Sonic Creator Isn't Satisfied With Movie Redesign

Okay, we can all agree that the new trailer for the Sonic the Hedgehog movie is much, much better than the original abomination that came out earlier this year. Taking the backlash in stride, the animators went back to the drawing board and dedicated themselves to rendering a Sonic almost identical to the one we know and love from the games.

Sonic creator Yuji Naka, however, still isn't 100% satisfied with the big screen Sonic.

"The design is much more Sonic-like now that he's wearing gloves." Naka said today, in a tweet translated by DualShockers. "However, his eyes still aren't joined together, as expected. I can't help but feel weird about that one point. But I'm looking forward to the movie's release."

Naka also tweeted today that he would be interested in seeing the original (read: disastrous) cut of the film with the weird Sonic design, stating, "Sonic's new design for the movie is out. However, it seems they're making it as if the old design didn't exist, as the movie official account's old tweets were deleted. I wanted to see a special DVD version of the movie which used the old design. Too bad."

Perhaps Naka needs to put the entire situation into perspective. Sure, this Sonic isn't a dead ringer for the video game character we've come to know over the past few decades. But let's be honest: the joined eyes were a little strange to begin with. This Sonic is worlds better than the one we were shown initially, so why not celebrate the fact we got something that fits more closely with our memories of the little blue hedgehog?

Seriously: does anyone even remember the first Sonic design? Or did we all suppress that reveal like it was some kind of traumatic life experience?

Previously, Sonic devs and fans alike felt uncomfortable with the ultra-humanoid version of Sonic. Paramount strove for an uncanny realism, stripping Sonic of his gloves and making him strangely muscular. While it's true that Sonic never skips leg day, this look nevertheless led to a revolt.

As it should have. The first go at Sonic was nightmare fuel. It was terrible. Adults were horrified at what Paramount had done to a character they'd grown up with. And children are still probably waking up in the middle of the night to see if Sonic is under their beds. We're pretty sure Sonic the Hedgehog would have bombed had Paramount kept that look in place, and in a few years, we'd be talking about how the Sonic movie was one of the worst of all time; perhaps even worse than Super Mario Bros. So nitpicking small details like the distance between Sonic's eyes seems a bit much in the grand scheme.

Sonic could have ended up much, much worse, had Paramount not pushed the movie back and refreshed the character's design. Fortunately, the studio did.

Our fears of big time box office failure for the animated Sonic the Hedgehog movie have now been assuaged with a fun, markedly improved trailer that, despite a few criticisms, even has Yuji Naka looking forward to the film. 

The latest trailer really showcased Sonic's goofiness in the best way. In one scene, we see the speedy blue hedgehog playing baseball with himself, both pitching and batting. And in another, we see Sonic getting a little too excited about the world's largest rubber band ball, zipping away to the attraction before returning with an assortment of gift shop items, including a paddle ball toy.

And we finally got a little more backstory about how Sonic ended up on Earth. It seems his lightning fast speed can be attributed to special powers that forces on his planet wanted to take for themselves. So Sonic decided to trek to Earth and hide out here. Of course — spoiler alert — we know the same thing will happen on our planet thanks to the presence of Jim Carrey's Dr. Robotnik. The movie appears to be a cat and mouse game, of sorts, with Sonic trying to evade Dr. Robotnik while also keeping his new friends on Earth out of harm's way.

Already, fans are compiling "before and after" shots of the two Sonic designs, and it's truly amazing to see how this new look has completely changed the tone of the film. It may not be a masterpiece on par with Citizen Kane, but it could, at the very least, be a fun time for those who have fond memories of Sonic from when they were younger.

Now we're actually excited for the Sonic the Hedgehog film, which releases Feb. 14, 2020.