This is an overall review for six episodes of the Sonic movie spin-off series titled Knuckles, releasing on Paramount Plus this April 26, 2024.
Knuckles is a very wacky and imaginative comedy to watch; it’s like watching a mixture of Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004), The Mighty Boosh and Ms. Marvel series, combined with what the Sonic movies already brought to the table.
This series also has the typical jolly and hyperactive acting of a kids show, and just as the summary describes that ‘Knuckles agrees to train Wade’; these episodes do mostly appear to be Wade-centric.
However, Wade (Adam Pally) is an entertaining lead; Pally delivers a really enjoyable performance with a high level of positive energy that he has brought to the role. It’s a fun journey to follow his character development throughout these six episodes, with Idris Elba’s Knuckles tagging along for a bizarre action adventure, filled with humourous lines.
As for some of the antagonists, I didn’t find these to be all that interesting, especially compared to seeing Jim Carrey’s Doctor Robotnik in two movies. The goals of these antagonists were also quite unoriginal; repeating a similiar yet watered-down plot to the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie.
There were a lot of wildly creative choices which sometimes appeared almost like a 4th wall break, and the CG is just as good as the films. The casting of Julian Barratt and Cary Elwes was an excellent idea. Barratt is brilliant at delivering a variety of comical character performances, which at most times still felt like The Mighty Boosh-esque. Cary Elwes’ performance is an entertaining and amusing addition too.
Overall, the series steers away to focus on human characters, leaving Knuckles to be more like a supporting character who pops in and out of the series. It was a fun show regardless for what was presented for the most part, however it’s just not the best direction to go with. The rushed ending also isn’t much of payoff.
Check out the trailer for Knuckles series, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 teaser and Shadow game in this article.