In association with the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Paramount Pictures revealed a special promotional giveaway item via their YouTube channel. The prized item is an ugly holiday sweater featuring none other than “Ugly Sonic” himself.
Ugly Sonic of course refers to the original design for Sonic in 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog. Sporting small eyes, human-like toes and realistic-looking teeth, the original design was instantly and unanimously panned by Sonic fans all across the internet. Famously, Paramount listened to the backlash and reworked Sonic’s design before releasing the film until they landed on something that fans were happy with. That design has largely stayed the same for the next two films.
The disturbing design quickly became a meme on the internet, and Ugly Sonic still pops up every now and then to remind people of what could have been. Paramount is clearly aware of the meme, as the sweater reveal trailer features the heavily parodied scene of James Marsden and Ugly Sonic screaming at each other. Additionally, they use the opening of “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio in the trailer, which was the song featured in that original trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog. The sweater sports Ugly Sonic front and center, with snowflakes and silhouettes of Ugly Sonic stretching (another scene from that original trailer) lining the background.
This is not the first time Ugly Sonic has been acknowledged by larger studios, however. In 2022’s Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, Ugly Sonic appeared as a minor character. He is portrayed as another version of Sonic, one that was shunned for his appearance and now is famous for just being the ugly version of Sonic the Hedgehog. The film is full of meta jokes and blends of real people and animated characters, so Ugly Sonic was a fun and culturally relevant inclusion.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is now playing in theaters nationwide. While you shouldn’t expect Ugly Sonic to make an appearance, other Sonic characters such as Tails, Knuckles, Dr. Robotnik and Shadow certainly will. The film is directed by Jeff Fowler and stars Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Jim Carrey, Idris Alba and Keanu Reeves.
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