![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/MD_Sonic_the_Hedgehog.png?resize=320%2C224\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nI was introduced to Sonic as a teen when my parents *finally* bought me a Sega Genesis after it had been out for a few years. I\u2019d never owned a game system before and no one ever really let me play because I wasn\u2019t very good at it. I was over the moon excited, even though the primary reason for her breaking down to buy it was that I had a surgery that called for several months in bed. Although she didn\u2019t buy me the system that included the game I\u2019d really wanted, \u201cSonic The Hedgehog\u201d was available to rent for $3.50 a week at the video rental store down the street from my house. I fell in love with the entire thing, far more than any other game I played and I rented it enough times to have bought it 5 times over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was my first real experience with a video game all to myself and I loved everything about it. The colors, the lights, the sounds the rings made\u2026 that weird ring dimension you got to spin around in between the levels\u2026 It was absolutely awesome to me and while I enjoyed the other games I had which included Bram Stoker\u2019s Dracula, Home Alone and Disney\u2019s Aladdin. Hey now, don’t judge… I was 14. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, the Green Hill Zone was my favorite. Perhaps reminiscent of my 80\u2019s childhood watching shows like Rainbow Bright, there was something about the blue of the water, the sparkling light shining on distant waves, soaring with ease and freedom and the green of the hills and the music. The whole package together all just seemed kind of magical to me in my “not quite ready to let go of childhood brain. Maybe because I was taking heavy pain medication at the time and it buried itself into my subconscious, maybe because it was hypnotic and mesmerizing… Whatever the reasons, it stuck with me and remained one of my favorite games and playing it was one of my favorite memories of that time. Even though I was in tons of pain due to a surgery, what I remember is playing Sonic. Long after I stopped playing it, long after the Genesis was nothing more than a relic, it was still top on the list. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, when I say I love the game and I am deeply invested in seeing Sonic\u2019s world come to life in a way that does it justice, know this history is where I\u2019m coming from. My Sonic is not the one from the tv shows my kids watch, not the following games with extra characters and deeper storylines or even two players! Back then it was just me, a little blue hedgehog and his rings looking for emeralds while rescuing animals on a grassy hillside, in caves, jumping on springs, dodging all manner of dangerous equipment while getting laughed at by a bald guy with a big mustache every time I failed. It took me to another world in a way I\u2019d never experienced before and opened the door to my love of gaming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fast forward to this week\u2026 After so many incarnations of the story, the game, expanded worlds and storylines that have created a world, I\u2019ll be honest, I didn\u2019t keep up with any of it. The Saturday morning cartoons of the lat 90\u2019s and early 2000\u2019s held no interest for me and I was already too busy to watch them anyway. My nephews discovered and loved the newer games and now my children recently discovered Sonic Underground from back in the early 2000\u2019s and play the newer games with family at parties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new movie was about to come out and I was hopeful, but not expecting much. The sneak peeks of Sonic\u2019s design was released and the whole world went nuts\u2026 but I held out hope. I mean, how often does a production team listen to their fans and take the extra time to secure a look that everyone could agree on?? I was eager to support their work, so I knew we would try to go opening weekend. The kids were excited and my husband was tolerant, so with that – we went to see it the Saturday after it opened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, let\u2019s get the big question answered – did they \u201cfix\u201d Sonic. Yes, they did. He looks just as he aught to; no more creepy human teeth, his poodle nose is gone and the weirdly spaced out eyes were fixed. They even smoothed out his fur and gave him a more polished look, closer to the ones we already recognize from past versions. Personally, I understood why they made him look the way they did in the beginning and wasn\u2019t that upset about it. They were trying to go for a more realistic version, one that could pass for something \u201creal\u201d and less animated. To fix him, they had to make him look more cartoonish. His eyes are bigger, his nose is more rounded and much more like the version of Sonic from the cartoons and less like a real animal, but much more like we expect to see and that simple expectation being met makes all the difference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDid they do the world justice?\u201d is the other question and yeah – I believe they did, there just wasn’t enough of it. Sonic\u2019s world has that same sparkling ocean, the rings that make the right sounds and the hills even collapse after he\u2019s run through them (one of my favorite touches).