Sonic the Hedgehog Franchise director Jeff Fowler reflected on the backlash over the main hero's original design five years after the infamous first trailer. When the first trailer for the first film was released, Sonic's design was heavily criticized, with his small eyes, gloveless hands, and human teeth causing him to be nicknamed “Ugly Sonic” by fans. Fortunately, Paramount responded by redesigning the character and pushing the film back from November 2019 to February 2020. The redesign may have contributed to the franchise's success, with the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 3 already being acclaimed as the best in the series so far.
Talking to DeadlineFowler explained how Sonic's original design in the first Sonic the Hedgehog film and subsequent redesign, it was a reflection of how much the production cared about the fans' voices about the film. He calls it part of the series' history and one of the many challenges they faced, including filming the second film during a pandemic and the third during Hollywood writers' and actors' strikes. Check out what Fowler had to say below:
Every film will face challenges and obviously we had some very public challenges with the redesign, but all of these things have just become part of our story. And it's something that I kind of advocate. Now we have this incredible relationship with our fans. They obviously expressed some opinions, and those opinions were heard and addressed. Now it has become part of this great relationship with them.
It's amazing to me that we're here on a third film and we've made a TV series. What I mean to say, Sonic 2 it was made during a pandemic. Sonic 3we had a writers' strike, we had an actors' strike. We always find a way out.
What Fowler's statement says about Sonic's eventual redesign
The movies wouldn't be the same without more game-accurate visuals
Although the first film's success resulted as much from its appeal to an audience of all ages as Jim Carrey's performance as Dr. the effort to redesign Sonic undoubtedly helped make him even more appealing. If the first film had not made a profit at the box office, its two sequels and Knuckles spinoff series on Paramount+ would not exist. This would also mean the cast of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 it wouldn't consist of famous voices like Idris Elba as Knuckles or Keanu Reeves as Shadow, if the film existed.
Although initial reactions to “Ugly Sonic” were negative, the design has since become a running joke, with Paramount giving away an ugly Christmas sweater with an original design in its 12 Hours of Sonic 3 giveaway earlier this month. The character also appeared in 2022 Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangersvoiced by Tim Robison, as an FBI contact after being written out of the film. This tongue-in-cheek new design presentation shows how far the film series has come and how the game-like redesign has brought a lot of goodwill to audiences.
Our Take on Sonic's Original Design and Subsequent Backlash
Listening to the fans was worth it
Not listening to fans about Sonic's terrible original design Sonic the Hedgehog 3the launch probably wouldn't have happened at all. The more accurate approach to character presentation is just a complementary element to the series, which slowly embraces more elements from the games. If Fowler and his team can continue to improve the franchise with each new installment, Sonic the Hedgehog may exist for a long time.
Source: Deadline