The Sonic franchise is the rare movie series that’s gotten better and better with each subsequent sequel. In this case, the reason why is actually very simple: Each new one adds at least one new Little Guy. And the filmmakers have absolutely perfected making these Little Guys, translating them from their cartoony designs to “realistic” ones.

It’s a bit of a miracle, considering the initial Sonic design was so ill received the crew went back and redid all the animation. If director Jeff Fowler hadn’t taken the movie back to the drawing board, it’s unlikely that we would’ve seen Sonic 2, let alone Sonic 3 (or Sonic 4, which is officially in the works for 2027). The first iteration of Sonic was frankly terrifying. It skewed too realistic, with small, beady eyes, oddly humanlike legs, and, most infamously, a set of individually rendered........

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