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Starting off a story as fast paced and exciting as Sonic The Hedgehog, that first moment is a key component to nail. Without the right scene to set the tone, the rest of the film might not spark as much joy as the finished product currently contains. That said, director Jeff Fowler’s video game adaptation had a very different, but still pretty funny, alternate opening in mind.
As you’ll see in this clip from Sonic The Hedgehog’s originally intended beginning, we were originally going to see things kick off through a moment depicting the quest to prove Sonic (Ben Schwartz) truly exists.
Throughout the rest of Sonic The Hedgehog’s plot, we see “The Blue Devil of Green Hills” on the run from the U.S. Government, and by proxy Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey). However, another party interested in capturing Sonic is none other than Green Hills, Montana resident Crazy Carl (Frank C. Turner).
The sequence, which is included in the special features of Sonic The Hedgehog’s home video release, sees Carl setting up bear traps full of batteries, which are apparently an effective form of bait for our hedgehog friend. Determined, as always, to prove himself as anything but crazy, Crazy Carl ends up falling asleep on the job, right before finding himself hoodwinked into being snared by his own traps.
Now this scene wasn’t totally removed from the film, as we do actually get to see part of Crazy Carl’s methodology to trap Sonic in the finished film. During the sequence where this supporting character is introduced into Sonic The Hedgehog, we see some of Carl’s planning, and eventual comeuppance; and there’s even a cool easter egg thrown into the mix. But as far as the opening for the film went, Jeff Fowler had something much different in mind when all was said and done.
The opening that was eventually used as the introduction to Sonic The Hedgehog is a scene where Sonic is speeding through the streets of San Francisco, being chased by a very determined Dr. Robotnik. Eventually, Sonic’s voiceover kicks the story back to the start, with Baby Sonic running around the Green Hills Zone; only to have to escape to Earth.
It’s a decision that, according to Jeff Fowler’s commentary on Sonic The Hedgehog, was made for a reason:
This felt like a real fun way to come into the movie. Just tease Sonic as we know and love him, kind of dropping right into a really cool action scene, but not go too far.
If you’re a Crazy Carl fan, we’re sorry to disappoint you with the news of his cold opening status being removed. But you’re in luck, as not only does the home video release of Sonic The Hedgehog have the complete alternate opening included in its deleted scenes, there’s also an entire additional scene with Crazy Carl sharing a somewhat tender moment with James Marsden’s stoic and dryly funny town sheriff Tom Wachowski.
So who knows? Maybe we’ll see the expansion of a potential sequel’s story bring us more shenanigans courtesy of Crazy Carl, and these scenes had to be cut in order to allow that to happen. In the meantime, you can check out Sonic The Hedgehog, as it’s not only currently available on Digital HD, but the 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD release will available for purchase starting tomorrow.
