Well, it's been quite a couple months, hasn't it?
I've been meaning to make this entry for a while now, but was delayed by a combination of work and my computer having been in the shop for a couple weeks. Now that my computer's back, and the Coronavirus issue (Which I try and pray about every day, and I'd suggest all of you do the same) is ensuring I'll be doing most of my work from home, I'll be better able to put out this and maybe a couple more entries in the future.
For my birthday weekend in February, I went with a couple friends to see the new 'Sonic the Hedgehog' movie.
(Credit for this image goes to the user "Inferno Lord Red" on the Heroes Wiki at https://hero.fandom.com/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_(2020)/Gallery?file=Sonic_2020_Poster.png)
Now, however, because of the Coronavirus issue keeping everyone at home, it's already available to watch on home format through digital streaming services.
The story of Sonic and my kind of connection to him goes back a long, long way:
As a kid in the 1990s who owned a Sega Genesis rather than a Super Nintendo (I still to this day maintain that the Genesis was the superior console) I was pretty much raised on the first few 'Sonic the Hedgehog' games, and on the animated shows that came out in that period which featured Jaleel White (Best known for playing Steve Urkel on the show 'Family Matters') as the voice of Sonic.
For the uninitiated, the "Sonic" games had you of course playing as Sonic (Though he soon gains some friends who similarly become playable characters in later games, such as his sidekick Tails and enemy- turned- ally Knuckles), a rather cocky but brave and good- hearted blue hedgehog with superhuman speed who sets out to save his world from being conquered by the evil Dr. Robotnik, a power- hungry mad scientist who specialized both in creating machines that he could use to try and kill Sonic and take over the world, and in insidiously kidnapping cute little animals and turning them into his vicious robot henchmen.
The levels would each consist of Sonic going through different areas, picking up rings along the way to help protect him from harm, fighting some of Dr. Robotnik's aforementioned robots along the way (In a sweet touch, whenever Sonic would destroy one of those robots, you could then see the little animal that had been imprisoned inside it happily running off), and then having a boss fight against Robotnik himself with the latter in a weaponized machine or vehicle.
These games took up so much of my time as a kid! The action was great, the graphics looked really good for the time, the music was wonderful as well (In fact, Michael Jackson himself helped collaborate on creating the musical score in the third game), and the characters were likable, especially Sonic himself.
I recall even back then as a kid, imagining what a 'Sonic' movie would be like (I think I and my brothers at one point suggested that Joe Pesci could be a good choice for playing Dr. Robotnik).
Things seemed rocky on that front, though.
It reached a real low point with the first teaser trailer for the film last summer. This trailer had a lot of problems: The jokes didn't seem very funny. It looked as though Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik may have been a miscast based on the clips of him they showed. The Coolio song "Gangsta's Paradise" was used, which doesn't fit the tone of a Sonic film at all (It's a very slow- paced song, not exactly fitting for a character/ franchise most known for blinding speed). Worst of all by far, though, was the horrendous character design for Sonic. It made him look unspeakably ugly and honestly kind of scary, certainly a far cry from the gaming mascot beloved by children the world over for decades. The fans were understandably outraged over it, and of course took to social media to express their unhappiness over the cinematic dumpster- fire they knew it would likely be.
Then, though, something miraculous happened: The filmmakers actually listened to the fans!
Sonic's character design got a complete overhaul which made him look much better and much closer to how he looks in the current games, and in the newer trailer, they even used a much more fitting song for it in the form of the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop" (A nice, fast- paced song that does indeed make a good Sonic theme). After that point, practically everything I saw relating to the movie made me more excited for it.
Now, on to the movie itself. It starts with Sonic (Voice of Ben Schwartz, who I best know as the voice of Dewey Duck in the excellent "DuckTales" series reboot) as a young child, having to leave his home world and the kind owl that had been sort of like his adoptive mother when she is mortally wounded and tells him to "Never stop running." With the aid of a bunch of magic rings that can act as portals to different worlds, that's exactly what he does for quite a while. He eventually settles, though, in a Montana town called "Green Hills" (A nod to the 'Green Hills Zone,' the very first level in the very first 'Sonic' game). He fills his days there in isolation, keeping busy with random fun and observing the locals from afar, but at the same time dealing with crippling loneliness over the fact that he cannot interact with anyone due to his fear that they might attempt to exploit or experiment on him to find the source of his speed power. He especially enjoys observing the lives of the town's sheriff, Tom Wachowski (James Marsden), and his veterinarian wife Maddie (Tika Sumpter). The nicknames Sonic gives them are so funny, I don't want to spoil them here. Those two have a content enough life, but Tom has ambitions of doing bigger things and helping people more, so he is seeking to join the San Francisco PD.
