You get a sidekick! And you get a sidekick! Or at least Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) and Sonic (Ben Schwartz) both get sidekicks in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which is at least partly in keeping with the game on which it’s (relatively speaking) based.
Sonic 2, the game, introduced the adorable lil’ fox Tails (here voiced by Colleen O’Shaughnessey), Sonic’s sidekick. Technically, Knuckles the Echidna (played in the film by Idris Elba) didn’t arrive until the third game, but we can let that slide. It’s a movie about hyperactive hedgehogs. Strict adherence to the canon is hardly necessary.
Famously, the first Sonic the Hedgehog had that whole thing where they gave him what looked like human teeth, which were then—thankfully—redesigned. Dental horror averted, the movie sped swiftly to its release date and earned surprisingly good reviews.
Buy the Book
Goliath
The first movie also teased the arrival of Tails with a post-credits scene, a thing every franchise movie is required to provide. Now, he’s joined forces with Sonic to once again stop that dastardly Dr. Robotnik, keeper of a mustache that’s almost as horrifying as Sonic’s original teeth were. But Robotnik has a new friend, Knuckles, who really doesn’t look like any echidna I’ve ever seen. Let’s just go with it. Let’s trust the movie magic.
Here’s the summary:
After settling in Green Hills, Sonic is ready for more freedom, and Tom and Maddie agree to leave him home while they go on vacation. But, no sooner are they gone, when Dr. Robotnik comes back, this time with a new partner, Knuckles, in search for an emerald that has the power to both build and destroy civilizations. Sonic teams up with his own sidekick, Tails, and together they embark on a journey to find the emerald before it falls into the wrong hands.
The opening of this trailer feels like it’s winking really, really hard at any number of scenes from The Flash, in which Barry Allen is constantly running up or down the sides of buildings that look just like this one. Sonic is being reckless! Even a hedgehog has to grow up sometime.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is once again directed by Jeff Fowler, and also stars James Marsden and Tika Sumpter as Sonic’s human friends. It’s in theaters April 8, 2022.
