedgehog, I do realize that this is a picture made for 8-year-olds. And they'll probably like it just fine. Yet I would also call the overly kiddified tone of the movie a mistake." [147] Writing for The Guardian , Steve Rose gave the film two out of five, saying elements were "clearly indebted" to other films, such as Quicksilver's powers in the X-Men movies, and finding the message of friendship "trite and familiar". [148] Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com gave the film one out of four, writing, "Sonic the Hedgehog is only as successful as the amount of time you want to spend watching its animated protagonist go on instantly forgettable adventures, and boy, is that unfortunate." [149] Tim Grierson of Screen Daily also gave the film a negative review, writing, "The film projects enough benign cheerfulness that the experience is never unpleasant, but one can't help but feel the filmmakers' strain in crafting a sly action-comedy for audiences expecting over-the-top spectacle and nonstop quips. Sadly, Sonic isn't swift enough to deliver." [150]
Year | Award | Category | Recipients | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | SXSW Film Festival | Excellence in Title Design | Sonic the Hedgehog | Nominated | [151] [152] |
People's Choice Awards | The Family Movie of 2020 | Nominated | [153] | ||
2021 | Critics' Choice Super Awards | Best Superhero Movie | Nominated | [154] [155] | |
Best Villain in a Movie | Jim Carrey | Won | |||
Best Actor in a Superhero Movie | Ben Schwartz and Jim Carrey | Nominated | |||
Hollywood Critics Association Awards | Best Animated or VFX Performance | Ben Schwartz | Won | [156] | |
Best Blockbuster | Sonic the Hedgehog | Nominated | |||
Best Visual Effects | Ged Wright | Nominated | |||
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Movie | Sonic the Hedgehog | Nominated | [157] | |
Favorite Movie Actor | Jim Carrey | Nominated | |||
Ursa Major Awards | Best Motion Picture | Sonic the Hedgehog | Nominated | [158] [159] | |
Saturn Awards | Best Fantasy Film Release | Nominated | [160] |
A chapter novel based on the film, titled Sonic the Hedgehog: The Official Movie Novelization, written by Kiel Phegley and published by Penguin Books, was released alongside the film on February 14, 2020. [161]
Paramount confirmed that a sequel was in development on May 28, 2020. Fowler returned as director, while Casey and Josh Miller returned as writers. Neal H. Mortiz, Toby Ascher, and Toru Nakahara produced the sequel, having co-produced the first film alongside Takeshi Ito, while Tim Miller, Hajime Satomi, and Haruki Satomi returned as executive producers. [162] Filming took place between March 2021 and May 2021, under the working title Emerald Hill. [163] This was a reference to "Emerald Hill Zone", the first level of the game Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992); [164] in addition, the film's title announcement trailer features a remix of the level's music. [165]
On December 8, 2020, it was confirmed that artist Tyson Hesse would reprise his role for storyboard artist Fill Marc as he said the following: "I wrapped up work on Lower Decks Season 2 last week. Excited 2 announce I've been working on the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Story Team with Jeff Fowler and Tyson Hesse at Blur Studio. My first live action feature coming in 2022." This will be Marc's first live-action project. [166] In January 2021, Sumpter announced that she was reprising her role as Maddie. She also announced that the sequel would film in Vancouver and Hawaii. [167] The film's title, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, was confirmed on February 10, 2021. [168] On March 15, 2021, Jeff Fowler confirmed that production of the film had begun. [169] The film was released on March 30, 2022 in France and the Netherlands, April 1 in the U.K. and on April 8 in the U.S. [170]
In February 2022, a third film was confirmed to be in development, scheduled for release on December 20, 2024. [171] [172] [173]
In February 2022, a spin-off miniseries starring Knuckles the Echidna was announced, scheduled for release on Paramount+ in early 2024 with Idris Elba reprising his role as the character. [171]
Sonic the Hedgehog is a character created by the Japanese game developers Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima. He is the star of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and the mascot of the Japanese video game company Sega. Sonic is an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speeds. He races through levels, collecting rings and avoiding obstacles, as he seeks to defeat his archenemy, Doctor Eggman. He is accompanied by supporting characters, such as his sidekick Miles "Tails" Prower, self-proclaimed girlfriend Amy Rose, and friendly rival Knuckles the Echidna.
James Eugene Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian known for his energetic slapstick performances. After spending the 1980s honing his stand-up comedy act and portraying mostly supporting roles in films, Carrey gained wide recognition in 1990 when he was cast in the American sketch comedy television series In Living Color (1990–1994). He broke out as a film star after starring in a string of box office hits with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber, which he followed up with Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and Batman Forever. The success of these five films led to Carrey being the first actor to receive a $20 million salary for performing in films, beginning with The Cable Guy (1996).
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a 1994 platform game developed and published by Sega for the Genesis. Like previous Sonic games, players traverse side-scrolling levels while collecting rings and defeating enemies. They control Sonic and Tails, who attempt to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds to stop Doctor Robotnik from relaunching his space station, the Death Egg, after it crash-lands on a mysterious floating island. Sonic 3 introduces Knuckles the Echidna, the island guardian, who lays traps for Sonic and Tails.
Knuckles the Echidna is a character from Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series. He is a red anthropomorphic short-beaked echidna who is Sonic's secondary best friend and former rival. Determined and serious, but sometimes gullible, he fights his enemies using brute force and strength. His role is established as the guardian of the Master Emerald, a large gemstone which controls the series' integral Chaos Emeralds, and is the last living member of his tribe, the Knuckles clan.
