…as playwright and Sonic the Hedgehog fan William Shakespeare said*, though there’s a little sting in the tail in that mid-credits scene. (This is, of course, very spoilery — if you’re after my review it’s here.)
The ending
Well, it’s really the final third. In the snowy mountains of Siberia, Sonic and Tails follow Longclaw’s ancient map to a secret temple, complete with a giant statue of Sonic’s owl mentor. A hologram of Longclaw explains what they have to do, and they’re given a special compass to locate the emerald (though that compass soon falls into Robotnik’s hands). Then Robotnik appears with his egg drones.
Sonic and Tails escape the temple and split up, though Tails is then injured. Sonic, carrying an unconscious Tails, is pursued by Robotnik when an avalanche forms further up. Sonic FaceTimes Tom, in the middle of Rachel’s wedding to Randall. He needs Tom to use the ring to create a portal for the hedgehog and his friend to escape through — but Tom realises he’s mixed up the portal rings with Rachel and Randall’s wedding rings. He has to stop the wedding to retrieve the right ring, before Sonic and Tails career through the portal along with a giant dump of snow. It destroys the outdoor nuptials, though that turns out to be the least of everyone’s problems, when it turns out…
… Randall, all his groomsmen, and the vicar are government agents, with the vicar actually Commander Walters, the head of the Guardian Units of Nations (G.U.N.)The wedding has been codenamed Operation Catfish. Tails, Tom and Sonic are taken away, with Maddie in pursuit and Rachel as back-up, using the mini weapons and tools they find in Tails’ yellow backpack. Rachel then seeks out Randall, threatening to run him over in a beach buggy, before he falls into their wedding ice sculpture (the definition of the cold shoulder). He claims he really did love her but do we believe that? No! (Well I don’t anyway.)
Robotnik and Knuckles use the stolen compass to locate the emerald’s hiding place; the others see a tall column of green light in the distance, and Sonic follows it across the sea (more than once during the film he has to overcome his dislike of water). He reaches a desert island; in the water nearby a massive stone temple has appeared, the sea forming waterfalls into the chasm from which it emerged. Inside, Robotnik and Knuckles are trying to get to the emerald. Robotnik retrieves it, and with the temple collapsing, escapes, leaving Knuckles to die — the Echidna is stuck underwater, trapped by falling masonry. Sonic returns to save him, diving under water and moving the stone trapping his erstwhile foe. Sonic then succumbs to the water as Knuckles kicks up to the surface, though after realising what has happened he returns to save Sonic. The two crawl out onto the desert island sand, and are rescued by Tails in his red plane.
Back on dry land, Robotnik returns to Green Hills and creates a giant owl-faced robot called the Death Egg Robot. Knuckles, Sonic and Tails try to defeat it, but Sonic realises they can only win if they work as a team playing to their individual talents (speed, smarts, strength). Sonic also realises he is Robotnik’s achilles heel (“the groin”!), as Robotnik is obsessed with him. He uses himself to distract Robotnik, while Knuckles gets into the robot and uses his great strength to punch the villain, releasing the emerald. The emerald breaks into separate shards. Sonic absorbs the power and becomes golden (why no Supersonic by Oasis on the soundtrack at this point, Paramount?), rising up to destroy the robot. Robotnik falls out, and is presumably crushed under his collapsing creation.
Sonic returns to his traditional blue form, the jewels emerging from him as the super power leaves his body. The Master Emerald returned to its singular form and Tails, Knuckles and Sonic decide that going forward they will share the job of protecting it.
Next we see that Tom, Maddie, Tails, Knuckles and Sonic are living together as a family; after playing baseball, they all leave to go back home. They forget the emerald though, and Sonic has to return, finding it in the icebox where they left it.
Mid-credit scene
The scene is set in the aftermath of the great fight. Dr Robotnik has been crushed by his falling giant robot, brought down by the new team of Sonic, Knuckles and Tails. During the clean-up the head of G.U.N., an organisation set up to counter the alien threat, comments that he can’t believe anyone could have survived that crush (we don’t find out if Robotnik is actually dead). Then another agent tells him that within Robotnik’s files they’ve discovered information about another secret project, codenamed Shadow, hidden for 50 years. We then see the creature the project has been working on: it’s Shadow the hedgehog. Overhearing all of this is Stone, Robotnik’s assistant, who has disguised himself as a masked G.U.N. agent to snoop around.
Shadow was introduced to the games in 2001. He was developed by Robotnik’s Grandfather Gerald, and from what I have read is not necessarily evil, though does come up against Sonic. (You can read about his history here.)
And now we await the third instalment… maybe Carrey will be playing Robotnik’s grandad is some flashbacks?
*Actually Shakespeare did not like hedgehogs! More here, if you’re all Sonic’d out.