Sonic The Hedgehog Issues Fixed In New Trailer

Sometimes, you just don’t monkey around with a good design.
This was the lesson learned by Paramount’s upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog. Initially slated for release this Fall, an early trailer featuring an appalling redesign of the Sega video game mascot took the internet by storm and led to the film’s delay. The production took the time to retool the character into something more resembling its classic appearance while merging it with the live-action footage shot by director Jeff Fowler. No one is entirely sure how much money — or how many manhours — it took to transform the film, but the results speak for themselves in the new trailer. Instead of a monster from the uncanny valley, Sonic (Ben Schwartz) now looks more like a cartoon hedgehog lost in our world. As he states in the trailer, he’s come to Earth to protect his powers from those who would abuse it. But we imagine Dr. Robotnic (Jim Carrey) will want more than just Sonic’s speed.

With a proper design in place, the film now looks like a good-natured attempt to catch some of Detective Pokemon‘s lightning. It may not be a movie we’ll run to see when it comes out, but it may end up a child’s favorite at some point. Which, ultimately, should’ve been the plan with Sonic from the get-go. And in a time when adaptations of comics and games are all the rage, a key element of adaptation is knowing when to be faithful to an iconic design. Hopefully, the Snake Eyes film takes a careful note of the Sonic incident and keeps the character in his usual all-black suit.
Sonic the Hedgehog arrives in theater February 14th.