New ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ Design Wins Over Rebellious Fans: ‘All Is Forgiven’

Live-action animated hybrid film starring Ben Schwartz, Jim Carrey and James Marsden opens Feb. 14, 2020

It’s amazing the difference a few months can make. Fans of the “Sonic the Hedgehog” video game are over the moon with excitement at the latest trailer for the “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie. This time, it seems, the visual effects team finally got the character’s look right.

Reactions to the original trailer last spring ranged from perplexed to horrified as the internet sent an avalanche of memes to gawk at the blue hedgehog’s fur, eyes and most notably his human-looking teeth. The new trailer released Tuesday morning gave Sonic a slicker look and bigger eyes that more closely resemble the “mono-eye” sported by the video game character. And side by side shots of the same scene in both trailers show those teeth have been noticeably trimmed down.

“Sonic’s nightmare fuel teeth have truly been cancelled,” former Deadspin writer Drew Magary posted on Twitter.

“All is forgiven Paramount,” another Twitter user said. “I love how they basically tried to make Sonic look as adorable as possible.”

It is cute, and many online took the time to pay their respects to the animators for listening to online concerns and making a constructive change that should inspire people to see the film. Director Jeff Fowler in May vowed that he would fix the character design and then this morning thanked everyone for “your patience and support” in delivering the new trailer.

“I like how he seems like a hyperactive kid in the movie, it would have been insane to try and sell a childlike Sonic with the last design. Crazy how this design change adds so much more charm and personality,” a Twitter user posted.

“The Sonic Movie is a big PSA on how to listen to fans constructively,” another said. “They took a DOA design and turned it into something special. People saying they will see the movie, I myself am now very interested. All the positivity and hype, #1 trend wordwide [sic]. Doesn’t hurt to listen.”

“Sonic the Hedgehog” is directed by Jeff Fowler and also stars Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic alongside Jim Carrey and James Marsden. The film will be released by Paramount Pictures on Feb. 14, 2020. You can watch the new trailer above, and check out the fan reactions below.

https://twitter.com/RiseFallNick/status/1194255708155461638?s=20

Brian Welk

Film Reporter • brian.welk@thewrap.com • Twitter: @brianwelk

Comments