It feels Tails has got the hardest critique because everyone seems to have forgotten that Tails while a genius is a literal child, one of the youngest in the franchise regardless of his position, especially so compared to Sonic and Knuckles who are teens. Tails is a kid who is still finding himself and learning how the world works.

"Sonic was never meant to be a solo hero!" You don't understand how refreshing that is to hear from someone else! Thank you, Ace! Please take notes, Sega!

For years we've had to watch Knuckles get dumber and dumber and Tails become a cowardly exposition spewer. The movie went a long way to fixing that.

I love love LOVE Knuckles' dynamic with both Sonic and Tails. He's very much the big brother here! How he calls Tails "fox" is adorable and the way he scooped him up onto his shoulder in the baseball scene is precious. Team Sonic is 100% sibling material and I'm here for it!

People don’t give the dance scene enough credit. Remember Tails’ reaction to the people in the bar calling him a freak? He looked like he was having a traumatic flashback, clearly terrified. And when those people lifted him up, that was probably the first time he’s ever been praised in his life! Now that he’s one of the Emerald’s new guardians, I’m looking forward to seeing him fully develop into the hero that stood up to Shadow!

I hate when people calls Tails a stalker in this movie for observing Sonic, because that's what Sonic did exactly towards humans in the first movie. If you are going to criticize him for stalk-ish behavior you must do it to both. I know Sonic's circumstances are different, but if you think about it irl, it's kinda creepy. Also, I don't think it's fair to compare Tails to Amy (as I saw people doing), he doesn't try to force him into a relationship or claiming he's a friend or anything. In fact, it's Sonic who calls him friend and he's surprised about it. He's just a 8 years old that admires Sonic but not overbearing.

My biggest hope is that the portrayal of Tails and Knuckles retroactively affects the characters in the games, bringing them back to the characters we know and love

One of my favorite quotes from Knuckles in this movie is: “You think your drones are a match for me? I will shatter them like the bones of- oh they are stairs”

I'm so glad you reiterated that Knuckles is not Dumb. In the games he was tricked by Robotnik and he's the last of his kind, which leans more into the fact that he's trusting, gullible and single-minded, but not SIMPLE-minded. Sure, he's dumb compared to Robotnik, but Robotnik is an egocentric genius with a stated 300IQ, it's all relative. And to us, it looks stupid to trust Robotnik because we, the audience, already know how evil and untrustworthy he is, but Knux's only source of information on Robotnik's trustworthiness is Robotnik himself.

Paramount Knuckles is a thousand times better than Boom Knuckles. Literally.

This is the character portrayals I miss in the games. Showing a true bond between sonic, tails and knuckles each having different personalities but in times of crisis they are willing to use their different sets of skills and abilities to help one another and fight for what’s right and as a team, no member is underestimated.

It was such a pleasure to watch the characters That moment when Knuckles asked if there is Grape Ice cream i out loud just said "yes, they know" The love put into the movie is simply amazing

Plus, another facet of Knuckles they got right: he didn't chuckle!

really like how you described Knuckles here. It’s seriously so faithful!

I think for me, Knuckles stole the show with his character. The writers perfectly showed what his character was like in S3&K and added their own twist by making him an honourable warrior, which I liked how it made him question Robotnik. Although I do feel like Tails should’ve had a bit more development, I think what we got from him was great. After all I loved how Tails actually fought with Sonic and Knuckles using his gadgets and flying, showing that he’s just as capable. And finally Sonic, I really liked his development in this and how he goes from a wannabe hero to a real one as well as becoming the Sonic we know from the games seen through his rejection of the Chaos Emeralds. I loved these characters and I can’t wait to see how they grow even further in the next film!

As a Sonic fan, this movie was so vindicating and satisfying. If they can do this well with characterization of Team Sonic, imagine if they did the rest of the cast right. Tails is such an adorable shit that I bout cried from how cute he was in Siberia. However, Knuckles easily steals the show for me. Idris Elba, who is apparently himself a Sonic fan, plays both brutal fighter and oafish ineptitude perfectly. The moment at the temple island with his "hour of sorrow" where he is so dejected and hurt, I wanted to give him a hug so bad. If there's a word to describe him, it's genuine. Such a good movie, omg!! Also if the absolute mad lads, do Shadow justice, or even Silver, I may finally be able to rest.

