Overnight, the first trailer for Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog film dropped. It features scenes from the movie with everything you’d expect from our favourite super-fast blue blur, like bad jokes from the 90s, human teeth on a kind of upsetting off model Sonic and, of course, Jim Carey as Jim Carey wearing a Dr Robotnik costume. If that’s not 90s enough for you yet, it’s all set to Gangsta Paradise for that extra little touch of ‘are you feeling the nostalgia yet?’
The trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvvZaBf9QQI
The online responses
Naturally, the online response is mostly Twitter roasting the ever-loving heck out of it with users unsure whether to laugh or cry over Sonic and his weird human teeth.
Even more excited about Detective Pikachu now. Sonic.. no pic.twitter.com/WH3a1xB3TD
— droobey (@droobey) April 30, 2019
While other people are making upsetting predictions about the direction the hype surrounding the movie is going to take.
i’m calling it now: jim carrey’s dr. robotnik is going to be tumblr’s next villain boyfriend. six months from now we’re all going to be drowning in horny eggman art. one of your mutuals is going to have the display name “dr. robotDICK🥚💦👀” pic.twitter.com/HVTMk8nQCu
— 🌸alexis moore🌸 (@alexisparade) April 30, 2019
Of course, this isn’t the first video game movie or 90s-based movie to garner ire. Some people are already drawing various comparisons to other 90s IPs that were made into “films”.
Who ruined it better? pic.twitter.com/tS1SRplCxo
— Phid McAwesome (@PhidMcAwesome) April 30, 2019
the new sonic movie looks like it was made by someone who thought the 90s teenage mutant ninja turtles movies were cinematic masterpieces
— Catlord Hester | 🐈 (@steamjamboree) April 30, 2019
My thoughts on Sonic The Hedgehog Movie so far
Overall people are… conflicted, to say the least.
Whether it’s due to the uncanny valley of Sonic’s model, the goofy dialogue, or just the general consensus that video game movies generally don’t turn out that well… people are not holding out a lot of hope after the first trailer.
Though others have praised the last second with a truer to game looking Carey as Robotnik. They’re hoping it’s an indicator that all is not lost. Maybe there will at least be a few moments in the movie where you can come out of it saying, “Yeah, alright.”
The premise of the movie, for those that don’t know, is that a local policeman teams up with Sonic. Sonic is being tracked down by the government. The government seem to have no idea what he is, exactly. And then, naturally, Robotnik teams up to try and catch him too.
Also, the town is called Green Hills because apparently no piece of Sonic media can go without mentioning Green Hill Zone upon pain of death, or something.
Listen, I’ve been a long time Sonic fan. Even I don’t know what to make of this. Of course, other than, “Why did they give him human teeth and weird little squinty eyes?” But, I’m still going to watch it because I feel obligated to as someone who owns more than one item of clothing with Sonic on it.