"....Hi honey! Uh... you ever wanted a pet hedgehog?"
Tom arrives in San Francisco and parks his roofless truck in front of his sister-in-law’s house. His wife Maddie had been staying at Rachel’s with their dog, Ozzy, while looking for an apartment. He hides Sonic in a blanket and knocks at the door. Rachel (Natasha Rothwell) tries to block his way, but Maddie is willing to let him in. Reminder that Tom Wachowski is currently wanted and considered a domestic terrorist. Robotnik having the full power of the U.S. Government backing him is scary. The sisters argue some more, but Rachel’s daughter Jojo (Melody Niemann) greets “uncle Tommy”, hugging him. Finally, one happy voice in here! Heck, even Ozzy is barking like crazy at the blanket in Tom’s arms!
The arguing continues while Ozzy tugs at the blanket, pulling it off and revealing the unconscious alien to all. Rachel faints. Ah, finally some silence in here.
Obviously, the live-action filming was done before VFX, and thus, before the design change, so the acting puppet was of Ugly Sonic. This one doesn't look too bad, I guess.
Okay, we’ll resume the plot after a moment, I just want to address something again. One aspect of art is that we enjoy the end product but rarely realize just how hard it can be to get there. How much work goes into it. That’s especially true for visual effects, where the goal is to either not notice that something was changed, or to make the audience believe that what was added really was there. The latter is the goal that live-action films with CGI characters strive to achieve. In my opinion, one of the best ways to do this is to have the animated characters have believable physical interactions with the human characters. In my opinion, the more these unreal characters interact with the real world, the better it feels.
A lot of that trickery can be achieved using puppets or stand-in actors. As an example, at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy, when Drax pets Rocket, it’s James Gunn’s brother Sean sitting there in a greenscreen jumpsuit, positioned to account for Rocket’s size. The Sonic franchise? It’s puppets; the bonus features on the DVD for the Knuckles miniseries shows some behind-the-scenes with puppet Knuckles. It’s great. I love me some behind-the-scenes.
Yeah, they put the CGI model over the puppet, but it gives the perfect impression that she IS touching the model.
That said, interactions between real actors and animated creatures, even with stand-ins, can be tricky. I distinctly remember, when I reviewed Detective Pikachu last year, how I spotted a VFX mistake when Tim puts the detective hat back on Pikachu. In the film I’m covering now, there’s a number of physical interactions between Sonic and live actors that I easily believe. Examples: When Tom takes the hedgehog out of the house to flee from Robotnik. Or when he flips Sonic to checks his pulse, after the sticky bomb's explosion. Or when the unconscious Sonic is laid on the table and Maddie feels up his limbs for any broken bones. Or Ozzy giving the hedgehog a faceful of licks.
Though there are a few I don’t believe quite as much. In the bar brawl, the big guy’s complete lack of reaction to being hit by a bottle, then punched by Sonic repeatedly, makes for a funny gag, but as a result you can tell it’s not actually “happening”. Same when Tom has just entered Rachel’s house and has wrapped Sonic in a blanket to keep him hidden; for the whole scene, I can’t buy that there’s a living (but unconscious) creature in there. See? It’s like I said, it can be very hard to pull off.
Also, the "genre" is guilty of doing similar plots often; the road trip is a popular one. It's an easy way to have one CGI character spend time with a human.
It's become very common in Hollywood to have films “starring” CGI characters, and it’s not just found in family films; many genres use it, too. There's Gollum, from the Lord of the Rings series. We also had the Na’vi from James Cameron’s Avatar, and both Rocket Raccoon, Groot and Thanos as major characters in the MCU. But for a long time, the trope of a CGI character being treated like they’re part of the real world was associated with family films (Garfield, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Hop, The Smurfs, etc.), and given little respect as a result. Anyone who’s heard “it’s for kids, it doesn’t have to be high quality” for both animation and family films knows what I’m talking about. Though, just like video game movies, there seems to be a growing, positive turnaround for the genre (helped by very good, newer films like the Paddington or Peter Rabbit series, and of course the use of the technique in movies like Detective Pikachu).
The first Sonic movie is, canonically, the first instance in the entire franchise of Sonic farting. You like trivia? You're welcome.
I would say Sonic the Hedgehog is guilty of a few issues commonly associated with family films – referential humor, some potty gags, a plot that doesn’t feel quite right with the series. But it’s overall respectful of the character and brings up pretty good reasons as to why this story would happen. (This Sonic desperately wants social connection, so guilt-tripping Tom into taking him to San Francisco? Yeah, I can buy it! The hijinks that ensue are just cherry on the sundae.)
Anyway, how about that plot?
Operation “Help A Hedgehog”
At Tom’s request, Maddie checks Sonic for wounds and damage, and she concludes that he’s just unconscious. She mentions how badly Sonic’s feet must hurt. She uses smelling salt to wake him up, and the hedgehog awakens in a panic, jumping all over the kitchen. He’s fine! Just… hyperactive.
Looks like just an average family reunion at Rachel's.
Maddie takes Tom behind closed doors, in the living room where they tied up Rachel (because she would go crazy otherwise), to chew him out about all this. He explains what’s been going on – and that this is the “alien” that Crazy Carl was talking about. …Oh, and that he shot the hedgehog with her tranq gun, when she told him not to use it for any reason. Overwhelmed but rational, Maddie ends up agreeing to help Tom and Sonic get to the Transamerica Pyramid, and since his truck is out of commission, they “borrow” Rachel’s car. Withj her permission? Of course not, it wouldn't be fun otherwise!
He looks so happy!
