Sonic the Hedgehog Got a Makeover With Fewer Teeth, and Twitter Loves the Before-and-After Pics

Photo credit: Paramount
Photo credit: Paramount

From Cosmopolitan

  • Sonic the Hedgehog got a super-necessary redesign just in time for the 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog movie.

  • Fans of speedy cartoon hedgehogs have never been more relieved.


Move over, Charlize Theron’s bowl cut, because Sonic the Hedgehog officially got biggest makeover of the whole year. Yeah, we’re letting a cartoon hedgehog take up that mantle. 2019 has been weird for all of us, just run with it.

In case you missed the Sonic ~drama~ when it first surfaced in April, Sonic the Hedgehog is getting a solo movie courtesy of Paramount Pictures, but fans low-key hated the initial trailer and called it “nightmare fuel.” Hedgehog enthusiasts fully spiraled after seeing Sonic in the initial teaser, with most zeroing in on his extra-creepy humanlike teeth.

But they didn’t need to fear, because the moviemakers were awesome about taking the critique in stride, and they completely redid Sonic’s design.

Here’s a before-and-after side-by-side photo for your enjoyment:

Photo credit: Paramount
Photo credit: Paramount

Nice, right?

After the initial outcry, filmmaker and visual effects artist Jeff Fowler released a statement, and the Sonic movie’s release date was changed. (It was originally supposed to come out November 8 this year. The new date is February 14, 2020.)

“Thank you for the support. And the criticism,” Fowler wrote at the time. “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....”

Good news for Fowler: The fans totally love Sonic’s makeover, if Twitter is any indication.

SEMrush even tracked the sentiment with data and found that 73.68 percent of all Sonic tweets today have been positive, so there you go, Sonic, your glow-up is well appreciated!

RIP Nightmare Fuel Sonic. We hardly knew ye...and honestly, that was for the best.

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