For a character design that was not only ridiculed but hated so much by fans that it caused a complete overhaul, “Ugly Sonic” has somehow managed to have his own career thanks to an appearance inChip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers. While the all-teeth-and-eyes design sent Sonic fans into a frenzy when it was revealed in a trailer for Sonic’s big live-action movie debut, their reaction had inadvertently led to the creation of a Sonic that isn’t Sonic but now has his own place in Sonic history. When it comes to how the redeemed design came about,Sonic the Hedgehogproducer Tim Miller has revealed that it was really all down to the logical rules of CGI characters being created for live-action environments.
Speaking on a new video fromCorridor Crewaddressing the good and bad uses of CGI in movies, Miller explained why the design of what became “Ugly Sonic” ended up with teeth and more human features. About the designer, Jeff Fowler, he said:
“The real thing is the design. Jeff [Fowler] is an animator, and I hired him right out of college. So he was at Blur for, I don’t know, 15 years. And he’s a character animator, that’s his first and foremost thing. When he attacked the design problem, he’s thinking of it as an animator. He’s thinking, I gotta have a character who can look like he got a pair of shoes from a kid’s bedroom. I have to have hands that can open up doors and pick up human objects. A character with no teeth is a problem for animators, and those eyes that are in the default design, they’re not anything that approaches real. It was really hard to do.”
Of course, the initial pushback against the design saw the movie being pushed back a few months while the character could be reworked and the entire movie edited again. When it came to how it was all handled, Miller is full of praise for Fowler’s quick decision to make changes to meet fan demands. He added:
“So then, I go over to Jeff and I said, ‘here’s what you need to do: you need to go out, and you need to say, I f*cked up to the fans, you need to say mea culpa, I hear you, we will fix this,’ and Jeff said, ‘already did it.’ He didn’t wait for the corporate machine to get around to putting out a message, which I feel like would’ve been the totally wrong thing to do. He just did it. It was the smartest thing he could’ve possibly done. I know it’s goofy to say this, but I was very proud of him.”
Related:Sonic the Hedgehog Trolls Super Mario Over ‘Lower Half Design’ Controversy
Ugly Sonic is a Cultural Icon in His Own Right
The usual tale of the tape in a situation where a character design is completely rejected by the main fanbase a movie is being aimed at, that abomination is never seen again other than in the occasional YouTube video looking at failed character designs. However, when it comes to the abandoned Sonic design, the character has somehow taken on his own life and featured prominently in Disney’s cross-over extravaganza,Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers.
Making multiple appearances in the meta-movie, there is even emphasis put on the points that were the biggest bone of contention among fans, including those human teeth. Previously director Akiva Schaffer discussed recreating the character for his movie. He said:
“We had to recreate our own for this movie because we had to make everything from scratch, but there was something pretty great about having the original company that had made the design do it again and repeat their mistakes on purpose this time.”
Whether “Ugly” Sonic will ever be seen again is not known, but it would not be the biggest surprise if he did pop up again somewhere in the future. Meanwhile, the real Sonic will be returning to cinemas on July 16, 2025, inSonic the Hedgehog 3.
