Sonic Movie trailer is here... yay?

[Tribble]

So this happened:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvvZaBf9QQI

Not entirely sure what to think. On the one hand, Sonic design choice is... questionable, to say the least. On the other hand I'm already sold on Jim Carrey's Robotnik - it's rather fitting that he's playing a 1990s character that's revels in hamming it up at every possible moment. Plus it looks like he'll be gradually turning more into his video game counterpart, presumably due to his ongoing battle with Sonic. Can't wait to hear "I HATE that Hedgehog!'. Hopefully he won't have to carry the whole movie though.

Thoughts?

[bilateralrope]

Sonic's design does look better in motion than in the stills. Except for the human teeth. Though it's still an odd choice, like most of what I've heard about this movie.

If you ignore what you know about the Sonic franchise, Sonic comes across as the bad guy in this trailer. He caused a major blackout. Eggman is the one trying to stop him.

[K. A. Pital]

Unsee. Like a sick twisted twin of Detective Pikachu (who looked cuddly and nice), this trainwreck can only be redeemed if it is literally so bad it’s good.

[Zor]

Sonic's style is not well suited to real people. It's jarring enough when you stick him with the more grounded Anime guys and gals. He's a cartoon character who lives with other cartoon characters.

Zor

[ray245]

This feels like one of those edgy fanfilms that tried to make video games more "realistic".

[Civil War Man]

If the Uncanny Valley had its own second, deeper Uncanny Valley, that's where this Sonic would reside.

I know overreactions are the bread and butter of people who make Youtube reaction videos, but in every single one I've seen, the revulsion they displayed on seeing Sonic was visceral. It seemed way too genuine to be completely manufactured.

[Tribble]

If the Uncanny Valley had its own second, deeper Uncanny Valley, that's where this Sonic would reside.

I know overreactions are the bread and butter of people who make Youtube reaction videos, but in every single one I've seen, the revulsion they displayed on seeing Sonic was visceral. It seemed way too genuine to be completely manufactured.

Kinda hard not to; I’ll admit my first response to seeing Sonic was a combination of “kill it with fire!” And “oh god it’s DB Evolution all over again!” Somewhat mollified by Jim Carrey’s appearance, but we’ll see.

I mean, if fans could whip up a decent looking design, why couldn’t Paramount?



One would think the Sonic on the left is the work of a hilariously awful amateur rather than the actual design from a multi billion dollar company.


What are the odds we’ll see Chaos Emeralds?

[bilateralrope]

Sure, fans can easily adjust Sonic's proportions on a still image. But what about animating Sonic's movement ?

I'm guessing that having a Sonic with more 'normal' human body proportions lets them use motion capture easily, while the one on the right adds extra cost.

Though my other thought is that someone high up in the movies production didn't want anyone in the movie who didn't conform to a standard body shape. Just compare Jim Carrey to any depiction of Eggman/Robotnik.

[Lord Revan]

The problem with Sonic's design is that it's too human, here's a link to a Youtube Vid that explains the problem with the design.


Problem isn't motion capture per se but rather they were too lazy/imcompentent to compensate for the fact in the end Sonic isn't human so things like a human mouth on him is gonna look wrong at fundamental level no amount of detailed lighting or fur is gonna fix.

EDIT:I mean WETA used motion capture for Smaug and while the Hobbit films have many problems Smaug looking too human isn't one of them.

[Tribble]

Sure, fans can easily adjust Sonic's proportions on a still image. But what about animating Sonic's movement ?

I'm guessing that having a Sonic with more 'normal' human body proportions lets them use motion capture easily, while the one on the right adds extra cost.

Though my other thought is that someone high up in the movies production didn't want anyone in the movie who didn't conform to a standard body shape. Just compare Jim Carrey to any depiction of Eggman/Robotnik.

Sonic isn’t human, and using human proportions (especially the mouth) clearly doesn’t work well for this particular character. This seems more like a design choice for aesthetic reasons more than practical limitations IMO.

If they weren’t up to the task, maybe they should have made this a purely animated film. Thank god they weren’t the ones doing Detective Pikachu - can you imagine if they decided to make all the Pokémon human proportioned for cost cutting? It’d probably look even worse than this. I’m just picturing Ryan Reynolds Pikachu with a human mouth


I’m willing to give Robotnik more of a pass here since he is technically human and it looks like he’ll be transforming over the course of the movie.

[Crazedwraith]

For all the belly aching over the design the trailer looks basically okay to me.

The uncany valley is at it's strongest when he's stretching and it's really seems to be trying hard to echo Detective Pikachu though.

[Tribble]

For all the belly aching over the design the trailer looks basically okay to me.

The uncany valley is at it's strongest when he's stretching and it's really seems to be trying hard to echo Detective Pikachu though.

