One of the most bizarre sagas in modern animation history came to an end today when Paramount released an updated trailer for its Sonic the Hedgehog movie.
As readers will recall, the filmmakers announced they would redesign the character for the film following an avalanche of backlash to the original trailer.
On Twitter, artist Tyson Hesse, who was involved with the game Sonic Mania, claimed credit for leading the redesign, which has been unanimously hailed as an improvement by the internet:
Honored to have been brought in to lead the design on the new Movie Sonic. Working with Jeff and the modelers, riggers, texture/fur artists and animators in LA, London, and Vancouver was a thrill I'll never forget. #SonicMovie pic.twitter.com/HhcVIxAhXB
— Tyson Hesse (@tyson_hesse) November 12, 2019
To accommodate the change in the title character’s design, the film’s release date was delayed from November 8 to February 14, 2020. It’s a testament to the entire animation production crew that they’ve been able to turn this project around in such a short period of time.
Even with this new trailer, there are so many larger questions left unanswered.
For example, who’s really in charge of the film industry if internet bullies can force a company into essentially remaking a film even while it’s still being made?
What kind of a personal vision does a filmmaker of an IP-based project bring to the table if they’d willingly alter the look of their film based on Twitter comments?
Why do artists have to bear the brunt of responsibility for poor decisions by their superiors?
Sonic’s design may look better, but at what cost to the balance of creative power between artists and the audience? It’s unlikely that the internet masses who called for a redesign care much about these bigger ideas, but the artists who work on these films will have to contend with the ramifications of this freakish production for years to come.
