Warning: The following contains spoilers for Sonic The Hedgehog 2After the success of Sonic The Hedgehog in theaters in 2020, it was no surprise that a sequel was greenlit. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 does a good job at making a modern family film while still appealing to older fans of the original video games, cartoons, and even the comics. The movie features Easter eggs and references to nearly all of the Sonic projects that have come before it.
This time around, Sonic is supposed to have a relaxing couple of days at home while Tom and Maddie attend Rachel’s wedding. Nothing goes according to plan though as Dr. Robotnik and new ally Knuckles appear on the search for the Master Emerald. Pulling lore and Easter eggs from the games to tell a new story, Sonic 2 sees the blue hedgehog team up with Tails in an attempt to outwit Knuckles and Dr. Robotnik.
Easter Eggs Returning From The First Movie
The first movie was full of plenty of Easter eggs, and there are a few that are present again to maintain continuity - and fun nods.
To start the movie, the Paramount logo of a mountain surrounded by stars becomes a mountain surrounded by Sonic’s gold rings instead. Changing the stars is something the studio has done to theme the opening to different movies in the past. The Ninja Turtles movies, for example, use throwing stars instead of the classic star shape.
Green Hills is still the location Tom, Maddie, and Sonic call home, a nod to the Green Hills Zone of the games. The game zone gets another nod as its theme is actually Tom’s ringtone when his phone goes off at Rachel’s wedding.
Sonic also still has a racecar for a bed, something right out of Sonic’s run in Archie comic books. The design and the number 5 on the car are also a nod to Speedracer, the animated series.
Nods To Classic Game Levels
Just as Green Hills is a nod to the original Sonic, there are plenty more nods to classic game levels during Sonic’s 16-bit era. The first is the Mushroom Planet that Robotnik found himself stranded on in the end of the first movie. It’s a nod to the Mushroom Hill Zone.
When Knuckles makes his way to Green Hills, he crashes right into a truck transporting bottled water that says “Splash Hill” on the side as a nod to the Splash Hill Zone.
Sonic also speeds his way through another classic zone that Knuckles and Robotnik go through ahead of him. The ancient maze under the water is a nod to the Labyrinth Zone. Sound effects used when Sonic runs into a few traps are right out of the game.
The Sonic Adventures Games
Rather than specific game zones being referenced here, the Sonic Adventures games see a lot of homages in action moments instead. Sonic snowboarding on a piece of scrap metal to get away, for example, is similar to the game's action.
When Rachel’s wedding is revealed to be a government undercover operation, it’s for the organization GUN - Guardian Units of Nations - which made its debut in Sonic Adventures 2. Even one of the helicopters has an SA-2 alphanumeric sequence on it in a nod to the game.
Sonic Riders
2006’s Sonic Riders contains the Babylon Rogues, which get something of a nod in the movie when Sonic goes looking for the compass with Tails. The Babylon Rogues are descendants of ancient Babylonians, a real world ancient civilization, and an in-game alien civilization who end up stranded on Earth. They’re bird-like figures, similar to Sonic’s movie guardian Longclaw.
The symbols on the machinery that allows Sonic to get the ancient compass are Babylonian, according to Twitter user UltimaShadowX. Character designer and producer Tyson Hesse provided the information at a movie screening.
Parks And Recreation
The movie has a ton of pop culture references in addition to all of the video game nods. From mentions of Marvel’s Winter Soldier to Youtuber Preston being a volleyball player, there are plenty for fans to spot in the movie. Given that Ben Schwartz, who voices Sonic, played Jean Ralphio in Parks and Recreation, however, a nod to the series seems particularly well-placed.
When Sonic tells the dog that they won’t be watching Snow Buddies because it’s, “the worst,” he uses the same sing-song tone of voice that Schwartz uses as Jean Ralphio.
The Many Eggman Nods
If there’s one character who provides the most video game nods in the movie, it’s the villain Dr. Robotnik. Mean Bean, for starters, isn’t just the lair hidden by Stone while Robotnik is off-planet. It’s a nod to the puzzle game Dr. Eggman’s Mean Bean Machine.
When Stone goes through potential new looks for Robotnik, some of his video game costumes are seen in the options. Stone also gets another Easter egg in his hands as the robot manual he flashes later in the movie looks remarkably like a Sega Genesis manual. Robotnik also uses the Egg-mobile, seen in various games. The Eggman Empire logo is also seen in his lab. Even Robotnik’s Egg Smasher looks like Death Egg, the final antagonist for the Sonic The Hedgehog 2 game.
The Tornado Plane
In the games, Tails doesn’t just like to fly using his tails, but by plane. The plane that Tails commandeers from Rachel’s wedding is the same design. It also features the number 761 on its side, which is a nod to what Sonic’s top speed was originally in the games - 761 miles per hour. The speed is mentioned in the novel Stay Sonic, written by Mike Pattenden.
Speaking of the unit to measure speed, Tails’ real name is revealed in the movie. Though it’s not often used in the games, Miles Prower, a play on the phrase “miles per hour” is Tails’ real name in various Sonic media. Tails is also the only character in the movies (so far) to have his voice actor from the video games, Colleen O'Shaughnessy.
Iconic Knuckles Moves
When Knuckles finally sees Dr. Robotnik’s treachery and teams up with Sonic, the audience gets to see a couple of his iconic video game moves. For one, he throws a spinning Sonic into the fight.
For another, he punches the Emerald right out of Robotnik. That last one is a nod to when he punches Super Sonic in the games, he knocks all of the gems that make up the Emerald right out of Sonic as well. The audience even sees those gems when Sonic gives up the power later in the movie, getting rid of the Super Sonic form the movie nods to when he turns gold.
Sonic’s Hatred Of The Water
A running theme in the movie is just how much Sonic hates water. He can’t swim particularly well, but he just can’t seem to avoid ending up in the water. That’s a nod to how much fans of the games hated the underwater levels of the games.
Underwater levels involved a countdown on screen for the players to keep track of just when Sonic would run out of oxygen. He could avoid running out of oxygen by doing just what he does in the movie - swallowing air bubbles.
Project Shadow
Project Shadow is name-checked in the mid-credits scene as fans get a glimpse of a secret facility with another hedgehog in stasis. That hedgehog is Shadow the Hedgehog, who is essentially the darker mirror of Sonic in the games.
Shadow is sometimes an enemy of Sonic, and sometimes an ally, depending on the situation. It’s likely the character will be set up as the villain of Sonic 3.
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 is currently playing in theaters.