LOS ANGELES, Dec 27 — After Baby Yoda made waves in the Star Wars episodic series The Mandalorian, Paramount Pictures is introducing the world to its own adorable youngling. Baby Sonic’s appearance marks a significant turnaround from the initial Sonic the Hedgehog movie aesthetic.

Baby Yoda, Baby Shark — now it’s Baby Sonic, or so Paramount is hoping.

Adapting a nearly 30-year-old video game franchise, the Sonic the Hedgehog movie was at first scheduled for release in November 2019, but after a bemused and horrified audience reaction to Sonic’s more realistic visual makeover, it was delayed to February 2020.

Sonic now looks much more like his original video game incarnation — no more humanoid eyes, dental work or dad-bod proportions, for example. But Paramount and filmmaker Blur Studio are still making at least one change to established canon: adding Baby Sonic to franchise lore.

Baby Sonic appears for just a second in a new Sonic the Hedgehog trailer directed at Japanese audiences, smiling sweetly and holding out a small sunflower.

In the background, masked warriors crouch on branches and hold bows and arrows.

Though Baby Sonic’s time in the spotlight is momentary, Paramount named the entire trailer in his honour, building a Japanese website subsection, and producing a key chain charm and colouring book for the tiny spiny blue blaze.

Starring Ben Schwartz as the title character, Jim Carrey as rival Dr Robotnik, James Marsden as local law officer Tom and Tika Sumpter as Tom’s wife Annie, Sonic the Hedgehog begins its international rollout the week of February 14, 2020. — AFP-Relaxnews