Several

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

and features were produced that were based on the ''

Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...

'' series of

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s, developed by

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

Television series/specials

Direct-to-video

The first film adaptation of the ''Sonic'' series was ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', known internationally as ''Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie'', a 1996 Japanese two-part

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...

(OVA). It sees

Sonic Sonic or Sonics may refer to: Companies *Sonic Drive-In, an American drive-in, fast-food restaurant chain * Sonic (ISP), an Internet provider CLEC, serving more than 100 California communities * Sonic Foundry, a computer software company whic ...

and Tails as they venture through Planet Freedom to stop Metal Robotnik and save the Land of the Sky, soon facing a new enemy. The film was split into two episodes in Japan, being released between January 26—March 22 before being available in retail on May 31, 1996. An English dub was released internationally on September 7, 1999, to coincide with the release of ''

Sonic Adventure is a 1998 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. It was the first main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game to feature 3D gameplay. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Pr ...

''.

Films

Attempts had been made as early as 1993 to get ''Sonic'' made into a film; the first of these was ''Sonic the Hedgehog: Wonders of the World'', which was pitched to

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

in August 1994 and had Sonic coming into the real world of a kid named Josh, and fighting Eggman (Robotnik). The film would've tied-in to the cancelled

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it is the successor to the succes ...

game ''Sonic X-treme'', and despite a positive internal reception, MGM would drop the project without warning. Writer

Richard Jefferies John Richard Jefferies (6 November 1848 – 14 August 1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English rural life in essays, books of natural history, and novels. His childhood on a small Wiltshire farm had a great influ ...

suggests the film was dropped due to creative differences between Sega and Trilogy Entertainment Group, who were also producing the film. Ben Hurst had also attempted to make ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' into a film, this time based on the aforementioned ''SatAM'' series; the project was dismissed after former comic series writer

Ken Penders Kenneth W. Penders, II (born September 28, 1958) is an American comics artist and writer. Penders is known for his work on the Archie Comics series ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' and its ''Knuckles the Echidna'' spin-off, which he contributed to from ...

allegedly told a Sega representative that Hurst was attempting to "co-opt" the franchise. Penders proposed his own film titled ''Sonic Armageddon'' in September 2003, which would have incorporated elements from ''SatAM'' and the Archie Comics series, but was itself dropped in 2007 due to massive corporate upheaval, and the death of Sega license manager Robert Leffler. The original pitch video still exists, and was uploaded to

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

in 2017.

''Sonic the Hedgehog'' (2020)

''Sonic the Hedgehog'' is an action-adventure comedy film directed by Jeff Fowler and written by Pat Casey and Josh Miller; in the film, Sonic is forced to abandon his home world and ends up on Earth, and eventually is forced to team up with a human named Tom Wachoski to stop Dr. Robotnik; it was originally released in theaters on February 14, 2020. Originally intended for release in late-2019, ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' ended up being pushed back several months due to the overwhelmingly negative response to Sonic's design in the trailer; upon its release, the film was met with mixed reviews from critics, although it was a large commercial success, being the sixth-highest-grossing film in 2020.

''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'' (2022)

''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'' is an American action-adventure comedy film based on the video game franchise published by Sega. Directed by Jeff Fowler and written by Pat Casey, Josh Miller and John Whittington, it is the sequel to ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' (2020).

Ben Schwartz Benjamin Joseph Schwartz (born September 15, 1981) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his recurring role as Jean-Ralphio Saperstein on the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation'', his starring role as Clyde Oberholt on the Sh ...

reprises his role as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog, alongside

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian and American actor and comedian. Known primarily for his energetic slapstick performances, he has received two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for BAFTA Awards and ...

as Dr. Robotnik, with

James Marsden James Paul Marsden (born September 18, 1973) is an American actor. He began his acting career guest starring in the television shows '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' (1993), '' Touched by an Angel'' (1995), and '' Party of Five'' (1995). Ma ...

and Tika Sumpter in the roles of Tom and Maddie Wachowski, while

Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba Order of the British Empire, OBE ( ; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor and musician. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards and six Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards. He w ...

joins the cast as Knuckles the Echidna. The film is inspired by the video games '' Sonic the Hedgehog 2'' (1992), ''

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a 1994 platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. Like previous ''Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic'' games, players traverse side-scrolling levels while collecting Rings (Sonic the Hedgehog), ri ...

'' (1994) and ''

Sonic & Knuckles is a 1994 platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. Players control Sonic the Hedgehog or Knuckles the Echidna in their quests to save Angel Island; Sonic tries to stop Doctor Robotnik fro ...

