Despite some mixed critical reception, the Sonic the Hedgehog films have been catnip for fans of the video games. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 dazzled game purists and young newcomers alike. There’s now significant hype going into Sonic the Hedgehog 3, releasing this December. Shadow the Hedgehog will make his live-action debut in the sequel, with the one and only Keanu Reeves providing his voice. Until then, the Paramount+ streaming service is aiming to fill the gap with a six-episode original miniseries centered around the popular supporting character, Knuckles the Echidna. The first live-action Sonic the Hedgehog spin-off, aptly titled Knuckles, is an easy success. Paramount+’s Knuckles show is a good-natured buddy comedy that provides laughs for the whole family. Of course, there’s also a bountiful amount of Easter Eggs to keep fans satiated until Sonic 3.
After the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba) is having a hard time adjusting to life on Earth. Despite Sonic (Ben Schwartz) and Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) trying their best to steer him in the right direction, Knuckles still ends up grounded by the gang’s defacto mother figure Maddie (Tika Sumpter). Needing to find purpose, Knuckles decides to take in Sheriff’s Deputy Wade Whipple (Adam Pally) as his protégé and train him in the ways of the echidna warrior. Their unlikely mentor/apprentice relationship goes off the rails as two menacing adversaries, Agent Mason (Scott Mescudi, also known as Kid Cudi) and Agent Willoughby (Ellie Taylor), attempt to capture Knuckles for their mysterious Buyer (Rory McCann). This collides with Wade’s aspirations of winning an upcoming famous bowling tournament in Reno to live up to his own complicated family legacy.
It’s surprising how much mileage executive producers/co-creators John Whittington and Toby Ascher are able to get out of Knuckles and Wade’s relationship in this show. As portrayed in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Knuckles was more of a tough and dim-witted, man-of-action character à la Drax the Destroyer than he was in the video games. Being given more time to fully flesh out this new interpretation, Idris Elba incorporates the solemn protector angle of Knuckles from the games that was missing from his debut. Adam Pally’s Wade, as seen in the prior Sonic films, came off as a one-note joke character. In Knuckles, though, Wade is a well-meaning doofus whose dedication to what he cares about is his greatest asset. Knuckles is the head, Wade is the heart.
It’s impressive just how much chemistry Adam Pally and Idris Elba have, considering one of them is only voicing a CGI character. A big reason for that is that the CGI for all of the Sonic characters is very much on the same level as the movies. The individual quills of Knuckles are rendered in awesome clarity and his eyes are as expressive as ever — it’s a convincing effect because the show focuses on giving Knuckles a more defined personality with his own specific likes and dislikes. Moreover, it helps that Knuckles as a series puts comedy at the forefront rather than spectacle.
Some fans will undoubtedly be taken aback by the anarchic sense of humor that Knuckles employs. More than the movies, Knuckles is a “gag a minute” affair full of irreverence. The closest comparison would be the recent Ted television series on Peacock, albeit appropriate for children. At times, Knuckles almost plays like a stoner comedy — again, without the obvious elements that would make the show inappropriate for children. Some jokes are a miss, and some characters are simply too silly to even work in this world. Pistol Pete Whipple (Cary Elwes), an esteemed bowling champion who just also happens to be Wade’s estranged father, is the one character who feels the most campy and tonally inconsistent. The performance is a bizarre miss, it’s unclear what kind of comedic bit is trying to be achieved with the character.
That kind of oddball sensibility can work with supporting characters like the utterly ridiculous rival bowler Jack Sinclair (Julian Barratt), whose plotline drips with hilarious absurdity. The humor really clicks into focus when Wade argues with his sister Wanda Whipple (Edi Patterson). Edi Patterson brings the same supreme snark from her character on The Righteous Gemstones to Wanda, along with a genuine softness that leads to an element that makes Knuckles work better than it should: its sense of family. The relationship between Wade, Wanda, and their mother, Wendy Whipple (Stockard Channing), is strained due to past trauma. Seeing them work through that, with their Jewish heritage front and center, is surprisingly heartwarming, and teaches children a good lesson regarding unconventional family units as well as being there for one another.
Enough about Wade, what about the video game elements in this Sonic spin-off? There’s plenty of connective tissue for fans of the movies and games to latch onto. The thread of quills being left behind by Knuckles and Sonic forms a major part of the plot. Additionally, the G.U.N. corporation introduced in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, an organization that becomes a major component in the games, continues to have a presence. With rumors that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will adapt core storylines from Sonic Adventure 2, this only gives more credence to that, considering G.U.N. is a huge part of that game. Lastly, “The Buyer” and the agents that work for him in Knuckles are thrilling additions to the franchise that tie into the films in fun, if inconsequential, ways.
The wider connections to the Sonic movies are there, though they’re not the point. Knuckles is less concerned with being an essential piece of the Sonic franchise and more with using these ties to give proper context. What Knuckles does increasingly well is providing action sequences that surpass the films. Just because there’s a strong emphasis on comedy in Knuckles doesn’t mean that the thrills get put to the side. Whether it’s a flurry of punches, Knuckles’ signature glide, or various energy pulses, the action scenes are extremely reminiscent of how the character moves in the video games. At these times, the humor takes a back seat, for bare-knuckle (pun intended) brawls that will make the most cynical fan of the Sonic franchise hoot and holler. It’s a good omen for the action that the forthcoming entries have coming.
Finally, it must be mentioned that the Knuckles series does an excellent overall job of paying homage to the games. The Reno casino setting looks remarkably similar to the casino levels in past Sonic games and an area named “Ice Cap Zone” will immediately fire up the neurons in hungry fans’ heads. What is perhaps the most striking about Knuckles is how cohesive it is. The directing team, made up of Jeff Fowler, Brandon Trost, Ged Wright, Carol Banker, and The Lonely Island‘s Jorma Taccone, works off scripts by three writers (John Whittington, Brian Schacter, and James Madejski) under the supervision of creators Whittington and Toby Ascher. Throughout that all, there’s a clarity of vision that’s executed wonderfully.
Knuckles may not be the essential connective tissue between the second and third Sonic the Hedgehog movies. What it is, however, is a surprisingly irreverent piece of family fun that makes the case for more Sonic spin-offs or, at the very least, another season. The sense of continuity between the films and show, even having Sonic the Hedgehog 2 cinematographer Brandon Trost back but as a director, makes it feel like a worthwhile canon endeavor. Knuckles should have no trouble satisfying both die-hard fans and younger audiences.
All six episodes of Knuckles premiere on April 26 on Paramount+!
Release Date: April 26, 2024.
Created by John Whittington & Toby Ascher.
Based on Sonic the Hedgehog by Sega.
Executived Produced by John Whittington, Jeff Fowler, Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher, Toru Nakahara, & Idris Elba.
Main Cast: Idris Elba, Adam Pally, Cary Elwes, Edi Patterson, Stockard Channing, Julian Barratt, Rory McCann, Scott Mescudi, Ellie Taylor, Tika Sumpter, Ben Schwartz, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Christopher Lloyd, Rob Huebel, & Paul Scheer.
Composer: Tom Howe.
Production Companies: Paramount Pictures, Sega of America, & Original Film.
Episode Count: 6.