Sonic The Hedgehog Brings Jim Carrey To A Whole New Generation On Netflix
Jim Carrey is an old-school treasure for Gen Xers and older Millennials. But unless their parents show them older movies, younger kids haven’t really gotten to appreciate the hilarity that is his own unique brand of wacky and wild. That is, until Sonic the Hedgehog arrived on the scene, giving Jim Carrey a whole new generation of kids to win over, this time as a villain.
Jim Carrey Is The Perfect Villain
Sonic the Hedgehog arrived in theaters in 2020, and I barely gave it a glance. Months later, I heard my husband and my oldest daughter laughing hysterically in the living room. I came out to find them watching Jim Carrey as a handlebar mustache-wearing psychopathic villain in this silly little movie.
The film is about an animated hedgehog that hails from another dimension (the world we know from the video games). He uses a magical golden ring to enter our dimension and arrives on Earth.
Enter Dr. Robotnik
Once Sonic the Hedgehog arrives, however, he realizes he’ll stand out amid humans, and he hides away in a small town, observing the local sheriff, Tom (James Marsden) and his wife, Maddie (Tika Sumpter) from his nearby hiding spot in a cave.
One night, bored and alone, Sonic (voiced by the marvelous Ben Schwartz) goes for a super speedy run that causes a power outage across the Pacific Northwest. To figure out what happened, the Department of Defense employs the aid of genius mad scientist Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey).
Sonic And Tom Have Met Their Match
While the storyline about the relationship that grows between Sonic the Hedgehog and Tom as they bond over escaping Dr. Robotnik is a heartwarming one that led to the development of two sequels (so far), the real star of Sonic the Hedgehog is Jim Carrey. In scene after scene, Carrey proves he’s still got it.
He demands a perfectly brewed espresso from his devoted, to the point of zealotry, assistant, Agent Stone. He berates him in the most outlandish and ridiculous ways. He goes through an entire dance scene as he prepares to do some more bad stuff, and you honestly cannot keep your eyes off of him.
Jim Carrey Commits To The Character
What is so wonderful about Sonic the Hedgehog, now that I’ve watched it a million times with my kids, is that Jim Carrey plays a truly nasty villain, but it’s the perfect blend of cheesy and awful.
He plans to use Sonic’s quills, and Sonic himself as a super-powered battery to power his nefarious machines. He labels Tom a domestic terrorist, and he tries multiple times to harm or kill both Tom and Sonic, not to mention anyone who gets in his way. But along the way, he drops silly one-liners, he inflates his own ego or preens as Agent Stone does it for him, and he grins malevolently as he lets loose a maddening chuckle.
Streaming Sonic The Hedgehog On Netflix
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Whoever was in charge of casting for Sonic the Hedgehog, and chose Jim Carrey, knew what they were doing. And the director, Jeff Fowler, was clearly smart enough to give Carrey his own head for this role because it is classic Carrey doing what he does best.
Carrey himself likens this role to his portrayal of the Riddler in Batman Forever, and if you go back and watch that movie you can totally see it. In any event, Sonic has now gained a beloved following, and it is more than worthy of it. Carrey and the rest of the cast do a great job, and we’re all looking forward to Sonic 3, arriving December 2024.
In the meantime, you can stream Sonic the Hedgehog on Netflix.
