Sonic the Hedgehog (film)

Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2020 action-adventure comedy film based on the Sonic video game series. The first in the Sonic the Hedgehog film series, it was directed by Jeff Fowler (in his feature film directorial debut), written by Pat Casey and Josh Miller, and stars Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, and Tika Sumpter. Schwartz voices Sonic, a blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speeds, who teams up with the town sheriff Tom Wachowski (Marsden) to stop the mad scientist Dr. Robotnik from taking over the world.

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 hired 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, with a release date set for November 8, 2019. Following the negative reaction to the first trailer, released that April, Paramount delayed the film by three months to redesign Sonic to more resemble his look in the video games.

Sonic the Hedgehog premiered at the Paramount Pictures studio lot on January 25, 2020. It was theatrically released in the United States on February 14 and in Japan on June 26, and received mixed reviews. It set the record for the biggest opening weekend for a video game film in the United States and Canada and grossed $320 million worldwide, becoming the sixth highest-grossing film of 2020 and the highest-grossing video game film adaptation in North America. It was followed by Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024) and a television miniseries, Knuckles (2024).

Plot

Sonic, a young anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speed, is ambushed by an echidna tribe for his power. His guardian, an anthropomorphic owl named Longclaw, gives him a bag of golden rings that open portals to distant locations. She tells Sonic the best way to stay safe is to stay hidden before using a ring to send him to Earth while she stays behind to hold off the echidnas, sacrificing herself. Ten years later, Sonic enjoys a secret life in a forest cave near 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 plans to relocate to San Francisco as Tom intends to accept a job at the San Francisco Police Department.

One night, Sonic grows lonely while playing baseball alone. While he is running at unusually high speeds to clear his mind, his frustration causes him to accidentally trigger an electromagnetic pulse that causes a massive power outage across the Pacific Northwest. The U.S. Department of Defense enlists the services of eccentric roboticist and scientific genius Doctor Robotnik to determine the cause of the outage. Realizing his cover has been blown, Sonic reluctantly plans to leave Earth and live on a different planet that only contains mushrooms.

Robotnik discovers Sonic's footprint in the forest and, determining that the print is not of any animal found on Earth, uses his drones to track Sonic, who escapes his cave and hides in the Wachowskis' shed to leave for the mushroom planet. However, Sonic causes a commotion as he prepares to leave, causing Tom to investigate. Discovering Sonic in his shed, Tom shoots him with a tranquilizer dart, causing Sonic to accidentally open 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 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 comes across one of Sonic's quills, discovering that the power in it has the potential to fuel his machines, and becomes obsessed with capturing Sonic to harness his power. Sonic and Tom fight off several mechanized drones sent by Robotnik, but Sonic is injured. Arriving in San Francisco, Tom brings Sonic to Maddie, who is staying at her sister Rachel's house, to revive him. While Tom explains the situation to Maddie, Sonic receives a new pair of sneakers from Maddie's niece Jojo.

Sonic, Tom, and Maddie then head to the roof of the Transamerica Pyramid and recover the rings as Robotnik arrives in an advanced hovercraft powered by the quill. Sonic fights off Robotnik's drones and sends Tom and Maddie back to Green Hills with one of his rings; however, Robotnik uses the quill's power to match Sonic's speed and pursues him across the world, incapacitating him in Green Hills. Tom and the townsfolk intervene, and Tom acknowledges Sonic as his friend, causing Sonic to regain consciousness and maximum strength. Sonic defeats Robotnik by destroying his hovercraft with his powerful spin attack and, with help from Tom, sends him through a ring portal to the mushroom planet.

Following the incident, Tom and Maddie decide to stay in Green Hills and let Sonic live with them. Commander Walters, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, congratulates them for saving the world and assures them that all evidence of the event has been erased, including records of Robotnik's existence. Meanwhile, on the mushroom planet, Robotnik, having lost his sanity and still in possession of Sonic's quill and equipment salvaged from the remains of his hovercraft, plots his return to Earth to seek his revenge. On Earth, Tails emerges from a ring portal in search of Sonic.

Cast

Voice

• Ben Schwartz as Sonic the Hedgehog, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog with superhuman speed who finds himself on the run from Robotnik and the United States government. Schwartz also provided the facial motion-capture for Sonic.
  • Benjamin L. Valic voices Young Sonic.
• Donna J. Fulks as Longclaw, an anthropomorphic brown owl who was Sonic's caregiver as a child

Additionally, Colleen O'Shaughnessey reprises her role from the games as Miles "Tails" Prower, an anthropomorphic yellow-orange two-tailed fox, in the mid-credits scene.

Live-action

• Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, a brilliant robotics expert and mad scientist who works with the American government, covets Sonic's abilities, and plans to exploit them for his own personal gain, leading him to become Sonic's arch-nemesis. Carrey compared his character to his portrayal of the Riddler in Batman Forever (1995), saying: "I wouldn't put one against the other. I think they'd be a great team. But you know, it's like Robotnik and every supervillain basically comes from a place of neglect with a feeling of absolute worthlessness that manifests itself in magnificent creations that are designed to control the world, put their brand on everybody, and maybe even get inside your bloodstream with some nanotechnology occasionally."
• James Marsden as Tom Wachowski, the sheriff of Green Hills who becomes a father figure to Sonic and aids him in his quest
• Tika Sumpter as Maddie Wachowski, a veterinarian and Tom's wife, who helps him and Sonic stop Robotnik
• Lee Majdoub as Agent Stone, a government agent who works for Robotnik as an assistant
• Adam Pally as Wade Whipple, a dimwitted deputy sheriff in Green Hills and Tom's closest loyal friend
• Natasha Rothwell as Rachel, Maddie's older sister who dislikes Tom and frequently attempts to encourage Maddie to leave him
• Melody Nosipho Niemann as Jojo, Rachel´s daughter and Tom and Maddie´s niece
• Tom Butler as Commander Walters, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who orders Robotnik to investigate the power outage caused by Sonic
• Neal McDonough as Major Bennington, a soldier tasked with assisting Robotnik in his efforts to capture Sonic
• Frank C. Turner as Crazy Carl, a conspiracy theorist who seeks to prove Sonic's existence Turner previously portrayed the character in Kickin' It Old Skool.
• Garry Chalk as the U.S. Navy Chief of Staff. Chalk previously voiced Grounder and Robotnik in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Underground respectively.
• Michael Hogan as the Air Force Chief of Staff
• Peter James Bryant as Army Chief of Staff
• Shannon Chan-Kent as a roadhouse waitress

Production

Prior efforts

Development for a film adaptation of the Sonic the Hedgehog video game franchise 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. (1993) and Street Fighter (1994) films. Despite Kalinske's concerns, Sega was enthusiastic. In August 1994, Sega struck a development deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Trilogy Entertainment Group, with Pen Densham as executive producer.