A Sonic the Hedgehog Character Is About to Sound Like Princess Anna

As befitting a video game franchise that has somehow spanned fan art featuring main characters doing everything from experiencing religious conversions to birthing babies (just google it; or better yet, don’t), the Sonic the Hedgehog movie series has had a strange evolution. What began as a ’90s style adaptation that downplayed game elements in favor of a human/animal adventure set on Earth has grown increasingly faithful to the Sega Genesis games and the expansive lore that followed.

So when the post-credit sequence of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 introduced both Metal Sonic and the hedgehog Amy Rose, fans demanded to know who would be voicing the latter. Paramount has heard those demands and said, “Let it go,” as they’ve announced that Kristen Bell will be voicing Amy Rose for Sonic the Hedgehog 4.

To those who don’t know Sonic the Hedgehog, or to those who love Frozen, it might sound like Bell’s taking on a role far below her station. After all, Bell has been a pop culture mainstay for as long as Sonic has been around. As a young actress, Bell worked on the stage and popped up for upsetting stories in Deadwood and The Shield before breaking out as teen detective Veronica Mars. Veronica Mars made Bell a star, which she’s parlayed into films such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Frozen and another hit series in The Good Place.

But to those who love Sonic, it’s Bell who’s lucky to get the part. Amy Rose first appeared, alongside the robot Metal Sonic, in the 1993 Sega CD game Sonic CD. Originally, Amy barely transcended the old Ms. Pac-Man trope of “male character, but a girl,” as she was a pink hedgehog whose only defining features were her love for Sonic and her weapon, the Piko Piko Hammer. However, over several games, cartoons, and comics have turned Amy into a three-dimensional character with her own distinctive interests and motivations.

Those motivations will certainly be part of Sonic the Hedgehog 4, the latest entry in what has been a series that manages to get better and do better at the box office the more that it embraces the weird parts of the game series.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the Sonic movies also have a cast of big names. In addition to Jim Carrey, who recovers the manic energy that made him such a hit in the early ’90s, the movies feature voice vocal performances from Ben Schwartz as Sonic, Idris Elba as Knuckles, and Keanu Reeves as Shadow.

By adding Bell’s star power, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 has license to delve even deeper into the video game weirdness that fans love. Or, at least, Bell can bring in fans not prepared for just how strange the world of Sonic truly is.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 plays in theaters on March 19, 2027.