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog is an animated series based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series, produced by Sega of America, DIC Animation City, Bohbot Entertainment and the Italian studio Reteitalia S.p.A. in association with Spanish network Telecinco. Airing during the fall of 1993, 65 episodes were produced, which was syndicated by Bohbot Entertainment in the United States.
Sonic the Hedgehog is a 1991 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Genesis/Mega Drive. It was released in North America on June 23 and in PAL regions and Japan the following month. Players control Sonic the Hedgehog, who can run at near supersonic speeds; Sonic sets out on a quest to defeat Dr. Robotnik, a scientist who has imprisoned animals in robots and seeks the powerful Chaos Emeralds. The gameplay involves collecting rings as a form of health, and a simple control scheme, with jumping and attacking controlled by a single button.
Sonic the Hedgehog is an animated television series based on the video game series of the same name. It was story edited by Len Janson and produced by DIC Productions, Sega of America, and the Italian studio Reteitalia in association with Telecinco. It is the second of DIC's Sonic cartoons, following Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.
Sonic & Knuckles is a 1994 platform game developed and published by Sega. Players control Sonic the Hedgehog or Knuckles the Echidna in their quests to save Angel Island; Sonic tries to stop Doctor Robotnik from re-launching his orbital weapon, the Death Egg, while Knuckles scuffles with Robotnik's minion, EggRobo. Like previous Sonic games, players traverse side-scrolling levels at high speeds while collecting rings and defeating enemies.
Sonic the Hedgehog or Sonic the Hedgehog the Movie, is a two-part 1996 Japanese original video animation (OVA) based on the video game franchise by Sega. Produced by Pierrot and directed by Kazutaka Ikegami, the OVA was originally released in Japan on January 26, 1996 and March 22, 1996. The series was later licensed and dubbed in English by ADV Films, which released it as a single direct-to-video film on September 7, 1999, to coincide with the international release of Sonic Adventure. The anime features Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Dr. Eggman, Metal Sonic and a few supporting characters created exclusively for the OVA. Taking the English dub into consideration, it is also the first Sonic animated media to not feature Jaleel White voicing the titular character.
Sonic Chaos is a 1993 platform game published by Sega for the Master System and Game Gear. Players control Sonic the Hedgehog and his sidekick Miles "Tails" Prower in their quest to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds from Doctor Robotnik, who has stolen them to construct nuclear weapons. Gameplay involves running through stages, collecting rings, and defeating enemies. It is largely based on the Master System version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and is thus considered a follow-up to that game. Chaos is the first Sonic game for the Master System and Game Gear to feature Tails as a separate playable character with his own unique abilities.
Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main Sonic the Hedgehog games are platformers mostly developed by Sonic Team; other games, developed by various studios, include spin-offs in the racing, fighting, party and sports genres. The franchise also incorporates printed media, animations, feature films, and merchandise.
Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik is the main antagonist of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Eggman was created and designed by Naoto Ohshima as part of many design choices for Sega's new mascot. After the creation of Sonic the Hedgehog, Ohshima chose to use his previous egg-shaped character to create the antagonist of the 1991 video game Sonic the Hedgehog, making him the arch-nemesis of the series' eponymous main character.
Marza Animation Planet Inc. is a Japan-based CGI animation studio dedicated to making full-length feature films and video game cutscenes. Their extensive résumé includes CGI add-ins for television series and video games. Their head office is located on the 18th floor of the Tennoz Ocean Square in Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa, Tokyo near Tennozu Isle Station.
Timothy Miller is an American filmmaker. He made his feature-film directing debut with Deadpool (2016). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film as co-story writer and executive producer of the short animated film Gopher Broke (2004). Miller directed Terminator: Dark Fate (2019), and also designed the title sequences of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Thor: The Dark World. He is the creator, showrunner and producer of the animated anthology series Love, Death & Robots, for which he has received several Primetime Emmy nominations and awards.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a 2022 action-adventure comedy film based on the video game series published by Sega and the sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog (2020). It was directed by Jeff Fowler and written by Pat Casey, Josh Miller and John Whittington. Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Adam Pally, Lee Majdoub, Colleen O'Shaughnessey and Jim Carrey reprised their roles, with Idris Elba and Shemar Moore joining the cast. In the film, Sonic and Tails must find the Master Emerald before the villain Dr. Robotnik and a new rival, Knuckles the Echidna.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is an upcoming action-adventure comedy film based on the video game series published by Sega and the sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022). It is directed by Jeff Fowler and stars James Marsden, Ben Schwartz, Tika Sumpter, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Lee Majdoub, Idris Elba, and Jim Carrey, reprising their roles from the previous two installments, with Keanu Reeves joining the cast.
Knuckles is an upcoming American television miniseries created by John Whittington and Toby Ascher for the streaming service Paramount+, based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series published by Sega. It is a spin-off of the Sonic the Hedgehog film series and the first live-action television series in the franchise overall. Taking place between the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024), the series follows Knuckles the Echidna as he trains deputy sheriff Wade Whipple in the ways of the Echidna warrior. Whittington served as head writer.
Sonic the Hedgehog: Music from the Motion Picture is the score album for the 2020 film of the same name. The score, which was composed by Tom Holkenborg, was released on February 14, 2020, by Paramount Music in both digital and physical formats. Riff Raff, who had a role in the film but was cut, appears on the soundtrack.
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Paramount gets back on track with its net $87M production of Sonic the Hedgehog.