Eventually, Sonic's actions cause a massive power anomaly that attracts the attention of the US government, who put the odd and reviled yet brilliant scientist Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) in charge of the hunt for whatever caused it, with the aid of his swarm of advanced robot drones. Soon realizing that his cave home in Green Hills is not safe anymore, Sonic sets out to go to a new world in which he will be completely alone (In this other dimension he has set his sights on, the only other life forms are apparently giant mushrooms). In the process, though, his bag of transport rings are accidentally beamed to San Francisco, and he must reveal himself to Tom and seek the sheriff's help in getting there.
Tom and Sonic go on a lengthy road trip to get there, and in the process learn more about each other and themselves. Meanwhile, Robotnik has found one of Sonic's quills, discovers that even just that single quill holds a gigantic amount of energy that he can harness to power his machines and make them even faster and deadlier than before, and becomes even more determined to find and capture Sonic to see how much power can be taken from ALL of the little blue dude. All of this leads up to a fast- paced showdown between good and evil, and a great look at the power of friendship.
One of the only problems I had with the 'Sonic the Hedgehog' movie concerned a supporting character, Maddie's sister Rachel. While my friends I saw the movie with liked her, I found her very unlikable. For instance, early in the film, a simple and calm disagreement over the phone between Tom and Maddie prompts Rachel to try and imply that Maddie should divorce him. Rachel just seemed like an unnecessarily mean and rude person meddling in a clearly- happy marriage, though in an ironic contrast, her young daughter Jojo made for a delightful character for the few scenes she was in (More on her in a little bit).
Other than that, 'Sonic the Hedgehog' proved to be a really good movie, easily one of the best video- game films I can ever recall seeing (A couple other good ones I'd recommend are 'Rampage' and 'Pokemon: Detective Pikachu'). The action is solid all the way through, there's loads of extremely funny moments, and a good amount of heart and character development, especially between Sonic and Tom.
Also, much like what 'The Lego Batman Movie' did with the various incarnations of Batman, the 'Sonic' movie is filled with tons of different nods to the previous incarnations of the little blue blur, with the aforementioned naming of the town as Green Hills being just the tip of the iceberg. There are nods to other levels in the games, they make reference to Sonic's fondness for chili dogs that was seen in the 90's animated shows, and one scene uses an iconic bit of music from one of the games.
Of course, I must first talk a little about the title character. They do a wonderful job giving Sonic a well- developed personality. We see he's adventurous, fun- loving, compassionate (There's a sweet yet funny scene early on in which he saves a turtle from getting run over on the highway and takes it on a super- fast ride), and deep down, extremely lonely and desperate for companionship. He wants so badly to connect with people and form relationships with them like he sees them form with each other, but he's afraid to do so out of fear that someone will either kill him or exploit his power. It makes for a vicious cycle that you will be VERY glad to see him get out of as the movie goes on. He makes for a good hero, as likable and charismatic as he was in the games. Ben Schwartz does a marvelous job with his voice, making him sound cocky and fun- loving, yet with some real vulnerability as well. The moments of him enjoying random elements of human culture as he's observed them tend to be extremely funny. Just an all- around great job of portraying one of the greatest heroes in the history of video games.
Tom and Maddie both make for great characters on their own, and as a couple. You can definitely see where Tom is coming from, in which he has a good life in Green Hills but wants to feel like he could be somewhere where he REALLY makes a difference. It's also great to see how loyal and supportive Maddie is towards him (i.e. Early on, when Tom gets a letter from the SFPD about if they will hire him or not, we see that Maddie has arranged to have two different cakes made for him, one for each possible outcome). We just really get the sense that they are a happy, loving couple. Also, although she's just a minor character, Maddie's niece Jojo (The daughter of the irritating Rachel I mentioned earlier) is a real sweetheart, funny and kind. It makes me wish we had seen more of her in the movie and less of Rachel.
As I indicated earlier, I initially had some real concerns going into it about the casting of Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik. I'd have cast Kelsey Grammer to play him, and portray him similarly to how he (Grammer) plays the excellent "Simpsons" baddie Sideshow Bob. Nevertheless, when I saw the movie, I was VERY impressed with Jim Carrey's performance. While Carrey has definitely been on a career slump the last several years, in his performance as Robotnik he seems to be channeling the zany comedic energy he showed in his most popular films of the 1990's when his career was at its peak. This version of Robotnik is ridiculously arrogant (In an entertaining way, similar to Ben Stiller's character White Goodman in the movie 'Dodgeball'), condescending to literally everyone around him, and yet his arrogance seems rather understandable considering his vast intellect. As a t- shirt slogan I once saw put it, "It Ain't Braggin' If You Can Back it Up!" The movie does a great job of showing what a technological genius Robtnik truly is, such as through the special gloves he wears that let him remotely control his drones simply by flexing his fingers in certain ways. At the same time, we can see how his egomania, his obsessive dependence on technology for everything, and his equally obsessive pursuit of Sonic are slowly wearing down his sanity and turning him into the twisted madman I remember spending so much time fighting in the games. Plus, in the very end, we get a glimpse of him starting to gain the physical appearance that Robotnik has in the games and other media. While it's not exactly the Dr. Robotnik I remember, Carrey still makes him into a very entertaining villain who steals every scene he's in.
