Every Sonic the Hedgehog Movie, Ranked According to Letterboxd

Sonic the Hedgehog has made quite a comeback in the last handful of years. He’s always been one of the most popular video game characters of all time, but ever since the release of his first theatrical film in 2020, general audiences have begun to turn their attention back towards the blue hedgehog. With this in mind, it’s cool to look at what the general public thinks of the Sonic movies, and what better place to discover these opinions than Letterboxd?

Letterboxd is a social media platform in which people can rate and rank their favorite movies, and see how their friends are doing the same. This has made it one of the most popular platforms among movie fans and one of the fastest-growing social media apps in recent years. So, what does the public think of the blue hedgehog’s movies? Letterboxd is the most accurate place to find out.

4

‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ (2020)

2.9/5.0 (1.3k Fans)

As soon as it was announced, Sonic the Hedgehog was predicted to be yet another video game movie flop. This was made even worse by the fact that the initial trailer reveal showed off a design for Sonic (Ben Schwartz) that was genuinely horrific. It got so bad that after a massive amount of pressure, the studio was pretty much forced to push the movie and fix the design. This gained it so much respect and praise in the public’s eyes, and this was made even more so when the new design was revealed to be a genuinely awesome one. Thanks to this flick being a mostly studio-initiated one, the blue hedgehog’s first theatrical outing is not perfect, by any means. The first half, especially, suffers because of how basic and uninspired it can feel. The second half, however, seems to be when director Jeff Fowler got most of his directorial control and truly owned this film, making it a truly great film in this latter half. Letterboxd user, liam cole, puts it frankly in his review: “they got me in the second half.”

So, no, Sonic the Hedgehog isn’t a perfect film, but, boy, is it an enjoyable one. People generally liked it. They liked it enough for many news outlets to claim that it was fixing the video game movie curse when it released in 2020. Ben Schwartz blew people away with his excellent performance as the little blue hero, and honestly, he became a favorite for a group of vocal fans. He captured the Ryan Drummond-era of Sonic’s personality and demeanor, but aged to be a little bit younger. The humor in this movie was also very well done, with there being jokes enjoyable for both kids and adults, making this movie enjoyable for all ages, which pleased Sonic fans who have grown up with the character and are now older than the kids growing up with this iteration of the hero. This much was clear after Sonic the Hedgehog released: If they kept this up and gave Fowler more creative control for movie two, the Sonic the Hedgehog series was going to grow into something special.

3

‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ (2022)

3.1/5.0 (1.7k Fans)

This ended up being abundantly true. Upon release just two years later, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 blew people away with how much better it truly was than the first movie. Now with the inclusion of both Tails the Fox (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) and Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 took far more inspiration from the video games than the first one did, which is a major thing people were looking for with the debut film. There are so many plot points and references from the games that made people incredibly happy. They specifically took from the iconic fan favorite game, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, specifically the story points of Knuckles being manipulated by Doctor Robotnik (Jim Carrey), “Eggman”, and the lore behind the Master and Chaos Emeralds.

Another thing Jeff Fowler and the crew learned from the fan reaction to the first movie is the inclusion of humans in the plot. People were less-than-pleased about how much the story of the first one focused on the human characters, as well, they weren’t Sonic and friends (that hadn’t arrived on Earth, yet). Sonic the Hedgehog 2 sent the humans to Hawaii for a wedding, so they’re out of the story for a good portion of the movie. They are only there when they’re important to the plot, which makes them so much more palatable than movie one. It’s best put by Alexander Thomas on Letterboxd: “This film focuses more on Sonic, Tails and Knuckles than it does the human characters, though when the human characters do show up, they are unforgettable.” Safe to say, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a really enjoyable movie, and is a great example of how a sequel can and should improve upon the best parts of the first film.

2

‘Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie’ (1996)

3.5/5.0 (301 Fans)

Many have absolutely no idea that a Sonic movie came out all the way back in 1996. Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie was released as an OVA (Original Video Animation) in Japan. It takes inspiration from the 1993 video game, Sonic CD. This also means that for fans, there’s already a movie out there where they can watch Sonic (Martin Burke) face off against his iconic foe in the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 4, Metal Sonic (Gary Lipkowitz). Unlike the modern-day movies, though, this one is 2D-animated and not live-action. Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie is spewing with 90s charm, wit, and cheesiness, making it a perfect representation of this era of the character and video game content, in general. This film finds itself being a bit different from what fans of the modern stuff are used to—Sonic fans in general, too. Rather than being on the planet Mobius or Earth, Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie takes place on Planet Freedom, which is separated into the Land of the Sky and the Land of Darkness, giving it a different setting than fans are used to.

This movie is extremely well-animated for 1996, and honestly still holds up to this day. The high-flying action between Sonic and Metal Sonic is so much fun to watch. Speaking of Metal Sonic, the way this film handles Metal is a bit different from other iterations. Here, the robot is directly linked to Sonic’s mind, connecting them unlike any other version of the characters outside of Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie. This flick also includes a new character, Sara (Sascha Biesi), who had never been in the canon before, doesn’t show up again, and really doesn’t do much for the plot (except for providing a way for the movie to make some cruder jokes). This is a minor inconvenience, however, as the movie as a whole is simply a whole bunch of fun. Martin Burke’s performance as Sonic is actually pretty great and iconic. The nasally sound he gives the blue hedgehog is very fitting and works incredibly well. There’s something so special about Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie that makes it feel unique in comparison to today’s Sonic content. The funniest thing about it all, though, is how much of a genuine standout Knuckles the Echidna’s (Bill Wise) funny little cowboy hat seems to be among the people of Letterboxd, with user, Mailbox, saying, “Knuckles with a hat is objectively the best thing to come out of this movie”.

1

‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ (2024)

3.5/5.0 (5.2k Fans)

They say that the third time’s the charm, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 proves that better than anyone else. After two pretty good movies, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 takes everything that worked about Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and everything the fans wanted for the third movie, and makes something truly extraordinary from it. Introducing the fan favorite Shadow the Hedgehog (Keanu Reeves) to the movie universe, Jeff Fowler brings him in to tell a story that is actually incredibly emotional, mature, and, of course, still a lot of fun. The movie found record-breaking success upon release, with astounding reviews and great monetary return for the studio. It also has the advantage of being heavily based on the widely beloved video game (maybe the most popular Sonic game ever made), Sonic Adventure 2, the game in which Shadow’s (David Humphrey) character was first introduced.

If it isn’t obvious, Shadow is the highlight of the movie. Not only does Keanu Reeves play him perfectly, but Jeff Fowler adapted his story just as perfectly. He captured everything he needed to about the hedgehog’s story, most importantly his past with Maria Robotnik (Alyla Browne), and made it work while still more age-appropriate for today’s children. As he always has, Shadow captured the hearts of audiences everywhere and was, clearly, the emotional cornerstone of the movie. Letterboxd user, camelaaa, simply stated, “Bro Shadow just needs a da** hug.” Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is where the franchise has really hit its stride, and if the series continues on the scale of improvement it’s been on since movie one, then Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is going to be something truly amazing, because this third film ended up being really special. It’s one of the most popular video game movies ever made, and it’s clear to see why.