While the upcoming Detective Pikachu film may be receiving a lot of positive attention for its new take on the Pokémon formula, the same can’t be said for Sonic the Hedgehog. Later this year, in November, Sonic is said to join Pikachu on the big screen himself, but there are a lot of fears surrounding the new design for Sonic compared to this film from the scant teaser images we have seen so far that only show his legs deviate from what fans have come to expect from the iconic character. With the release date of the film edging ever-closer, however, a leak has provided a more complete look at Sonic’s new design and… well… I have to be honest, I don’t like it, and I don’t think I’m alone there either.
A style guide accidentally published on Hamagami / Carrol Inc.’s website (an advertising agency with many major clients including Paramount Pictures under their belts) shows off the furry hedgehog in full and in a variety of different poses. While I don’t think it’s as bad as some would claim it to be, and I feel my instant distaste for the design has somewhat cooled, the whole thing just looks a little off-putting.
Oddly, considering Sonic has always been shown with gloves in previous designs, Sonic’s design for this film has white fur over their hands, which honestly makes it the least favorite part of the design for me. The large green eyes somehow look both too big and yet too small for their head, and I still haven’t been able to get over the realistic proportions that we were first shown a few months ago.
It’s going to take a bit more convincing to warm to this design fully, I feel, although the one glimmer of hope is that we’ve yet to see a trailer for the movie up to this point, and the designs which look strange in still images could turn out to be a little better in motion. I live in hope, but that hope is slowly fading as time goes on, unfortunately. The film is due to release in cinemas on November 8 of this year, when this ‘chill and likable’ Sonic will get their chance to shine on their own terms. Whether cinema-goers will like them or not is another question.