I can think of a couple different theological messages that can be taken from the 'Sonic the Hedgehog' film.
The first comes from a scene in the film's climax: Dr. Robotnik has critically wounded Sonic and is about to finish him, when Tom intervenes. Robotnik claims that a "Silly little alien" like Sonic doesn't belong on Earth, to which Tom gives a kind of cliched but still REALLY accurate and eloquent response: "That little alien knew more about being a human than you ever will!" There is a LOT of truth to that statement. While Robotnik has no friends (Even the person he's closest to, a stooge named Agent Stone, he treats like dirt) and makes it clear he doesn't want any, Sonic rightfully regards friendship and true companionship as one of the most important things in existence. While Robotnik proves to be as cold and soulless as the machines he surrounds himself with, it's clear how much Sonic loves fellow living things, the world around him, and life in general. For instance, about halfway into the film, simply realizing that he will apparently be leaving Earth in a day motivates Sonic to create a bucket list of things he'd like to do before he leaves (And they're a pretty funny, random list of things), and try to fill as many of them as possible. When Maddie's delightful niece Jojo notices that Sonic's shoes have become incredibly worn from all of his running and gives him the trademark red and white sneakers that he wears in the games, Sonic expresses sincere gratitude and wonder over the fact that these new shoes are the first gift that anyone had ever given him. He truly does know and ESPECIALLY appreciate what it means to be human, to be alive, more than Robotnik ever will. In this way, Sonic can be seen as a little bit of an allegory for Jesus. It in fact calls to mind a sermon that a pastor gave in church a couple weeks ago about the nature of Jesus. John 1:14 points out that "The Word became flesh and lived among us...", and the pastor elaborated on this by saying that "Jesus experienced the limits of time and space. He felt all the emotions we feel: Hunger, aches and pains, joy, heartbreak. He knew what it was like to live in a human body and think with a human mind." Unlike the self- righteous and hypocritical Pharisees who did all they could to distance themselves from the common "Sinful" people around them (Similar to how Robotnik in the film looked so disdainfully on pretty much everyone around him due to how intellectually inferior to him he believed them to be), Jesus loved all people and connected with all of them. Just like Sonic in the film, Jesus came, lived among people, took part in their joys and pain, and loved experiencing all of it with them.
Another theological message to be taken from the 'Sonic' film involves the concept of friendship. Again, we see quickly that Sonic dearly desires friendship and companionship with others, viewing these connections as one of the best parts of being alive. Tom comes to feel the same way, through the friendship he builds with Sonic. There are quite a few verses of Scripture that openly show just how important friendship and companionship can be. Ecclesiastes 4:9- 10 says "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to pick them up." Also, a translation of Proverbs 27:9 points out that "Sweet friendships refresh the soul and awaken our hearts with joy, for good friends are like the anointing oil that yields the fragrant incense of God's presence." Good friends are there for each other, assist each other in their efforts and pursuits, pick each other up when one is struggling, and can refresh one another's souls and bring joy to their hearts. No man is an island, and these truths are particularly important now, with so many of us shut in at home due to the quarantine. We need to maintain correspondence with our trusted friends and loved ones to help each other through this time. Call them, text them, facebook message them, just find a way to reach out to them and let them know you're thinking about them, praying for them, and love them. That is one of the many ways that, even in this time, we can show God's love to those around us.
That pretty much sums up 'Sonic the Hedgehog.' A wonderful, thrilling, funny and moving family film which conveys the great truth about how important true friendship is, and helps show through an unlikely source a little of what it meant in the Bible when it described Jesus as "The Word made flesh." I highly recommend digitally renting it if you're so inclined.
Also, I found this great video on Youtube which uses the awesome opening theme song from the classic Saturday morning 'Sonic' cartoon that aired in the 90's, paired up with clips from the film. Check it out if you want:
(Credit for this video goes to the Youtube user "Leonardo Shellhead")
That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. As my computer is now back in working order and I have more home- time on my hands, I have an idea for a new mini- series of entries I'll be working on, so keep an eye out for them. Until then, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!
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Nice job Adam! I see exactly what your saying.
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