THE CAST – Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, Krysten Ritter, Natasha Rothwell, Shemar Moore, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Idris Elba & Keanu Reeves

THE TEAM – Jeff Fowler (Director), Pat Casey, Josh Miller & John Whittington (Writers)

THE RUNNING TIME – 110 Minutes

Three films into the “Sonic The Hedgehog” series, it’s hard to believe there was a time, not all that long ago when it seemed any video game adaptation was doomed to failure. Before this franchise, essentially every video game film flopped critically, commercially, or both (usually both). Now, “Sonic The Hedgehog 3” continues the upward trajectory of the series, bringing back all the goofy humor and brightly colored action and adding Keanu Reeves into the mix. What’s not to love?

This third time, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) has found a solid stride alongside all his pals. He, Tails (Colleen Ann O’Shaughnessey), and Knuckles (Idris Elba) have formed a family together, complete with adoptive parents Tom and Maddie (James Marsden and Tika Sumpter). Schwartz’s performance as Sonic never gets old. He makes Sonic feel like a dorky teenager who is still grown enough to be a legitimate hero when needed. And that need strikes early in the film, as G.U.N. Director Rockwell (Krysten Ritter) interrupts a family camping trip to recruit Sonic to help track down a mysterious adversary who has escaped their facility, Shadow (Keanu Reeves). This dark figure seems to have a vendetta against Sonic and G.U.N. and won’t stop until they are destroyed.

Back from presumed death, Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) forms a shaky alliance with Sonic and the team to help find Shadow, but it’s threatened when Robotnik’s long-lost grandpa Gerald (also Carrey) arrives on the scene. It’s fun to see Carrey banter back and forth with himself, and he seems to be genuinely having some fun with both of these roles. Throughout the film, he has a funny running bit, calling Gerald different grandpa-puns, like Grand-Daddio or GrandPop-Tart. His two performances pair well with the addition of Shadow, a darker, seemingly more powerful version of Sonic. His powers really enhance the action this time around, creating more dynamic action sequences than in the first two films. Armed with a pair of rollerskates and the ability to teleport, you never know exactly where he’s going to be in a fight, creating lots of incredible moments for him to demolish Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails. Plus, with Reeves voicing the villain, he’s effortlessly cool, which adds the terrifying mystique.

While the action is a slight step up from the previous films, the jokes in “Sonic The Hedgehog 3” align with the earlier entries, in good ways and bad. The humor is pretty broad and clearly aimed at a younger crowd, meaning it’s often hit or miss. Carrey’s dual roles are a lot of fun to watch, even if the story sometimes halts to give him a few extra seconds for a bit. Most moments with Marsden and Sumpter fall a bit more flat. It’s not the actors’ faults, but material that simply doesn’t suit either of them. Their roles work better when they’re in the parental zone rather than attempting to play superspies. Still, the movie is more hit than miss, to be sure.

The introduction of Shadow doesn’t simply add a new, kickass character to the mix. His story in “Sonic The Hedgehog 3” adds a new layer of depth to the franchise that resonates well. After making deep connections to the human world, Shadow felt abandoned and cast aside, doomed to loneliness forever. Sonic relates to how Shadow’s story began but came out on the other side with a chosen family. It’s a touching story that helps bring some much-needed depth to a world-domination story that gets a little absurd.

What’s most remarkable about this trilogy is how similar each film feels. The tone, the action, the humor—each movie is as good as the last. It’s a compliment to director Jeff Fowler, who has found a winning formula and stuck with it. Even so, each new film adds a new piece to the Sonic story, and they fit perfectly into this lovable family. For that reason, this is the best Sonic movie yet, with promises of more on the horizon. If they can manage to keep the charm of this trilogy going, keep ’em coming.

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THE CAST – Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan Tudyk, Angelique Cabral, Victor Garber, Natasha Rothwell, Jennifer Kumiyama, Harvey Guillén, Evan Peters, Ramy Youssef & Jon Rudnitsky

THE TEAM – Chris Buck, Fawn Veerasunthorn (Directors), Jennifer Lee & Allison Moore (Writers)
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THE RUNNING TIME – 95 Minutes

For the past 100 years, Disney has been a leader in animation, bringing fairy tales to life and inspiring generations of audiences to believe in magic. Countless heartfelt ballads sung about true love and dreams coming alive have left an indelible mark on pop culture worldwide. Now, in the studio’s 100th year, comes “Wish,” a charming culmination of Disney magic. The film is an intentionally self-aware project, calling back to the classic films audiences know and love through its themes and explicit references. It’s a bold move to remix what some may call tired tropes that have served audiences well over the years. However, “Wish” has a winning combination of reinvigorated ideas and gorgeous voice performances, even if everything in the movie does not work perfectly.

