Review: Animation improves on 'Sonic the Hedgehog," but the real show is the return of maniacal Jim Carrey

The good news for fans of Sega’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” is that the computer-animated character in this animation/live-action hybrid looks more like what fans expected than the weirdly muscular, surprisingly toothy figure they saw in early trailers last May.

The bad news is that three months’ added work may have improved the animation, bur the filmmakers couldn’t use that time to make the cliche-riddled script more interesting.

Screenwriters Patrick Casey and Josh Miller (and God knows how many script doctors) start with Sonic’s backstory. Our blue buddy is from another planet, but had to escape through a dimensional portal — created by those gold rings the video game character grabs on his speedy travels — to Earth, specifically the tiny town of Green Hills, Montana. He stays in hiding, mostly, though he does observe the townspeople, particularly the local sheriff, Tom Wachowski (James Marsden), and his veterinarian wife, Maddie (Tika Sumpter).

But when Sonic lets loose with his super-speed, and blowing out power across the Pacific Northwest, the Pentagon springs into action. The generals send in their top expert: Dr. Ivo Robotnik, played by Jim Carrey — a.k.a., the reason to watch this movie.

It’s been six years since Carrey had a starring role in a comedy, in “Dumb and Dumber To,” and his take on Dr. Robotnik is a reminder of what he can do. Playing a fast-talking, condescendingly superior tech wizard with an arsenal of drones, Carrey deploys his manic comedy gifts well as the genius obsessed with catching this blue blur.

Alas, director Jeff Fowler and the script only give us regulated doses of Carrey’s insanity. Instead, we get long passes where the childlike Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) riding shotgun with Sheriff Tom on a road trip from Montana to San Francisco — where Sonic’s bag of magic rings landed through a portal mishap. Yes, the script exhausts all the “we’re not partners, and we’re not friends” tropes somewhere around Oregon, which leaves a lot of downtime before the big chase finale.

Fans of the “Sonic” franchise will appreciate the Easter eggs laid in the mid-credit scenes, which seem to have received more thought and attention than the actual movie. Everyone else gets to laugh along with Carrey, who seems to be having fun diving head-first into the mind of a cartoon villain.

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‘Sonic the Hedgehog’

★★1/2

Opening Friday, February 14, in theaters everywhere. Rated PG for action, some violence, rude humor and brief mild language. Running time: 99 minutes.