'' (1994), but is not a direct adaptation of either. Fowler described the film as "a melting pot" of ideas from several Sonic games. After the events of the first film, Sonic joins forces with Miles "Tails" Prower to stop Dr. Robotnik and Knuckles from finding a powerful emerald that has the power to build and destroy civilizations. ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'' was released in the United States on April 8, 2022, by Paramount Pictures in association with Sega Sammy Group.

''Sonic the Hedgehog 3'' (2024)

''Sonic the Hedgehog 3'' is an American action-adventure comedy film based on the video game franchise published by Sega. Directed by Jeff Fowler and written by Pat Casey, Josh Miller and John Whittington, it is the sequel to ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'' (2022). In February 2022, Sega and Paramount confirmed that a third film was in development. The main cast of the previous two films:

, Tika Sumpter,

Colleen O'Shaughnessey Colleen Ann O'Shaughnessey (born September 15, 1971) is an American voice actress. She is known for providing the voice to Jazz Fenton in '' Danny Phantom'' and Wasp in '' The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes''. Since 2010, O'Shaughnessey ha ...

Natasha Rothwell Natasha Rothwell (born October 18, 1980) is an American actress, writer, and producer. She is best known for her work on the HBO series '' Insecure'' as Kelli Prenny, and ''The White Lotus'' as Belinda, for which she earned a nomination for a P ...

Adam Pally Adam Saul Pally (born March 18, 1982) is an American comedian and actor. He first earned recognition for starring as Max Blum in '' Happy Endings'', as Dr. Peter Prentice in ''The Mindy Project'', as Wade Whipple in ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' (202 ...

Shemar Moore Shemar Franklin Moore (born April 20, 1970) is an American actor. His notable roles include Malcolm Winters on ''The Young and the Restless'' (1994–2002, 2004–05, 2014, 2019, 2023), Derek Morgan on ''Criminal Minds'' (2005–17), and the l ...

, and Lee Majdoub reprise their roles with Alyla Browne, Krysten Ritter, and

Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor and musician. The recipient of numerous accolades in a career on screen spanning four decades, he is known for his leading roles in action films, his amiable public imag ...

joining the cast. The film is inspired by the video games ''

Sonic Adventure 2 is a 2001 platform game developed by Sonic Team USA and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. It features two Conflict between good and evil, good-vs-evil stories: Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, and K ...

'' (2001) and ''

Shadow the Hedgehog is a character created by the Japanese game developers Takashi Iizuka (game designer), Takashi Iizuka, Shiro Maekawa, and Kazuyuki Hoshino. He is a major character in Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. An Anthropomorphism, anthropomorph ...

'' (2005), but is not a direct adaption of either. In the film, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles must ally with Dr. Robotnik to defeat a new enemy, Shadow the Hedgehog. ''Sonic the Hedgehog 3'' was released theatrically in the United States by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

on December 20, 2024.

''Sonic the Hedgehog 4'' (2027)

During the leadup to ''Sonic the Hedgehog 3'' release, it was reported by '' Variety'' that a fourth ''Sonic'' film is in development and is set to be released on March 19, 2027. It was later reported by ''Deadline'' that the film would be distributed by Paramount on March 19, 2027.

Box office performance

Web series and short films

'' Sonic: Night of the Werehog'' (2008)

''Sonic: Night of the Werehog'' is the first web animation and 3D

computer-animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Modern c ...

short, released on November 21, 2008, and produced by Marza Animation Planet, created to promote the release of ''Sonic Unleashed''. In the short, Sonic and Chip enter a

haunted house A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the property ...

and must contend with the two

ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

Su and Uh, who attempt to take pictures of scared visitors to appease the female ghost Lah. The three ghosts that appeared in the short film were created by Marza Animation Planet, as the studio's illustration staff members created various illustrations that featured them are posted on Marza Animation Planet's Staff

X (Twitter) Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, imag ...

account. On October 31, 2023, a brand new short film, featuring the three ghosts, entitled "''Ghost Tale''", was posted on Marza Animation Planet's

channel.

''Sonic Mania Adventures'' (2018)

''Sonic Mania Adventures'' is the second web animation and first 2D one, initially released as a series in five parts between March 31 and July 18, 2018, as a tie-in to ''Sonic Mania Plus''. The series takes place shortly after the events of ''

Sonic Forces is a 2017 Platformer, platform video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. It was produced in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. The plot focuses on Sonic the Hedgehog (character), So ...

'', as Classic Sonic arrives back in his world to find Eggman is once again attempting to collect all the Chaos Emeralds. It was produced by Neko Productions and animated by Tyson Hesse, with supervision from Sega. The series received generally favorable reviews from various critics, who praised the animation and writing. A

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

-themed bonus episode, starring Amy Rose, was released on December 21, 2018, a few months after its initial completion.