Like Disney’s earliest features, the prologue to “Wish” is told through a storybook. After facing a tragedy he couldn’t stop, King Magnifico (magnificently voiced by Chris Pine) dedicated his life to learning all the magic he could so that he might one day grant any wish that came his way from his people. He was successful in this journey and founded a kingdom called Rosas off of the Iberian Peninsula where people could come to live, with the chance that the King might grant their wishes. There’s a catch, of course. As people give their wishes to the King, they instantly forget what that wish was, abandoning any dreams they may have had for the future. Additionally, he doesn’t grant every wish, just one per month or so, treating it as a special privilege for the people of Rosas. Still, the people love their King, and although they may not remember what they wished for, maybe they won’t live with the disappointment of the wish not coming true. At least, that’s how King Magnifico sees it. As Asha (Academy Award-winner Ariana DeBose) interviews to be the King’s assistant, she discovers his nasty little secret: only he can decide which wishes to grant, and only if there’s no possible way it can threaten his power. Thus, hundreds of wishes are left ungranted and unremembered. Devastated, Asha confronts the King, but she’s left powerless to challenge his reign. That is until she wishes upon a star for something to change, and that star comes to life to help her defeat the King and grant all the kingdom’s wishes.

The setup of “Wish” works quite well. While the “wish upon a star” trope is well-trodden, the film freshens up the idea and spins it around in a charmingly optimistic story. It’s not the granting of important wishes that matters, but it’s the hope that lives in people’s hearts that counts. Without wishes, people lose their passions, spark, and light to keep going. Magic may be wonderful, but people should be empowered to make their dreams come true. With this twist, “Wish” challenges the oft-told Disney stories and breathes new life into them. It’s an intriguing concept, even if not everything about the story comes together just right. A plethora of side characters threatens to bog the story down a bit, including one too many sidekicks (Alan Tudyk playing Asha’s goat Valentino has to compete with the sure-to-be money-making character that is Star), and King Magnifico’s turn from magnanimous ruler to evil dictator happens at lightning speed. Still, the film moves at a quick pace, ensuring audiences won’t feel their time was wasted for 95 minutes.

And what would Disney’s 100th anniversary be without music? “This Wish” is the film’s big ballad, luminously sung by DeBose. Written by Julia Michaels, Benjamin Rice, and JP Saxe, the song features grand orchestration with a driving pop beat that fits Asha perfectly. While not all of the songs work quite as well, this is a solid moment bolstered by a beautiful score from Dave Metzger. Other highlights include Pine’s wickedly sinister but dazzling “This Is The Thanks I Get?!” and the rousing anti-authoritative “Knowing What I Know Now.”

Though Disney remains the pinnacle of animation in the entertainment industry, a recent wave of films like “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse,” “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” have showcased a bold, new style into the computer animation space. Disney seems to have taken note, attempting a distinctly “storybook” look and feel for “Wish.” Unfortunately, it yields middling results. The visuals often look cheap and flat, robbing the story of whatever magic it attempted to conjure up with a shockingly bland blend of traditional watercolor and computer animation. Rather than Disney answering the challengers and retaining their crown in the animated world, the visual style of “Wish” makes it look like Disney can’t compete, and will need to return to the drawing board if they want to recapture audiences’ imagination again.

Thankfully, “Wish” mainly works despite the massive misstep in the overall visual presentation. In so many ways, this feels like a lovely distillation of everything audiences have loved about Disney films over the years. However, because of that, it may feel overly familiar, but telling a story of societal resistance towards a selfish, oppressive ruler through the perspective of a woman of color does instill some excitement. Disney fans will likely also love the countless references and hidden gems to other classic films found within the film’s animation and dialogue. There’s just enough magic within “Wish” to win over audiences, even if it’s not shining as brightly as one would wish.

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