‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ Movie Delayed as Iconic Character’s Shapely Legs, Human Teeth Redesigned
By Brian Crecente
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – The “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie won’t make its November 2019 release date, director Jeff Fowler announced on Twitter Friday, saying that the team is “taking a little more time to make just right.”
The film, which has Ben Schwartz providing the voice of Sonic and also stars Jim Carrey, James Marsden, and Tika Sumpter, now has a Feb. 14, 2020 release date.
The news comes just weeks after the movie’s first full trailer drew fan criticism, memes, and home-made redesigns ignited by Sonic’s overall design. The video game icon’s stubby in-game appearance was replaced with a humanoid Sonic with long, lean runners’ legs, red sports shoes and — perhaps most disturbing — a full head of teeth.
Earlier this month, Fowler took to Twitter to say that the “message is loud and clear. You aren’t happy with the design & you want changes. It’s going tp happen. Everyone at Paramount & are fully committed to making this character the BEST he can be…#sonicmovie #gottafixfast.”
The reaction to Friday’s news has been mostly positive, with fans saying they’re willing to wait if the results are better and more true to the “gotta go fast” gaming hero.
The official trailer shows off just how unsettling it is to see a gotta-go-fast blue hedgehog with the legs of a Rockette (voiced by Ben Schwartz) ham it up with the likes of James Marsden (playing Tom Wachowski) and Jim Carrey (who is, of course, Dr. Robotnik). We see our titular furry blue hero break the sound barrier and whip around golden rings to the tune of “Gangsta’s Paradise,” while Carrey — appearing to be doing his best possible impression of himself — goes full villain with some fancy gadgets.
According to the YouTube video’s description, the movie “follows the (mis)adventures of Sonic as he navigates the complexities of life on Earth with his newfound – human – best friend Tom Wachowski ( James Marsden ). Sonic and Tom join forces to try and stop the villainous Dr. Robotnik ( Jim Carrey ) from capturing Sonic and using his immense powers for world domination.”
While the project, based on Sega’s hundred-million-selling franchise, first languished at Sony before rights lapsed and Paramount grabbed it, the trailer wasn’t the first time people caught a glimpse of Sonic’s redesign.
A leak in 2018 and then another earlier this year, gave fans their first look at the new Sonic and no one seemed happy about it, not even one of the creators of the video game character . Yuji Naka , the former head of Sonic Team and one of Sonic’s original creators, seems displeased with the leaked images as well. “Is this a ‘Sonic’ movie?” he asked on Twitter. “I feel that it is important to look at the whole body visual of Sonic and head, body, and stomach. Did you not get a little more balance?” he added (roughly translated via Microsoft).
