It's a Christmas miracle! Ugly Sonic is back! Well, sort of.
In anticipation of Sonic the Hedgehog 3Paramount Pictures ran very fast (ba dum tss) 12 hours of Sonic competition from the night of December 11th. And one of the prizes was an ugly sweater featuring none other than Ugly Sonic (with teeth). Unfortunately, the giveaway is now over, but the fact that Paramount recognized Ugly Sonic and even made an official piece of merch out of it is pretty wild.
The first trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog debuted in 2019 to much disdain. The original design of the iconic blue hedgehog looked simple out of. The original Sonic movie looked nothing like its video game counterpart. His eyes were small and bulging and, most disturbingly, he had a row of pearly white teeth. People immediately tore the design apart until Paramount pulled the trailer off the internet. Director Jeff Fowler announced that production on the film would resume and that Sonic's design would be tweaked.
And thank God for that. The final film version of Sonic looks like his game designs – just upgraded for the big screen and given an extra plush texture. He is adorable Now! A far cry from its fearsome origins in the Uncanny Valley.
Still, the specter of Ugly Sonic remains, even if Paramount hasn't really acknowledged its big blunder in five years. 2022 Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers featured Ugly Sonic in a hilarious cameo. However, now that the Sonic films are bonafides, Paramount can look back and laugh at what could have been a huge mistake.
Even though the giveaway is over, the Sonic Christmas party doesn't stop. Paramount released a delightful Sonic Christmas short in the style of the classic Rankin/Bass stop-motion cartoons, with Sonic, Tails and Knuckles teaming up to help Santa.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 hits theaters on December 20th.