I am so incredibly hyped for the 3rd movie! Especially seeing how well characterized Team Sonic was in this movie. I’m hoping for a really, really good depiction of Shadow in the next one. He might finally return to his former glory as our favourite ultimate life form.

My main thoughts during the climax were, "Sonic's friends are actually useful? This isn't like the games!" Seriously, it was refreshing.

Sonic, is finally addressed at the fact that he's technically still just a teenager. Tails, Tails is Tails, he admires and found courage and friendship with Sonic. Knuckles, He's not an idiot, just naive.

While yes, sonic does things on his own He is his own hero But he isn’t a loner, he’s like Spider-Man With so many cool characters in his series it’s nice to see him team up with so many

During the scene where he's trashing the house with the dog and acting a fool, I remember laughing and saying out loud "this kid needs to get some friends"-- and the film legit cuts right to Tails. And I felt like it knew what I meant. Honestly, before the movie came out, I was super worried that Tails would just be there as set dressing. Like his friendship with Sonic would be underplayed and we wouldn't get to see much of them being a dynamic duo. People told me Tails just isn't all that interesting or important to Sonic's growth. At least not as much as characters like Knuckles and Shadow. To which *I fired back--!* Doesn't matter. I was hoping the movie would at the very least use Tails as a means to advance Sonic's progression from the last movie. Because while Sonic did find a family in the form of Tom and Maddi as his new parents... he still didn't find... friends. Buddies. Pals. His team. And growing up in the era where Sonic had loads of close-knit friends like Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, and the rest.. I needed that. I wanted Sonic to have that. So I felt really happy when Tom outright says it. Validated. This movie is about Sonic finding his team. His wingman. And I couldn't be more exctied. In the end, I'd still say Tails didn't get as much development or banter with Sonic as I may have wanted (I'm kinda sick of people saying he's not interesting just because he's not a rival or a love interest-- sidekicks can be fun characters, too!), but the acknowledgment of his significance to Sonic was nice and as cringey as the dance scene was-- when I realized it was a vehicle to show my boys bonding and later got that moment where they keep each other warm in the cabin... my cynical heart melted.

I really do hope that Sega was watching when the first thing Tails did to help Sonic was ram Knuckles with a god damn car, man I can't tell you how refreshing that moment felt and still feels for me hehe it's like a big middle finger to how he's been handled recently.

At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ken Penders sued God claiming that he invented Echidnas.

As a dad (and sonic fan) I LOVED that I could take my kids to this and the message was "Kids, you're kids. Listen to the adults and take your time growing up." My kids love sonic and when the boot slammed down and the yellow glow started my 8 year old lost his damn mind. Easily my favorite moment ever in a theater.

I can't believe they managed to make Knuckles, voiced by Idris Elba of all people, so cute and child-like. Despite everything, Knuckles is just a child. He was forced to grow up too fast, but now that he has a family, he can learn how to enjoy life and be a kid again.

While I do wish Tails had gotten some more on-screen development as Sonic’s sidekick, their instant friendship was definitely outright *palpable.* That first hug in Siberia when Sonic assured him that, yes, they’re friends, had me and my own friend both going _“Aww!”_ And Sonic’s concern for him after Tails was knocked unconscious really sold me on the idea that, come hell or high water, he cares about his little buddy so much. It made me really happy. Now for Knuckles, yes, I also was concerned about how his portrayal would go. Having a celebrity VA already seemed like not a great start to me, but he quickly proved to be the absolute best part of the movie, and I understand why his dynamic with Sonic got so much more focus than Tails’s - it was to help both of them grow. That and I kept finding myself wondering how Idris Elba was able to read some of his lines without bursting out laughing. “Tiny magic hedgehog eliminated!” and such all, but _especially_ the baseball scene at the end. Speaking of which, I love how clear it is that Knuckles is already shaping up to be a great big brother figure for Tails and it’s all so _wholesome_ and I love it. Another thing my friend and I found ourselves talking about concerning the baseball scene was when Knuckles asked if ice cream comes with grapes. Not only was I stunned that they actually snuck in _that_ reference of all things, we both decided: “I mean… it can if you want it to.” So let’s get some ice cream with grapes for our boy Knuckles, huh? All in all, this movie was almost everything I could have possibly wanted it to be (the post-credits scene kinda caught me off guard since I wasn’t expecting that particular character to get introduced so soon and also I was hoping for a sneak preview of Metal Sonic if anybody) and I’m genuinely looking forward to both the sequel and Knuckles’s spinoff (and hey, maybe Metal will show up there. Fingers crossed 🤞).

