Those of us old enough to have had a Sega Genesis growing up almost certainly remember sitting in front of our boxy CRT televisions for hours upon hours playing the original Sonic The Hedgehog games. Many were skeptical when it was announced that the lovable little blue guy was getting a live-action movie, and with good reason. The first images of the film showed a lanky, yet muscular figure that kind-of resembled Sonic, but just a bit off and unsettling. Now that Paramount has released the first trailer for the film, we have a better idea of what to expect.
It’s obvious that the movie execs want to hit us with nostalgia with this trailer. For one, it’s set to Coolio’s “Gangta’s Paradise”, released in 1995. Jim Carrey also throws it back to 1995 by taking a step away from his more serious roles and returning to his zany roots (think Ace Ventura and The Mask). The original Sonic The Hedgehog game came out in 1991, and many games and TV shows have rehashed the character since then.
This movie is part of the current Hollywood trend of taking animated characters and turning them into CGI live-action films, following in the footsteps of movies like Detective Pikachu, Lion King, and Dumbo. While it’s great that a younger generation gets their own introduction to Sonic, the older crowd who grew up with the Sonic games and animated TV show might want to be wary of this film.
‘Sonic The Hedgehog’ hits theaters November 8th, starring Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic and Jim Carrey as Dr. Ivo Robotnik.
Update (5/24/19):
Following backlash on social media, Paramount has pushed back the release of Sonic The Hedgehog to improve Sonic’s design. The new release date is now February 14, 2020.
Taking a little more time to make Sonic just right.#novfxartistswereharmedinthemakingofthismovie pic.twitter.com/gxhu9lhU76
— Jeff Fowler (@fowltown) May 24, 2019