''Team Sonic Racing Overdrive'' (2019)

''Team Sonic Racing Overdrive'' is the third web animation and a 2D one, released as a two-part series in March and April 2019. The miniseries is a promotional tie-in to ''Team Sonic Racing'', and features Sonic, Shadow, and Amy's teams competing in a race on Planet Wisp while Eggman tries to interfere.

''Chao in Space'' (2019)

''Chao in Space'' is the fourth web animation and a 2D short, released on December 13, 2019. In the short, a Chao dreams up the events of a fictional film titled ''Chao in Space'', in which it endures a spaceship battle against a Dark Chao. As it sleeps, Sonic attempts to prevent the

sleepwalking Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during the slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of ...

Chao from injuring itself, while Dr. Eggman disguises himself as

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

to try to steal Christmas presents. The animation is based on a gag from ''Sonic Adventure'' and ''

'', which both feature faux advertisements for ''Chao in Space'' and its sequel ''Chao in Space 2''.

''Sonic Colors: Rise of the Wisps'' (2021)

''Sonic Colors: Rise of the Wisps'' is the fifth web animation and a 2D one, released in Summer 2021 as a two-episode miniseries, created as a tie-in to the release of '' Sonic Colors: Ultimate''. The series takes place during the game, and follows Sonic and Tails as they work to save the Wisps imprisoned on Sweet Mountain from Metal Sonic, Orbot and Cubot.

''TailsTube'' (2022-present)

TailsTube is the sixth web animation and an online YouTube web series. It stars Miles "Tails" Prower, who acts as a

VTuber A or is an online entertainer who uses a virtual Avatar (computing), avatar generated using computer graphics. Real-time motion capture software or technology are often—but not always—used to capture movement. The digital trend originated i ...

and host for the show. The show is described as a "fun and informative, Tails-hosted show about all things ''Sonic''". The series' episodes are published irregularly, with 11 having been released as of March 2025.

''Sonic Frontiers Prologue: Divergence'' (2022)

''Sonic Frontiers Prologue: Divergence'' is the seventh web animation and a 2D short, released on November 1, 2022. The short was written by

Ian Flynn James Ian Flynn (born May 31, 1982), also known by his Internet pen name Ian Potto, is an American-Canadian comic book writer. He was chief writer for Archie Comics's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' since issue #160, after the departure of the previous chi ...

and directed by Tyson Hesse, with animation by

Powerhouse Animation Studios Powerhouse Animation Studios, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Austin, Texas. It was founded in April 2001 with a subsidiary called Powerhouse Animation LLC, established in the summer of 2014. The company develops and produces traditi ...

. Set shortly before the events of ''Sonic Frontiers'', the short explains follows Knuckles on Angel Island, explaining how he was sent to the Starfall Islands.

''Sonic & Friends'' (2023)

''Sonic & Friends'' is the eighth web animation and a 3D

series, released on Sega's Japanese

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

account and featuring chibi versions of ''Sonic'' characters that originated from ''

Sonic Boom A sonic boom is a sound associated with shock waves created when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding similar to an explosion or a thunderclap to ...

'' merchandise. The teaser was released on August 7, 2023.

''Sonic Superstars: Trio of Trouble'' (2023)

''Sonic Superstars: Trio of Trouble'' is the ninth web animation and a 2D short, released on September 20, 2023, released as a tie-in to '' Sonic Superstars''. The short has the titular trio, Doctor Eggman, Fang the Hunter, and Trip, searching a ruin as part of a villainous plot. Beforehand, Fang dreams of an encounter with Sonic and his friends.

''Sonic x Shadow Generations: Dark Beginnings'' (2024)

''Sonic x Shadow Generations: Dark Beginnings'' is a three-episode

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

that serves as a prequel to the events of '' Shadow Generations''. The series was revealed at

Anime Expo Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first we ...

2024, and sees Shadow travelling to the Space Colony Ark, believing that Black Doom has been resurrected, while experiencing flashbacks to his past time on the Ark with Maria Robotnik. Other characters who appear include

Rouge the Bat The ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game franchise began in 1991 with the video game ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' for the Sega Genesis, which pitted a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog named Sonic against a rotund male human villain named Doctor Eggman (o ...

E-123 Omega The ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game franchise began in 1991 with the video game ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' for the Sega Genesis, which pitted a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog named Sonic against a rotund male human villain named Doctor Eggman (or ...

, and Emerl, a character who debuted in the

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...

spin-off game '' Sonic Battle''.

''Chao Tales'' (2025)

Chao Tales is a 2025 8-episode cartoon animated series that focuses on Sonic the Hedgehog visiting a Chao Garden throughout the year. The series features Sonic alongside an arrogant Shadow Chao.

Notes

References

{{Portal bar, Animation, Japan, United States, Television, 1990s