Honestly as a dance fan, I actually loved the dance scene. I just like people dancing in sync.

I'm fully convinced I'm the only guy who liked the dance scene XD Anyway, great video man. This made me realize even more stuff I liked about the film

I actually enjoy watching Sonic's character is being built from the ground up in the movies. He's a kid who genuinely acts like one, and it's cute to watch him enjoy his childhood. I have a feeling that in the subsequent movies, the stakes will be increased, so Sonic might not be able to spend much of the future movies having fun. Although, he has some mature moments that didn't need to be taught to him at all, like how he didn't hold any sort of grudge against Knuckles for how the Echidna clan being the reason Longclaw died. He understood that the war between the Owls and the Echidnas had taken away important people in their lives, and that there's no point in continuing it.

Thank you for explaining the distinction between Naive and dumb. I hate that people think that about Knuckles, like being sheltered and inexperienced with social interactions makes him dumb. Hopefully they get Shadow's characterization correct in the third movie.

I don't wanna put my hopes too high for the 3rd, cuz if I have low expectations, then the movie will be even greater. But I'm also scared that they might fall through the same cycle that the game developers did. Where they get impatient and fall into character stereotypes.

This movie reminded me how Knuckles is the most interesting Sonic character. I just love his backstory with his tribe and being a guardian of the master emerald.

I loved the movie and the interactions between Sonic, Tails and Knuckles! Let's see what the third movie has in store for us. I really loved Tails & Knuckles in this movie. It feels like the best version of their characters! Let's see if that gets translated to the games and SEGA is taking notes...

Agreed. Sonic movie 2 has been done so well. They handled the characters so well and this was the first time in a decade where Sonic, Tails and Knuckles have been written well and done justice

This is the greatest knuckles we have ever seen he was amazing I can’t get over it him being given justice after so many years where he has been treated so awfully !! I just hope he continues to be this amazing and his awesome character being a badass does not get sidelined for who we know is coming next

Awww but I loved the dance it was one of my favorites😂and I have to agree Sonic stating that even he is unworthy to hold such power just SCREAMS who he is! baby Knuckles cuter than baby Sonic...yes👀

The dance scene did go on for a while, but my three year old loved it. Which is probably exactly what they were going for.

I like the dance scene because the children around me seemed to very much enjoy it. I think the harsh critics forget that this is a family movie intended for the oldest of fans to the youngest of children. Was the dancing too much? Yes. Was the wedding unnecessarily long and ridiculous? Of course. But the younger children in the theater found these scenes to be hysterical. It was adorable. Edit: In the theater, when Knuckles is finished beating Sonic, this little kid yelled, "I hate you Knuckles!"

I agree with all of this but - you gotta give Jim Carrey some credit where credit is due - his Robotnik depiction was SOOOO good! I love Sonic & co but was honestly worried about Robotnik's depiction ( at least in the first movie ) - from all the different Robotniks there are in Sonic media, right? And Jim really plays a really good Robotnik even without a Fat Suit. I like how he seems to be leaning in more into the comedic japanese Robotnik versions than the "super serious" / terrifying western Robotniks.

I loved the brothers coming together I can’t wait for the third movie

Knuckles reminds me a little bit of Drax. Taking things people literally but is a wholesome character and not dumb.

Arlo's opinions were really disappointing to me, mostly because I think he was unable to see what you've summed up in this video, the main trio (and eggman) of characters being just so good

With you pointing this out, it makes me a bit hopeful for what they’ll do in the future with these characters. Spoilers for the end credit scene I guess I’m still a bit worried about how they’ll portray Shadow, however. I feel like he started down the “character arc got thrown out the window” path pretty early on. *In his own game no less.* I really really REALLY hope that the writers for the movie disregard the way he’s portrayed in the modern stuff and focus on his character arc from SA2 and possibly Sonic Heroes if they follow the amnesia route. And if I had the responsibility of giving the writers references for how to portray him, I’d even send Sonic ‘06 their way, since he was done fantastically in that game, giving us context for how he acts after the whole amnesia bit. Heck, I’m certain he would have acted that way even if the amnesia thing never happened in the first place! So yeh, I really hope that the people behind the 3rd movie listen to the Shadow fans who have been suffering and stay true to his character in the game he appeared in. Fingers crossed!

