How the Sonic Movie Franchise Became One of the Best Video Game Movie Adaptations

When the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie came out back in 2020, it blew away peoples’ expectations. After all, both the Sonic game franchise as well as video game movie adaptations have had a very rocky history, especially since this movie’s first trailer was heavily criticized for Sonic’s overly-realistic look and the strange choice to make it take place on earth alongside humans. Five years later, the third movie has recently begun streaming after a major success in theaters, signifying how far this franchise has come against all odds. In my opinion, these films have gotten better with each installment because of the better incorporation of game elements and the respect that the creators have given to Sonic. 

Major spoilers for all three Sonic movies. 

The first Sonic the Hedgehog movie follows a fairly simple buddy-cop plot. Following an attack on his home planet, Sonic (Ben Schwartz), a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog known for his speed, takes refuge on Earth and hides from all humans. When a government team led by Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) tracks him down, Sonic is about to use his portal-rings to get to another planet. That is, until a human named Tom (James Marsden), whom Sonic had been spying on for years, tranquilizes Sonic and causes him to accidentally send his rings to San Francisco. What follows is a buddy-cop road trip to San Francisco with Dr. Robotnik chasing after them. 

In my opinion, this first movie establishes good groundwork for the series. It introduces the titular character, Sonic, and has him take on his first fight with Robotnik, the series’ main villain. Sonic definitely acts much more childish here as opposed to his game counterpart, but I think it works since the movies are their own thing, but also an origin story. The human characters are fun and enjoyable to watch, the biggest standouts being Dr. Robotnik and Dr. Stone (Lee Majdoub). Sonic finding a family through Tom and Maddie (Tika Sumpter) is very sweet to watch as well, especially since he spent his prior years all alone. 

Was this movie completely game-accurate? No. The only real aspects from the games are Sonic, Robotnik, Sonic’s rings, some references here and there (like a leitmotif of the Green Hills theme playing after the climax), and Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) in the post-credits scene. Despite that, the movie was a fun ride. Sonic’s animation interacted surprisingly well with the real world, and the future looked bright for this movie franchise. 

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 released in April of 2022. It introduces Tails, who is Sonic’s best friend in the games, and Knuckles (Idris Elba), an echidna warrior who is after the Master Emerald and gets tricked into helping Robotnik (dubbed “Eggman” by Sonic). In my opinion, this movie is an improvement on the first movie. The story is much more adventure-oriented and there’s more emphasis on game elements. Alongside Tails and Knuckles, there’s also the echidna tribe lore, the Master Emerald/Chaos Emeralds, Super Sonic, a more game-accurate Eggman, GUN (The Guardian Units of Nations), and settings similar to the games. Knuckles himself is a huge standout for me; he is done so much justice. He adds so much to the current cast of characters—he’s headstrong, a little gullible, but not stupid. It’s also really nice that Tails is here, too. I didn’t think this was the best version of the character, since he comes off more as a fanboy most of the time rather than Sonic’s best friend. It’s definitely not the worst, however; he’s still the same tech-loving Tails from the games. Once the three of them teamed up, I loved their dynamic together. The movie is funny, action-packed, and includes so many more elements from the games, which makes it even stronger than the first. 

Unfortunately, I did think the human plot with Rachel’s wedding cut into the run-time a little too much. Although it was funny, there were some scenes that could’ve been cut out, to put more focus on Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. But even still, this was a huge step up from the first movie. So, what’s next? Well, Shadow the Hedgehog was revealed in the post-credits scene. I’ll never forget how the theater I watched this movie in exploded when he was shown. People were so excited to see what was coming next, and that excitement was definitely warranted. 

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 released on December 20, 2024. The first movie was good and the second movie was great, but this one is on a whole different level. Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails face off against Shadow (Keanu Reeves), a powerful anthropomorphic hedgehog who was trapped in stasis for fifty years and was recently reawakened by Gerald Robotnik (Jim Carrey), who is Eggman’s grandfather. Shadow, hellbent on revenge because of his friend Maria being killed fifty years prior, teams up with both Robotniks and Stone to find the keys to a powerful weapon, while Sonic and co. try to stop them. 

This movie does everything so well. The animation is gorgeous and the music actually uses songs from the games, specifically Sonic Adventure 2 (since that’s the game this movie was primarily based on). Because Shadow has never had time to process his grief, he comes out of stasis angry and wanting revenge on GUN. He’s a formidable rival to Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails, and pushes them all to their limits. Speaking of which, the three of them have an even better dynamic in this film. I also thought that Tails was portrayed much better in this movie, since he’s more of a wingman/best friend to Sonic rather than a fanboy. I also thought both Robotniks were hilarious, with Gerald Robotnik being both funny and menacing at the end of the film. The action is also a huge standout, especially the motorcycle chase, the Super Sonic vs. Super Shadow scene, and when the two team up and take out the massive weapon in the sky. There was also a surprising amount of depth in this film, with themes of grief being portrayed. This movie was definitely the best out of all three of them, and I would personally say it’s almost perfect, aside from its pacing being a little too fast for my liking sometimes. 

It’s astounding how far this franchise has come. From a cliché buddy-cop movie to an epic rivalry, great action, and an exploration of grief, this movie franchise has grown beyond expectations, and I can’t wait to see where it goes next. With each movie adding more and more game elements, it just keeps getting stronger and stronger. It also helps how well those game elements are incorporated and treated with the respect they deserve. Best of all, the franchise is far from over. The post credits scene of the third movie revealed both Metal Sonic and Amy the Hedgehog, which is leaving a lot of people theorizing about what’s to come next. Will Amy fall in love with Sonic just like the games because of the adventures he gets himself into? Who was Metal Sonic created by if Eggman is presumably dead? I personally can’t wait to see where this franchise goes next, and what the future holds in store for it.