SOME THOUGHTS ON THE “SONIC PRIME” TRAILER

Happy November, Hedgehogs Can’t Swim readers. Sorry for missing a few updates, especially not doing anything special for October 31st. I had a bad cold and was busy watching horror movies. I guess the “Scrapnik Island” review is this year’s Halloween special. Anyway, it’s a new month now and there’s some exciting things to talk about here in “Sonic” world. "Sonic Frontiers" is coming out tomorrow and early buzz is begrudgingly positive. Meanwhile, Netflix dropped a full length trailer for "Sonic Prime" last week. I have some thoughts!

From the moment its existence was leaked in December of 2020, details on "Prime" have been sparse. We would eventually learn that the show had Sonic leaping around alternate dimensions. That this would be a "Into the Sonic-Verse" deal. Beyond that, there's been little actual content to discuss in the last two years. For a while, considering various shake-ups at Netflix, I was half-convinced the show was going to get canceled before it even premiered. That would've certainly explained the seeming reluctance of the streamer to announce an actual release date for the longest time. 

With the lack of confirmed information to consider, the "Sonic" fandom has done what it does best: Speculate wildly, spread rumors, and drive itself into an absolute tizzy over nothing but their own half-mad imaginings! From the minute "Sonic Prime's" multiversal premise was announced, people started hoping prior continuities will be involved. That the show is being co-produced by WildBrain, the current incarnation of DiC, had many fans hoping that elements from previous cartoons might appear. After all, the original Archie Sonic continuity had its own wide, crazy multiverse and wouldn't it make sense to draw on that stuff?

That always struck me as a long-shot, for obvious legal reasons. As cool as it would've been, I know better than to get my hopes up based on nothing but what-might-be. What seemed far likelier to me was a procession of different versions of Sonic's familiar supporting cast. Leaked concept art that eventually surfaced pointed in this direction. We weren't going to get Sally, Scourge, Surge, or Breezie. Instead, we're going to get Caveman Amy and Pirate Tails and shit like that. (Which, funny enough, more resembles what Archie's multiverse was all about. But I digress.)

A few months back, we had a brief teaser trailer that gave us our first real look at "Prime." It had Sonic, looking and behaving very much like what we expect from Sonic, zipping around Green Hill Zone, collecting rings, answers zinging one-liners. Big the Cat was there, with disconcertingly chubby cheeks and typically doofus-y voice. Shortly after that, a second teaser would confirm that Shadow is in the show, being all gruff and dickish. Alright, that's fine. 

These clips showed that "Prime" at least was actually coming out. And that the show would feature other familiar faces beyond all the basic ones we expected. They were bright and Sonic-y. Sonic's new voice actor sounded suited to the role. But these teasers didn't give us much to talk about, as far as the show's actual premise goes. There was no signs of alternate universes or anything like that. Wasn't that what this series was suppose to be about? 

Thus, the latest preview constitutes our first real peek at "Sonic Prime." We get a cool shot of the Tornado flying through Green Hills. The plot seems kicked off by Eggman attempting to grab a MacGuffin called the Paradox Prism. Rouge is among Sonic's team, wearing a purple body suit. New versions of Buzz Bomber, Catekiller, and BurroBots appear as Eggman's army of Badniks. Tails has a little drone following him around, blasting robots. 

After the crystal is shattered, Sonic is tossed into what seems to be an industrial version of Green Hill Zone, where Eggman has totally taken over. There, he meets altered versions of his friends. Knuckles has scars over his face. Tails is heavily armed. Rouge is looking very militarized, with a cute little beret. Amy, most drastically, is some sort of cyborg with weirdly long legs. He promises to "make it right." We get a shot of Sonic wearing some spiffy new shoes and shiny gloves, before several more shots of Eggman robots and action sequences of the gang fighting bots and leaping around laser beams. 

What do I, an adult man who has far too many opinions about this franchise, make of this? The animation looks decent and far smoother than what the action scenes from "Sonic Boom" we're like. I like the relative serious tone this trailer establishes, though the rap song playing over all of it lets you know things won't be too intense. The character designs are basically right out of the games, which is a little boring. Rouge's new outfit seems to be well-received, so I think the designers could've experimented a little more. Cyborg Amy looks kind of dorky though. I don't like the disproportionate legs. 

I'm assuming that we'll be seeing multiple shattered realities in "Prime," aside from this dystopian one. Presumably, that is just one of many dimensions the show will cover. Which is good, as variety is the spice of life. Then again, Sonic and friends fighting against a tyrannical Eggman in an industrial wasteland is pretty in my wheelhouse, so I guess I can't complain if that setting sticks around for a few. Some have griped about Rouge being included in the main cast, over other characters. I think it's fine though. Rouge is still the franchise's second most recognized female character, so it makes sense to slot her in over Blaze or Cream. (Both of whom could still show up.)

My general opinion on the "Prime" can be summarized as: Not bad. Pretty much what I expected. Looks like a "Sonic" cartoon! Didn't blow my mind nor depress me. While I don't mind goofy "Sonic," I do prefer it when this series has some actual stakes. This trailer establishes that "Prime" will indeed have those, which is a good sign. We'll see more in December, when the show finally debuts. Until then, consider me cautiously optimistic.