Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Parents will be pretty bored but kids will have a blast with this colorful sequel

The first “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie is an interesting example of giving the fans what they want. The original movie trailer depicted the famous video game character — a speedy blue hedgehog — not exactly how he looks in the games. While not realistic, it looked more like what an actual hedgehog might look like, ending up with a very creepy CGI character. The teeth were a particular point of ridicule.

Listening to the feedback, the studio went back and spent millions to reanimate Sonic in the movie, ending up with a character that more resembled the Sega game. The movie itself was a surprise box office hit, leading to two sequels and a spin-off TV series.

But what was interesting about the first movie is that even though they changed the look of the Sonic character, the rest of the movie remained about the same. A human protagonist (played by James Marsden) was front and center, and Dr. Robotnik, the cartoonish villain played by Jim Carrey, was fairly restrained — compared to the sequels at least. Robotnik had hair and a normal-sized mustache. He was a scientist who worked for the military and only vaguely resembled the video game character.

But the lesson from the first movie: Give the fans what they want. Don’t just listen to them when it comes to look and design. Incorporate stories and characters from the video games (and connected media like comic books and animated TV shows). Everything became more outlandish in “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.” Two additional CGI characters: Tails (a fox who can fly) and Knuckles (a red echidna with large fists) took center stage, while the human aspects were pushed to the background. Carrey’s Robotnik altered his appearance to look closer to the video game and Carrey himself chewed mega scenery.

Now on the third movie, it appears “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” was written by a focus group of middle schoolers. Very, very few human roles. A new CGI antagonist: Shadow, a dark version of Sonic voiced by Keanu Reeves. He’s a red and black hedgehog who has the power to teleport who vows revenge on the world because of his tragic backstory involving evil scientists.

I don’t know if my mind was wandering from boredom or I was getting drowsy because of the strong heat in the movie theater, but I really couldn’t tell you much of the plot and I doubt it matters. It’s all just a delivery system for CGI fights and lukewarm wisecracks. Sonic himself, voiced by comedian Ben Schwartz, isn’t particularly funny in this one. The only time I really chuckled was an over-the-top dream sequence featuring Dr. Robotnik and his grandfather (also played by Jim Carrey).

After the credits, there is a short scene to set up yet another sequel with two more popular characters introduced. That was my daughter’s favorite part, really.

In the end, see this if you have young kids who loved the first two movies. As for teenagers and adults? Well… it could be worse.