Movie Thoughts: Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic was the first video game I ever saw. I’d never experienced anything like making Sonic run through the Green Hills level, getting rings and poofing those bug robots. What a great idea. I didn’t have a Sega, so I went home and put my Godzilla figurine through an obstacle course I made in the living room using Halloween decorations and other toys I had. It wasn’t the same.

The movie is cute. The kids in the audience enjoyed it. Better than trailer debacle would have you believe. I still wonder if that was intentional to drum up viral marketing. The algorithms figured out long ago that negative press can sell better than positive press. Might’ve been a sort of experiment. But what do I know.

For all its charm, this is a B-grade kids movie with a billion dollar IP attached to it. It works because it never tries to be anything other than that. The story’s actually not bad; it doesn’t seem forced like some video game movies.

Jim Carrey still thinks its the 90’s. Come to think of it, this would’ve been a blockbuster in the 90’s, a June release, a record breaker. It almost feels transposed from 1996. In 2020 it’s just not bad. I don’t even know the guy who does Sonic’s voice, if he’s the same guy from the video games now or what. He sounds essentially like Jaleel White in the old animated series.

There’s not much else to say. It satisfies its target audience — small children. There was an audible wave of delight when Sonic did the Fortnite floss dance not once, but twice. Parents will be bored-amused. I found myself able to sit through it without much issue. See you for the sequel.

3/5