The second Sonic the Hedgehog film is set to release in just a couple more days (unless you’re going to the early screening, which is TONIGHT!) I thoroughly enjoyed the second movie (no spoilers here, I promise) and am ready to watch more big-screen adventures with the blue blur, but it occurred to me that there are a couple of things you might wanna know before seeing Sonic and how he gotta go fast.
As far as the video games are concerned, you don’t have to know all that much, but it’s a whole lot of fun if you’re familiar with the older games so you can go “YO THEY DID THE THING!” Key items like the Master Emerald, and the motivations of newcomers Tails and Knuckles, are explained. However, there are a few things from the first film you might want a refresher on, so here you go!
How Sonic ended up on our planet
Sonic lived on a different planet when he was a child and was raised by an owl named Longclaw. Sonic has a power he doesn’t understand, and one that Longclaw is very protective of, as she knows that there are those who would want to misuse it. One day, a tribe of echidna warriors finds Longclaw and Sonic’s home. The echidnas immediately attack them, forcing Longclaw to flee with Sonic and a bag of power rings, which make it possible to transport to different worlds.
When she’s injured by the echidnas, Longclaw uses a ring to send Sonic to our planet. She entrusts the bag of rings with him and warns him to stay hidden so no one finds out about his abilities. She holds the echidnas back so Sonic can escape, and since then, he’s been on our planet for the past ten years, secretly living in a town called Green Hills, Montana. He watches the people there and wishes to be part of their world since, you know, it can be pretty lonely being a teenager on your own in a new world for a decade.
Sonic’s new family dynamic (aka the human, and four-legged, original characters)
After accidentally setting off his power, Sonic decides to leave our planet. Unfortunately, the government does what the government always does in this kind of situation and tries to hunt down the source of the mysterious power that was detected. They call in Dr. Robotnik, which is a fantastic idea as far as making the film entertaining, but a bad idea for Sonic.
While Sonic attempts to hide out in the “Donut Lord’s” shed (the name Sonic has for the town sheriff, Tom Wachowski), Tom discovers Sonic, and the two end up on a wacky road trip to San Francisco when Sonic’s bag of rings end up there by accident. They’re pursued by Robotnik and end up having to work together with Tom’s wife, Maddie, to stop him from capturing Sonic and using his power for his own nefarious plans. Robotnik is defeated, and Sonic now lives with Tom and Maddie in their house, creating a happy, small-town family … though the small-town owes the local conspiracy theorist an apology, as he was right about the “Blue Devil.”
Oh, and as far as the government is concerned? Sonic hasn’t been seen since the encounter with Robotnik, especially after their idea of a “thank you for your assistance” reward was a gift card to Olive Garden. I mean yeah, the breadsticks are delicious, but you gotta do better than that when a diabolical scientist you called goes off the rails!
Where is Robotnik?
Sonic knocked him through a power ring that took him to “The Mushroom Planet,” which is where Sonic was begrudgingly going to go when he thought he had to leave Earth. Robotnik’s been trying to figure out a way to get back home ever since, and poor Agent Stone has been trying to figure out how to live his life without him.
Oh, and Tom’s sister-in-law hates him
Not a HUGELY important detail and the movie will delve into this, I just really love this bit from the trailer of Rachel having a crisis because “there are two of them now.” There ARE two of them now, as the mid-credit scene of the first Sonic film showed Tails arriving on our planet, looking for Sonic.
Have fun watching Sonic 2, everyone!
(Image: Paramount Pictures)
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