Sonic the Hedgehog stars Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz and James Marsden.
Video screenshot by Bonnie Burton/CNET
Paramount Picture’s Sonic the Hedgehog movie tells the tale of beloved Sega video game character Sonic (Ben Schwartz) as he navigates life on Earth with his new human best friend Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) in tow. Sonic and Tom join forces to try to stop the villainous Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey), who wants to capture Sonic, harness the speedy hedgehog’s immense powers and use them for world domination.
The movie’s first trailer sparked criticism from fans unsettled by Sonic’s redesign for the live-action film. The public outcry regarding the CGI was such that the movie’s release date has been pushed back from this November to 2020.
On Oct. 14, movie fan blog Tails’ Channel posted rumored images of Sonic’s redesign, but this has yet to be verified by the studio, so take it with a grain of salt.
#SonicMovie rumour: Multiple images featuring an alleged redesigned Sonic has surfaced online. This is a RUMOUR! We are working to confirm its authenticity. (h/t BestInTheGalaxy) pic.twitter.com/ZFLqBcANM5
— Tails’ Channel – Celebrating 10 Years! (@TailsChannel) October 14, 2019
Paramount Pictures didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the supposed character redesign images.
Here’s what we know about the film so far.
Who made it?
The upcoming movie is directed by Jeff Fowler and marks his feature debut. Fowler won an Oscar in 2005 for his animated short Gopher Broke. Sonic the Hedgehog is produced by Deadpool director Tim Miller.
Paramount Pictures is distributing the movie.
Sonic the Hedgehog movie stars Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz and James Marsden.
Video screenshot by Bonnie Burton/CNET
The plot
When Sonic speeds past lawman Wachowski at 760 mph, the hedgehog ends up creating an energy surge that knocks out power in the Pacific Northwest. This prompts unamused government officials to call in help from Robotnik.
Robotnik becomes obsessed with tracking Sonic down and using his speedy powers for world domination.
Jim Carrey plays villain Dr. Robotnik in the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie.
Paramount Pictures and Sega of America
Fan reactions to the CGI
When Paramount Pictures revealed a motion poster for the new film in December 2018, fans were upset that the classic Sega video game character Sonic the Hedgehog didn’t look exactly like they remembered him.
In the poster, instead of his usual cartoony design, Sonic’s arms and muscular legs appear almost human. He’s also covered in blue fur and wears realistic-looking sneakers.
Miller explained that the changes were made to help the character feel like he belongs in a live-action setting. “He’s not going to feel like a Pixar character would because I don’t think that’s the right aesthetic to make it feel like part of our world,” Miller said in December 2018.
When the movie’s first trailer dropped on May 1, fans were even more shocked by Sonic’s realistic features, which included humanlike teeth.
Even Carrey commented on the CGI controversy.
“I don’t know quite how I feel about the audience being in on the creation of it,” Carrey said at the Television Critics Association presentation on Aug. 2. “We’ll see what that entails because sometimes you find that the collective consciousness decides it wants something and then when it gets it … ‘I just wanted it, I didn’t care about it. I just jumped on the bandwagon.’ Ownership of anything is going out the window for all of us.”
Fowler responded to the fan outrage about the new design with a tweet on May 2, 2019. “Thank you for the support. And the criticism. The message is loud and clear… you aren’t happy with the design & you want changes. It’s going to happen. Everyone at Paramount and Sega are fully committed to making this character the best he can be.”
On May 30, fan and animator Artur Baranov released his own trailer with a different version of Sonic. He replaced the human-legged movie design with a version inspired by the cartoon television show Sonic from the ’90s. This is closer to how the fictional hedgehog appears in the Sega video games.
When does it come out?
Fowler announced on May 24 that the Sonic the Hedgehog movie release date would be pushed from November to Feb. 14, 2020, to give the filmmakers more time to rework Sonic.
Meet the cast
This piece was originally published June 1, 2019, and is updated as news rolls in.