Paramount’s first live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movie may have been a beloved staple of a pandemic-stricken 2020, but there were a few months before release when fans expected to enjoy the film in a completely different sense. Of course, I’m referring to the creepily realistic and dentally-endowed version of the blue hedgehog shown in the film’s first trailer, which went on to spawn no shortage of online memes mocking the fittingly-dubbed ‘Ugly Sonic.’

Though Paramount and effects house Blur Studio eventually replaced the blue hellspawn with a traditional design, it looks like Disney Plus had other plans following the premiere of its new Chip n Dale: Rescue Rangers movie. In a film bursting with countless cartoon references and cameos, Ugly Sonic appears as one of the more surprising of the bunch, not only as a punchline, but he also factors considerably into the overall plot. Light spoilers follow.

Without going too far into spoiler territory, fans are actually introduced to Ugly Sonic – as the character freely calls himself – very early in the movie as a guest at a Comic-Con-like event called Fan Con. The titular Chip and Dale repeatedly meet up with the hideous blue blur during the film’s runtime as he stands at an ‘Ugly Sonic’ booth, hocks merch, and signs autographs for his “adoring” fans. All the while, the chipmunks are shown to be sufficiently creeped out by the mutant marsupial’s extremely prominent teeth.

For those confused about why Ugly Sonic would appear in a Chip n Dale movie, this version of Rescue Rangers was produced as a spiritual sequel of sorts to 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, imagining a fantastically meta world where live-action humans and cartoons – CGI, 2D animated, claymation, or otherwise – all live amongst each other. Chip and Dale themselves are portrayed as washed-up actors whose only claim to fame was their classic Disney afternoon show. The two are eventually reunited as they get wrapped up in a case of kidnapped toons.

The question of how Ugly Sonic, a creation of Paramount, managed to appear in a Disney movie, was decidedly more complicated and required some tricky legal maneuvering to obtain the character’s rights. That’s at least according to the film’s director Akiva Schaffer, who recalled (via Decider) pushing hard to include as many types of animation styles as possible. “Those lawyers really had their hands full,” Schaffer said. “They had a lot of work to do and they really got behind it and were excited about the idea of it.”

As a fan of the live-action Sonic himself – both the creepy teeth and finalized versions of the character – Schaffer saw an ample opportunity to resurrect the unused Ugly Sonic as a fun, but playful, dig at Paramount’s ridiculed rendition, likening it to lampoon comedy featured on programs like Saturday Night Live. “Most of the things we were ‘making fun of,’ I actually love,” Akiva Schaffer explained. “I’m hoping the people take it as a fun SNL, with love, thing.”

Chip n Dale: Rescue Rangers is now available to watch on Disney Plus.

​What do you think? Are you loving the return of Ugly Sonic in the Chip n Dale: Rescue Rangers movie, or could you have gone an entire lifetime without seeing those teeth again? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Don’t Feed the Gamers on Twitter and Facebook to be informed of the latest gaming and entertainment news 24 hours a day!​

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