Let’s be honest. Making a cinematic version of Sonic the Hedgehog was going to be a challenge no matter what. But even the most jaded entertainment junkies weren’t expecting this sort of backlash.
Neither was Jeff Fowler, but to his credit, he’s taking it to heart. In a late Thursday Tweet, the film’s director vowed the visual design of the titular hedgehog would be changed before the film is released.
“The message is loud and clear… you aren’t happy with the design & you want changes. It’s going to happen,” he wrote.
Given the late date, that’s not going to be a cheap fix for Paramount, but it could earn the film some goodwill with the notoriously critical gamer audience. The question is: Can it be done in time? The film is due to release on Nov. 8.
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. Everyone at Paramount & Sega are fully committed to making this character the BEST he can be… #sonicmovie#gottafixfast 🔧✌️
— Jeff Fowler (@fowltown) May 2, 2019
Beyond the costs of redoing the CGI, the change will also force Paramount to adjust its marketing, redoing posters and cutouts, some of which are already in theaters.
Criticisms about Sonic’s appearance in the film were plentiful. The CGI character sports a full set of perfect human teeth. His physical resemblance to the game character is spotty, at best. (The film’s Sonic is much more humanoid, with thicker legs, smaller eyes, smaller hands and a much longer torso.)
Fans of the classic gaming series had a few suggestions, though. Some good, some … less so:
Sorry for all of the online criticism I'm sure a lot of it was extremely harsh and unnecessary but I very much agree that Sonic could use some changes. Thank you for listening to our feedback.
Here are some edits I made: pic.twitter.com/R8iDXUGRni
— 🌿 Li – resides in TotK 🌿 (@LiKovacs) May 2, 2019
Sonic redesign proposal plz.#sonicthehedgehogmovie#SonicMovie2019pic.twitter.com/VUfRb3TfzZ
— StarPlatinum7 (@steambreadCzt) May 3, 2019
https://twitter.com/ElvisTheAlienTV/status/1124303493332905984
#SonicMovie I hope the new Sonic's design will look like that : pic.twitter.com/wewe4YSahL
— Twittos Amateur (@Julian_Nds_) May 3, 2019
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