The first trailer for this fast-paced adventure comedy was the bully boy par excellence on social media. Then the film was delayed to be remade – and became a hit. Today, “Sonic The Hedgehog” is on free TV.
Everything looked like it was going to have to be a disaster: Not only do video game adaptations generally have a lean track record, but how good could a movie be that so disfigures the iconic main character from the original? The first trailer for “Sonic The Hedgehog” showed the turbo-fast spiky creature as an elongated something or other with irritating eyes and an almost frighteningly grotesque chew. The fans went ballistic – and the studio responsible panicked.
The Sega adaptation was delayed so that “Ugly Sonic” could be kicked out of the film and replaced with a digital animal that bore much more resemblance to the cheeky but super-cute video game hero. As disturbing as it would be should such fan interference become an everyday occurrence – in this case it was a blessing that those responsible listened to the complaints. You can experience how surprisingly respectable “Sonic The Hedgehog” has turned out today, 17 September 2022, from 8.15 p.m. on Sat.1.
“SONIC THE HEDGEHOG”: LIVELY FAMILY FUN THAT MAKES YOU HAPPY
Sonic the hedgehog (voice in the original: Ben Schwartz, in the German version: Julien Bam) could lead a carefree life. But recently, vicious pursuers are after him. Sonic manages to escape to Earth, but here, too, creeps are on his tail – first and foremost the maniacal Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey). At least Sonic finds friends in small-town cop Tom (James Marsden) and his wife Maddie (Tika Sumpter), who help him to stand up to Robotnik…
Sometimes all it takes is one weak element to bring down the whole house of cards: The Sonic design used in the first trailer is so aggressive and gruesome that at best it would work in a sinister, grim interpretation of the material (or in a lovingly cheeky parody). But a light-hearted family comedy? No, for that Sonic would have to be a googly-eyed cuddly hedgehog!
And since, thankfully, that cute Sonic was leveraged into the film after all, “Sonic The Hedgehog” has turned into pleasant weekend relaxation cinema. True, the parallels to the video game series’ foundations are quantitatively manageable, as this comedy’s “animated character goes on an adventurous road trip with his human co-star” storyline could work with numerous other characters. But at least Worm Miller, Patrick Casey and Oren Uziel’s script captures Sonic’s bright-cheeky wit and translates it into a rapid-fire of funky dialogue.
Thanks to the expressively cute, cartoonish animation and the energetic voice performance by impro comedy genius Ben Schwartz (in the original) and YouTube multi-talent Julien Bam (in the dub), Film-Sonic becomes a charismatic, smart title character. And that’s half the battle in this chaotic mix of sci-fi, fantasy and family comedy.
Jim Carrey as a dull, dogged villain in caffeine shock and a James Marsden who charismatically maintains the illusion throughout that there’s a small-town cop befriending a talking hedgehog from a dimension further enhance the film. This cannot hide the arbitrariness of the story or the fact that the threat, which is claimed to be urgent, is never seriously felt.
But the friendly, amusing tone that director Jeff Fowler maintains throughout the film means that the constant pop culture references surprise as lively cross-references. And the action setpieces, while not exciting, are fun in a variety of ways – sometimes because they parody other blockbusters, sometimes because they shrewdly showcase Sonic’s optimism, and sometimes because they pointedly display his powers. “Sonic The Hedgehog” is not a film that will stay in the memory for long. But this fast-paced comedy definitely knows how to sweeten a movie night.
