Sonic the Hedgehog zooms onto Netflix with the new CG animated series Sonic Prime. It premieres this Thursday December 15th. Deven Mack, the new voice of Sonic, and executive producer Logan McPherson are excited to share this cool, dramatic, action-packed and energetic entry in the SEGA saga. (This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: Deven, you’re joining this universe. What does it take to get into the mindset of this iconic character?

Deven Mack: Well for Sonic, I think it’s all about having that kind of swagger and confidence. He’s all about being “too cool for school”. But sometimes he’s so used to being the guy that he takes things and the people around him for granted. This show’s story is very much about exploring how that can affect him and how he’s gonna have to look within himself and reflect on the way he’s done things and say, “Hey maybe this isn’t really the best way to do things.” A lot of really cool stuff to explore there. I’ve had fun being able to dive into it.

JM: That’s awesome. Certainly an eye-opening experience for Sonic as we get into the first couple episodes. Logan, what were your goals in presenting how Sonic (and we) see some of the characters — and this world — in new ways?

Logan McPherson: We really wanted to stretch the limits of Sonic as a character and explore the existing characters from the mythology and the property in different ways that audiences have never seen before. It was important that while we honor the mythology and the show is canon (and we represent that in Green Hill when the story starts), once we get into the Shatterverse, the shackles are off and we’re exploring and pushing our limits in ways I don’t think audiences have seen before. They’re gonna see another side of Sonic, where he evolves and experiences some self-growth. Of course he’ll always be Sonic. He’ll never change his core fundamentals. But we’re gonna see him experience some new layers and some new levels, and he’s gonna see a whole world that is upside down that instantaneously has a past and a present that he wasn’t in. It’s a mind-blowing experience for him and hopefully for the audience as well.

JM: It’s a lot to take in. I was talking with some kindergarteners the other day and one of them said he loves the two blockbuster Sonic movies. The third one’s out in two years and [he] can’t wait for this show. Deven, what do you think is the appeal of Sonic for all ages?

DM: It’s that larger than life personality. That’s very much what drew me to Sonic as that shy kid. He’d be out there like, “Yeah! Don’t worry guys! We can do it!” No matter how grim or dark things get, he’s always got that sense of hope and optimism. Me being a shy kid, I kind of gravitated to that, thinking, “Man, I gotta get like that, though!” And now here we are and I did get like that. (laughs) So, you never really know how things are gonna go.

Executive producer Logan McPherson, actor Deven Mack, and Jackson Murphy

JM: You got it! Logan, let me ask you about a couple visual things I love: the lightning charges on Sonic’s shoes and the constant blue glow as he’s speeding by. Technically, how are you guys able to pull that off? It looks so good.

LM: Thanks! The visual effects side of things was really important. SEGA is known for innovation. Sonic himself was innovative when he came out at the time. So that was the forefront of our approach. We really wanted to bring a high level of production value and quality to the project as we were going along and ensure it was supporting the story in very dynamic and innovative ways. So yes, the shoe glows, comp treatment, the blurs, the tornado, the way we depict the spin dash… we spent a ton of time doing research and development and effects to make sure that stuff was eye-popping. And hopefully the fans appreciate that as well… and they get to see some of those classic moves presented in a slightly more modern way with how he’s interacting with the worlds.

JM: Eye-popping for sure. When it comes to Sonic, Mario and other video game characters, you play these games when you’re young, in the modern CG ways the characters look… and I’ve always thought with some of them, “Gosh, it would be great to see them in series or movies in these ways.” Deven, did you ever get those feelings?

DM: Oh yeah. Absolutely. The thing for me with Sonic is: I didn’t really grow up with the games as a little kid. I didn’t actually own a system to play them on until we had “Sonic Adventure 2: Battle” when I was a teen. So my introduction to Sonic was much more so with the animated series, with “Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog”. At the same time, it’s cool that there’s so much media out there with this character. There are so many different entry points for so many people to be able to get into the character and to be inspired by these adventures. It’s great that this character’s been able to carry on for 30 years, just because there’s so many things that you can look at or play in order to get into it.

JM: Definitely. And Logan, in one of the first couple episodes there is an old school video game-style flashback scene. Without giving it all away, what was the thought behind that little surprise?

LM: It’s a faithful moment to the moment that actually happens in the game. We wanted to bring that back in the way it originally existed. And there’s another side to that story that another character gets involved with. So we wanted to also bring it forward and springboard off the mythology that exists and present something a little different that’s unique to our world. We’re really excited about that element and hope fans enjoy it as well. There’s this moment with Tails. There’s also this moment with Knuckles that goes back into that 16-bit style flashback. There’s a few of those along the way for, hopefully, fans to enjoy.

JM: Good! Very cool to look at. With this show, Sonic is going on such a life-changing journey. What would you say is the highlight of this life-changing journey?

DM: For me, it’s exploring his dynamic with this Shatterverse version of Tails that had never met him before in New Yoke City. One of the things that I’ve connected with the most in Sonic is his desire to be a really, really good role model — to be the best friend he can. To meet his best friend, the person that he inspired the most, and to have them not recognize him, and to see how they’ve evolved on their own without Sonic in his life, that’s something I really really enjoyed exploring. And the emotion between the two of them was something very genuine for me. I’m like, “Oh my gosh! Tails! What happened? We gotta fix that!” And then that’s what Sonic sort of goes through as well. What I’m reading in the script is very much what you’re getting in the performance. That’s how I genuinely reacted.

LM: There are so many elements. That’s certainly one — the way Sonic… he’s responsible for the situation and for losing his best friend. And then to find him in this world and for them to not recognize him. There’s so many agonizing moments for Sonic as he self-reflects on how his actions contributed to the situation. It’s this amazing redemption story where Sonic’s gotta clean up his mess and figure out how to clean up his mess, but also along the way he learns about not only himself but his friends… in terms of their value and what they bring to the table and how much he appreciates their contributions. It’s quite a huge story in that respect and it’s one of the things I think is really unique. We get to see Sonic in a different light.

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Jackson Murphy

Jackson Murphy is a movie critic and entertainment columnist. He is the creator of the website Lights-Camera-Jackson.com, and has made numerous appearances on television and radio.

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