![]() “The Blue Blur: Origins of Sonic” looks back at the Blue Blur’s hedgehog history, primarily in - where else? - video games. Carrey and the crew discuss how they see the character and portrayed him in the film, how much fun it was performing the role, and the joy of working with a star like Carrey (which Sonic himself, and I don’t mean Schwartz, comments on). “Building Robotnik with Jim Carrey” is pretty much what you think it is. (Makes you wonder if the traffic on that street is slower than in other parts of town.) They also talk a little about how they had to try to adapt the elements and iconography for the big screen, such as the obvious Green Hills, MT, and the less-obvious “Marble Street” within, which was done as a nod to the Marble Zone. “For the Love of Sonic” features the cast and crew talking about their affinity for the little bundle of blue, both as a video game character and as a cultural icon. Sure, it’s on YouTube now, but who knows what the future may bring? If the loop on the menu wasn’t enough, then you can watch and listen to the full version of Wiz Khalifa’s “Speed Me Up” music video. Love ’em or hate ’em, it’s at least fun to see what Jim Carrey does when he flubs a line. Finally, if you can’t get enough of Rachel and Wade, they’ve got an added scene as well. Then there’s the alternate opening, a different sequence showing how Sonic came to Earth (and not alone), using early rough models featuring the original designs. Crazy Carl’s famous drawing scene is expanded upon as more than a montage, and adds a bit of depth and weight to Tom’s decision to leave Green Hills. ![]() These are pretty cool, as they go from adding additional context to certain aspects of the film to showing a different version of what might have been. Then we have the big one: Deleted scenes. It’s not super long - a little longer than 80 seconds, but not by much. The next feature is “Around the World in 80 Seconds,” which is the full version of the clip you might have seen above, with Sonic narrating a notebook doodle-styled cartoon recapping a trip he took around the world (in 80 seconds). They point out Easter Eggs, talk about behind-the-scenes stuff, and even drop some bits of trivia - such as Fowler having worked for Blur Studios in California, where one of the first things he worked on was the cinematic scenes for Shadow the Hedgehog, helping to establish a relationship with SEGA and reaching this point. This was enjoyable, in part because Ben had apparently not seen the final cut of the movie yet when they recorded this (no, not even that part). The top feature is to run the movie with commentary track from director Jeff Fowler and Ben “Sonic” Schwartz playing over it. The menu is kind of neat, featuring the same pixel animation (or one very similar) seen during the credits, complete with a short version of “Speed Me Up” from the movie’s soundtrack playing over it. Getting into the contents of the discs themselves, the 4K Ultra HD disc seems to just have the movie and commentary, while the Blu-ray has that and everything else. As I found out only too late after ordering mine from Amazon, word came to me that Walmarts north of the border carry it. In the States, it’s exclusive to Best Buy, but no such luck here in Canada. Incidentally, there’s also a Steelbook version available out there. If this is a “steel” book, then does that make this version a “metal Sonic”? One side is pushing Team Sonic Racing, Sonic Forces, and Sonic Mania to new fans of the Blue Blur, while the other side invites you to play Sonic Forces: Speed Battle and Sonic Dash on mobile, and to visit the SEGA Shop for official Sonic the Hedgehog movie merchandise. ![]() Of greater interest to parties here, I suspect, is the two-sided flyer advertising various Sonic and SEGA stuff. In addition to the discs, there are two inserts: One (not pictured) is a two-sided flyer with ads for some of Paramount’s other recent releases on one side, and the code with instructions on how to redeem it for the digital version on the other. ![]() Anyway, the disc didn’t seem to be damaged, so let’s all hope for the best for future me. Maybe that future-proofing wasn’t such a great idea in hindsight point for digital, I guess. When I opened it up, the 4K Ultra HD disc was already off the spindle, which has sadly become all-too commonplace with these things. It’s not of particularly high quality or anything average, really.
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