The company that redesigned live-action Sonic has closed down

The studio tasked with changing how Sonic looked in the much-derided live-action Sonic movie has reportedly shut down.

Though the Vancouver office of Moving Picture Company had nothing to do with the original version that received such a backlash from fans, reports suggest the “increasing external market pressures” in Vancouver forced the company to shuttered the office and said the “decision has not been taken lightly”. 

A CBC report (thanks, NintendoLife) claims to have received an email sent to staff members announcing the closure, a copy of which popped up on the Vancouver Sun a few hours later:

It remains unclear how many people have been affected by the closure, and as yet, Moving Picture Company has not commented publicly on the decision. While it’s likely the character redesign will continue at one of MPC’s other global offices, this too has yet to be clarified.

Sega and Paramount were forced to go back to the drawing board and redesign their live-action Sonic the Hedgehog after fans criticised the new-look Sonic, with many complaining the iconic mascot looked nothing like the character fans had grown up with, flooding social media with criticism and memes mocking the teaser.

In the end, both companies confirmed they would be addressing the issues highlighted, and the film’s director Jeff Fowler tweeted: “Thank you for the support. And the criticism. The message is loud and clear… you aren’t happy with the design and you want changes. It’s going to happen. Everyone at Paramount and Sega are fully committed to making this character the BEST he can be.”