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Sonic the Hedgehog Creator 'Shocked' by Leaked Movie Designs
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
The official website of advertising agency Hamagami/Carroll, Inc. briefly hosted a branding deck for Paramount Pictures' upcoming Sonic The Hedgehog film on Monday. The deck showed the design of the titular character Sonic for the film, although the page is no longer accessible.
The page did not indicate if this was the final design for the character, but fans of the franchise have had a less than positive response to the reveal. Artists like freelance illustrator and Twitter user LadyGT have offered redesigns that more closely resemble Sega's iconic video game character.
There we go, my quick edit of the Sonic movie design #SonicTheHedgehog #SonicMovie pic.twitter.com/JNXqJEwoMe
— LadyGT【嬢子愛】 (@LadyGT_DA) March 5, 2019
Former Sonic Team head and game programmer Yuji Naka was also less than enthused by the design. He wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that he thinks the design leak was strategic but possibly a bad move.
"If a poor directorial choice becomes a hot topic, then it could continue to damage Sonic's IP," Naka wrote. He added that the images could be fanmade and he'd like to see Sonic wearing gloves. Naka found it "shocking" that Sonic's bare hands are white.
Naka later retweeted LadyGT's edited version with the comment that a more "balanced" version would be acceptable. In an earlier tweet, Naka commented about the design's body proportions. He wrote that he felt the roundness of the original Sonic's head and stomach are important to the design's balanced feel.
Sonic's Hollywood version was already under fan scrutiny after the reveal of the limited available images. Executive producer Tim Miller previously discussed Sonic's fur, which differs from the quills on real-world hedgehogs and producer Neal Moritz went to bat to defend the character's revamped shoes. The character's thick legs also drew attention, leading to a tongue-in-cheek "poster" released by the film's official Twitter account.
The film is set to open in the U.S. on November 8, followed by screenings in Australia on November 28 and the United Kingdom on December 26. The film's Japanese title is Sonic the Movie, and the Japanese opening date for the film will be announced "soon."
Source: Yuji Naka's Twitter account via Hachima Kikō