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, the story. It\u2019s a cute story, fully a kid\u2019s movie in every way. But\u2026 there\u2019s more. This isn\u2019t just a movie about a really fast, blue hedgehog from space with a human sidekick. If it had been, I wouldn\u2019t be so inclined to do a write up on it. This was actually a movie about fostering a friendship amidst massive differences between two um\u2026 \u201cpeople\u201d, while overcoming inner anxieties about self-worth. The real plot was buried inside a fun story with silly jokes, fast robots, explosions and a brilliantly bizarre Jim Carry doing what he does best. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are tons of teachable moments and conversation topics buried in this story. One thing I thought was particularly fun to see and to me, showed a tremendous amount of attention to the total package of Sonic as a character – he wasn\u2019t just \u201cfast\u201d. I mean, yes, he was physically fast, but mentally he was, too. He never stopped talking, moving, jumping, or shifting and he bounced from one topic to the next while being distracted by random, shiny things throughout the entire film. It was often done as comic relief and a great way to get a laugh out of the kids in the audience, but there was more to it for those who were paying attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As the parent of a child with special needs, it took me all of 10 minutes into this movie to realize – Sonic has ADHD. Now, I don\u2019t know if they did this on purpose, and if they did – I respect them even more for not mentioning it directly, but it\u2019s totally obvious and if you have anyone in your life who has it, you\u2019ll see it just as quickly as I did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Why is this important? Well, because the movie is about a space kid who makes rash decisions based on emotional outbursts, has huge impulse control problems and can\u2019t sit still if his life depends on it (and it does more than a few times). His sadness becomes a massive, rage-filled meltdown that causes an entire city to lose power. His lack of self-confidence and inability to think before he acts gets himself into trouble almost constantly, even though he\u2019s been told he must do the opposite. He keeps to himself and separates himself from others even though he desperately wants to connect and make friends and participate in social activities, sports and families. While he\u2019s going through hell, alone and kind of miserable, he\u2019s still having a great time because he can see beyond the moment, he can see the good in people and he never stops daring to dream of a life where he feels like he can finally belong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, his human sidekick is going through his own period of self-discovery with feelings of inadequacy, disappointed in his life and wanting to make up for not being who he thinks he should be. Together, they both learn to trust themselves, each other and those who love them. They find their voices, their power and their purposes in life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you decide to go, make no mistake- it\u2019s a children\u2019s movie. While the story\u2019s voice may have underlying maturity and depth of character, it\u2019s very much a child\u2019s voice doing the talking. It\u2019s great fun with a decent soundtrack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kids like it, most adults I know who have seen it didn’t hate it, some even liked it, which is awesome – but the real truth is in the numbers, right? So how’s it doing so far? The film earned about $210 million in 10 days. Well, that’s great, but week two always tells the truth. Week two pulled in a little over $107 million. As we enter into the third weekend after opening and a week before the film’s release in Japan, it’ll be interesting to see what happens next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Either way, I’d say this is a win for fans and kids everywhere. It’s a home run in our book! <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My Quick First Impressions:Attention to detail\u00a0– Obvious respect for fandomFantastic game references, some were extremely subtle and fun to findJim Carry is amazing as Doctor Ivo \u201cEggman\u201d Robotnik. It’s great to see him in his natural habitat. \u00a0Great story with a better ending than “Hop”, so I feel like I can’t complain much. Okay so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[4,9,14],"tags":[1012,582,1011,1010,1009],"class_list":["post-16578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-and-reviews","category-lessons-from-the-mother-ship","category-news","tag-ben-schwartz","tag-james-marsden","tag-paramount-pictures","tag-sega","tag-sonic-the-headgehog"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1opIU-4jo","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17621,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/lionsgate-snags-the-streets-of-rage-film\/","url_meta":{"origin":16578,"position":0},"title":"Lionsgate Snags The “Streets of Rage” Film","author":"Forbidden Panel","date":"November 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"SEGA Lionsgate has picked up the rights to the upcoming film adaptation of SEGA\u2019s iconic \u201cStreets of Rage\u201d arcade beat \u2019em up game franchise. \u201cJohn Wick\u201d creator and \u201cNobody\u201d scribe Derek Kolstad penned the script on spec based on the 1991 side-scroller, which follows former police offers who battle a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/lionsgate-snags-the-streets-of-rage-film.