While Tom sorts all this out, Rachel’s daughter spots Sonic’s old shoes, which are so used they’re full of holes. She goes upstairs and comes down with fancy red shoes. The alien tries them on, and lucky for him, they fit perfectly. Heck yes, one more aspect of Sonic has been finalized! Look at him, he looks so happy that he received a gift from someone! He even becomes buddies with Ozzy!
Love Jojo, she’s adorable, but damn am I glad we’re leaving Rachel behind. Sorry, that woman gives the worst first impression in the franchise. Not pleasant in the slightest, and she really doesn’t seem to have any real basis in her hatred of Tom. She first implies that he is at risk of being unfaithful to Maddie (and she wants her sister to check Tom's phone for dating apps), then the Sonic thing happens, and she jumps on the chance to further demonize him. I mean, my socially-wired brain immediately thought, “it’s because he’s a cop, isn’t it”. Which… I could see that, too. There’s nothing to redeem her in this one, aside from the comeuppance she gets of being tied up (and forgotten about). The sequel makes her a lot more fun instead of just irritating, but that discussion will have to wait a few more weeks, when I cover Sonic 2.
I have this weird impression that this Sonic just... likes to drive vehicles. Despite being able to go much faster than any of them. Hm, wonder why.
Tom, Maddie and Sonic head to the Pyramid – oh wait, no, Sonic drives them. Bit early to give the hedgehog driving lessons, Tom, he’s too young for a license. Also, how his feet can reach the pedals is a mystery. He can’t even park right! With his super-speed, Sonic scours the area to figure out how one can get on the building’s roof and determines that a special key is needed. Sonic, just run up the wall! Nope, won’t work. Besides, we need an excuse for one of the best jokes in the whole film.
Looks legit. ...well, that's because it is.
The two humans hide Sonic in a sports bag and walk up to the counter in the Transamerica Pyramid. Raising his badge, Tom pretends that someone on the roof is a suicide risk and he’s there to rescue them. The receptionist questions the Montana badge, considering how far that is from California. Tom rolls a 15 on persuasion and pretends that, yeah, that’s because it really is that important. It works.
They're trying to be subtle... but it's hard to be when you have a child that just won't shut up.
Tom and Maddie go for the elevators, but Sonic just can’t shut up in the bag, which makes other people in the building wonder whether he’s got a kid in there. I mean, yeah, but it’s okay, it’s not his. Then Sonic complains about the smell in that bag, and that it’s worse than the dog cage he was put in before. The other folks around them sloooooowly step away. That joke, right there. For this film, it’s in the Top 5. Love it.
The Eggman Strikes Back
Just hug already, you two. Tom, you can deal with some quill stings, come on.
On the roof, Tom frees Sonic from the sports bag. There’s his little bag of rings over there, exactly where it landed. Sonic no longer wants to leave, but for everyone’s safety he feels that he must. He reminisces on those past two days and how they were the best he’s ever had. He also apologizes for his harsh reaction on finding out about Tom leaving Green Hills. Maddie thinks all this is adorable. Sonic picks up a ring and explains how they work – just think of where you want the ring to take you, and throw it. It’s pure magic! They’re single use, however, so you better not waste them.
Once again, I'm pretty sure that smugness could power that ship all by itself.
After telling his final goodbyes, Sonic tosses a ring… but it smacks against an egg-shaped drone. Those things have surrounded the trio, and their owner shows up in a very cool flying machine, entirely powered by Sonic’s lone quill. Robotnik is as nasty as ever, he's even referring to Maddie as “collateral damage”. That’s how little he cares about human lives. Jesus, that joke is dark. After some banter, Robotnik – which Sonic dubs “Eggman” due to the shape of his machines – readies his robots to fire. Thinking quickly to save his friends, Sonic jumps off the door behind them and kicks Tom and Maddie down the side of the tower, seemingly to their deaths. The move is so unexpected that it stuns even Robotnik, albeit not for long.
If the "elevator wait" scene is among the funniest, this is straight-up one of the best moments in the whole film.
The mad scientist fires dozens of missiles at Sonic, but the hedgehog goes into hypertime again, with everything slowed down. Tom and Maddie are still falling, while Robotnik’s finger is getting dangerously close to pressing a button. Sonic takes his sweet time destroying several missiles. However, Robotnik hits his button, which activates the quill… and unlocks the same hypertime ability for the ship and its occupant, taking to the skies and blasting an unsuspecting Sonic from up high.
Very believable falling there.
This stuns the hedgehog for a moment, but when he comes to, he’s falling, and time is back to normal – he rushes to grab a ring in midair, runs down the building, and tosses it behind Tom and Maddie, who were still falling. It's another unconvincing special effect; you can tell they were shot lying on a greenscreen floor and flailing as though they were in the air. Sonic had thought of a farm in Green Hills when tossing the ring, so the humans land semi-safely into a massive haypile.
Whoops. lost his rings again.
Not "Escape From", more like "Escape Through the City".
Sonic, though? He can’t brake in time and crash-lands into the tree by the street, dropping his rings in the process. (Yep, that’s another reference to classic Sonic mechanics. Many are subtle, but the obvious ones are a ton of fun.) Confronted by Robotnik aboard his ship again, Sonic picks up his rings quickly, then runs into the busy San Francisco streets, with the ship hunting him down with lasers and more missiles. The madman doesn’t even care that he’s shooting where people might be, he just wants that hedgehog dead!
Freeze frame, “and that’s my story”. Well, he doesn’t say that exactly, but you get the idea. Sonic narrates that he wants to see how that ends, too.
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