The Brief: Sonic The Hedgehog is now in theaters and has inspired a brand new set of Sonic movie memes.
DEEP DIVE
The much-anticipated Sonic The Hedgehog movie hit theaters on February 14, 2020, with some early showings the night before. In addition to the many that arose in anticipation of the film, Sonic The Hedgehog movie memes have been circulating online in reaction to the film’s debut.
The film, which stars Ben Schwarz as the voice of Sonic, Jim Carey as Dr. Robotnik, and James Marsten as Sonic’s human accomplice, received much criticism of the animation and portrayal of Sonic in its original trailer. Producers listened to this fan outcry, making significant changes to Sonic’s appearance. An updated version of the trailer was much better received with many fans praising the creators’ choice to heed their advice.
Sonic The Hedgehog movie memes range from references to the initial animation snafu, image macros made out of screenshots from the film and its trailers, jokes about its Valentine’s Day release, and more.
Sonic says the line and Jim Carrey does the Robotnik voice so the Sonic movie was pretty good, but I could have done without the multiple Olive Garden commercials
— merritt k (@merrittk) February 14, 2020
When you’re a bit above the film’s target demographic:
Sonic Flossing
At two points in the film, Sonic does the dance move known as “the floss” or flossing, an unmistakably cringey (but potentially endearing) choice.
Gotta stick it to that “if Sonic does it, it’s bad.” tradition lol. pic.twitter.com/VrLt868ggu
— Dee Dude (@Destructo_Dan) February 14, 2020
Baby Sonic
Scenes featuring Sonic as a baby reflect the animated character baby craze (Baby Yoda, Baby Nut, etc.) that seems to be all over film, TV, and advertising.
Baby sonic!! from memes
So, before our movie yesterday, 3 consecutive trailers played:
Scoob (ft. baby Scooby)
Sponge On the Run (ft. baby SpongeBob)
and Minions (ft. baby Gru).Then, it was time for our feature presentation: The Sonic Movie (ft. baby Sonic)
We're… in the midst of a moment it seems. pic.twitter.com/5WvItJPK7z
— Alan Denton (@AlanTheWriter) February 14, 2020
Valentine’s Day
The Sonic movie’s February 14th release date lends itself to memes about romantic Sonic dates and lonely solo-watching experiences.
BREAKING: all around the country, lonely sonic fans find love at the sonic movie valentine's day premiere. after some time, reproduction eventually occurs—on a grand scale. thousands of new sonic fans are born, securing the future of the franchise. the gambit paid off
— rumi (@rumiSSB) February 14, 2020
me watching the sonic movie today pic.twitter.com/xf7bPIQHZU
— DitzyFlama (@DitzyFlama) February 14, 2020
single people when the movie theater clerk asks them how many tickets they're buying for the Sonic movie on valentine's day: pic.twitter.com/JFsqEl1pNN
— jay·dot·jay (@jaydotjayYT) February 14, 2020
A Sonic-themed Valentine meme:
can you tell i've never drawn sonic before in my life pic.twitter.com/Z77brLdNa8
— but doctor, i am sad dog (@empandanada) February 14, 2020
an upsetting amount of people are going to get laid after watching the Sonic movie today
— Jacob 🌙 (@Alpharad) February 14, 2020
Flex tape and Sonic can mend the hole in your heart…
New Sonic Meme Formats
Screenshots from the film are being used in Sonic The Hedgehog movie memes and in more general comedic contexts.
“Confidence! A fool’s substitute for intelligence.”
I’ve just watched sonic yesterday…. It was a masterpiece from dankmemes
“You mad?”
SONIC 2020!!! from dankmemes
At the time of writing, Sonic The Hedgehog has been ranked with a 63% critics score and a 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes from 116 and 696 reviews respectively.