Sonic the Hedgehog has been a beloved video game icon for decades. Adapting him into a live-action movie should’ve been a slam dunk. Just take what people love about the games and transpose them into a narrative story. But when the first “Sonic the Hedgehog” trailer dropped, it was an abomination.
Let’s set aside the absurd design known as “Ugly Sonic,” which required “Sonic the Hedgehog” to be delayed so that it could be fixed. Let’s just focus on the song choice, namely “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio. Why is that there? Sonic’s not a gangsta. He likes chili dogs, not walking through the valley of the shadow of death. It’s tonally inconsistent with the fun vibe the trailer clearly wants to show off, resulting in a mind-boggling aesthetic where you just have to wonder who was in charge of all this.
The only possible explanation is that the trailer wanted a general ’90s aesthetic. The first “Sonic” game came out in 1991. Jim Carrey, who plays Dr. Robotnik, was popular in the 1990s. It’s possible they wanted a song that encapsulated the decade too, which is fine, but there are so many options other than “Gangsta’s Paradise.” This is just a pitch, but what about “The Distance” by Cake? It’s from 1996 and has lyrics like “He’s going for speed.” It’s a much better Sonic song, and that’s after putting only, like, 10 seconds of thought into it.
