Paramount Animation released the first trailer for “Sonic the Hedgehog” in 2019, but the fans were disgusted by the CGI character’s creepy little eyes and horrifying human teeth. 

With Sonic’s fan base scarred by the character, Paramount had no choice but to postpone the release date and bring in a professional to redesign the creepy little nightmare. The animator tasked with fixing the hairy blue mistake was Tyson Hesse, who worked on Sonic Mania Adventures, a television program.

Not only was Hesse able to fix the mistake, but he saved the movie entirely by creating a cute, loveable hedgehog. 

The movie starts off by explaining Sonic’s backstory and why he ended up hiding on Earth. Sonic, voiced by Ben Schwartz, grew up on a planet where he could run around as fast as he wanted without having to worry about humans or any other malevolent species. This all changed when violent rabbit-looking creatures showed up at Sonic’s planet to exploit Sonic’s powers. 

Sonic was forced to leave his home and flee to Earth using his iconic rings from the game, which have teleportation powers in the movie. His mentor, an owl, stays back to close the portal, ultimately sacrificing her life to save her student. This scene almost brought me to tears which was unexpected for a children’s movie. 

The movie is clearly focused towards children, but also has some moments that can bring older viewers into a world of nostalgia from the almost 30-year-old SEGA game. 

The movie’s plot is very straightforward. Sonic befriends a local sheriff, played by James Marsden, and the two of them partake on an adventurous road trip from Green Hills, MT to San Francisco, CA while being chased by the typical mad scientist played by Jim Carrey. 

Carrey as Dr. Robotnik brings wild and exciting energy that captures the audience’s attention. His ability to bring a manic feeling when being unleashed as Dr. Robotnik is the best part of the movie. Carrey and his curly mustache pull “Sonic the Hedgehog” together and are able to elevate the movie’s energy. 

Every other scene in the movie is rather sluggish and has a hard time creating friction and pulling the audience in as Carrey does. The movie feels like a rushed attempt to bring back relevancy to the games even with an extra year for plastic surgery on the blue monster. 

Even with a few callbacks to the game like Green Hills and the classic rings, “Sonic the Hedgehog” does not feel like enough to accurately represent the decades of memories created by passionate Sonic fans.