Everyone knows that Sonic the Hedgehog runs fast, but just exactly how fast does he run in his new movie? Using Sonic the Hedgehog’s new trailer and a little bit of math, the live-action speed of gaming’s favorite hedgehog has been calculated, and the answer is rather surprising.

Sonic has long been known for three things: running fast, foiling the schemes of Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik, and having a lot of anthropomorphic friends. Now, he’s known for one more after his live-action redesign was so criticized that he’s getting a redesign ahead of the film’s release. Fans, and even Sonic the Hedgehog franchise co-creator Yuji Naka, are understandably celebrating the death of the trailer iteration of the Blue Blur, despite the change likely incurring significant human cost. However, now that the issue of his appearance has thankfully been put to rest, it’s time to get back to the raw agility that makes Sonic such a unique character.

On a live-streamed episode of the science-focused Because Science YouTube series, host Kyle Hill dissects the recent Sonic the Hedgehog trailer in order to calculate just how fast the live-action version of the cocky mascot can run. Paying special attention to the early segment during which Sonic runs down a two-lane highway, Hill uses the approximate distance between the highway’s dividing lines and the film’s 24 frames-per-second frame rate in order to estimate Sonic’s speed to be in the ballpark of 108 and 162 meters per second. When converted to the customary system, that’s a whopping 341 to 362 miles per hour! People can say what they will about movie Sonic’s looks, but the film certainly seems to be doing the character’s trademark speed justice.

Referencing his speed, Hill remarks that the live-action version of the Sega mascot should actually be called “Subsonic the Hedgehog” as that speed is well below the actual speed of sound, which eclipses Sonic’s onscreen speed at 767 miles per hour. Though Hill was only jesting, his joke raises the legitimate question of how consistently Sonic’s speed might be portrayed throughout the film, as it’s not clear if fans have yet to actually witness the hedgehog hit his top speed in footage shown so far. It’s a fair guess that the scene in which Sonic drums on Dr. Robotnik’s missile-armed drones is the fastest he’s been seen to go so far, but his actual speed is hard to determine as the scene is mostly near-static (except for Sonic’s movements) and there aren’t reliable frames of reference by which to compare Sonic’s speed to that of the missiles.

Though Sonic’s top speed likely remains unknown for now, perhaps Hill can take another crack at quantifying precisely what Sonic means when he says “gotta go fast” when Sonic the Hedgehog hits theaters in November. Fortunately for Hill and all other prospective viewers, Sonic will probably look much less disturbing by then.

Next: Tommy Wiseau Wants In On The Sonic Movie - As Shadow The Hedgehog

Source: Because Science

  • Sonic the Hedgehog Release Date: 2020-02-14