“Sonic The Hedgehog” is exactly what long time fans of the little blue blur have been patiently waiting for. This movie is chock-full of hidden easter eggs, bad puns, cute family-friendly jokes, and a theme about the value of friendships, making “Sonic The Hedgehog” a must-see family film.

Throughout the movie, you almost feel like Sonic, voiced by Ben Schwartz, is your little brother as he constantly asks questions, despite thinking he knows everything. 

The movie itself opens with the classic “Sega” jingle that long time fans of the video game are familiar with, setting the stage for the rest of the light-hearted adventure movie that follows. 

Yet, the movie starts out as anything but lighthearted.

Sonic is a blue hedgehog from the planet Morbius who is displaced on planet Earth where he lives alone in a burrow in Green Hill, Montana.

One night, isolation gets the best of him. Sonic accidentally runs around at such a quick speed outside of his burrow, that he emits an electromagnetic energy pulse so strong that he blows out the power of the entire Green Hill community.

Almost immediately after the power outage, the government wants to figure out what went down in Green Hill. They send Dr. Robotnik, played by Jim Carrey, to figure it out. 

Green Hill sheriff Tom Wachowski, played by James Marsden, accompanies Sonic on his journey to escape the clutches of Dr. Robotnik, which takes him all the way to San Francisco.

Jim Carrey’s portrayal of Dr. Robotnik went a little south for me. Don’t get me wrong, I thought Jim Carrey’s performance was spectacular. 

He is a comedic legend and this role is no exception. His facial expressions and manic delivery of fast-paced dialogue brought back memories of his role in “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” in 1994.

However, that is exactly the problem I had. I was getting too much of the actor and not enough of the character. 

I wanted to experience more of the Doctor Robotnik that I knew from the video games as a kid.

Nonetheless, a great performance delivered by Carrey that will have you laughing from scene to scene.

I cannot forget to mention the performance of Ben Schwartz. Schwartz does an excellent job of bringing a child-like aura to Sonic. 

I personally am so relieved that they decided to postpone the initial release date and redesign the previously humanistic Sonic design from the first trailer which gave me awful nightmares thinking about his human-like teeth and his toothpick legs. 

The CGI is wonderfully done, especially in the one small scene where you get to be immersed in Sonic’s homeland.

Ultimately, this movie is not something revolutionary or groundbreaking. It’s a cute family flick about a blue alien hedgehog who runs really fast. If your goal is to watch a decent movie, while munching on a chili cheese dog, go watch “Sonic The Hedgehog.” And stay for the end-credits. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