Knuckles

The world of the Sonic movies expands. On April 26, 2024, the six-episode miniseries Knuckles was released. It follows the same continuity as the two Sonic the Hedgehog movies. Starring Idris Elba, Adam Pally, and Rory McCann, it takes place in Green Hills, Montana and Reno, Navada. Directed by Jeff Fowler, Ged Wright, Brandon Trost, Jorma Taccone, and Carol Banker, it is streaming on Paramount+ and is rated TV-PG.

With Knuckles now living on Earth, he is having a hard time adjusting due to being a warrior from a former tribe. Guided by the spirit of his deceased leader Pachacamac, he is told to train the Green Hills deputy, Wade Whipple. Wade plans to compete in a bowling tournament in Reno, Navada and has the heart, but not the skills, so Knuckles is there to train him in the ways of the Echidna warrior. However, they keep getting pursued by two agents Willoughby and Mason, who want to capture Knuckles for someone called The Buyer. Can Wade find what it takes to be a true warrior? Can Knuckles evade capture?

As someone who did enjoy the first two Sonic movies (click here or here to read my reviews), I was not sure how this show would be. Many fans were disappointed to learn that this show would not introduce any more characters from the games in favor of focusing on new human characters. Despite that, I was willing to give this show a chance. The first thing to note is how the characters and their actors were represented. Knuckles is still voiced effectively by Idris Elba, being both awesome with his warrior skills and funny with his fish-out-of-water status. Wade is the best-written character on this show. While I did like him in the first two movies, he did not feel like much of a character, with us knowing very little about him and him just existing to be comic relief. This show fleshes him out much more. We learn more about him and he also becomes stronger and more capable. Even before that, he has such a good heart that we are rooting for him and want all the bad things around him to be resolved. He also manages to still be a funny character. In terms of the villains, Willoughby and Mason are performed by Ellie Taylor and Kid Cudi, the latter of whom did the credits song for the second movie, and are enjoyable villains. While not at the level that Jim Carrey’s performance of Dr. Robotnik was, they manage to be intimidating, but still sympathetic because The Buyer will kill them if they fail as well as Willoughby’s backstory revealed later. The Buyer, played by Rory McCann, does not appear much, but is memorable whenever he does. With a strong stature, a long beard, and a climax involving him piloting a robot, he is even more intimidating. While this show does not introduce much in the way of game characters, we do get Pachacamac. Taken from the 1998 game Sonic Adventure, he is much more goofy and good than his game counterpart, but manages to be his own thing. Voiced by one of my favorite actors, Christopher Lloyd, the CGI is good on him like all the other anthropomorphic characters and he helps make an entertaining moment in the fourth episode. Other noteworthy actors whose roles I will not spoil are Cary Elwes, Stockard Channing, Julian Barratt, Rob Huebel, and Paul Scheer. Overall, the characters and actors turn out strong here.

As for the story, that is more hit or miss. The later half of the show is weaker than the earlier half due to focusing more on Wade than Knuckles. Like I said, Wade does come into his own as a character here, but I feel it would have been better if Knuckles was given more focus with Wade more on the sidelines. Instead, Wade gets so much focus that it would have made more sense to call this show Wade instead. Considering the movies did well with not making the human characters take the focus of the game ones, it is baffling they failed with that here. With that said, what they do with Wade is entertaining so I do not hate it entirely. The third episode is the worst one, with most of it being nothing but talking and arguing, saving the only cool part for the end.

While Knuckles does not get as much focus as Wade, they do give him some development with finding Earth things to enjoy. I also feel like Wade will play a somewhat bigger role in the third movie coming this December, so this show does feel important to the continuity of this Sonic adaptation. Plus, a line from the last episode that feels unimportant is probably hinting at a reveal made in that movie.

Overall, this show could have been much better, but I still like it. I cannot say I would want to watch this more than once, as opposed to the movies that I have rewatched many times, but I did not hate it. Maybe the creators will learn from this experience and put more emphasis on the title characters in future shows to come. All this does get me more excited for the third movie, and I cannot wait.

I watched this show through a streaming service. Streaming is great, but there is a fear it may replace physical media altogether. I still like DVDs and Blu-Rays, with the fun of getting to own them, the special features, and the guarantee it cannot just be taken off whenever a streaming service feels like it. Because of this, I encourage any steps to make sure physical media can be saved. If the option is available, buy a DVD or Blu-Ray of a movie or show you like so the money comes from that. Spread awareness so others can hear about this and the creators can hear how much you like physical media. I have nothing against streaming, but I feel cooperation with each other is the way to go. We can be able to watch what we want without all these complications if we work together on this.