Latest news with #UglySonic
Business Mayor
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Business Mayor
How the Lilo & Stitch Marketing Team Avoided an Ugly Sonic Glitch
Sorry, Ugly Sonic—you're not going to have an Ugly Stitch to add to your friend group. Back in 2019, Paramount learned the perils of building a major movie marketing campaign around the reveal of a 'live-action' version of a beloved animated character—in that case, Sonic the Hedgehog. When fans got a look at the film's take on the classic video game speedster, they made like Knuckles and didn't chuckle. The largely negative online reaction spurred the filmmakers to instead flex their muscles by postponing the movie for a ground-up character rebuild that was more in line with vintage Sonic. The result of that extreme makeover? A billion-dollar-grossing global franchise that's currently prepping its fourth installment. No such last-minute interventions were required to rescue Stitch, the cute and fluffy half of the titular Lilo & Stitch duo headlining Disney's live-action adaptation of its 2002 animated favorite. According to Mouse House marketing evp Martha Morrison, she and her team knew they had a star on their hands the moment they laid eyes on the CGI recreation of the previously hand-drawn extraterrestrial. 'He was obviously very cute, and felt very much like the character people know and love,' Morrison tells ADWEEK, admitting that an Ugly Sonic-like scenario was a concern prior to her first look at the new Stitch. 'Believe me, you run through all the things that people could potentially say about the character that would present a problem. But the filmmakers nailed it.' The updated Stitch has already won the hearts of moviegoers heading into opening weekend. Box office estimates indicate that Lilo & Stitch will likely bank nearly $300 million around the world over the Memorial Day holiday. (Not bad for a movie that started its life as a direct-to-Disney+ production.) And Disney's Stitch-centric marketing campaign can be credited with laying the groundwork for that hefty haul. The alien has been running rampant through a series of real-world pop-up stunts, including a Super Bowl appearance that almost upstaged the Big Game as well as viral movie theater appearances.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
After Uproar Over Shrek 5 Animation, One TikToker Claims To Have Fixed It (And Fans Are Here For It)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. With the lineup of 2025 movies already underway, we're now being teased with upcoming kids movies that aren't too far far away. Apparently Shrek 5's first teaser has already caused a bit of a fan-driven debacle thanks to a slightly updated look for Mike Myers' returning hero. But since this is the internet we're talking about, someone took it upon themselves to 'fix' the problem, and the results are already winning people ogre. Our first look at the DreamWorks Animation legacy-quel has apparently changed more than what we know about Shrek 5. According to TikTok user ' the eyes on our friend here are a bit too close for comfort. As you can see below, a small shift does make a huge difference: There was definitely an improved fan response to this Shrek 5 revamp, as you'll see in the comments we're about to get into. However, there are also those that approve of this change, while also thinking that hasn't gone far enough. We've come a long way since Shrek 5's initial announcement, which consisted of a simple, but very traditional looking teaser poster. Those that took the time to chime in on this slight debacle probably know that better than anyone else, as the critiques leveled against the new look are rooted in some deep DreamWorks lore. But overall, this sampling of sounding off is definitely on board with the TikTok refresh, as you'll see below: 'why did that actually make it 10x better' - @timothy 'Bro saved the whole movie in under a min 💀' - @TRAPSTARR 'You are correct. They also smoothed out the skins too much. They look way too clean. No more pores, pocks… it's odd looking.' - @Kitara Gotham 'Ok but now fix Fiona 😭😭 someone said she looks like Ash Trevino and I can't unsee it now😭😭' - @Sara 'And the nose. They completely changed the shape. It's originally a more square/cube shape. They made it so much more round and long I hate it.' - @Jacky 'They designed it like they're part of the Trolls world' = @favoriteshowertowel 'I'm going to cry if they don't fix this😭' - @bawbybeans After reading that last fan comment, I'm starting to feel a bit of deja vu; specifically localized within the timeframe of April 30th, 2019. That's the date that marked a huge piece of Sonic the Hedgehog's history of backlash, with the 'Ugly Sonic' trailer making its debut. One huge fan outcrying and release date shift later, we got a more traditional-looking Sonic and a still running franchise of fantastic video game movies. Now depending on who you talk to, that campaign was fixed so people would complain, only to be validated in their voices being heard. I can't say that this is what actually happened with Sonic the Hedgehog; nor am I saying that it's what's going on with Shrek 5. But wouldn't it be a hell of a PR move to get people talking about a 'controversial redesign' of your legacy-quel 15 years in the making, only to 'correct' it in the name of pleasing the fans? The truth is out there, Donkey, as are most of the Shrek movies available for streaming - provided you have an active Peacock subscription, of course.
