Knuckles review: Sonic’s sidekick gets his own show

It sure seems like a lot of classic cartoon characters have found their way to Paramount+, from the Paw Patrol narcs to good old SpongeBob. The streamer also hosts the two most recent films about a certain famous blue hedgehog, so naturally his pal Knuckles’ spinoff series would premiere on the platform—on April 26, to be precise—as well. But save for the very expository first episode, Sonic himself doesn’t appear in Knuckles, as the alien boys’ movie dad James Marsden is conveniently “out of town” for the whole thing and Jim Carrey (barely back for the third installment of the film franchise) is absent as well. And whereas the Sonic Boom Knuckles is a bit of a knucklehead, the Idris Elba-voiced version is more of a “knuckle up” guy (consistent with the games). Can this brooding red echidna really carry a series? The answer is: yes—mostly.

After repeatedly terrorizing construction teams, who were just trying to fix up the Wachowskis’ house, then turning their living room into a “gladiator fighting pit,” Knuckles ends up forbidden from “warrioring” and grounded like some kid. However, he receives a vision from his dear, departed echidna chief (voiced by Christopher Lloyd) who calls upon our guy, the last of the echidnas, to pass on the tribe’s ways to some worthy recruit. That new initiate? Wade Whipple (Adam Pally), the hapless deputy from the movies whose main claim to fame appears to be having won a Hot Pocket eating contest one time. And what else has Wade been up to? He’s training for a bowling tournament in Reno, the “Taj Mahal of Ten Pins,” where his dad “Pistol” Pete Whipple (played by king of the nineties, Cary Elwes) has long reigned as champion. Yep, it’s a road-trip show, pretty much just like the first Sonic movie.

And like the films it follows, Knuckles is pretty nice to look at. The glowing effect of the intergalactic animal’s quills is eye-catching and adds some visual interest to fight scenes (especially since those bright, red quills power all of the bad guys’ weapons and the mech they use at the end). The decision to set an early fight scene in a bowling alley on “neon night” is an inspired choice, too, with our hero spinning himself into a glowing, red ball and rolling down the lanes to fight villains. There’s also a cool animated credit sequence that plays out on rewritable CDs arranged in a binder (remember those?). In that, Knuckles even taps his little foot like Sonic in the video game. But the highlight, stylistically and comedically, occurs when, in a sort of meditation-induced training montage, Knuckles’ chief has Whipple don a Knuckles costume and act out his furry friend’s personal trials in the form of a Michel Gondry-esque musical number with Michael Bolton contributing vocals to the bit. (It definitely helps that Lonely Island veteran Jorma Taccone directed this episode; he also co-wrote a fun theme song for Knuckles that plays over one of the end credits.)

There are other comedic highlights, too, courtesy of some side characters. While Pally, the lead, is no comedy slouch and can self-deprecate with the best of them, the supporting cast really shines in Knuckles. Elwes is truly ridiculous, hamming it the hell up with a dumb little scepter and a whole Union Jack-inspired getup at the bowling tournament, complete with cape and top hat. Scott Mescudi (Kid Cudi) turns out to have pretty solid timing, too. And the dynamic between Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones) and Pally, playing siblings, is delightfully juvenile and petty. Though they both portray cops in this, she gets to one-up him a bit as an actual FBI agent, rubbing in his face in the fact that while he’s out there doing small-town stuff, she’s here escorting the Secretary of the Department of Transportation around (the “SotdoTotUS,” as she calls him)—maybe even to Macaroni Grill. Human Giant alums Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel also show up a bit later as announcers on ESPN 8 “The Ocho,” the channel on which the bowling tourney is broadcast, and fans of BASEketball or Best In Show will appreciate their banter.

And speaking of nineties/early-aughts media, there are so many references to that time period here, especially in Whipple’s childhood bedroom, where there are posters galore of The Big Lebowski, Total Recall, Beavis And Butt-Head, Speed, Fargo, Robin Hood, Robocop, Rush Hour, and Wayne’s World 2. There’s a sneaky Tenacious D reference, too. Whipple responds to Knuckles in conversation by singing “that’s also true,” just like Jables (Jack Black) in the D’s song “Kyle Quit The Band.” Visual throwback nods abound as well, like the flashback to Whipple in a Lloyd Christmas haircut, the way the ski lodge from episode two harkens back to Lloyd and Harry’s Dumb And Dumber accommodations in Aspen, and the villainess’ Uma Thurman look. And hey, nostalgia may be a bit of a cheap trick at times, but these little references are genuinely enjoyable.

If you’re looking for heartwarming things to see, the story here delivers, too, even if it does veer slightly saccharine. We know that Knuckles is the last of his kind, and they set up early on that Knuckles believes “an echidna warrior has no home,” so naturally, we’re going to see him evolve to embrace the opposite by the season’s end. Our man Whipple has just the thing for that guy: his own loving family (including Stockard Channing as his mama) with the comfort of their Jewish American traditions. References to Krav Maga, an amalgamation of martial arts forms developed by the Israeli Defense Forces, land pretty uncomfortably given that group’s current activities, but the family aspects of winding down after Shabbat dinner, watching movies, and spending time together until the candles burn out are wholesome enough. Evoking different elements of this culture clearly meant something to the writers of this show—and likely their younger selves. Jewish American kids, current and former, will no doubt feel seen.

So should you watch Knuckles? If you have no idea who these guys even are, don’t worry too much about missing it—it’s not for non-fans. If you, or your kids, love the Sonicverse, or maybe just enjoyed the previous two movies, go for it. If you can tolerate some product placement-related humor (namely Doritos and T.J. Maxx punchlines) and some eye-roll-inducing jokes with some genuinely hilarious moments mixed in, then dive in. And if you live for nineties nostalgia, there are plenty of Easter eggs to be found here. It’s got some heart, too, which is always good, and unlike its prickly protagonist, it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Knuckles premieres April 26 on Paramount+