Sonic The Hedgehog 2’s Cut Parks & Recreation Reference Revealed By Ben Schwartz: “We Almost Got [It]”

Ben Schwartz reveals one hilarious Parks & Rec reference that was cut from Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Before voicing Hollywood’s take on the video game world’s most famous ring-collecting hedgehog, Schwartz gained small-screen fame portraying spoiled rich kid Jean-Ralphio Saperstein. The Parks & Rec character inspired laughs and cringes in equal measure, but later was surpassed in obnoxiousness by his sister Mona-Lisa, played by Jenny Slate.

Schwartz has now revealed that Parks & Rec’s most insufferable siblings almost got an homage in his smash hit Sonic 2, explaining that their iconic “Don’t be suspicious” scene was set to be referenced in the movie, until the joke was cut out by director Jeff Fowler. Schwartz goes on to jokingly lament the director’s penchant for cutting out the best jokes and keeping the worst (via @rejectedjokes/X):

“He kept in the wooooorst. So I don’t think there are any legal reasons. We almost got a don’t be suspicious in 2. But it got cut.”

What This Means For Schwartz, Sonic And Parks & Rec

The Beloved Sitcom Received A Different Shout-Out In Sonic 2

The joke cut from Sonic 2 referred to a scene in Parks & Rec season 7, episode 12 “One Last Ride (Part 1),” in which Jean-Ralphio joins Mona-Lisa in a scheme to fake his death and make off with the insurance money, only to blow the whole thing by showing up to spy on his own fake funeral. The scene reaches a hilarious crescendo as the clueless siblings make up a silly song-and-dance around the line “Don’t be suspicious,” and are chased away from the cemetery.

Schwartz may have failed to sneak that particular Parks & Rec reference into his $405-million smash hit, but he did succeed in slipping in another famous Jean-Ralphio line, as the star explained to EW back in 2022:

There’s this scene where Sonic and the dog are watching a movie, and he’s talking about it. So I did like a hundred alternate takes for all these different movies that we were trying to get the rights to, and we weren’t quite sure what was gonna be there. But then Jeff Fowler and Toby Ascher suggested, what if we just did Jean-Ralphio’s “the wooorst”? Which means that Jean-Ralphio is canon in the Sonic universe, which is very exciting for me. His taste is mostly ’90s, and then Parks and Recreation.

That joke in honor of another famed Jean-Ralphio line made for a great Parks & Rec Easter egg, but it sounds like Schwartz wishes his proposed “Don’t be suspicious” reference had made it in as well. In his tweet, he jokingly takes aim at his Sonic director for a questionable sense of humor, accusing him of keeping the “worst” references.

Our Take On Sonic 2’s Cut Parks & Rec Reference

There’s No Such Thing As Too Many Parks & Rec Easter Eggs

Schwartz may be a video game movie icon thanks to his voice performance as Sonic, but he still remembers his classic sitcom roots, and tries to shout out Parks & Rec any time he can. Getting one Jean-Ralphio reference into Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was indeed a triumph, but getting one in for both Saperstein siblings would have been truly spectacular. Perhaps a future Sonic movie will have room for “Don’t be suspicious” to be immortalized in Easter egg form.

Source: @rejectedjokes/X

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The iconic blue hedgehog is back in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, eager to prove himself as a hero. And when Dr. Robotnik escapes his prison, it seems he’ll have his chance. This film introduces viewers to beloved characters Tails and Knuckles, in another mad dash for adventure.

Release Date

April 8, 2022

Runtime

122 minutes

Main Genre

Adventure

Director

Jeff Fowler

Writers

Josh Miller
, John Whittington
, Pat Casey

Budget

$90–110 million

Studio(s)

Paramount Pictures

Distributor(s)

Paramount Pictures

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