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/lionsgate-snags-the-streets-of-rage-film.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/lionsgate-snags-the-streets-of-rage-film.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6328,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/the-dreamcast-the-saturn-and-the-genesis-have-returned-as-laptop-computers\/","url_meta":{"origin":16578,"position":1},"title":"The Dreamcast, the Saturn, and the Genesis Have Returned! …as Laptop Computers…","author":"Forbidden Panel","date":"February 15, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Sega is back in the game console business! Well, sorta. Okay, not really. But this is pretty cool anyway. The Tokyo-based gaming company is licensing out its iconic consoles to be branded on laptop computers. The result is several Sega-themed notebooks: there's the basic Sega motif, the Genesis Model, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6069,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/moga-mobile-gaming-system-expands-to-include-console-style-moga-pro-controller\/","url_meta":{"origin":16578,"position":2},"title":"MOGA Mobile Gaming System Expands to Include Console-Style MOGA Pro Controller","author":"Forbidden Panel","date":"January 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"MOGA Pro Unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas This Week\u00a0 PowerA\u2122\u00a0unveils a new addition to the MOGA\u2122 Mobile Gaming System at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, January 8-11 -- the console-style MOGA Pro Controller. MOGA Pro is a full-featured mobile game controller that transforms\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs\/Reviews\/Stories"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs\/Reviews\/Stories","link":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/category\/blog-and-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"104","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/104-246x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17487,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/ajs-side-panel-episode-51\/","url_meta":{"origin":16578,"position":3},"title":"AJ’s Side Panel Episode #51","author":"Forbidden Panel","date":"April 14, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"In this episode AJ reviews Morbius, Ambulance, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and Everything Everywhere All At Once .Like what you hear? \u00a0Hate the sound of AJ\u2019s voice? \u00a0Have something to add? \u00a0Have movie recommendations? Want to be on the show? Click here to record\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AJ's Side Panel"","block_context":{"text":"AJ's Side Panel","link":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/category\/blog-and-reviews\/ajs-side-panel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5253,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/a-movie-about-game-console-wars\/","url_meta":{"origin":16578,"position":4},"title":"A Movie About Game Console Wars?","author":"Forbidden Panel","date":"August 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Sony Pictures has reportedly registered a number of domain names this week with titles like ConsoleWarMovie.com and TheConsoleWarsMovie.com according to Fusible. This has lead to speculation that the company is planning to work on a feature about the current state of the video game industry, and more specifically console gaming.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16694,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/the-sandman-official-audible-trailer\/","url_meta":{"origin":16578,"position":5},"title":"The Sandman Official Audible Trailer","author":"Forbidden Panel","date":"July 6, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Sandman by Neil Gaiman - Available 07.15.20 only on Audiblehttps:\/\/www.audible.com\/pd\/The-Sandma... Hailed by the Los Angeles Times Magazine as \u201cthe greatest epic in the history of comic books\u201d, The Sandman changed the game with its dark, literary world of fantasy and horror - creating a global, cultural phenomenon in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Previews"","block_context":{"text":"Previews","link":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/category\/previews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/theSandmanEndlessNights.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/theSandmanEndlessNights.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/theSandmanEndlessNights.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/theSandmanEndlessNights.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16578"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16605,"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16578\/revisions\/16605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/6d1f5a709556459aaa2d6296d6a4eb17_md-1.jpg?resize=678%2C509\")
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