(Paramount Pictures/Sega/Paramount+.)
‘’Knuckles’’ is the latest series from Paramount+ in association with SEGA, based on the classic video game franchise, Sonic The Hedgehog. The show is a spin-off of the Sonic films, the first ‘’Sonic the Hedgehog’’ released in Feb. 2020, with the sequel, ‘’Sonic the Hedgehog 2’’ released in April 2022, both were smash hits among audiences worldwide.
‘’Knuckles’’ focuses on the deuteragonist, Knuckles the Echidna (voiced by Idris Elba) introduced in the sequel as the character adapts to life on Earth, amongst humans with his only alien counterparts being Sonic and Tails. After saving the world, Knuckles grows tired of having to adhere to Earth’s customs while living in Green Hills and seeks to find excitement and fulfillment in his life by honoring his roots being part of the Echidna clan; it is through spiritual guidance that Knuckles realizes that he can achieve this by teaching Wade Whipple (played by Adam Pally), the local bumbling deputy to become a ‘’warrior.’’ This leads to a hilarious journey which involves major reflection and self-realization to find one’s true strengths all while enduring bowling tournaments, binging 90s films, Shabbat dinners, abandonment issues, and rock operas. Knuckles is a midquel, set between the second and the third upcoming film in the series, ‘’Sonic the Hedgehog 3’’ due to release on Dec. 20.
Knuckles has been a fan-favorite character ever since he was introduced in the 1994 Sega Genesis game, ‘’Sonic & Knuckles’’ to rave reviews, leading it to be the best-selling game overall for the Genesis platform. With his brute strength and blunt demeanor, this version is akin to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of Drax the Destroyer from the “Guardians of the Galaxy’’ films. This take on the character is by far the best among other Sonic media as a voice actor and executive producer, Idris Elba captures the clueless and reckless nature of the character perfectly not pulling his punches with his comedic jabs and steely delivery of lines.
The series plays upon the unconventional mashup of the buddy cop and road trip-style comedies as seen in the first film, with Wade Whipple as the main human, taking the place of Tom Wachowski (played by James Marsden), Whipple is the comedic foil to the hard-hitting Knuckles as they constantly butt heads on how to become a warrior. Unknownst to them, on their trail are two rogue G.U.N. agents, Agent Mason (played by Scott Mescudi aka ‘’Kid Cudi’’) and Agent Willoughby (played by Ellie Taylor) who seek to capture Knuckles and sell him to a mysterious buyer, a former accomplice of Doctor Ivo Robotnik (played by Jim Carrey in the films).
Adam Pally is hilarious as the clueless deputy with a heart of gold as he truly admires the Echidna much to his chagrin, he excels in the tremendous bouts of physical comedy combined with action as Wade is the underdog that you want to root for.
Knuckles is reminiscent of the straight-to-VHS/DVD sequels of feature films from the late 90s and early 00s, yet is more elevated both in style and substance as the film maintains the cinematography, CGI animation, special effects, and action that the series is known for, yet feels as it if could have been released to the theaters. Each episode has a different director that packs a different punch to each episode, the first was directed by the Sonic films director, Jeff Fowler, with the following episodes directed by Ged Wright, Brandon Trost, Jorma Taccone, and Carol Banker. Episode 4, ‘’The Flames of Disaster’’ is a standout episode as Jorma Taccone is bursting with the influence of his work from The Lonely Island and SNL with an impromptu rock opera taking place in the middle of a bowling alley.
The only fault with the show is that for it to be ‘’Knuckles’’ there is not much featured of the titular character, with Wade and his family taking up much of the screen time in the second half of the series, culminating in a forgettable final battle with a forgettable villain. While Wade is a charming and funny character, his character seems to dominate the screen more than the fiery Red echidna. The reasons why are unknown, but to even reference the video game and fandom meme of ‘’& Knuckles,’’ the show could have been titled ‘’Wade & Knuckles.’’ However, do not let this deter you, as this show is a quick binge-watch, comprising six 30-minute-long episodes with lots of fun needle drops and easter eggs for both loyal and casual Sonic fans to enjoy, totaling a whopping three hours of all killer, no filler.
“Knuckles” is 4 emeralds out of 5.
Zipporah Pruitt, (she/her) is an L.A. homegrown journalist, who covers entertainment and culture. Follow her on X and Instagram: @zippzapps.
Edited by Nykeya Woods