Sonic the Hedgehog’s last-minute character redesign certainly won’t fix every problem suggested by the marketing for the upcoming flick. But when you compare the overwhelmingly negative reception to the movie’s first trailer with the internet’s warmer response to the latest TV spot, you have to imagine that the bosses at Paramount Pictures are feeling a lot more optimistic about next year’s release than they were six months ago.
Even those who aren’t particularly looking forward to the video game icon’s big screen outing will generally concede that the new design’s a step up from what we saw before. And after the recent reveal of Baby Sonic, some fans are even going as far as to argue that a certain cute little Force-user now has some genuine competition.
Even actor Ben Schwartz, who provides the voice of Sonic in the film, has actively encouraged the comparison, suggesting in a bold new tweet that Baby Sonic has actually managed to trump one of the key faces of 2019 pop culture:
I see your Baby Yoda and raise you a BABY SONIC! https://t.co/SrjDRvLTdi
— Ben Schwartz (@rejectedjokes) December 27, 2019
Elsewhere, not everyone’s so convinced that Sonic makes for the more appealing infant, but the comparison is certainly inspiring a lot of Twitter content, be it from users happy to see Baby Yoda find a worthy challenger, or those who apparently want nothing more than to kill and devour them both:
Baby sonic: *gets popular*
Baby Yoda:#SonicMovie pic.twitter.com/ImhPGEGIkG
— megaboygamer (@megaboy_real) December 27, 2019
Like for baby Yoda, retweet for baby Sonic. pic.twitter.com/EH4nEJ7haW
— Linkabel (@AbelMunizJr) December 27, 2019
baby sonic and baby yoda after i finally catch those bastards pic.twitter.com/Gimhdz36ZP
— Jojjua? (@BombermanHero) December 26, 2019
*Baby Sonic is trending and exists*
Baby Yoda: pic.twitter.com/QiOqdVkIG0
— CartoonNetworkFanatic (@BuddySamson2) December 27, 2019
Baby Yoda
Baby Sonic… Is it finally time for Baby Mega Man to shine? (yes, this is official) pic.twitter.com/ETzYGuoLNQ
— Brian (@Protodude) December 27, 2019
Though the new design still has its share of skeptics (including, apparently, Sonic creator Yuji Naka), it’s clear that Paramount’s recent damage control has done its job in relieving most of the backlash.
Of course, that’s not to say the film itself will necessarily be worth watching (this is still a video game movie, after all), but you can decide for yourself if Sonic the Hedgehog has more going for it than a faithfully rendered main character when the flick hits theaters on February 14th, 2020.
