The original Sonic the Hedgehog was a hit at the box office when it was released in 2020, and its sequel is doing well in the theaters. Fans of the blue hedgehog and his friends are currently riding a high from both films delivering what they wanted from the franchise since they were kids. It was a success that they had to essentially will into happening in the first place, in a way that goes beyond simply seeing the movie.
The first look for Sonic 1 was released by Paramount three years ago. The trailer for Gangsta's Paradise featured a more realistic design for the hero that got a pretty passionate response from the fans. Fans loudly and publicly hated it, and director Jeff Fowler acknowledged that the character needed some time to get prettied up. The idea that the original look was a mistake so that the redesign would happen, was not supported by the fact that there were Halloween costumes and licensed merchandise featuring OG Sonic.
There is a new trailer at the end of the year where Sonic looks like how he does in the games rather than a nightmare hybrid who still persists in the meme space. The first Sonic movie went on to make more than $300 million worldwide, after the new and improved Blue Blur won over skeptical fans. The success of the redesign can be attributed to Sonic fan Tyson Hesse, an artist who made his name doing variant covers for the Sonic comics published by Archie Comics before eventually being hired to do line art. He jumped ship with IDW when they acquired the rights to the comics. He wrote and directed the animated shorts for Sonic Mania, a retro game that brought Sonic and his friends to a charming, cartoonish life. The redesign was not the sole reason, but you can definitely feel his love for the character come through in the new look. The first Sonic became one of the highest grossing movies of the year. Sonic 2 is the highest grossing video game movie of all time in the US.
You can see that in the way the film brings the games to life when you watch Sonic 2. One thing that can be agreed upon about this new film is that it feels like it was made with fans of the character in mind. There is something to be said for seeing the three animals team up, fight each other, and just hang out. The Sonic films have managed to make that a selling point rather than a loaded statement that can often hover over other franchises.
The success of the first movie has helped the overall franchise, whether it was the redesign or another artist who was equally passionate about Sonic. A third Sonic film is in the works, as well as a spinoff show for Knuckles, and other follow ups are in the works. There is a new Sonic show being developed for streaming service, and Sonic Frontiers is set to be released in the fall. After years of inconsistent entries, the franchise has found itself again, and all it took was a horrifying set of teeth and some freakishly long limbs.
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