Sonic the Hedgehog 2’s voice actor and Parks & Rec star, Ben Schwartz, reveals his favorite Sonic character, and surprisingly, it isn’t Sonic.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2‘s Ben Schwartz shares his favorite character from the Sonic universe. Schwartz voices the titular character in the sequel to his 2020 video game inspired hit about a blue anthropomorphic super-powered alien hedgehog stuck on Earth. In the upcoming film, the evil Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) returns to Earth with Knuckles, a red echidna, in search of the Master Emerald, a crystal powerful enough to destroy civilizations. Sonic joins forces with his Fox sidekick Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) and must find the Emerald before it falls into the wrong hands.
First created for a 1991 Sega Genesis video game baring his name, Sonic became one of the biggest characters in the industry, rivaling that of Nintendo’s Mario. The immensely popular game quickly spawned a series of sequels that continues to this day, with each game expanding on the original’s premise and in-universe lore. Sonic grew into a multimedia franchise spawning comics, television shows, and eventually live-action films. As Sonic’s universe grew through video games and television shows, more and more animal characters joined Sonic on his adventures. While Tails and Knuckles are his two most well-known sidekicks, Sonic has crossed paths with dozens of others that either became his friend or foe.
In a recent interview with The Digital Fix, Sonic the Hedgehog voice actor, Schwartz, revealed his favorite Sonic character, and it wasn’t Sonic. Schwartz singled out Big the Cat as his most beloved character throughout the franchise. Even though Schwartz holds Big as a personal favorite, he still recognizes Sonic’s significance and cherishes the opportunity to the play the iconic character. Read what he said below:
“To me growing up, you know, me playing video games my whole life, but also being introduced to video games in the late ’80s, in the early ’90s, Sonic to me is one of the most iconic video game characters of all time. So, the idea that I get to voice this character that has had such an incredible lineage and has such great VO actors along the path to here, it’s been amazing.”
Originally debuting in 1998’s Sonic Adventure for the short-lived Sega Dreamcast, Big the Cat is a large dim-witted but good-natured Mobian cat from Sonic’s home world and has been a franchise regular. The character has appeared in multiple video games as well as in the Sonic X Japanese animated television series. Due to his superhuman strength, he has been one of Sonic’s strongest and most valuable allies throughout his adventures.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 appears to be bigger than the first film, in regard to its action as well as its inclusion of the greater Sonic lore. With director Jeff Fowler explaining that films won’t closely follow the Sonic video games’ plot, and Tails and Knuckles’ joining the fight, it appears to only be the beginning of a possible influx of more live-action Sonic characters, leaving the door open for Schwartz’s favorite, Big the Cat. With a second sequel set and a Knuckles spin-off planned, there is no slowing down for this franchise. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 hits theaters on April 8.
Source: The Digital Fix
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)Release date: Apr 08, 2022
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