Last Sunday I took my 2-year-old daughter to see Sonic the Hedgehog. She met a 3-year-old man at Westwood Plaza Theatre for a matinee. His father drove him to the cinemas. It was classified as a date and was chaperoned by two fathers from the Sega era. Please enjoy this review of the fuzzy blue hedgehog.
To begin, Sonic came into my world when I was about 7-years-old. When Sega Genesis unleashed this peculiar mammal to the video game universe, it provided immediate thrills. A few years later, in 1993, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective was released. Sonic and Jim Carey can credit the early 1990s for the height of their popularity. Sonic dominated the video game scene while Carey followed up Ace Ventura with The Mask and Dumb and Dumber in the same calendar year. Amazingly, two + decades later, Sonic and Jim share the big screen in an epic adventure.
My daughter did not care about that rich history paragraph. Any opportunity to go to the movies is fantastic. "Thanks Dad for the star-crossed storyline. Now, get on with the blog."
Legend has it that this film was delayed for quite some time because of how the blue hedgehog was going to come to life. Sonic had to be redesigned and there was outrage over his appearance. And let's face it, if we can't get a live-action Sonic right then there is no chance at world peace. Ultimately, I think they did a good job. He is brilliantly blue and blazes around for under two hours.
That is the first win - under two hours. It should be illegal to make a movie over two hours for a child audience. It is inhumane. Paramount Pictures gets a star simply for a 100 minute showtime.
Jim Carey acts as the villian doctor. His character is also insane, which might be more of a characteristic of the man, not the actor. He scared the date to some degree, but never enough to cause pure panic. And - spoiler alert - Sonic outruns Dr. Robotnik. And that really should not have spoiled much. If you had an inclination that Sonic would die during the movie, maybe you are insane.
The film takes place in the Pacific Northwest which had me daydreaming about adventuring in that part of the country. While I was lost in that daydream, I imagined climbing mountains and crossing streams. I imagined glorious sunrises and serene sunsets. I imagined my children chasing Sonic the Hedgehog somewhere on the other side of the Mississippi River far away from my wilderness conquests.
And that my friends is the magic of the movies. Sonic gets "2 Paws Up" from me because hedgehogs have paws. My 2-year-old had a civil date with her 3-year-old prince. Two Dads had some level of matinee peace, which does not solve the world's problems, but it is a step in the right direction.
Johnstown, let's all race to personal greatness. Lead by example. Make your own unique magic.
Godspeed.
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