Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
- The original script for Sonic the Hedgehog was written over a decade before production finally began in 2020.
- During the filming of Sonic the Hedgehog, Ben Schwartz improvised one of the most famous lines in the movie.
- The incredible score for Sonic the Hedgehog was composed in just a few weeks after the original composer dropped out.
Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2020 American live-action/animated adventure comedy directed by Jeff Fowler, based on Sega's iconic video game character. Ben Schwartz voices Sonic, an extraterrestrial blue hedgehog with supersonic speed who has been hiding in the small town of Green Hills, Montana. When Sonic accidentally causes a power surge that attracts the attention of the U.S. government, the eccentric and megalomaniacal Dr.
Robotnik, played by Jim Carrey, is dispatched to capture him. Sonic teams up with local sheriff Tom Wachowski, played by James Marsden, to evade Robotnik and recover his lost rings before the villain can harness Sonic's energy. The film's pre-release history became one of the most remarkable examples of fan feedback influencing a major studio production — when the first trailer revealed a humanoid Sonic design with disturbingly realistic human teeth and proportions, the backlash was so immediate and overwhelming that Paramount delayed the film's release by three months and completely redesigned the character, replacing the uncanny original with a version closer to the game's cartoon aesthetic.
The redesign was universally praised and turned negative publicity into a goodwill narrative. Jim Carrey's performance as Robotnik was his most uninhibited comedic turn in years, channeling the manic energy of his 1990s peak. Sonic the Hedgehog earned $319 million worldwide on a $85 million budget and launched a successful franchise.
