Jim Carrey has conflicted feelings about Sonic’s redesign

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

When the first trailer for the video game adaptation SONIC THE HEDGEHOG came out everyone got more than they bargained for: Viewers got the horrifying glimpse at a CGI, muscle-bound hedgehog with people teeth, and Sony got a glimpse at a fan base angry enough to make the studio go back and redesign the character. The move turned heads in Hollywood and brought up discussions about creativity vs. the cries of the public, and star Jim Carrey isn’t quite sure how to feel about it all.

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The actor plays a non-hedgehog character in the movie, the villainous Dr. Robotnik, and while he was on a panel for the Showtime series KIDDING at the Television Critics Association (via EW) he was asked about the SONIC issue.

“It’s an interesting thing. You just become their Frankenstein monster at some point, right?  I don’t know. I don’t know quite how I feel about the audience being in on the creation of it while it’s happening. So we’ll have to see what that entails, because sometimes you find that the collective consciousness decides it wants something, and then when it gets it, it goes, ‘Okay. I just wanted it. I didn’t care about it. I just jumped on the bandwagon,’ or whatever. But I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

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He continued, explaining how he believes in this day and age it doesn’t take long for people to take ownership of anything, but as to what effect that will have on the creative process, who knows.

“All I know is, just like everything else in our world, we’re feeling out of control of the process. We do what we can do, and then technology is going to have its way, and people’s opinions are going to have their way. And who knows what that’s going to turn into? I believe in auteurs, and I believe in creatives. I believe in having them do it. As far as something like a Sonic character, that’s something people have a sense of ownership from their childhood. So, of course, they’re going to get involved if they can. We’ll see if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

The trailer for the movie dropped back in May, and much like the CATS trailer last month, many viewers were left with potential nightmares over the odd design of the title character (voiced by Ben Schwartz). Soon after, director Jeff Fowler took to social media saying they would be going back to the drawing board with the character, which in turn pushed the release date back from November 8 to February 14, 2020.

Carrey also added how he's not "super concerned" about the redesign, and that "It’s going to happen how it happens." The whole issue doesn't affect his own role at all and is more of a task that involves the visual effects department, which is unfortunate considering how hard they worked in the first place on the initial design. Carrey seems to be mostly at peace with the fact that all of this is out of his control, but with his concerns aimed at the idea of the masses getting a say in creative endeavors like movies, even before they even hit theaters. As unfortunate as it is to think about studios buckling so easily to audience outrage, at least we can take solace in one thing: They aren't going to change a damn thing on any of the cats in the CATS movie.