Sonic Prime is Netflix’s new computer-animated series starring everyone’s favorite videogame mascot who is blue and a hedgehog. Let’s face it, the chili-dog-loving hero has had his ups and downs over the years, so Sonic the Hedgehog fans will be relieved to know the character’s initial designs for the Netflix show are thankfully not the kind of nightmare fuel we’ve seen with past efforts.
The Netflix Geeked Twitter account shared a slew of images in all his colorful glory Thursday, writing,
“wishing our favorite Blue Blur a very happy birthday with a sneak peek at how he came to life for the new animated series SONIC PRIME, coming soon to Netflix.”
The fact that it is the blue blur’s birthday is backed up not only by the official Sonic the Hedgehog’s Twitter account listing as much, but June 23, 1991, also marks the official release date of the original game, Sonic the Hedgehog, on the Sega Genesis console, according to the Sega Wiki. That means the little guy is 31 years old.
The Netflix Geeked account further shared initial drawings of their interpretation of the character, showing they pretty much hit the nail on the head from the get-go.
It wasn’t always the case that Sonic was treated with a true-to-game design in media. Famously, when the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie trailer dropped back in 2019, the character had a rather uncanny design, complete with human-like teeth. Fan backlash was so intense for the film in which the animated blue hedgehog interacted with actors in the real world that the filmmakers made the tough decision to completely redo the character. The result was a box office success, despite the reworking resulting in its delay.
Today, the whole debacle is mocked fondly among fans, to the point that Ugly Sonic was even a character in the intellectual property-converging cartoon mystery, Disney Plus’ Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers movie.
Sonic Prime is expected to hit Netflix “soon,” according to the streaming service.
