Unlike his more squeaky clean and family-friendly Nintendo counterpart Mario, Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog has always seemed cooler, more mature and rocked way more attitude. As the Blue Blur prepares to make his big screen debut in November’s Sonic the Hedgehog, it is natural to wonder if he will retain the qualities that once had many kids swearing allegiance to Team Sega. According to Jim Carrey, who plays Dr. Ivo Robotnik, Sonic the Hedgehog will have ‘edgy’ moments, as he explained:
We're playing to families, so you can't get too crazy. But I made sure that there are some winks and nods, and edgy things that are still acceptable to both age groups.
First and foremost, Jim Carrey told IMDb that Sonic the Hedgehog is geared towards families, so anyone hoping for a dark, R-rated adaptation that has Sonic flipping people off as he speeds by will want to temper those expectations. Sonic the Hedgehog will be a family-friendly, four-quadrant movie, but that doesn’t mean it won’t have an edge to it, and Jim Carrey is making sure that it does.
The actor who plays the villainous Dr. Robotnik, or Eggman if you prefer, made sure that, at least in his performance, there are some edgier things for audiences to pick up on that will appeal to the older crowd, while simultaneously not making Sonic the Hedgehog unsuitable for younger viewers. That he will be delivering some of the film’s edgy moments just adds to the exciting prospect of seeing Jim Carrey chewing the scenery as the villainous mad scientist.
With Deadpool and Terminator: Dark Fate director Tim Miller executive producing Sonic the Hedgehog, hopefully that edge exists throughout the film and not just in Jim Carrey’s character. Because although this will obviously be a film meant to appeal to kids, I think there is still a desire for it to feel cool and have some attitude to it. And there are ways to have that edge without taking the movie out of the family-friendly Green Hill Zone.
What Jim Carrey describes is a quality that all the best family-friendly films have. Lots of kid movies are a slog to sit through because they are only appealing to kids in a very simplistic fashion, but when a good movie has a compelling story with subtext, references or winks to things that work on another level for adults, that edge makes the movie great for everyone.
If Sonic the Hedgehog is able to achieve that it will be half the battle. Although there have been some highly controversial posters for the film so far (perhaps not the edginess they were looking for), we are still waiting on a trailer for the movie. When it arrives, hopefully we’ll get a taste of what Jim Carrey is alluding to with some edgy moments that inspire confidence in this latest attempt to make a great video game movie.
Sonic the Hedgehog races into theaters on November 8. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all the biggest movies headed your way this year.
