How a doomed franchise beat Disney at the box office

Sonic leads the box office. Who would have assumed this in 2019?

‘Sonic 3’ has already crowned itself one of the undisputed kings of the Christmas box office, leaving ‘Mufasa’ behind in its first weekend (although the Disney franchise seems to have woken up this Christmas). In five years, this franchise has produced three films, a series, and video games that continue the character’s fast and retro tradition. It seems unbelievable that the first film predicted a flop.

Unflattering precedents. First, ‘Sonic’ is based on video games, one of cinema’s least esteemed inspirations. Although ‘Super Mario Bros.’ and ‘Street Fighter’ have become cult classics, they were once considered irrefutable proof that video games were unadaptable. Films like ‘Wing Commander’, ‘DOOM’, ‘Max Payne’, and ‘Alone in the Dark’ cemented a curse that Sonic and Mario have broken with two highly successful new films. Other notable adaptations include ‘Mortal Kombat’, ‘The Last of Us’, ‘Fallout’, and ‘Arcane’.

Meow? Fans were astonished when Paramount released the first Sonic the Hedgehog trailer on April 30, 2019. This time, they were right, making the YouTube video one of the most disliked. The almost human-like eyes and proportions and disturbing teeth made this Sonic a mutant far from the cartoon style of the games. Hollywood erred again. Just two days after the trailer’s overwhelming response, director Jeff Fowler tweeted: “Fans needed to know they were heard, and from me. The message is clear—you dislike the design and want changes. They will be made.”

Let ugly ones die. The film was delayed from November 2019 to February 2020, so not wasting time on doubts or meetings was the key. We opted for a cartoonish video game style instead of rationally integrating the alien hedgehog from the script into a real environment. Paramount hired Tyson Hesse, an illustrator and animator who had spent years working on the retro video game “Sonic Mania,” with the advice of Sonic Team in Japan and Takashi Iizuka, the saga’s lead designer. Fowler realized they had leaned too much toward realism.

Not everything was bad. Instead of leaving Sonic’s “one-eye” appearance from the video games and animated series, Ugly Sonic’s eyes were separated to improve animation and expressiveness. The box office hit was remarkably similar to the video game Sonic.

Despite the pandemic, Paramount announced ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2′ in quarantine, which overcame a greater challenge than the redesign: the multiple layoffs that devastated special effects and digital animation studios.

Sonic meme, ugly Sonic. Using Ugly Sonic as a meme, Paramount gave away ugly jumpers of the creature to promote this third installment. A franchise that knows no one can cough at it, not even its past, can pull off such a promotion. Marvel and DC won’t laugh at ‘Eternals’ or ‘Flash’, but ‘Sonic’ can. It currently controls the box office.

How a doomed franchise beat Disney at the box office

By ki0nk

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