December 20, 2024, ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ was released in theaters. This is the third installment of the live action movie series based on the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. This movie has the same cast of main characters from the previous movies, including Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, as well as some new editions.
This movie debuts the fan favorite from the video games, Shadow the hedgehog, on the big screen after the post credit scene teased him in ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2.’ Two other characters who are tied to Shadow’s character also make an appearance; Gerald Robotnik and his granddaughter, Maria.
Gerald Robotnik is also the grandfather of the reoccurring Eggman, who in the trailers is shown to be alive despite his ‘death’ at the end of the previous movie. Jim Carrey reprises his role at Eggman, but in a hilarious twist, also plays Gerald Robotnik.
I believe that Gerald Robotnik and Eggman carry a lot of the comedy in this show. While watching it with my friends, we were laughing every time the two had a scene together. In the show, they go through making up for the lost time between grandfather and grandson while fighting against Sonic and his friends.
Shadow’s character arc in this is similar to the one displayed in other Sonic media such as ‘Sonic Adventures 2’ and ‘Sonic X.’ His character has a sad backstory that made me care for him even if he was fighting against Sonic. He was in cahoots with Gerald Robotnik, so he ends up working for him for a lot of the movie while battling his own inner trauma.
This movie, like the others, pays a lot of homage to the game series. They use a lot of the songs from the series such as the song they would play when completing a stage after Sonic finishes a race against his friends. Towards the end of the movie, they also play one of the most popular songs in the franchise, being in the top 55 playlist for Sonic on spotify.
This movie has a really good set up to be enjoyed by those who have been fans for a long time as well as people who are unfamiliar with the series, including myself. I decided to watch the movies after I started getting into the games, so with my bare minimum knowledge of the series I didn’t feel lost watching the movie at all. One of my friends who has been a fan since he was a kid also enjoyed the movie even with his deep knowledge of the series.
The CGI in this movie is really good. All of the movies pride themselves on adding in the Sonic characters as CGI, and it actually looks realistic. The characters still hold their cartoonish vibes that feel similar to the 3D games, but are still realistic such as being able to make out their fur or quills.
Many remember the fiasco of the ‘Ugly Sonic’ that was featured in the first trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog back in 2019. He had an uncanny look, but after the creators took the criticism they ended up on a design that was just realistic enough and just cartoonish enough to not frighten children. Even as they add more characters, they all look good and hold up to their original designs from the games.
The battle scenes and CGI to real life actor interactions are done very well. I could barely tell that these actors aren’t actually talking to colorful anthropomorphic animals. The battle scenes look realistic and like they’re actually happening, so it’s easy to stay in the illusion of the movie being real.
In my opinion, the movie could be watched without having seen the previous ones first. I do believe you should watch them all so you’re fully in the loop, but at the same time the movie is good enough to be enjoyed on its own, so you would just be missing out on the lead up to the plot.
The movie is still currently in theatres, but is now streaming on some services. If you wish to rent the movie, it’s $19.99 on most platforms, or you can stream it on Paramount+. This is a cheaper option than some movie tickets, and you can invite some friends over to watch it like I did.
The services currently streaming the movie include Paramount+, Amazon Prime, Youtube, Fandango, Apple TV, and Google Play. I recommend the movie to everyone, whether you’re a Sonic fan or not.
The rating of the movie is PG, which means it is a movie that a younger audience can watch with parental guidance. The movie is good to watch with your family, but keep in mind that there are some cuss words and a few inappropriate jokes sprinkled throughout.
If you do go watch the movie, make sure to stick around for the credits as there are post credit scenes. The first and second movie can also be rented or bought on the same sites as the new one, but is also streaming on Paramount+.
