Any Sonic the Hedgehog movie that included Shadow and didn’t have Crush 40’s “Live and Learn” would have been a monumental misfire. While it’s not the key to the film’s huge success this weekend (it managed to topple Mufasa: The Lion King with ease), even director Jeff Fowler understands how important the song is to Sonic fans. In one new interview with GamesRadar+Fowler admitted that there was “no version” of the film that did not feature the iconic song.
“You turn on your Dreamcast and Sonic Adventure 2 and the first thing you hear is licks from ‘Live and Learn’ and Crush 40,” Fowler told the outlet. “I just felt like there was no version of this where we weren’t going to make it a strong presence in the film.” Fowler jokes that the fans would have chased him, but his statement is true. The song is very integral to Shadow’s identity and has taken on a life of its own outside of its original game.
Personally, I’ve never been big on Sonic’s 3D games, but Sonic Adventure 2 is certainly one of the better attempts to translate the Blue Blur into the third dimension. Not only does it have tons of confidence, but a kitschy style that gilds you. I still think Shadow is a bit of a dud when it comes to characterization, but he’s become a fan favorite for a very clear reason: he has a shockingly tragic backstory. You can understand his pain very well, even though we common people can’t teleport around.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is now in theaters and has grossed $63.3 million so far the global ticket office (at the time of writing).
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance game and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is matched only by the size of his collection.
