The Sonic the Hedgehog trailer has released and it really is something. Though we’re intrigued by Jim Carrey’s take on Dr. Robotnik, the design of the titular anthropomorphic hedgehog leaves a lot to be desired.
After the reimagined Sonic design was revealed in the trailer, fans were quick to express their disapproval of his new look. Between his lanky limbs and weirdly human teeth, there’s a lot to process if you’re familiar with the character. Though he retains Sonic’s trademark blue fur, he doesn’t look a lot like the iconic Sega mascot we were introduced to back in 1991.
As such, fans have quickly started creating their own takes on the character, inserting designs that look similar to the video game version of the hedgehog into the movie. The first, from Twitter user @virtanderson, is a paint-over of the shot from the trailer in which James Marsden’s character first meets the blue blur.
Hammerstrom has replaced Sonic’s pair of eyes with a cycloptic look, complete with oversized pupils. His teeth have also been given a more cartoony, gumshield-esque appearance, while his fur is far less dog-like and much smoother. He also has his trademark white gloves, whereas in the movie his hands are instead covered in a thin layer of white fur:
a bit rusty on my painting, but I tried doing a paintover of a shot from the movie trailer with Sonic's design from the games for fun pic.twitter.com/h6luDEVKWW
— Aaron Hammerstrom (@virtanderson) April 30, 2019
Twitter user @EdwardPun1 also posted their reimagining of the character, but they didn’t take as many cues from the Sonic game series. They made the character’s legs skinnier and torso shorter, while enlarging his hands and head to give him a more over-the-top look. The eyes and ears were also made larger:
Left is original screenshot. Right is my rework to make #Sonic more stylized. pic.twitter.com/IhXeAZYlQI
— Edward Pun (@EdwardPun1) April 30, 2019
The Sonic fanbase isn’t exactly reserved when it comes to creating artwork for the character. As a result, even if fans disapprove of his new look, there will undoubtedly be plenty of redesigns circulating around the Sonic community regardless. Sonic the Hedgehog is set for release in November, so fans have plenty of time to cook up some designs that are easier on the eye than the one we were confronted by in the film’s debut trailer.
