The Sonic movie trailer dropped earlier this week and it didn’t quite go over so well. Not only did some find it a bit cheesy, but many lambasted the design of the actual hedgehog himself. From the oddly human teeth to the long legs, something went awry. But while specifics were not given, the hedgehog will be fixed for the final movie according to the film’s director, Jeff Fowler.
Fowler tweeted about the mysterious fixes earlier today.
“Thank you for the support. And the criticism,” he said. “The message is loud and clear… you aren’t happy with the design & you want changes. It’s going to happen. Everyone at Paramount & Sega are fully committed to making this character the BEST he can be…”
Again, Fowler did not specify would be changed but there are some likely candidates: his human teeth, eyes, and legs. These features give the Blue Blue some human qualities, which throw him directly in the uncanny valley where many creepy robots and characters in early David Cage games go to die.
Some fans have already started creating their own versions of the character, which seem more in line with the original character design. These proportions are bit more cartoony and are appropriate for a video game character like Sonic. The skinnier legs and larger eyes (or eye, in some cases), hands, and eyes are a more apt translation and hopefully where Paramount and Sega will move with their redesign.
Granted that this doesn’t cause a delay, the film does not come out until November 8, meaning that the studio has around six months to change it. We’ll likely see what the redesign looks like at some point before its official release, whatever it may be. Hopefully, this doesn’t include any changes to Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik, as he was widely regarded as the best part of the trailer.