This film made me remember why i love these characters again and so excited to see how they handle the new characters as i think they can give some great improvements to old bad characters

Great video! My biggest complaint about the first movie was sonic as a character but I’m glad they got him right in this movie even if it isn’t as accurate as I would like. The surface level traits like sense of adventure, confidence and selflessness are there! They even got obscure parts of sonics characterisation like sonic enjoying breakdancing

Hot take here… I didn’t mind the dance scene as I enjoyed the ridiculous fun of the moment. I’m not defending it from detractors as to each their own, just saying that I had fun with it.

I want to see a spin off series of Rachel's daily life putting up with these guys

I'm not even that big of a Sonic fan, but I REALLY enjoyed this movie. Ben Schwartz has done a great job as Sonic thus far, and while I was super hesitant of Idris Elba as Knuckles at first, my mind quickly changed after seeing him appear in the first trailer. He absolutely owned the role and stole every scene he was in, and was definitely the highlight of the movie for me. That perfect fusion of being intimidating, strong, stoic and hilariously naive worked so dang well, man. This movie has cemented Knuckles as one of my new favorite Sonic characters for sure. It was also great seeing Tails as more than a whiny scaredy cat kid and actually have some personality and depth. And Colleen killed it as always, she's fantastic as Tails.

I really do hope rouge shows up in the knuckles show to mess with knux. I just really want to see how that relationship will differ from the games.

Honestly, even though I was never a big Sonic fan, these two movies are some of the only new pieces of media which bring me back to my childhood. I miss the days where movies I watched were just entertainment and nothing else and that is exactly what these films are: fun.

This movie made me feel so much raw emotion for the entire cast in this movie, I genuinely believe the future will look bright for their characterization and redemption

I love how they actually managed to make not evenn decent video game movie, they made THE movie to start off all good video game movies in the future, and i love that sonic is the one to do it.

Seeing them show vulnerability was SO good.

Seeing Team Sonic in the movies like that literally reawakened the sonic fan within me. I'm worried about Shadow, because his debut came with...a lot more baggage, but I'll have faith in the teams behind the movies to pull it off well. Also, I would kill for the "I found you, faker!" on the big screen.

When Knuckles promised Tails vengeance in the movie for running over with a car, me and friends burst out laughing.

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles were awesome in this movie!😎

This is the best iterations of the characters we've seen since the Adventure series and I'm here for it all.

The last couple of weeks have been a rollercoaster for me. Played some old Harry Potter games and having a good time. Watched all of DuckTales 2017 and now becoming one of my favourite animated television programs. Finally, I saw Sonic 2 in the cinema and had a genuinely great time. Sonic 1 was an okay flick that didn't grab me much, but the sequel just offered much more of what I value not just in a Sonic film, but a film in general. Thumbs up, I missed good Easter Holidays. :D

I agree that the dance scene and the wedding scene were both longer than they needed to be. However, I did enjoy them both, they brought up some heart with sonic and tails. And the wedding was a fun way to give us some time with the humans without making them more important than the animal characters. This movie was a love letter to fans and I’m confident that the 3rd movie will be another great success, who do we think they’ll get to voice Shadow?

This sonic reminds me of Spider-Man’s character in the MCU , We’re watching them grow into the characters we now them to be today

I love how they wrote everyone in this movie. I wish I could say I like the games' stories just as much, but the only game I can say that to is Sonic 3&K.

It's the simplicity that makes the movie work. They aren't trying to be complex or complicated in their messages.

I can't help laughing every time I see Sonic doing the Awesome Kid meme pose on the Sonic 2 poster. He looks so cute.

Really enjoyed the film and loved how well the characters were treated it was so refreshing to see some effort put into those characters agaian after 10 years blatant flanderization

That moment when Paramount gets Sonic’s, Tails’s, and Knuckles’s characters better than modern Sega.

