Of all the video game adaptations made (and there are several folks may not even realize are adaptations), none have met or exceeded expectations like director Jeff Fowler’s Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy. Each one is an entertaining family film with a compelling message that just may trickle out and into the psyches of the adolescent viewers beyond the “Gotta Go Fast” lifestyle of Sonic. Most impressively, with each title, the bar is raised and cleared, even as the storylines grow more complicated with additional characters. Of the three, the latest film, now arriving on home video, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is perhaps the best of the bunch. It’s confident in its messaging, the laughs are genuine, the emotion is heartfelt, and the actors are entirely at home with their characters; all of this enables the script by Pat Casey (Sonic the Hedgehog series), Josh Miller (Sonic the Hedgehog series), and John Whittington (Sonic the Hedgehog 2) to go far beyond the county line of Green Hills, and even the planet, in ways we’ve yet to see. With the film now arriving on physical formats and bringing over 50 minutes of bonus materials with it, excited fans can choose from one of two limited edition 4K UHD steelbooks, several standard physical editions, or a digital version.
L-R: Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba), Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz), and Tails (voiced by Colleen O’Shaughnessey) in SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 from Paramount Pictures and Sega of America, Inc. © 2024 Par. Pics & Sega.
After defeating Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey) for the second time, the newly-formed Team Sonic (comprised of Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles “Tails” Prower, and Knuckles (voiced by Ben Schwartz, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, and Idris Elba, respectively)) has settled in to their lives with Tom and Maddie Wachowski (James Marsden and Tika Sumpter, respectively). But all of their fun and games come to a screeching halt when G.U.N. Director Rockwell (Krysten Ritter) arrives with a request for help from Commander Walters (Tom Butler) as a strange event is happening in Tokyo, Japan. Arriving on-scene, the trio are prepared to save the day, wise-cracks at the ready, but they are unprepared for the mysterious figure before them — a black hedgehog with abilities that seemingly combine all the talents of Team Sonic and then some. To stop this hedgehog known as Shadow (voiced by Keanu Reeves), Team Sonic is going to have to work together like never before as it’s going to take more than speed to prevent Shadow’s plans of vengeance from unfurling. It’s going to take heart. Miles and miles of heart.
Sonic 3 is a simple film that also dips its toes in complex waters. The general premise is fairly straightforward for a kids movie: Sonic is pit against himself, albeit with a slightly different skill-set. As expressed in the film, Shadow is also a lost hedgehog from another world, but he found friendship with Maria Robotnik (Alyla Browne) as the scientists at GUN studied him, until tragedy took her away and he was locked up in cryo-freeze. Shadow was punished and isolated for the crime of being a space hedgehog that the agency couldn’t control. By comparison, Shadow is Sonic without the Wachowskis. This, combined with the fact that Sonic will need to actually be a team player with Knuckles and Tails in order to prevent Shadow from carrying out his plans, is the obvious part. What’s less so and is handled with wonderful care and delicacy is the message about grief, sadness, and healing. It’s somewhat wrapped into the Ivo/Gerald Robotnik story as Ivo’s entire deal is he thinks he’s better than humanity (partially a result of having no one care for him his entire life), thereby making Ivo’s partial face turn noteworthy when push comes to shove, but not entirely. Shadow is rage and fury mixed with speed and determination. He is lost from himself, absent the soft and thoughtful friend to Maria we see in flashbacks, who wonders about his place in the world and stares at the stars with philosophical fascination. It’s not until Sonic, consumed with his own fear, fails to follow through in their fisticuffs that Shadow starts to realize how astray he’s moved from what Maria would’ve wanted. Through these characters, young audiences can be entertained but also get a solid example of why regulation tools, emotional processing, and support are so necessary, especially in times of crisis. Yes, it’s obvious, but think of the audience coming to this picture. It’s not just the 40/50-year-olds who played Sonic when it debuted on Sega Genesis, but their children and grandchildren. These folks need something accessible to help get the message across and what better way to demonstrate that speed, strength, and teleportation are difficult challenges for a speedster, but talking creates the opening to resolve conflict and save the day. Before you go fast, think and talk.
For fans of steelbooks, Paramount Pictures is releasing two editions to choose from, in addition to the standard 4K UHD edition, Blu-ray, and DVD offerings. One steelbook version centers Sonic on a primarily blue and white case with Knuckles and Tails on the back while the other version centers Shadow on a primarily red and white case with Ivo Robotnik on the back. Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment sent a Sonic edition for home review and I can confirm that this is accurate. It’s a very minimal design that doesn’t do much more than embrace the Sonic “Gotta Go Fast” mythos. I suspect if one were to get both and put the two side-by-side that the presentation would be more evocative, but as the home release market is about to be severely impacted by the tariffs instituted by the Trump Administration, even the up-cost for a single steelbook may price-out some collectors. That said, the internal design on both steelbook versions appears to be identical with the left side showing Team Sonic and the right showing Team Shadow.
