Today, Paramount Pictures unveiled the first trailer for the Sonic the Hedgehog film that will hit theaters on November 8th. Reviews have been … mixed, to say the least.

As someone who has been a fan of Sonic and his crew since 1991, I have been optimistic and excited about this movie. What could its plot be? Would the rest of his friends be there? Will we see Tails, Knuckles, and Amy, at least? Detective Pikachu definitely thundershocked away many naysayers, so why wouldn’t Sonic? Right?

Welp. About that.

Live Action Sonic .. Or Human Sonic??

The live-action animated Sonic the Hedgehogfilm garnered a lot of attention back in December teaser image that was dropped. It featured a shadowy image of Sonic showcasing his shape and some of the detail and texture of his infamous quills. The overall response was that he looked like a human in a fur-suit. That did not bode well for the future of this film.

Sonic himself looks like a human-animal hybrid. His usual eye shape and body type are made more human; even his teeth are human. His height makes him look like a young tween or teenager making him look more like an evolution from a human being rather than pure animal with human tendencies. He doesn’t look much like a hedgehog at all. Another odd detail: his quills are furry. Hedgehog quills are not furry.

That is where the live action issue comes to play: how do you make an animated character come to life without the risk of making them too human-like to resemble the character?

Welcome To Green Hills Zone!

Speaking of humans, Sonic appears to be the only one of his friends that made it into the film. Mobius, Knothole Village, whatever world you envision Sonic and the team being from … this isn’t it. Instead, this film takes place on what looks like Earth. Green Hill Zone has turned into Green Hills and looks more like somewhere in rural Arizona than what we are used to when we think of the lush landscape of the zone.

It is as though Sonic X has returned to destroy even more lives (if you were unsure: I hated Sonic X).

The trailer takes us through a summary of the plot with Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” and that is absolutely the last song anyone would listen to and associate Sonic the Hedgehog with. This was a prime opportunity to use “City Escape,” but I digress.

The plot of Sonic the Hedgehog revolves around the US government being concerned about an energy surge that cut off power to the entire Pacific Northwest. To find the cause and take care of it, they’ve hired none other but Dr. Robotnik to assist.

Dr. Ivo Robotnik = A+

One of the military officials says, “you’re not suggesting who I think you’re suggesting,” when the idea of seeking help comes up. This leads me to believe that the US government has connections with Dr. Robotnik and have worked with him in the past.

This same idea was used in the 2003 animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series (my favorite version!). It featured Agent Bishop being the connection between the US government and aliens, causing him to go after the Turtles on multiple occasions. It’s an interesting connection that can be beneficial to the plot if used correctly. In terms of Sonic and his team, and the TMNT and their team, it’s a great way to make their good deeds cause a plot twist outside of the evil they’re already fighting.

Dr. Robotnik, played by Jim Carrey, is a much thinner and less robust version than fans are used to. Regardless, his comedic lines and intellect are still intact. On first impression, Jim Carrey makes an excellent Robitnik! 

Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) and Tom Wachowski, the sheriff of Green Hills played by James Marsden, meet in a way that’s reminiscent of the Detective Pikachu trailer. Tom comes into the room with a flashlight and a gun, bumps into Sonic. Sonic meows, they both scream, and they end up having a conversation in the sheriff’s car. This conversation provides the viewers with more context as to what is going on and where Sonic comes from. “Basically, it looks like I’m gonna have to save your planet.” So is Sonic from another planet like in Sonic X? And has come to Earth somehow to save it after befriending humans?

I thought I was rid of Sonic X. I thought I could move on.

Overall Thoughts

The rest of the trailer is a mix of Sonic’s cheesy one liners (flashbacks to Adventures of Sonic theHedgehog, anyone?), Robotnik showing off his advanced technology, and a lot of scenery that may be Earth-versions of classic zones. Could that desert scene have been Sandopolis Zone or Sand Hill Zone?

Everything about this trailer seems dated, wrong, and like Sega is trying to catch up once again. Having a character like Sonic that has such a long history and an extensive world to work off of, it feels like a giant let down that this is what we were given. 

It’s hard to be 100% happy with the trailer when expectations were so high. Sonic’s design is cringey and are fuel for endless amounts of memes and jokes. The one saving grace is Jim Carrey’s portrayal of Robotnik. From his witty one liners, to his assistant translating his intelligent explanations, he encompasses the evil villain very well in what we are able to see thus far.

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. That is the overall consensus floating around the internet now that the trailer has been out for a few hours. Can Jim Carrey save this movie with his role as Robotnik? Will there be any other familiar characters making an appearance? How will they explain Sonic and where he’s from? And how did Sonic get to Green Hills in the first place?

I am a huge Sonic fan. From the video games (except a few), to the Archie and IDW comics, to the shows … I have always been in Sonic’s corner sans a few missteps along the way. I have gigantic concerns about this and am finding myself cringing more than I am excited. But there will be more trailers where this came from, so we’ll see.

Check out the trailer below for Sonic the Hedgehog hitting theaters November 8th! Let me know your thoughts! Is it game over, or will you use a continue and give it a chance?