[REVIEW] ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ Blu-ray

One of the most anticipated movies of 2019, and then 2020, is out on Blu-ray and DVD today! Sonic the Hedgehog was one of the surprise hits of the year before… well, before everything… happened… and it’s now available for you to own!

I will admit: I’m not all that familiar with Sonic the Hedgehog, mainly because I’ve never played the game before. I watched the cartoon in the 90s, but that was my only exposure to the character. I remember I loved the cartoon, but I don’t remember more than a few plot points from it and the fact that I remember it being one of the first pieces of media that ever made me emotional. I remember a story having something to do with Sonic briefly reuniting with his father who’d been captured and turned into a robot by Dr. Robotnick. I think that’s what happened. It was a long time ago.

So I wasn’t hyped for the new Sonic movie, but I was hoping that it would be similar to the cartoon when I was a kid, and maybe it could give me some feels. And then that trailer came out. You know the one. The one with the creepy little goblin version of Sonic, with the eerily human fingers… I laughed out loud at how unbelievably bad it looked, and I completely wrote off the movie. I had zero intention of seeing that train wreck.

And then the ensuing media storm forced the producers to completely redo the entire thing. I will say I was impressed that they actually took the criticism to heart, but I can’t say I was more inclined to see it. Once the second trailer finally came out, I decided I might give it a chance, but I still didn’t get my hopes up. If they botched the look of the character that badly, I didn’t expect them to have worried too much about the script quality.

But now that I’ve seen it… Well, it’s definitely better than I thought it would be! I enjoyed this movie for what it was, but it’s probably not going to make my top 10 list of the year. Unless movies keep getting cancelled, then, who knows! It might end up there by default!

This movie was your basic standard cartoon/live-action hybrid, straight out of 2006. It was a fun adventure for kids, but for just me, it was mostly a one-watch film. I am glad I own it now though, as it’s definitely one I can play for my nephews, and it’s fun enough that I don’t mind rewatching it. I just don’t see myself doing a rewatch on my own.

Bonus Features

Now, as far as bonus features go, this set actually had quite a few! There was even a director’s commentary featuring Ben Schwartz, the voice of Sonic! I know I’ve said it before, but commentaries seem to be getting scarce these days, so I always appreciate when one is included.

The only thing I wanted from this set that I didn’t get was some kind of in-depth look at the decisions leading up to the redesign. I really wanted some insight into why they thought that blue goblin design was a good idea, and how they ultimately decided to redo the character. I know that probably wouldn’t be the most flattering portrayal of those involved, but I am so curious about all the steps leading to the redo that I was really hoping they’d give us something.

The bonus features they did include were pretty standard but all enjoyable. They have deleted scenes and bloopers, which I always like to see, and the deleted scenes even featured the creepy gremlin Sonic before the redesign. He’s even creepier as a barely moving, plastic-y maquette!

There’s a bonus short called Around the World in 80 Seconds (it’s definitely made for kids) as well as a music video for the song Speed Me Up that features a lot of 8-bit animation which I enjoyed.

There are featurettes looking at the history and character of Sonic, For the Love of Sonic and The Blue Blur: Origins of Sonic. And there are also a couple of featurettes looking at the actors behind the two most iconic characters in the movie: Building Robotnik, featuring Jim Carry, and Sonic on Set featuring Ben Schwartz.

All in all, if you’re a Sonic fan, you’ll want to check out this set. Sonic the Hedgehog may not be the best film of the year, but it’s fun, kids will enjoy it, most fans of Sonic himself will enjoy it, and even fans of 90s Jim Carry will enjoy it!

Purchase Sonic the Hedgehog

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Target: Blu-ray | 4K | DVD

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Did you see Sonic the Hedgehog? What did you think?

Edited by: Kelly Conley