This video includes a frank depiction of suicide.
I'm not sure Sonic the Hedgehog is the right character to use to explore the issue of childhood neglect and a loss of innocence, but that never stopped everyone else who created odd fan-fiction around the character. This is just another attempt to use video game imagery to evoke a strong emotion, and gosh is this an intense short film about a young boy dressed like Sonic.
"When we play video games, time stops. We get the chance to explore virtual worlds where everything is structured. If you die in the game, you just start again," the filmmakers said in an interview about the short. "These ideas formed our lost boy character who wants to be Sonic the hedgehog and live in a world where he can stay young forever."
The other interesting bit? No one plays a game in the film. "It was interesting to explore how we could communicate video game obsession, without seeing someone physically playing," they continued. "Although we were relying on the audience to recognize Sonic the Hedgehog to create the instant connection to gaming, it was important to us that the film worked on an emotional level even if you knew nothing of the game."
I'm going to go hug my children now.
