Paramount has just released its live-action trailer for the Sonic the Hedgehog movie. Directed by Jeff Fowler and produced by Tim Miller, Ben Schwarts of Parks and Rec lends his voice to the world’s fastest hedgehog. He is joined by James Marsden, Tom Wachowski, and Jim Carrey as the infamous Doctor Robotnik, aka Eggman.
The trailer has been met with, well, concern. It’s hard to bring such a stylized character to life, and Paramount seems to be trying to stick to Sonic’s original look while also attempting to make him look more like a hedgehog. The mashup is strange, to say the least. Sonic’s trademark white gloves are gone and his shoes are not oversized. His body is also much longer than in the video games that made him famous.
Sonic the Hedgehog got his start in the 1990s and the video game franchise continues to this day. Two successful cartoon series were launched as well as comic books and tons of merchandise. The games have included fan-favorite characters such as Rouge the Bat, Knuckles the Echidna, and Shadow the Hedgehog. The major villain for the games has been the morally ambiguous scientist Dr. Robotnik, or Eggman. Jim Carrey takes up that role. There is no doubt that Carrey is a talented actor, although what the trailer shows is a bit of a departure from the Eggman of the games. Still, there is a brief shot at the end of Carrey at least physically resembling Eggman more, with a massive mustache, bald head, and goggles.
With Detective Pikachu coming to theaters in a couple of weeks, could this mark the start of a new trend of live-action movies based on animated cartoons and video games? Will this be the only Sonic movie or is it the start of a series? There is certainly enough world-building within the games to explore. But time will tell if the fans’ concern is rightly placed, or if the blue hedgehog will pull a fast one and surprise us all.
