Alright, there's no escaping it, this article is late, you know why? Because out of date region release laws make it so that Sonic 3 is released half a month after it's original release date in my country which is India.
The Irony is for this franchise, I actually cannot go fast.
But enough of that, you aren't here for that, you are here for me to make pretentious interpretations off of the ten minutes I actually watched.
Yes, I am indeed self aware.
And while we are talking about self awareness, this movie is also, very self aware, especially when it comes to Dr. Robotnik and Grandpa Robotnik, because of course, this movie has two Robotniks.
And while that in itself is it's own level of fun, this movie has something much more interesting and different to deal with, and that specifically is what Shadow the Hedgehog represents for this franchise.
Shadow the Hedgehog is representative of that brief moment in Sonic's history when this franchise along with many others decided to go super dark and emo for no apparent reason, okay maybe not no reason, the emo era was definitely at its height in 2001.
I myself called him Goth Sonic for a bit.
But just like the seven different color swapped ninjas in Mortal Kombat, or like Luigi and Mario, or even as Knuckles and Tails before him, he has his own Identity, more than a darker version of Sonic.
But that is how he was envisioned and as such this darkness will always be a part of him.
That statement has some serious parallels to real life for reasons that should be obvious to anyone who has battled with their inner Darkness, and since everyone has dealt with that in some form or other, it should therefore bring up the next obvious problem of what is to be done about it?
I mean one obviously should not give in to their Darkest intrusive thoughts, anyone who has tried can attest... (it's not me guys... for sure...) just like one cannot have flagrant unfiltered violence in a kids movie.
And yes, like it or not Sonic is aimed at kids, I say this as a twenty four year old struggling PhD student who enjoyed the hell out of this movie.
So what is the solution, how does one coincide edgy Sonic with the nature of the movie?
The solution is of course to blunt the blow, and that might be sound like... Duh! But it isn't what one would think, to the untrained and unfamiliar, blunting the blow might mean making it less Dark, but that isn't the truth.
Think back to every bit of children's media you have seen, how man times has Megatron said, I will rule the world!
OR
The justice league cartoons, I hope I do not need to describe what is dark in them.
But there is a certain detachment in them, a form of... unrealism.
And that is quite obvious the fact that Megatron is a robot, or that the characters in the Justice league cartoons wear silly costumes.
But it is more than that, the destruction of the world, or ruling the world, those are very... far off things no? As humans we are quite well trained to not think too much of something so far removed that it probably won't experience it in our lives. Either because Society teaches us, or that's who we are, or some combination of the two.
But then there is also the fact that, the end of the world is...well it ends, and the story is not going to end so soon... is it? That's a disaster movie...
And another important thing is these shows gave us an overview of what the consequences will be but it did not say give us an in depth analysis of what it meant for each individual.
Imagine if every time the Justice league faced a world ending threat, we cut to someone having an intense panic attack...
Nah that's dark, do not show the suffering of individuals in excruciating detail.
Oh right Michael Bay exists, but while the original Transformers Cartoon was made to sell toys to kids, I don't think anyone in their right mind will look at both the movies and the cartoons and argue that the creators didn't intend the movies for a more mature audience.
Still, even so, this is a good thought experiment.
The Transformers movies are definitely meant for a more mature Audience but they are not rated A, and one can't really argue that they do not appeal to kids.
So what here? Look at the clip of Chicago being put under siege by the Decepticons many, many people die there, but for one, there is no blood, and they are not the focus of the shot, the focus is more so on the massive machine laying waste to its environment.
And this is also another aspect of Darkness in children's media, the old Justice league or Superhero cartoons for example did have moments when they showed someone in distress, but the connection to them was very superficial, it was only so much as someone you don't know but is probably like you on a superficial level in that they are also a human, is being faced by a potential threat.
You don't know the person you don't feel ever bit of pain they feel.
Or do you, because here it is an example of something bad happening to someone we know in the very movie I am talking about, and we do feel every bit of their pain.
I mean I can't be the only one who felt bad for Robotnik and Agent Stone when Robotnik Chose to sacrifice himself for the world, because if he can't rule the world, he can at least save it.
But look at the presentation right, Robotnik is dancing, and more importantly we know the world isn't ending because that's end of everything, and our minds doesn't let us comprehend or think that far because that's how we evolved to survive.
There is also the fact that we know that Sonic = money for the people making it and so... but that's a lot less interesting, and I think even for people who don't think of that aspect, this movie is pretty kid friendly.
Imagine, Capitalism making something kid friendly.
So basically what matters is, keep the threat simple, easy to understand spare the details and if you do present it correctly, it is a lot, but it is tried an tested, another thing I would like to point out is, there are two ways to "spare the details" either actually do it or make the threat so big that there is no way all the details can get across.
There is a reason why Superhero movies are criticized for their constant world ending threats.
Our mind is, like I said, very good at sparing the most gruesome details, that is why the fact that the people dying in the attack on Chicago in Transformers three are many and not the focus of the shot.
And the main thing is, all these aspects are related to each other, because whenever someone is faced with a threat so large it could destroy the world, their first instinct is to depersonalize, and to hide their feelings behind presentation.
Because we have come this far without even talking about how the main threat of this movie is a giant space station with a moustache.
But seriously, why the moustache? Well the obvious answer is because this is the design in the games, but really why?
Grandpa Robotnik designed this space station for one reason and one reason only, to destroy the earth and themselves along with it, and he did it to pay back the pain that the world gave him, and Shadow agrees for the same reason.
Andin that headspace... well the world is ending, why not give it a moustache.
This is Robotnik's character to a t, both of the Robotniks the world hates them, nobody gets them, they have no friends, and they want to pay back their pain, and while they are doing that, why not personalize their instruments?
It is surprising how far this goes, look at Jinx, in Arcane, why do her bombs have teeth and punk designs, it is because of this.
And while that is there, there is one aspect of this movie that throws a wrench in everything that I have said so far, Shadow himself.
My man straight up kills(nearly) a man, and doesn't even care about it, I mean yes, Tom didn't die, but Shadow intended it fully, if he would have died, Shadow would be guilty, he had intent.
And yet this fits, somehow, and that is because after all this, Shadow is proven wrong, Tom doesn't actually die, and Shadow is changed for the better once he has fought Sonic and is reminded of something Maria(the person he lost that made him go all emo) told him.
The light of a Star can shine long after it is gone.
But children's media is not all positivity and sunshine and rainbows, I mean after all, Star Wars was originally intended for twelve year olds according to George Lucas and it is based on the Vietnam War, but that is for another time.
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