The first in the Sonic film series, it was directed by Jeff Fowler, written by Pat Casey and Josh Miller, and stars James Marsden and Jim Carrey.

Ben Schwartz voices Sonic, a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog who can run at supersonic speeds and teams up with small town sheriff Tom Wachowski (Marsden) to stop the mad scientist Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Carrey).

Sonic the Hedgehog premiered at the Paramount Pictures studio lot on January 25, 2020, before its theatrical release in the United States on February 14, and received mixed reviews.

On a distant planet, Sonic, a young anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speed, is unexpectedly attacked by an echidna tribe.

Ten years later, a teenage Sonic enjoys a secret life in a dark cave under the rural town of Green Hills, Montana, but longs to make friends.

While running at unusually high speeds to clear his mind, he accidentally triggers an electromagnetic pulse that causes a massive power outage across the Pacific Northwest.

The U.S. Department of Defense reluctantly enlists the services of eccentric roboticist and scientific genius Dr. Ivo Robotnik to determine the cause of the outage.

Sonic, Tom, and Maddie head to the roof of the Transamerica Pyramid and recover the rings as Robotnik arrives in an advanced hovercraft powered by the quill.

Additionally, Colleen O'Shaughnessey reprises her role from the games as Miles "Tails" Prower, an anthropomorphic yellow-orange two-tailed fox, in the mid-credits scene.

Michealene Risley, the newly appointed consumer products director who helped license Sonic for Adventures, negotiated with several Hollywood producers.

Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske was wary of damaging the brand, citing the commercial and critical failures of the Super Mario Bros. and Street Fighter films.

In August 1994, Sega struck a development deal with MGM and Trilogy Entertainment Group, with Pen Densham as executive producer.

[24] During the late 1990s, Ben Hurst attempted to revive and properly conclude the animated Sonic the Hedgehog television series, in which he worked as a writer.

[29] It would be produced by Neal H. Moritz by his Original Film banner alongside Takeshi Ito, Mie Onishi, and Toru Nakahara, and written by Evan Susser and Van Robichaux.

[38] In May 2018, it was reported that Paul Rudd was in talks for a lead role as Tom, "a cop who befriends Sonic and will likely team up to defeat Dr. Robotnik"; however, this was later denied by Paramount.

[42] Schwartz, a fan of the original video games, was chosen for the role after Fowler and Miller cast him for a test reading as they pitched the project to several studios.

[51] The visual effects are provided by Moving Picture Company (MPC), Marza Animation Planet, Blur Studio, Trixter, and Digital Domain.

[52] The production team created a live-action version of Sonic using CGI, adding fur, new running sneakers, two separate eyes,[53] and a more human like physique.

[53] It received a negative response from critics and fans,[77] and was compared unfavorably to another 2019 video game film adaptation, Detective Pikachu, which added fur and skin textures to the Pokémon characters.

[97] A modified version of the original design, named "Ugly Sonic", appears as a supporting character in the 2022 film Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, playing off the Internet's reaction to the first trailer.

[107][108][3] In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Fantasy Island, The Photograph, and Downhill, and was initially projected to gross $40–50 million from 4,130 theaters in its four-day President's Day opening weekend.

[63] The success was attributed in part to the redesign of Sonic and the publicity it created, and the delayed release date, which meant it opened with less competition from other family films.

The website's critics consensus reads: "Fittingly fleet and frequently fun, Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game-inspired adventure the whole family can enjoy -- and a fine excuse for Jim Carrey to tap into the manic energy that launched his career.

"[139] Dami Lee of The Verge gave the film a positive review, praising the nostalgic elements seen in the film, writing that it "shines when it remembers it's based on a video game, and there's some genuinely fun stuff—like when Sonic uses his time-stopping powers or Robotnik's elaborate 'evil-plotting' montage that makes you wonder why more movies don't feature bad guys with choreographed dance sequences.

[141] John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter, gave the film a positive review, saying: "Flesh-and-blood actors help keep this game derived kids' flick afloat.

"[143] Amon Warrman of Empire gave the film two out of five stars, writing, "An on-form Jim Carrey can't stop Sonic's live-action debut from feeling like a missed opportunity.

"[144] Ben Kenigsberg of The New York Times gave the film a negative review and wrote, "Sonic now resembles a cartoon hedgehog instead of a spray-painted marmot.

Not that the Sega games—in which the fleet-footed hero zips around doing flips and collecting gold coins (which here encircle the Paramount Mountain) gave the director, Jeff Fowler, much to work with.

"[145] Variety's Owen Gleiberman criticized the tone: "For all the borderline tedium I felt at Sonic the Hedgehog, I do realize that this is a picture made for 8-year-olds.

[147] Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com gave the film one out of four, writing, "Sonic the Hedgehog is only as successful as the amount of time you want to spend watching its animated protagonist go on instantly forgettable adventures, and boy, is that unfortunate.