“Sonic The Hedgehog 2” was surprisingly only released by the FSK for ages 12 and over. Read the official justification of the FSK here and find out which scene DashFUN editor Benjamin considers particularly questionable.
“Sonic The Hedgehog” made a good showing in 2020 and attracted over 1.2 million people to the cinemas in Germany. The video game adaptation was released by the FSK from the age of 6 and was therefore predestined for a trip to the cinema with the children. The successor “Sonic 2” also got off to a successful start and last weekend secured the top position ahead of the disappointing Marvel “Morbius”. But the FSK gave the sequel a seal, which certainly causes skepticism among many parents as to whether going to the cinema is really a good idea. Unlike its predecessor, “Sonic The Hedgehog 2” was only released by the FSK from the age of 12.
The justification of the FSK
The FSK calls the reason for this age rating “sustained high suspense and the many dramatic scenes” that “appear overexciting and frightening to children under 12 years of age [können]as there are only a few quiet passages that provide relief.” From the age of 12, however, children are “already able to distance themselves sufficiently from what is happening”.
Incidentally, the FSK 12 rating does not mean that parents cannot go to the cinema with children under 12 to see “Sonic 2”. Films with this seal can also be seen by children from the age of 6 as long as they are accompanied by a parent or a legal guardian. So nothing stands in the way of a family outing if the parents decide that the film is okay for their child.
Here is an addition from the author of this article:
This scene is particularly delicate
Although “Sonic 2” is predominantly a brightly colored, funny adventure that should also be reasonable for most children between 6 and 12 for long stretches, there is at least one scene that should be highlighted here as potentially frightening:
We’re talking about the scene where Sonic is first introduced to Dr. Robotnik is haunted. Sonic is alone in the house when suddenly the lights go out, the TV shows only white noise and an unknown character (Robotnik) tries to break into the house. This not only reads like a scene from a horror film but is also staged accordingly and seems really out of place for a family film. While this scene doesn’t last long, it might indeed be too intense and spooky for a small child, so parents should be extra vigilant here.
