Sonic the Hedgehog
NZ release: 28 May 2020
Parental guidance recommeded for younger viewers Rated on: 28 June 2020
What’s it about?
A scientist with evil intentions discovers an extraterrestrial hedgehog and plans to exploit its superpowers for his own selfish gain.
The facts
- Directed by Jeff Fowler
- Stars Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Jim Carrey and Tika Sumpter
- English language
- Runtime: 98 minutes
- Based on the Sega video game by the same name
Why did it get this rating?
This film was cross-rated by the Film and Video Labelling Body. You can find out more about cross-rating here.
Violence
There’s a bit of violence, including weapons like missiles, arrows, drones, bullets and laser beams, as well as some physical fistfights with punching. No blood is shown. Some of the moments to look out for include:
- Two characters are pushed off a building, however they are saved before anything happens to them.
- Drones cut through the top of a moving car while a family is inside, causing it to spin around.
- During a bar fight, characters throw punches at each other. A man gets thrown into a window.
- A character is shot by a laser beam and falls from a building, hitting trees on the way down.
- A character is shot in the leg with tranquiliser and faints.
Mild language
A character says “son of a -”, but the sentence cuts off. There are two uses of the word “hell” and one character says “bon sang” which means “damn it” in French.
Sad scenes (spoiler)
- Sonic is knocked out by an explosion. He appears to be dead for a short time but turns out to be fine.
- At the start of the film, Sonic’s parental figure is shot in the chest with an arrow. After they tell Sonic to go through a portal by himself, he runs and then turns back but the portal has closed. It is implied that this character dies.
When content stays with you
We all have our boundaries, and it’s completely okay if something you’ve watched is weighing on your mind. If certain content lingers with you, consider having a chat with friends or whānau to debrief about what you’ve just seen. But if you’re still feeling affected, please reach out to any of the following helplines for support.
