Paramount Pictures(LOS ANGELES) — After disastrous fan reaction to the movie’s first trailer last spring, Paramount Pictures bumped back the release date of its Sonic The Hedgehog movie — and as promised, they gave their title character a much-needed makeover.
Voiced by Ben Schwartz, the first appearance of the computer-created character launched a thousand memes — and none of them flattering. Fans of the SEGA videogame star lamented how little Sonic the Hedgehog actually looked like, well, Sonic the Hedgehog.
The word “creepy” was a common descriptive, particularly relating to the little blue character’s human-looking legs and teeth.
Director Jeff Fowler took to Twitter after the initial trailer dropped to announce he’d hit the pause button: “Thank you for the support. And the criticism. The message is loud and clear… you aren’t happy with the design & you want changes. It’s going to happen.”
It did. The new trailer show the speedster looking like…well, his old self, which is a good thing. Fans were quick to show their appreciation online.
“2019:Remember the kid you called ugly? 2020: This is him now,” one posted.
“Animators: Actually listens to the community/The community: :o” posted another.
“2019: Sonic Leto / 2020: Sonic Phoenix” said another, referring to Jared Leto’s generally panned Suicide Squad Joker and Joaquin Phoenix’s nearly universally beloved one.
Sonic The Hedgehog, which stars Jim Carrey and James Marsden, will now open February 14, 2020.
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