Knuckles’ Biggest Criticism Perfectly Explains The Sonic The Hedgehog Movies’ $711 Million Box Office Success

Summary Knuckles TV series received a lower audience score than Sonic 2 on Rotten Tomatoes.

Knuckles struggled to balance established and original characters.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 may finally address the franchise's criticism of human character focus, with promises of a lot of Easter eggs and more game characters like Shadow.

Knuckles’ biggest criticism highlights what the Sonic the Hedgehog movies have done right. Following the critical and commercial success of the live-action Sonic film, the franchise has released its first TV spinoff, Knuckles. There are plans for an extended Sonic the Hedgehog cinematic universe, with Knuckles confirming that it can be done. Still, while there are great about Knuckles, the reception to the show has not been as positive as the one received by the first two movies.

Knuckles’ audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is much lower than that of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, even though the new series has a higher critics’ score. How the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will be received compared to the previous films is difficult to say. However, Knuckles has proven the one thing the live-action Sonic franchise has to get right in any installments for it to work, regardless if it’s on the big screen or streaming.

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Knuckles’ Focus On Human Characters Reveals What The Sonic Movies Have Done Right

The Sonic movies found the perfect balance between human and Sonic characters

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The Knuckles series, which has the lowest audience score on Rotten Tomatoes for a live-action Sonic the Hedgehog project, was criticized for focusing too much on human characters. While Sonic and Tails appear at the beginning of Knuckles episode 1, most of the show is dedicated to the dynamic between Knuckles the echidna and Wade, an original character created for the Sonic movies. Knuckles also dedicates significant screen time to Wade’s family, particularly his mother and sister. The relationship between Wade and his father plays an important role in the show too.

Rotten Tomatoes Critics' Score Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score Sonic the Hedgehog 64% 93% Sonic the Hedgehog 2 69% 96% Knuckles 70% 73%

Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik does not appear in Knuckles apart from the recap sequence at the beginning of the show. Instead, the series sees two new, original characters hunting down Knuckles and Wade ahead of the final confrontation against The Buyer, who only joins the action in the finale. Even though there were plenty of Sonic Easter eggs in Knuckles, the show did lack more elements and characters from the franchise’s extensive lore. Knuckles struggled to find the balance between its titular character and the human ones, which confirms the Sonic movies’ greatest strength.

Despite the lack of Sonic locations and characters, the first Sonic the Hedgehog film worked surprisingly well.

The decision to bring Sonic to the real world in a Sonic X type of story for the character’s first live-action movie was not surprising. A live-action Sonic movie would need to include human characters after all, otherwise, it would have made a lot more sense for the project to be an animated feature. Additionally, considering this was going to be the first live-action Sonic project, Sonic the Hedgehog could not dive into the franchise’s lore right from the start. 2020’s Sonic correctly avoided including characters like Tails and Knuckles, focusing instead on the dynamic between Sonic and Tom.

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Despite the lack of Sonic locations and characters, the first Sonic the Hedgehog film worked surprisingly well. The decision to change Sonic’s character design following the disastrous reception of the first trailer proved to be the right one, and the film was widely considered one of the best video game adaptations of all time. Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) found the correct balance between pleasing long-time fans of the character and new audiences, resulting in a film that was bound to be a box office success. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 accomplished something similar, this time with more game characters.

Was Knuckles Really A Supporting Character In His Show?

Knuckles had many human characters, but the echidna wasn’t an afterthought

A lot has been said about how Knuckles was a supporting character on his own show, with some even joking about the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles video game title as a reference to the echidna’s “supporting” role in the series. While the show could have indeed used more of Knuckles, the titular character was not a supporting character. Quite the contrary, Knuckles had a significant amount of screen time, especially considering how expensive it is to have a fully digital character as the protagonist of a live-action show.

Related Knuckles Ending Explained: Knuckles’ Journey & Sonic 3 Set-Up The six episodes of the Knuckles spin-off show are now streaming on Paramount+, complete with an action-packed ending setting up Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

It must be noted that TV shows usually have a smaller budget compared to theatrical movies, meaning it is easier for the Sonic the Hedgehog movies to have CG characters showing up all the time. Considering the limitations of the TV format, Knuckles’ screen time on his show makes a lot of sense. The perception that Knuckles did not appear enough on his show likely comes from episode 4, during which the echidna takes the back seat as Wade goes through a funny, bizarre journey of self-discovery

Knuckles Isn’t The First Sonic Project Criticized For Focusing On Human Characters

Sonic X (and the Sonic movies) have dealt with this too

Custom Image by Robert Pitman

Knuckles may be the first live-action Sonic the Hedgehog TV show, but the franchise has been on television for several years now. Curiously, Knuckles shares some similarities with Sonic X, a 2003 anime series that was also criticized for its focus on human, original characters. Almost two decades before the live-action Sonic films, Sonic X brought the famous hedgehog into the real world in a story that started with Sonic and his friends passing through a portal. Sonic wakes up in a strange world known as Earth, where his friends and Eggman have been sent too.

Sonic X had 78 episodes in total and ran from 2003 to 2006.

Although Sonic X features a lot of characters from the games and faithfully adapts most of them, the show’s protagonist is technically a human, Chris. The story’s point of view shifts between Sonic and Chris, similar to what the live-action movies would eventually do with Sonic and Tom. Knuckles’ use of human characters is nothing new in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, and it highlights how tricky it is to find that balance. Regardless, like Sonic X, Knuckles treated the echidna warrior with respect. Knuckles’ characterization in his live-action series is on point and better than in shows like Sonic Boom.

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 May Put An End To The Franchise’s Biggest Criticism

Sonic 3 is described as “the one for all real diehard Sonic fans”

Image via Paramount+

Even before Knuckles, the live-action Sonic franchise was already having to deal with criticisms about the focus on human characters and lack of lore-related storylines. However, between Keanu Reeves’ Shadow the Hedgehog casting and the return of a now video-game-accurate Dr. Robotnik, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is shaping up to be the series’ biggest movie yet. According to Idris Elba (via Collider), who plays Knuckles in this live-action universe, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will have a lot of Easter eggs and is “the one for all the real diehard Sonic fans.”

I can tease nothing. No, seriously. I don't even know what's gonna happen in it. No, I'm joking. I can tell you that it's super exciting. I can tell you that it really does get deeper into the universe of Sonic. I think 3’s probably the one for all the real diehard Sonic fans. They're gonna get all of those Easter eggs in it. Jim is incredible, man. What a performance. It’s so great to work against, even though I'm never there with him, but I get to hear his voice. Bomb.

Elba’s Sonic 3 tease suggests the franchise is shifting toward more game-accurate storylines, which makes sense now that it has proven to be a box office hit among both fans of the source material and general audiences. The Sonic series has earned the right to dive deeper into the saga’s lore, similar to how the Marvel Cinematic Universe started with relatively realistic films before incorporating time travel, magic, and alternate universes. Sonic the Hedgehog’s transition into something closer to the games is happening organically, which is why Knuckles’ “lack of Knuckles” isn’t really a problem.

Sources: Collider

Stream Knuckles on Paramount+