I love seeing sonic, tails and knuckles with their parts done right in sonic movie 2 and this is a great character video about the sonic heroes so I can't wait to see a character video of amy rose! 💙🌟❤✌🤩💛

i wonder how these characters will evolve in hte next sonic movie, and the knuckles show. will knuckles start picking up social ques, and learn too be more laid back? will tails gain more confidance? will sonic get taller? i guess it depends on the time gap

I would love to see a Shadow The Hedgehog spin off movie or a Knuckles’ Chaotix series that the Knuckles series could… set up his role as leader of the rag tag team

As … interesting as the dance bit was, it was also a great way to show off both how creative tails is, and how he is different from Robotnic. It’s a parallel to the dance scene in the first film. Two genius, two out casts dancing using machines. But the difference was that Tails was using his gizmos to enhance the experience with his friend. He is not trying to replace Sonic or others with his machines, but is sharing something he loves and good at with others. Where as Robotnic admits his machines are everything to him, dances alone to his machines, and shouts and semi berates the only living him near him when interrupted I think Tails will also get a bit more development in the 3rd film (if it goes ahead). Sonic and Knuckles development did take more centre stage, but it makes sense. Sonic needed to grow into the leadership role and Knuckles needed to learn to trust Sonic and become a but less naive. Something needs to take a step back, and Tails full emergence into a hero in his own right would be it. Also i think it would interfere with the creation of the bond.

Man, not only were the characters done right... This is the first time knuckles has been shown genuine respect as a character from the official source for... A *long* time

On the topic of Ken Penders' issue with the film: He is EXTREMELY misguided in his claims. Not only does Knuckles father in the movie go unnamed, and not look anything like Locke. But the way the Master Emerald empowered Eggman in the film has nothing to do with Enerjax. In truth, "Chaos Eggman" is based on "God Robotnik" from the Fleetway Sonic the Comic series (Just compare the two, and the similarities are obvious.)

I freaking love this movie! Mainly when the focus is on the Sonic Team (no duh). Knuckles was without a doubt my favorite with how excellent his character was being both faithful to his OG yet also something new that makes him even more memorable in my opinion! In fact, my favorite part wasn’t the mid-credits scene, with was so YES!!!!! 🤩 It was the scene where Knuckles was reading the texts in the evil coffee shop aloud and kept saying “Dot, dot, dot…dot, dot, dot… dot, dot, dot.” I never knew someone reading the busy typing signal out loud could be so funny, and yet here it was. Utter Freaking Fantastic. 👍🏻

"But I trusted you, you were my f-friend?" That hurts

While the characters were different from their game counterparts, they have the same spirit. It feels like this is how the game characters would be if they had the backstory that they do in the movies and went through the same experiences.

Tbh I am soooo scared on how they’re gonna portray Shadow. Especially with the movies currently being too kiddish, I’m praying to god that they don’t butcher his backstory with too much censorship 😭😭 like sonic was never meant for kids, but for older teenagers. I hope that they continue with this dedication to the source material 🤞🏻

I concur they really did get these characters and it makes me excited and hopeful to see what they'll do with Shadow. I do think they intentionally made Sonic younger here not only to give him a arc to grow into the Sonic we know and love but also because these two movies take place in the Classic era, so a younger Sonic is a additional attempt to be faithful to original continuity. I really hope 3 gives us a time skip to a allow for a more mature and teenage Sonic that is better equipped to handle Project Shadow. The only change I outright disliked was making Master Emerald the combined form of the Chaos Emeralds, sure it makes things simpler but now it loses its ability to take away or empower the emeralds, its unique lore from 3&K and Adventure and its quasi sentience.

I hope Cosmo and the Metarex come in after a few movies! I think it was the Metarex that gave our heroes their biggest challenge! Solaris was the most powerful, but the Metarex put them through a full on war where they struggled just to make it TO the final battle!

This was my favorite review for this movie! You summed up my thoughts and feelings exactly about this movie! I loved it so much that at many parts I stopped eating popcorn and just gazed amazed at the big screen! Great video! Subscribed! 💙💛❤

Yeah they went crazy on the characterization of the main trio in this movie. I absolutely love the writing and also Idris & Colleen's performances were amazing! I can't lie, I was a bit worried Idris might ruin my immersion in the movie but he did Knuckles great justice, I couldnt help but love it as a whole. Hopefully Frontiers can give us something to match

In terms of Characterization I want Sega to copy Paramounts homework.

