Students share their thoughts on the upcoming film, the Sonic franchise, and the online fandom it spawned.
By Vincent Forlizzi
The upcoming film Sonic the Hedgehog 3 stoked the interest of pop-culture fans across CSI, thanks to the Sonic franchise’s controversial legacy and immense fandom.
The film, releasing December 20th, is the third in a trilogy of films based on the over 30 year-old video game franchise. The initial trailer for the first film was infamously ridiculed by fans, due to the realistic design of Sonic the Hedgehog himself. Said film was then delayed in order to redesign Sonic with a more cartoony appearance, and it and its sequels have since garnered a mostly positive fan response.
“The movie feels like it’s made by people that really love Sonic,” said CSI student Cassian Feliciano. “A lot of other movies nowadays make fun of their source material.”
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has received attention for a different reason, as the film brings in Matrix and John Wick star Keanu Reeves, who remains a pop-culture icon himself. Reeves will voice Shadow the Hedgehog, a returning villain from the games and an especially loved character among franchise superfans.
The film trilogy is no stranger to casting celebrities, as comedian Jim Carrey has starred as the series main antagonist, Dr. Eggman, since the first film. But Reeves is also a highly meme-able figure in pop-culture circles on social media, so him playing such a character garnered much attention from those spaces specifically.
“I think it’s very cool,” said CSI student Robert Dewhurst. “I think it would have been better to have the voice actors from the games, but he sounds like Shadow and not Keanu Reeves.”
Dewhurst has been a Sonic fan since youth, but has recently reconnected with the franchise after going back to play many of the older games. Besides the upcoming movie, he also has tickets to see Sonic Symphony in New Jersey, a live performance of music from the games.
Dewhurst shared memories of his experiences with Sonic’s online fandom. As a kid, he watched a lot of fan-produced animations about Sonic on YouTube. He was also active online when the first Sonic film’s trailer dropped, and saw content from fans about the backlash.
Not every Sonic fan has had positive experiences with the online fandom though. Many long-standing fans have very particular desires for how the characters and worlds should be represented. Heated debates about the state of the franchise are common online for these reasons.
Feliciano grew up reading the Sonic manga, but couldn’t afford the games until later on in life. Since his opinions on the series tend to differ from more mainstream fans, he sometimes gets frustrated looking at online discourse.
“A lot of Sonic fans have this superiority complex,” said Feliciano. “A lot of them grew up with the games and want them to stay the same due to nostalgia.”
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will also play in the Campus Center’s Bijou Movie Theater sometime in February. The Bijou also played the first two Sonic movies after they were released, but cycled the films out as new ones became available.
Mariam Ibrahim, the major events coordinator at the Campus Activities Board, sees the Bijou as a way to give students an opportunity to see popular films if they can’t afford them. They receive new films right after they leave theaters, and usually before they release on streaming services.
“At the beginning of the semester, we talk about what kinds of movies students would like,” said Ibrahim. “Some students like action movies, others like comedy or fantasy. Not a lot of students like horror or drama, though. They usually like stories with a lot of energy.”
