In this sequel, Sonic (Ben Schwartz) and his friends Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter) must stop Robotnik from regaining control of the world. The villain returns with a new partner, Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba).
Though this movie is more of a slapstick action comedy than a straight-up Sonic adventure, it delivers enough humor and good messages to keep young viewers entertained.
Animated Characters
The Sonic the Hedgehog video game franchise has long been a cult favorite, and the recent animated adaptation, Sonic 2 (out in 2020), celebrates its iconic characters and SEGA’s incredible video game saga. The film features an A-list cast of returning actors like Jim Carrey and James Marsden, as well as newcomers to the series.
While many fans will be familiar with the main character, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz), there are two more echidnas who make their movie debut in this sequel: Tails and Knuckles. While Tails, the neo-hippie pig with an affinity for music, is voiced by James Marsden, Knuckles, a blue echidna who’s known for being a sexy frenemy of Sonic, is portrayed by Idris Elba.
The animation team had a lot of fun bringing these characters to life. They enlisted the help of Jeff Fowler, director of Sonic 2, to stay true to what fans have come to know and love about the games and create an animated version that stands on its own.
Soundtrack
Sonic 2 takes a different approach to the music than the first game, focusing on more traditional film score style rather than symphonic electronica. Composer Tom Holkenborg, who worked on the first Sonic movie, returns to provide another score for the sequel.
The soundtrack has a lot of the same music as Sonic 1, but this time it is much more polished and arranged, making it a lot more pleasing on the ears. There are also more musical scales, which helps the soundtrack to be more diverse than its predecessor.
One of the highlights of the soundtrack is “Green Hill Zone”. This song has a really unique sound and lyrics that speak of sights Sonic may see during his adventures. The song is a great tribute to Sonic the Hedgehog and is definitely worth listening to.
Graphics
Sonic 2 features a series of high-definition graphics. These are a combination of updated level tilesets and palettes, as well as sprites from Sonic Mania.
One of the most noticeable improvements is in Sonic’s appearance. His spine shading has been improved, his eye details and shoe buckles have been added, and he’s been given a slightly altered palette.
Another major upgrade is in Tails’ appearance, as he has been given a more accurate palette and flying animations that are in line with his pre-Mania appearance. He also has a few new Badniks in the game, many of which are taken from Sonic Mania.
While the quality of these graphics has been vastly improved, there are still some issues with the overall look of the game. Some of the characters appear blocky, and there are moments where the sprites look like they haven’t been rendered properly.
Story
Sonic 2 tells the story of a young hedgehog who wants to become a hero. He tries to adopt a crime-fighting lifestyle, but has little success.
The movie is directed by Jeff Fowler and written by Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington. It also features an introduction to a new character, Knuckles (Idris Elba), who is the last of his echidna tribe and is still bitter over his father and whole tribe being killed in a battle for the Master Emerald.
He is now determined to kill Sonic and get the Emerald for himself. Joining him is Tails, a two-tailed fox who loves Sonic and idolizes his abilities. you’ll definitely love the 123 Movies Sonic 2 video collection. It contains both official and unofficial clips, making it a great resource for fans of the game.
While Sonic 2 isn’t perfect, it manages to capture the spirit of the series and incorporate a lot more of Sega’s Sonic universe into the film than its predecessor did. It is also quite funny and has a lot of great moments. However, it feels like it is held back from getting too deep into Sonic’s lore in some places, and that makes the overall movie feel a bit hollow.
