Sonic the Hedgehog is a live-action/CGI film series by Paramount Pictures based on Sega's long-running video game franchise of the same name. While it's based on the games, it offers a significantly different take on its plot and setting.
The movies (naturally) focus on Sonic (Ben Schwartz), an anthropomorphic hedgehog from another world whose Super-Speed made him a constant target for attack. When his guardian Longclaw sends him to Earth through a ring portal to protect him, he spends several years hiding and observing the denizens of Green Hills, Montana — in particular, sheriff Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) and his wife Maddie (Tika Sumpter). However, Tom does eventually meet him — but only after the military begins searching for the hedgehog, led with increasing fervor by the brilliant but arrogant Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey). Thus, Sonic gets intertwined with the Wachowskis' friends and family — as well as the other otherworldly animals that later appear on Earth, like the intelligent but young Tails (voiced once again by Colleen O'Shaughnessey) and the super-strong warrior Knuckles (Idris Elba).
Coinciding with the announcement of the third film and the Knuckles miniseries in 2022, producer Toby Ascher stated
that Paramount intends to create a "Sonic cinematic universe."
Works in the series:
Films
- Sonic the Hedgehog (February 14, 2020): After Sonic inadvertently causes a massive EMP, the US government reluctantly hires Dr. Robotnik to find the cause. Upon meeting Tom, the two end up on a cross-country road trip to recover Sonic's lost stash of portal rings, contending with their own personal issues in addition to Robotnik's forces.
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (April 8, 2022): When Tom and Maddie travel to Hawaii for a family wedding, Robotnik returns to search for an emerald with incredible, earth-shattering power — meeting and befriending Knuckles to aid him. Sonic, joined by Tails for the first time, sets out to stop him.
- Sonic The Hedgehog 3 (December 20, 2024): Shadow the Hedgehog will appear, voiced by Keanu Reeves. In addition to Jim Carrey returning as Robotnik and Alyla Browne set to play Maria, this film will also include Krysten Ritter, James Wolk, Sofia Pernas, Cristo Fernandez, and Jorma Taccone as new members of the cast.
Series
- Knuckles (April 26, 2024): A six-episode miniseries following Knuckles as he deals with life on Earth, including training Deputy Sheriff Wade Whipple to be a warrior and fighting off a follower of Robotnik. It is exclusively available on Paramount+.
Other media
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2: The Official Movie Pre-Quill (March 30, 2022): A one-shot comic by IDW Publishing. It contains five stories following various characters in the time between the first and second films, each with different writers and artists.
- Sonic Drone Home (May 24, 2022): A fully CG animated short included with home video releases of the second film. Following its conclusion, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles stumble upon one of Robotnik's drones, who attempts to follow its creator's instructions and Take Over the World. Schwartz came back to voice Sonic, but Tails and Knuckles' actors didn't with Alicyn Packard and Fred Tatasciore taking over those respective characters instead.
Other appearances:
- Sonic Dash and Sonic Forces: Speed Battle: Sonic, "Baby Sonic" and Longclaw were added to the game in 2020 as part of a series of promotional tie-in events themed around the movie. Tails, Knuckles, and Super Sonic would be added to the game in 2022 during a series of tie-in events based on the sequel.
- Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (May 20, 2022): "Ugly Sonic," the version of Sonic seen in the first film's original trailer, makes an appearance directly referencing the real-life backlash towards his design.
The film series provides examples of:
- Adaptational Location Change: While the games take place in a Fictional Earth where Funny Animals and humans co-exist (with the animals living on islands and the humans living on continents according to TailsTube), the movies explicitly take place in the real Earth, with it and Sonic's world being treated as two separate planets like in Sonic X. Word of God statements have indicated that there are possibly even more inhabited planets in this universe than just those two, with it being unclear as to whether Tails is even from the same world as Sonic and Knuckles.
- Human-Focused Adaptation:
- Downplayed in the films proper. While the films are still focused on Sonic and his friends, there is a far greater focus on the human characters compared to the games and other adaptations similar to the first two seasons of Sonic X, with Tom acting as the co-protagonist alongside Sonic in the first film.
- Averted in Sonic Drone Home, which is entirely focused on Team Sonic and the titular drone, with nary a human in sight.
- Played straight in Knuckles, which, despite the title, becomes more focused on Wade and his family than on Knuckles, who becomes more of a Supporting Protagonist. Justified, as Knuckles, being a Paramount Plus TV show, has a lower budget than the movies, meaning they can't use him as much due to costs.
- Ultimate Universe: The film series acts as this to the Sonic the Hedgehog game series, being a heavily distilled and streamlined take on the Sonic mythos that borrows many plot points from the games (particularly from the sequel and onwards), while also deviating heavily from them in many areas, often drastically so. The films are also set in a more grounded setting compared to the games.