Oh ya once you get past the “kill it with fire!” stage it does look like it’ll be entertaining, in a popcorn movie sort of way lol.

I’m probably going to go see it.

[Civil War Man]

For all the belly aching over the design the trailer looks basically okay to me.

The uncany valley is at it's strongest when he's stretching and it's really seems to be trying hard to echo Detective Pikachu though.

Generally, the reaction I've seen is that Jim Carrey is the one bright spot of the trailer. His depiction of Robotnik, particularly the shot at the end that actually has him looking like Robotnik, appears to have been generally well-received.

I'd also include this alongside the stretching on the scale of uncanny valley being at its strongest:

[bilateralrope]

They are redesigning Sonic's look after the outcry.

Earlier this week Paramount Pictures released the first official trailer for the Sonic movie. The film’s first impression wasn’t strong, to say the least. The overall tone and plot of the trailer received mixed responses from viewers, but the Blue Blur himself was almost universally panned. Sonic is one of the most shared images on the internet right now, but not for good reasons. With his strange, electric fur, surprisingly human teeth, and… whatever those legs are, the poor little guy never stood a chance.

All of this negative feedback has caught the attention of both SEGA and Paramount, and they’re determined to do something about it. Jeff Fowler, the movie’s director, took to Twitter today to promise changes.

Jeff Fowler
@fowltown
Thank you for the support. And the criticism. The message is loud and clear... you aren't happy with the design & you want changes. It's going to happen. Everyone at Paramount & Sega are fully committed to making this character the BEST he can be... #sonicmovie #gottafixfast

Sonic the Hedgehog is scheduled to speed into theaters on November 8 of this year. That leaves the studio just six months to redesign the movie’s main character and replace him in every scene. That’s no easy task. Fowler ended his announcement with “#gottafixfast.” That’s a heck of an understatement.

It’s great to see SEGA and Paramount committed to righting a wrong in the eyes of their fans with Sonic. Hopefully, they supply their teams with the necessary resources to do so without putting them through the type of soul-crushing crunch that has become so common in the video game industry.

The outcry should have been predictable. So I can't avoid the cynical thought that the outrage and backing down was planned. Especially with only 6 months to change it.

How far in advance do studios need to schedule time at CGI rendering farms ?

[Lord Revan]

To be perfectly honest I wouldn't be at all surpriced if studios have "in case we need it" time scheduled with rendering farms as a standing policy, since a lot can happen in making a effects heavy movie like this one and you have a case of shot not working like you wanted was you see it in the movie and said shot needs to be redone.

I wonder how much of the effects shots were actually done yet though it could be that only the ones in the trailer were "done" while rest were in various states of production. I doubt they have fully completed movie and are just sitting on it for "reasons".

[Civil War Man]

I will admit, there is a part of me that's a little disappointed that they're fixing it. Not because I think Sonic looks good, because he looks atrocious. But it was one of those horrible renderings that actually makes it kind of funny. A Sonic that isn't an abomination just isn't quite as interesting to me as a non-Sonic fan.

Also this:

[Tribble]

I will admit, there is a part of me that's a little disappointed that they're fixing it. Not because I think Sonic looks good, because he looks atrocious. But it was one of those horrible renderings that actually makes it kind of funny. A Sonic that isn't an abomination just isn't quite as interesting to me as a non-Sonic fan.

Also this:

On second thought, maybe you’re right. If Tails was anything like that I’d go out of my way to see it too

[TheFeniX]

Sonic's style is not well suited to real people. It's jarring enough when you stick him with the more grounded Anime guys and gals. He's a cartoon character who lives with other cartoon characters.

Not Really "Later" Sonic games come off more as a Cartoon character that interacts with real (read: realistically proportioned and textured) people. It can be rather jarring. I haven't kept up much, because the Series is trash past Sonic 3 (with VERY few exceptions), but it's gone off the rails in spectacular fashion. But it has enough of an (insane) loyal following/brand recognition: SEGA can continue to shit out cheap games in the franchise for quick cash.

EDIT: My point is: this is actually pretty on point for adapting the Video Game story to movie. It's just... most video game stories are fucking moronic or stupidly generic.

[Vendetta]

Sure, fans can easily adjust Sonic's proportions on a still image. But what about animating Sonic's movement ?

It's not like there's a hundred years of animation experience to draw on to animate a character or anything...

This would be a solved problem for decent animators, they've just chosen to be shit.

[bilateralrope]

Looks like the movie is being delayed by three months to change it

Will their next design be better overall ?

Will the budget limit them to human proportions, or did they get enough extra to animate inhuman proportions ?

[LadyTevar]

WRONG FORUM
Moved to FANTASY where TV/MOVIES and Cartoons belong.