The bonus features are mostly brief (averaging 5 min each), but are both comprehensive in the information they share and are also many. Separate from the six deleted scenes and a gag reel, there’s a feature-length commentary track with Fowler and Schwartz, a Rankin/Bass-like Christmas-themed short (“A Very Sonic Christmas”), and eight individual featurettes. These featurettes cover Marsden (X-Men; Enchanted) and Sumpter’s (The Old Man & the Gun) working relationship; what it was like for Carrey (In Living Color) playing two generations of Robotniks; Fowler as director/showrunner for this and all three films; Reeves (DC League of Super-Pets) joining the cast; Schwartz, O’Shaughnessey (I Know That Voice), and Elba (The Losers) returning; shooting both on location and on sets; and more. A few highlight tidbits are a sped-up view of Carrey’s make-up process for both Robotniks that include the silliness that Carrey got up to with the makeup team; Keanu talking about how he tried to find a vocal range to help differentiate Shadow from the others; Schwartz discussing his approach to recording his lines to both provide Fowler with the most options and to help make his scene partners shine the most; and the general sense from cast and crew that this is a series that means a lot to those who have worked on it since the start.
Be advised that there’s one featurette, “Sonic Central,” that is digital only. It’s a marketing message that uses language that suggests it was released after theinitial Sonic 3 trailer was released but it also includes material that honors and recaps the entire trilogy.
The on-disc presentation is a mixed-bag. On the technical side of things, the video bitrate primarily maxes in the 50s and frequently drops into the 40s. This matters because a Blu-ray disc maxes at 40 Mbps, whereas a 4K UHD disc is in the 100s. This means that the 4K UHD disc offers a visual presentation that’s roughly the same bitrate as the best Blu-ray can output. One would think that this would result in a disappointing visual experience and they’d be incorrect — the film still looks outstanding. The quality is such that it makes it easy for the audience to see the details apparent in the eyes of Sonic and Shadow (for instance) that allow us to see the subtly included veins in the scleras and textures of the corneas; the way the fur, both as individual strands and as tufts, on all the animated characters flow; and the way the colors remain vibrant and distinct (especially important given the necessity of ensuring that Shadow remains separate during nighttime or dark sequences). In the very view times in which a digital character isn’t on screen in a scene that’s either on-location or on a stage with limited blue screen, the bitrate does bounce higher than the 50s. Films with digital-heavy sequences tend not to present high bitrates just by the nature of additional VFX, but then you add 10 featurettes and six deleted scenes to the mix (all in 4K UHD), and there’s just less data space on the disc for a higher bitrate visual presentation. Whereas films like Last Christmas (2019) didn’t provide a strong visual presentation despite its low bitrate on the 4K UHD edition, Sonic 3 fans likely aren’t going to notice anything negative even with the low technical element.
Between tackling messages about family, grief and healing, and the difficulty of doing the right thing, Sonic 3 also manages to be a really fun time. It’s a hard mix to get right, but Fowler and company pull it off really well. It’s obvious from the two post-film sequences that not only is Shadow returning, but Amy is set to enter the narrative, meaning that there’s still more story to come. Schwartz mentions wanting to make at least eight more and, something tells me, as long as SEGA and Paramount keep wanting to make them, audiences will show up. For now, just make sure to know your options when selecting which of the editions best suits your lifestyle.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Special Features:
- Commentary by Director Jeff Fowler and the Voice of Sonic Ben Schwartz—Embark on an adventure with the director and star! (1:50:05)
- Sonic Family Fun—The Sonic cast and crew share how they’ve become like a family over the years. (5:39)
- Enter Shadow—Keanu Reeves and other cast members talk about his portrayal of fan-favorite character Shadow the Hedgehog. (5:58)
- Robotnik Family Reunion: Ivo and Gerald—Jim Carrey and the Sonic family discuss how the characters of Ivo and Gerald Robotnik were brought to life. (8:42)
- For the Love of Sonic: Directing a Trilogy—With a background in visual effects and animation, director Jeff Fowler shares how directing the Sonic films has been a dream come true. (4:13)
- The Fox, the Echidna, and the Hedgehog—Ben Schwartz as Sonic, Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Tails, and Idris Elba as Knuckles invite us into the recording booth. (5:30)
- Live-Action Lunacy: Acting Opposite Puppets—Find out what it’s like to act alongside life-sized puppets! (4:41)
- From the Cryo-Tank to London: The World of Sonic—Explore the production designs for the film’s many spectacular locations. (6:20)
- Team Sonic vs. Shadow—The team behind the epic battle sequences details how the action is choreographed for maximum realism. (2:42)
- A Very Sonic Christmas—Team Sonic helps Santa Claus save Christmas! (2:10)
- Gag Reel—Laugh along with Team Sonic and these hilarious outtakes! (3:05)
- Six (6) Deleted Scenes (5:49)
- Sonic Central (Available on Digital Only)—A special message from director Jeff Fowler.
Available on digital January 21st, 2025.
Available on Paramount+ February 18th, 2025.
Available 4K UHD Blu-ray, 4K UHD limited edition steelbook, Blu-ray, and DVD April 15th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Paramount Pictures Sonic the Hedgehog 3 webpage.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews, streaming
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