Awesome video! I agree that this movie did the characters justice and I'm really loving the relationship between Sonic, Tails and Knuckles! I can't wait to see more of their relationship in the third movie!

Finally, someone who actually *understands* the Sonic trio far better than what some of the KZfaq critics say! Thank you so much, Mark.👍🏻

12:25 This is pretty much how I felt. While there was a ridiculous amount of focus on the human characters for that segment of the movie, the way it showcased Tails's gadgets helps to make it somewhat relevant, so I can't hate it too much.

I'm kind of iffy on Sonic but I do appreciate he has an actual arc for once.

Dang. I actually REALLY enjoyed the dance-off, and I didn't realize that it wasn't well received lmao

God i hope they handle Shadow with as much care. Maybe then Sega will finally turn down on the edge and up on the good guy aspects of shadow

oh my god the space shuttle scene from sa2 is going to be hilarious with this knuckles

i just hope that for the 3rd movie, the team will put the same effort for "that character" i have hopes and fears too and pls sega, take notes from paramount about your characters too 🙏

The retaliation of Knuckles character in this movie compared to modern-day games where he is just a dumb comedy-relief is what makes me like this movie even more. Knuckles is my favorite character in the whole Sonic franchise.

My little brother loved that dance. To the point of wanting to learn breakdance himself. I think most kids would share a rather positive stance towards the scene. even if us adults cringe about it.

I don't know what anybody's problem is honestly that dance scene made me laugh my ass off and I loved it! But this was a very solid video and I enjoyed watching it!

Gonna be honest, I get why people have issue with the scene, but seeing the dance scene was what fully convinced me it was gonna be a great movie. I had been feeling mixed-to-positive on the movie as I was watching, not sure what to think, but seeing Sonic and Tails work things out and do a truly stellar dance routine had me welling up with all kinds of excitement, mainly because this showed the two of them working together. Sure, there are some flaws to the scene, but I don't care too much. The duo of Sonic and Tails became fully cemented in my mind after that, and I honestly hold the scene in high regard.

I thought the human/Sonic character balance was fine. Didn’t mind the wedding @ all

Knuckles is not dumb, he is socially naïve. Yes, that is a VERY important distinction!

Favorite thing is the movies make a new continuity with the characters, and it does it well rather than how the live Mario movie did it. It sticks with elements from the game, while making its own concepts that don't just copy off of the games. Like instead of the master emerald being it's own thing at first, it was created via the combination of the chaos emeralds, which I'm willing to believe in this continuity. So at the end, in a way, it feels like the same old Sonic I'm familiar with, but it was new in a good way.

This video brings a smile to my face. All the points laid out so well for these characters and easy to follow 👍👍👍

Is it me or did the movie progress like the games? Sonic 1. Good for it's time, cliche story/gameplay, talked to death about at the time of its release, duller colors, but made lots of money at its release. Sonic 2. Better than the first game/movie, more color, new characters, extremely complex story, made more money than the first game/movie.

Eggman having a taser ready for Knuckles is hilarious for those who’ve played Sonic 3 and Knuckles

11:20 man im forreal tearing up Hard af over this song bro. it's been so0 long since i heard it and it's brining back so many memories. i didnt realize how important these games were to my childhood and seeing this movie, i swear to god they did the games justice bro

Knuckles characterisation was literally soooo refreshing oh my god. I only got into the Sonic franchise a couple months ago, but I just really love how Knuckles is portrayed in this movie! He isn't dumb but just doesn't know the "earth propers", hes serious and committed to accomplishing his goal, which can lead him to act a little naive (like with the dot dot dot scene) but in the cutest most hilarious way possible LMAO I really cant explain it but the small shots they got throughout the movie really fleshed out his character! I was straight up laughing so hard in my head every time knuckles spoke, I feel like him being so serious and sure of himself when saying the funniest things is just so hilarious to me XD (I loved the hour of sorrow scene) its literally so wholesome and adds to both sonic and knuckles characters!) the movie did a great job is what im saying LMAO I could literally go on and on about it really :D