Paramount Pictures brought back the original Sonic character design for a special Sonic the Hedgehog 3 promotion.
In 2019, the studio released the first trailer for the big-screen adaptation of the classic Sega video game. Backlash on social media over the character showing so many teeth quickly took over, which forced Paramount to redesign the character.
Ahead of the premiere of Sonic 3 on December 20, the company revealed an “Ugly Sonic” Christmas sweater, part of a special giveaway to promote the new film. The ugly Christmas sweater is one of the prizes for the “12 Hours of Sonic” giveaway.
Following the backlash over Sonic in 2019, director Jeff Fowler took to social media to address the character would undergo a design.
“Thank you for the support. And the criticism,” he shared on Twitter, now known as X after Elon Musk’s takeover. “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…”
Sonic the Hedgehog was released in 2020 and became a box-office success, with two additional installments. The third installment sees Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles facing a mysterious adversary known as Shadow the Hedgehog and are forced to form an unlikely alliance with villain Dr. Robotnik.
The voice cast includes Ben Schwartz as Sonic, Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Tails, Idris Elba as Knuckles, and Keanu Reeves as Shadow. Live-action actors include Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Krysten Ritter, Natasha Rothwell, Lee Majdoub, Tom Butler, Adam Pally, Shemar Moore and Alyla Browne.