My wife doesn't enjoy watching movies in the theater. Couple that with the convenience of multiple streaming services and a couple years of pandemic-induced isolation, and you have a couple of 8-year-old twins who've never seen a movie in a real theater.

That had to change, and their mutual love for the original Sonic the Hedgehog movie (which they watched on TV) made Sonic the Hedgehog 2 a great choice for their first big-screen experience.

Even more than the movie, I kept an eye on the kids, and I was delighted at the looks of fascination, excitement and sometimes even awe on their faces as their little blue hero came to life on a really BIG screen. And, visually speaking, this was a great movie for them to see, because it's filled with action, light, color and sound -- perfect for getting the feel of the advantage that theaters still have over televisions.

This was a lot of fun, for me and them.

As for the movie -- it's like the first one, but more so. Sonic (a CGI video-game hedgehog voiced by Ben Schwartz) is still living his best life in small-town Montana with his adopted family Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter) Wachowski. Sonic wants to be a superhero, as the opening chase scene demonstrates, but he's just not very good at it yet.

Then Dr. Robotnik, aka Eggman (Jim Carrey) returns from the alien mushroom world where he was marooned at the end of the first film. He's aided in his escape by Sonic's new CGI nemesis, the punch-happy echidna Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba). On the side of the angels, we have Sonic's new best fox friend Tails (voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey).

Mayhem ensues, with explosions and flashes of light and, let's be honest, a lot of genuine laughter.

Great performances from the cast, all around -- also including Natasha Rothwell, Lee Majdoub, Shemar Moore and Adam Pally. Highest praise has to go to Carrey, however, who really dialed up his video-game villain schtick and is a hoot in every scene he stole.

Great art, it is not. But my kids loved seeing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the big screen -- and they exclaimed at every Easter egg referencing the games and cartoons -- and I enjoyed sharing it with them. I'll be the first to admit it, I enjoyed the movie, too. It, like many movies written for kids these days, has plenty of subtle jokes that will amuse the grownups in the room, and the writing, overall, is clever enough to keep everyone entertained.

I'm glad it ended with the promise of another Sonic movie. The twins (and I) will certainly buy tickets and popcorn when it comes out.