You remember that first trailer. The one with the teeth. It wasn't just the nightmare-fuel design of the Blue Blur that set the internet on fire—it was the music choice. "Gangsta’s Paradise" by Coolio. People were confused. It felt like a relic of the nineties trying too hard to be edgy. But honestly? Once the movie actually hit theaters in 2020 after that massive redesign, the sonic the movie soundtrack turned out to be something way more calculated and effective than just a nostalgia grab. It’s a weird, high-energy mix of orchestral swells and radio-friendly pop-rap that somehow pins down the vibe of a lonely alien who just wants a friend.
Finding the right sound for a video game adaptation is a minefield. You have thirty years of iconic 16-bit melodies to live up to. If you ignore them, fans revolt. If you rely on them too much, the movie feels like a hollow tribute act. Tom Holkenborg, better known as Junkie XL, was the guy tasked with walking that tightrope.
The Junkie XL Approach to a Blue Hedgehog
Holkenborg isn't a stranger to high-octane scores. He did Mad Max: Fury Road. He did Deadpool. He knows how to write music that feels like a car crash in slow motion, which is basically what Sonic is when he's at full tilt. But for the sonic the movie soundtrack, he had to dial back the grit. He used a massive orchestral palette but layered in these bright, synth-heavy textures that scream "Sega."
It’s fast.
The track "Speed Me Up" became the flagship single, featuring Wiz Khalifa, Ty Dolla $ign, Lil Yachty, and Sueco the Child. It’s a very "corporate-approved" hip-hop track, sure. But it captures that frantic, sugar-rush energy that defines the character. Usually, these kinds of tie-in songs feel tacked on. This one actually stayed in your head.
Wait, did you notice the subtle nods to Masato Nakamura’s original game music? They are buried deep. Most people missed them on the first watch. In the track "Green Hill Zone," Holkenborg weaves in those classic chords just enough to trigger a dopamine hit in anyone who owned a Genesis in 1991. It’s subtle. It doesn't beat you over the head with "Look! It's the thing you remember!" It respects the source material without being a slave to it.
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Why "Speed Me Up" Was More Than Just Marketing
The music industry has this habit of throwing random rappers at a movie project and seeing what sticks. Sometimes you get "Men in Black," and sometimes you get something forgettable. With the sonic the movie soundtrack, the lead single "Speed Me Up" was a massive play for the younger demographic. The music video featured 16-bit animations of the artists, bridging the gap between the old-school gamers and the TikTok generation.
It worked.
The song wasn't just a background filler. It set the tone for the marketing campaign. It told the audience that this wasn't a slow, self-serious superhero movie. It was a comedy-adventure. The rhythm is relentless. It mimics Sonic’s heartbeat. When you’re running at Mach 1, your life doesn't have a slow acoustic guitar soundtrack. It has a pounding, bass-heavy thumping that makes your teeth rattle.
The Emotional Core (Yeah, Really)
Despite all the talk about speed and hip-hop, the best parts of the score are the quiet ones. Sonic is an orphan. He’s an exile. He’s spent years watching humans from a distance, playing baseball by himself. Holkenborg uses a lot of "shimmering" sounds here. Woodwinds and soft synths. It makes the world feel big and Sonic feel very, very small.
- "He is My Friend" – This track is the emotional anchor. It’s soft, building slowly into a triumphant orchestral theme.
- "But Alone" – This is where the loneliness hits. It’s stripped back.
- "The Dash" – Pure adrenaline.
The contrast matters. If the whole movie sounded like a rave, you wouldn’t care about the character. By grounding the faster moments with these orchestral beats, the soundtrack makes you actually give a damn about a blue CGI hedgehog.
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Jim Carrey and the Villainous Synth
We have to talk about Robotnik. Jim Carrey went full 90s-Carrey for this role, and the music had to match that energy. For Robotnik’s theme, Holkenborg went much darker and more electronic. It’s jagged. It sounds like machinery grinding together. It’s a stark contrast to Sonic’s "natural" speed sounds.
The "Robotnik’s Theme" track is heavy on the brass. It’s pompous. It perfectly mirrors a guy who thinks he’s the smartest person in the room but is actually just a giant ego in a flight suit. The way the music interacts with Carrey’s physical comedy is a masterclass in scoring. When he dances in his lab—the "Evil Plotting" scene—the music is perfectly synced to his erratic movements. It’s almost Looney Tunes-esque but with a modern, gritty edge.
The Missing Pieces
One major criticism from hardcore Sega fans was the lack of more direct remixes. Where was "Live and Learn"? Why didn't we get a high-definition version of the "Chemical Plant Zone" theme?
It’s a fair point.
The filmmakers clearly wanted to establish a new identity first. They didn't want the movie to be a "Greatest Hits" album. They wanted it to be a movie that featured Sonic. By the time we get to the sequel, they start leaning harder into the legacy music, but this first outing was about building a foundation. It was a gamble. Some would say it was a missed opportunity, but others argue it saved the movie from being too "inside baseball" for general audiences.
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How to Experience the Score Properly
If you're just listening to the sonic the movie soundtrack on a phone speaker, you're missing half the work. Holkenborg is a producer who obsesses over low-end frequencies.
- Use decent headphones. You need to hear the sub-bass in the action sequences.
- Listen to the track "Doctor Drone." It’s a rhythmic masterpiece that uses industrial sounds as percussion.
- Compare it to the Sonic 2 score. You can hear how the themes evolve as the world gets bigger.
The soundtrack isn't just a collection of songs. It's a narrative tool. From the opening "Green Hill Zone" tribute to the final credits, it tells the story of a kid finding his place. It’s messy, it’s loud, and it’s surprisingly heartfelt.
Real Talk: It Shouldn't Have Worked
On paper, mixing Junkie XL with Wiz Khalifa and 90s synth-pop sounds like a disaster. It sounds like a project designed by a committee of people who haven't played a video game since 1994. But in practice? It’s one of the more cohesive soundtracks for a family film in recent years. It avoids the trap of being too "kiddy" while still maintaining a sense of fun.
The sonic the movie soundtrack managed to do what the character design eventually did: it found the middle ground between old-school cool and modern relevance. It’s not a masterpiece of high art, but it’s a perfect reflection of its subject.
If you want to dive deeper into how this music came together, start by listening to the "Sonic the Hedgehog" suite by Junkie XL. It’s a ten-minute distillation of everything that makes the character work. You can hear the gears turning, the feet hitting the pavement, and that weird, unshakeable optimism that has kept Sonic relevant for over three decades.
To get the most out of your listening experience, try tracking down the vinyl release if you can find it. The artwork is stellar, and the analog warmth actually suits the synth-heavy tracks better than a compressed stream. After that, go back and watch the "Speed Me Up" music video. Look for the pixel art cameos. It’s a reminder that even when movies are big, expensive corporate products, the people making them usually have a lot of love for the original pixels.