A hybrid live-action/animated comedy-adventure based on Sega’s highly successful video game and media brand based on the extraterrestrial hedgehog known as Sonic for his supersonic speed was released in theatres.
After Sonic the Hedgehog became the highest-grossing video game movie of all time, the sequel follows Sonic’s travels on Earth following his arrival from a faraway planet and his clumsy attempts to befriend a couple living in Montana.
Even if it doesn’t break new ground in developing the franchise’s enormous world of intertwining characters and plotlines, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will appeal to family audiences seeking holiday diversions, thanks to its frenzied action and framed by Sonic’s wisecracking commentary.
Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) settles down with his new friends Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie Wachowski (Tika Sumpter) in their house in the town of Green Hills, immediately following the conclusion of the 2020 film. Sonic soon begins slipping out of the house late at night in quest of excitement, having become accustomed to a faster-paced existence as a result of his interplanetary adventures.
Sonic is briefly sidelined after an introductory scenario including a high-speed pursuit and some poor judgement gets him in hot water with Tom and Maddie. When they leave their position as surrogate parents for a vacation to Hawaii to attend Maddie’s sister Rachel’s (Natasha Rothwell) wedding, Sonic is soon up to his normal shenanigans, leaving Sonic home alone and unsupervised for two days.
Sonic’s domestic situation provides an emotional arc for the action, following his unpredictable and occasionally dangerous pursuit for heroic fame while Maddie and Tom try to guide him toward more responsible conduct, assuring him he’s “still just a child.” Sonic’s increasingly radical actions place him beyond the reach of any pretense of parental oversight, which Tom and Maddie essentially abdicate by leaving town anyhow.
Together, they create a frantic pace that Marsden and Sumpter try to match, but Tom and Maddie keep underlining the necessity of friends and family in controlling Sonic’s adolescent urges. It’s a technique that has a direct impact on their rambunctious little charge, encouraging him to extend a similar gesture of acceptance to Tails and Knuckles.
