Adam Pally, animation, Ben Schwartz, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Idris Elba, James Marsden, Jeff Fowler, Jim Carrey, Keanu Reeves, Krysten Ritter, Lee Majdoub, live action, movies, Natasha Rothwell, reviews, Shemar Moore, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Tika Sumpter, Tom Walters
December 21, 2024
by Carla Hay
Directed by Jeff Fowler
Culture Representation: Taking place in Japan and in the United States, the live-action animated film “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” (based on Sega’s video game characters) features a diverse cast of characters portraying humans and talking animals.
Culture Clash: Sonic the Hedgehog and his crime-fighting allies Knuckles and Tails team up to fight a new villain: Shadow, who looks a lot like Sonic and is out for revenge on the Guardian Units of Nations for an incident that happened 50 years ago.
Culture Audience: “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of “The Sonic the Hedgehog” franchise, the movie’s headliners and movies based on videogames that are faithful to the spirit and characters of the original video games.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” comes dangerously close to being overstuffed with characters and subplots. However, this live-action/animated sequel effectively ramps up the manic comedy and has a few welcome surprises. Not everyone will like “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” but the movie definitely isn’t boring. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” (which is based on Sega’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” video game characters) is one of the few movie franchises based on video games that hasn’t gotten stale by the third movie in the series.
Jeff Fowler is the director of 2020’s “Sonic the Hedgehog,” 2022’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” and 2024’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.” Pat Casey and Josh Miller co-wrote the first “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie, with John Whittington joining as a third screenwriter for “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.” Each successive “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie tries to ambitiously surpass itself in spectacle and energy, but the filmmakers need to be mindful of not making any of the “Sonic the Hedgehog” movies too messy and confusing.
People who watch “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” don’t need to see the first “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie but should definitely see “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” to fully appreciate “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.” In “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” title character Sonic the Hedgehog (voiced by Ben Schwartz) is a blue hedgehog from outer space who is living permanently on Earth. Sonic’s main “superpower” is his extraordinary speed. He has the personality of a hyper teenager and has been “adopted” by a human married couple in Montana named Tom Wachowski (played by James Marsden) and his wife Maddie (played by Tika Sumpter), who discovered Sonic living on their property in the first “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie.
In “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” Sonic is the leader of Team Sonic, a crime-fighting group that includes his two closest male friends: a gruff red echidna named Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba) and a friendly yellow fox named Tails (voiced by Colleen O’Shaughnessey), who made their first movie appearances in “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.” Knuckles has the “superpower” of strength through his oversized fists. Tails is a tech whiz who is very talented with computers and gadgets.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” begins in Tokyo Bay, Japan, where the movie’s chief villain Shadow (voiced by Keanu Reeves) has been kept in suspended animation in a water-filled cylinder chamber on Prison Island. Shadow has been kept imprisoned since 1974. However, in 2024, he breaks out of this prison and heads to the United States because he wants revenge on the Guardian Units of Nations (GUN), the the military operation of Earth’s government, the United Federation. The reasons for this revenge are eventually revealed in the movie.
When news gets out that Shadow has escaped from prison. GUN’s Director Rockwell (played by Krysten Ritter) asks Team Sonic to help catch Shadow, who zips around on a motorcycle. When Sonic first sees Shadow, he is shocked by how much Shadow looks like Sonic. Shadow and Sonic look almost exactly the same except for their color. Sonic is blue and white, while Shadow is red and black. Shadow is technically much older than Sonic, so he smugly declares that Sonic is the one who looks like Shadow, not vice versa.
GUN’s Commander Walters (played by Tom Walters) shows up to tell Team Sonic the origin story of Shadow. This review won’t give away all the details, but it’s enough to say that in the 1970s, Shadow was found in a meteorite that gave Shadow “chaos power.” Shadow was kept in a secret GUN lab, where he was subjected to experimental research. The lead scientist had an adolescent daughter named Maria (played by Alyla Browne, shown in flashbacks), who befriended Shadow.
Meanwhile, Team Sonic finds an unlikely ally with a past foe: Ivo Robotnik (played by Jim Carrey), the “mad scientist” also known as Eggman, who is living in reclusive exile and spending his days eating junk food and watching Spanish-language telenovelas. Ivo’s loyal assistant Agent Stone (played by Lee Majdoub) finds out that someone has been impersonating Ivo, so Agent Stone enlists Team Sonic to find out who the imposter is.
Team Sonic’s mission to help GUN and to help Ivo could have turned into a jumbled mess, but “Sonic the Hedgehog” mostly keeps these two plots running smoothly. Along the way, as revealed in the “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” trailers, Ivo finds out that his long-lost grandfather Gerald Robotnik (also played by Carrey) is still alive. Gerald turns out to be just as wacky if not wackier than Ivo.
Some characters from previous “Sonic the Hedgehog” movies make cameo appearances, such as Maddie’s outspoken sister Rachel (played by Natasha Rothwell) and her upstanding GUN agent husband Randall Handel (played by Shemar Moore), who got married in “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.” Also making a brief that is less consequential is dorky Wade Whipple (played by Adam Pally), a deputy sheriff who is Tom’s friend.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” has enough snarky pop-culture commentary that should appeal to viewers who are older than 12. Carrey’s dual performances as Ivo and Gerald are deliberately over-the-top but have their comedic moments, although some viewers might find Carrey’s acting to be completely annoying. The returning cast members do more of the same that they did in previous movies, while Reeves’ brings a snarling deadpan attitude to Shadow that should make this character a fan fave for the “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie franchise.
The high-energy visuals remain one of the franchise’s best assets. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” has a breezy, fun-loving tone if viewers are willing to keep up with the movie’s fast-paced plot developments. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” fulfills its purpose of being an entertaining movie, especially for fans of video games. The movie’s mid-credits and end-credits scene show that this franchise is continuing for many more years.
Paramount Pictures released “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” in U.S. cinemas on December 20, 2024.