When the original trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog dropped, the internet let the creators of the film know exactly what they thought of it. What they thought wasn't good. The attempt at a realistic look rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, and people sort of freaked out online. The outcry was so loud that the movie actually went back to the drawing board, delayed the film, and redesigned the character.
This week we got our first look at the new Sonic the Hedgehog and the internet is once again making its feelings heard. Although this time, people are much more complementary, which is not to say that people still aren't having a lot of fun with the whole thing.
We'll probably never know exactly how much time and money was spent on the complete redesign of the character. Needless to say, the answer is almost certainly, a lot, on both counts. It has to be said though, that the response now is so overwhelmingly positive. It feels like every concern that fans had have been addressed, creating a version of Sonic that is pretty much exactly what everybody wanted.
It's pretty remarkable that all this happened this way. It's hardly unusual for fans to express displeasure when a franchise or character takes a turn they don't like. It feels like that's all Twitter is good for anymore. Most of the time, the creators of said characters and franchises don't respond at all, or they justify the choices that were made. In this case, they reacted to the negative feedback and did exactly what was being asked.
On the plus side, it seems that fans, for the most part are responding well to the fact that the Sonic the Hedgehog movie went to these lengths. Several on social media are pushing fans to buy tickets to the movie as a way of thanking the creators for making the changes. In the end, box office success is the reason these changes were made. If the fans who complained still don't show up, then the movie bombs that much harder, following the extra expense.
It's remarkable how different the Sonic the Hedgehog movie feels with the newly designed character. None of the rest of the movie has changed, as far as we know, but the tone has taken a shift. Now, the buzz that had surrounded the film that was utterly ugly is now optimistic. It's enough to make you believe anything is possible.
Of course, this is all very good news for the movie, and Sonic the Hedgehog director Jeff Fowler is very happy to hear it. He took to social media himself to thank everybody for the kind words.
Sonic the Hedgehog races into theaters February 14, 2020.
