Sonic the Hedgehog

For a full review, check out our Sonic The Hedgehog 4K UHD Blu-ray coverage.

Performances are solid with Marsden playing the likable hero while Schwartz provides enough pizazz and charisma to the blue-haired critter. Jim Carrey is the shining star though, as he conjures up those old, first film roles that made him famous in that whacky animated way. It looks like he had a blast jumping into that mode again. The action sequences are shot very well and even wink at some former superheroes of recent.

The visual effects are solid and look great in the real world here. Sonic himself had a makeover midway through filming due to some harsh criticism but now looks like the Sonic fans have come to love from decades ago. I'm sure there is more Hedgehog on the way as the finale and credit sequence alludes, which wouldn't be the worst thing in movies.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray

Sonic The Hedgehog zips its way to Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy from Paramount. The discs are housed in a hard, blue, plastic case with an insert for the digital code. The artwork of Sonic and Dr. Robotnik is posted on the case as well as the cardboard sleeve. Additionally, there is a mini-comic book that comes with this Blu-ray version called The Adventures of Sonic and Donut Lord. The artwork is less than stellar as it is 8-bit artwork.

Sonic the Hedgehog travels to Blu-ray with a pristine 1080p transfer that looks great, showcasing some wonderful colors and vivid detail.

The color palette of Sonic the Hedgehog is ripe with bright primary colors, including blue, red, white, and tan. This mixes well with the earthy tones of Montana in the background with deep greens and browns surrounding the blue furball. perhaps the most dynamic moments of color come to when Dr. Robotnik is in the full villain costume which makes for a remarkable contrast of electric blues and hot reds that light up the city. It's a dazzling image, to say the least. While this color palette looks great, the Dolby Vision enhancement on the 4K Disc upgrades the more nuanced colors and shades in the lower lit sequences. Black levels are deep and inky and the skin tones look natural.

The detail is rather sharp throughout too, revealing facial pores and lines, textures in the costumes and wardrobe, along with the excellent looking CGI and motion capture of Sonic. Each of his quills and hairs stands out nicely. Even his eyes have the necessary detailed and glossy sheen that looks realistic. Wider shots are also detailed with cities and rural areas delivering a ton of texture and background detail that never looks soft. Lastly, there are no major issues with any banding, aliasing, or video noise.

Sonic The Hedgehog has a fantastic Dolby Atmos track that is full of life and vigor, which you can read about HERE in the 4K UHD Review.

There are about 41 minutes of bonus material included here, along with an audio commentary track. None of it is long-form or particularly informative, but it's fun none-the-less with some quick explanations on the origins of Sonic.

• Audio Commentary - Director Jeff Fowler and the voice of Sonic himself Ben Schwartz deliver an engaging and informative commentary track that discusses the video game, origins of the character, the adaptation, working with the actors, the visual effects, and some fun on-set anecdotes. It's worth a listen.
• Around the World in 80 Seconds (HD, 2 Mins.) - Some animated illustrations showcase Sonic adventuring around the globe.
• For the Love of Sonic (HD, 4 Mins.) - The cast and crew talk about playing the game when they were younger, some of the easter eggs hidden in the film, and more.
• Building Robotnik with Jim Carrey (HD, 4 Mins.) - The funnyman Jim Carrey is the focus here and his character.
• The Blue Blur: The Origins of Sonic (HD, 7 Mins.) - The cast and crew discuss Sonic's influence on pop culture and in video games.
• Sonic On Set (HD, 4 Mins.) - James Marsden and Ben Schwartz cut up on set and in the makeup chair while they discuss motion capture and working together.
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 14 Mins.) - Jeff Fowler intros the deleted scenes that lead to five different deleted scenes, one being an alternate opening.
• Bloopers (HD 2 Mins.) - The standard missed cues, flubbed lines, dancing, and laughing on set. It's always good to see Jim Carrey bloopers though.
• Music Video (HD, 4 Mins.) - The music video for Speed Me Up is located here.

Sonic the Hedgehog does nothing new for video game movies or stories, but it's captivating enough and endearing while never trying to be something it's not. It's practical and reasonable for a movie of this caliber and is fun for the whole family. The video and audio presentations are both very good and the extras are quick and enjoyable. Recommended!