Studio Behind Sonic The Hedgehog Redesign Closes Down

The animation studio that fixed Sonic for his big-screen debut has announced it is closing its doors. The Vancouver studio Moving Picture Company (MPC) sent word to employees on Wednesday that it would be immediately closing its doors, citing "increasing external market pressures" in the area.

CBC reports that the studio employed more than 800 artists, but it's unknown how large the studio was as of the time of closure. The studio was brought in to animate the revised Sonic the Hedgehog after the look in the first movie trailer was widely panned. The company's work also included The Lion King, Watchmen, and Call of the Wild. It won an Academy Award for its work on Life of Pi.

The email to employees said, "This decision has not been taken lightly."

Sonic the Hedgehog is coming on February 14, 2020, having been delayed from its original November release date to work on the redesign. It stars Ben Schwartz voicing Sonic, Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, and James Marsden as a state trooper who befriends the blue hedgehog.