Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails reunite against a powerful new adversary, Shadow, a mysterious villain with powers unlike anything they have faced before. With their abilities outmatched in every way, Team Sonic must seek out an unlikely alliance in hopes of stopping Shadow and protecting the planet.
This movie contains 15 potentially triggering events.
A white person uses holographic technology to disguise himself as a Black person. Not blackface necessarily but I heard some gasps and concern in my theater.
I would say that Sonic going super and beating up Shadow had some elements of a meltdown. Distress, losing control of your emotions, losing control over your actions, etc. Eventually he calms down and talks to Shadow, and then they both go super again for the right reasons.
We do see Gerald being carted off to prison, and we see his (humorous) mugshot. Prison is mentioned, too. Furthermore, just as in the games, Shadow had been frozen in a tube for 50 years, which brings incarceration to mind but it’s not a one-to-one comparison, and it’s another case of “if you can handle the games you can handle the movie”.
No but Gerald Robotnik spanks Ivo, his grandson, for trying to stop him from destroying the world. It’s meant to be funny, and for me it is (and I was hit as a kid sometimes), but I can see how some people might at least need a heads-up that it happens. Gerald uses an upgraded hand rather than a belt or paddle.
Shadow is sad about Maria dying. This is basically the same as in the games, so if you can handle that, you should be able to handle it here. Also, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles get injured a few times and are obviously not happy about it but this is typical. Furthermore, there is a scene where Tom gets injured badly, and all the animals (including Shadow, who is the one who hurt Tom) are upset about it. (More on Tom in another thing.)
Maria. Commander Walters. Eventually Gerald. It’s also implied that Ivo is probably dead in the end. Shadow, much like the games, either dies and comes back to life or almost died but didn’t die.
There is a brief scene where they show a clip from Casper the Friendly Ghost, meant to illustrate Knuckles being extremely afraid of ghosts (to the point even Casper bothers him - meant to be humorous and for me it is). Other than that ghosts are only mentioned.
In one "scary" sequence in the film where the characters split up in a dilapidated facility, Knuckles is walking alone when a pipe bursts behind him, then Shadow appears in front of him and says "boo". Next, as Tails and Agent Stone walk together, Shadow drifts into frame and scares them both. Then a little later, Sonic is observing the shattered tube that Shadow was once kept in, then Shadow attacks him from behind.
SAFE! …enough. During the motorcycle chase with shadow and sonic sonic says he feels like he’s gonna throw up. But nothing happens.
And then towards the end during the laser dance scene grandpa robotnik looks a bit nauseous when they spin but again nothing happens!!
It’s very brief but after Shadow had injured Tom there is a moment where Maddie is looking out the window of a hospital and you can see Tom in bed behind her. It’s important to note that Tom had been injured because Shadow hit him really hard, and Tom had to be carted off in an ambulance with breath support and such and there was a point where Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Maddie, and even Shadow were worried Tom might not make it, but Tom makes a good recovery by the end of the movie.
Same as in the games, Shadow starts off his journey through the present with violence, brought on by mental trauma related to Maria’s death. Also same-but-different, Gerald Robotnik is alive in the movieverse, which is a big change from the games, but his behavior is mostly the same. And, well…Ivo Robotnik, basically the same as before, though he is a bit softer in this movie. With that said, there is a good message, just as in the games, about not letting pain change who you are.
In a change from the games, Maria seems pretty healthy during her time being alive. It’s possible she might have been sick and just not as obviously sick, but in Shadow’s memories, Maria is shown roller skating, dancing, riding a scooter, making a blanket fort, and doing other activities. She does look the same as she did in the games, and there is a scene with her wearing what looks to possibly be a hospital gown, and the scooter scene ends with her and Shadow crashing into a food cart and laying on the ground but they’re both happy and laughing (and again, both of them are laying down). Unlike in the games, she wasn’t living in space. However, just like the games, she was being cared for by Gerald in a research facility. Overall, my vote is “no”, but there is ambiguity.