Colleen O'Shaughnessey

Listen to the slight gravel in Tails's voice when he gets excited. O'Shaughnessey's delivery makes room for both his intelligence and his nervousness. We warmed to him in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022), because the excitement in her delivery makes his attachment to his companion convincing. She makes an animated friendship easy to accept, which is useful work in a film with plenty of other things competing for attention.

Her earlier work includes Sora Takenouchi in Digimon Adventure (1999) and Jazz Fenton, the supportive older sister in Danny Phantom (2004). These parts sit alongside the youthful male characters for which her mixture of eagerness and uncertainty is well suited. Taking on Tails with Sonic Boom (2014) gave her a character to sustain across games, television and films. The move into features required a more grounded delivery than the games, and she adjusted without losing the familiar sound.

That is an advantage in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, whose animated characters are often better company than the film allows them to be. O'Shaughnessey keeps the enthusiasm manageable; she can sound excited without making every line equally emphatic. Jim Carrey provides the comedy, while a distracting wedding subplot helps stretch the film to 123 minutes. We would not recommend the whole thing on the strength of her contribution, but her unforced way with the companion role is among its quieter pleasures.

In Jeff Fowler's Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024), Carrey plays both Robotniks and the volume rises again. O'Shaughnessey's continuity as Tails is welcome, though it cannot do much about a film whose attempts at grief are overwhelmed by noise. The film is a little better than its predecessor, and still too willing to raise its voice when it wants us to feel something. Listen for her if these adventures are already your sort of thing; expect less restraint from the films themselves.