The Sonic the Hedgehog movie soundtrack features a few on-the-nose song choices as well as a couple tunes lifted from the video games themselves. Starring Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic, James Marsden as his best friend, Tom Wachowski, and Jim Carrey as the evil Dr. Robotnik, Sonic the Hedgehog is only the latest movie adapting a popular video game character for the big screen.
Based on SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, the film loosely adapts the premise of the games in that Sonic is a blue hedgehog who can run at super sonic speeds. In the film, he comes to Earth to escape a threat back on his home world, traveling with the help of magic rings that can open portals to other planets. The rings are one of many elements the films includes from the video games, but they’re tweaked in order to fit the movie’s narrative. Still, while not the most accurate of video game adaptations, Sonic the Hedgehog does manage to perfectly capture the chaotic energy of its star.
Sonic the Hedgehog‘s score is composed by Thomas Holkenborg, the Mad Max: Fury Road composer better known to many as Junkie XL. Sonic‘s score never quite reaches the high octane levels of Holkenborg’s previous scores, but it’s a good fit for the blue furry speedster all the same. As for the songs featured in Sonic the Hedgehog, here’s every one that plays in the movie:
- “Friends” – Hyper Potion
- “Don’t Stop Me Now” – Queen
- “Flight of the Valkyries” – Jim Carrey
- “All Fired Up” – The Lazys
- “White Lightning” – Tennessee River Crooks
- “Bad News” – Ghost Hounds
- “I’m Turnin’ ‘Em Up” – Wyley Randall
- “Love In The City” – John Christopher Stokes
- “Boom” – X Ambassadors
- “Where Evil Grows” – The Poppy Family featuring Terry Jacks
- “Catch Me I’m Falling” – Kelly Finnigan
- “Green Hill Zone” – Jon Batiste
- “Speed Me Up” – Wiz Khalifa,Ty Dolla $ign, Lil Yachty, and Sueco the Child
The first song heard in Sonic the Hedgehog is definitely one for the fans. The tune is “Friends” by Hyper Potions and it is the opening theme for the game, Sonic Mania. In the film, the song plays as Baby Sonic is racing around on his home planet. Later on, Sonic is living in secret on Earth, and beginning with a scene in where he takes a turtle on a high speed run and leading into a montage of Sonic’s daily routine, Queen’s classic “Don’t Stop Me Now” plays. Not long after, Dr. Robotnik is introduced and at one point can be heard whistling a snippet of Richard Wagner’s “Flight of the Valkyries”.
While Sonic and Tom are on the run, they make a stop at a roadside bar called the Piston Pit. While there, Sonic checks off a few items on his bucket list while a collection of rock and country songs can be heard, including “All Fired Up” by The Lazys and “I’m Turnin’ ‘Em Up” by Wyley Randall. A bar fight also breaks out at the Piston Pit, during which Sonic moves so fast he leaves everyone else standing still. Accompanying this scene is the track “Boom” by X Ambassadors. The film next checks back in with Dr. Robotnik as he experiments on one of Sonic’s quills while dancing to “Where Evil Grows” by The Poppy Family.
In the film’s final act, Sonic again moves at super speed through a scene where Tom and Maddie are falling from the roof of the Transamerica Pyramid building and Robotnik fires a barrage of missiles. Kelly Finnigin’s “Catch Me I’m Falling” plays through the scene, but Sonic fans will also recognize the little tune the hedgehog plays when banging on the frozen missiles as the level complete music from the video games. Once Robotnik is defeated and life returns to normal in Green Hills, Montana, Jon Batiste’s jazz rendition of the game’s “Green Hill Zone” song is heard. And finally, “Speed Me Up” by Wiz Khalifa,Ty Dolla $ign, Lil Yachty, and Sueco the Child – a song written specifically for Sonic the Hedgehog and containing many Easter eggs to the game series – plays over the movie’s credits.