I'm sure that the design has been criticized internally at Paramount long before it was made public. Nobody wants to make a bad film. I don't know how the film got this point where they're six months from release and Sonic looks weird and kinda freak-ish in certain shots. Maybe one day there'll be a tell-all about the troubled production of Sonic. I do hope that the VFX team aren't forced to crunch for the next six months to redo all the shots where Sonic appears since they're likely not gonna move the release date.
Let's take a step back, though. The reason films such as Garfield, Alvin and the Chipmunks (the first live action film, at least), and Hop worked on a fundamental level is that they had visually charming protagonists. They were cute, in their own way. These films didn't necessarily impress critics, but they do work as films..
Hop is especially pertinent because both Sonic and Detective Pikachu are pretty clearly cribbing from it. But the lynchpin is that EB's design works. Pikachu's design works.
This, on the other hand, is not working. It just looks odd, my dudes. Is it a man? It is a hedgehog? God can see you, Paramount, and He is not pleased with what you have created.
Cinematic parallels and all. I like Mike Myer's Cat in the Cat movie. But I like it because it is a twisted, demented, freakish, completely inappropriate fever dream of a film. It's a marvel that it exists. That it was allowed to exist. That we can enjoy it, drink from its poisoned nectar and see into ourselves. A Sonic movie that makes me think about Cat in the Hat should indeed re-examine its creative direction before it's too late.
As for people arguing this film will be a giant stinker, I remember people shittng all over Alita when the first screens were released with the weird eyes. That film turned itself around and was pretty solid. I wouldn't be so quick to write Sonic off. The people behind this movie are trying to make a good movie, and I think it's wise to always give people the benefit of a doubt. So what if it's not the bestest movie ever? There's a wide spectrum between amazing and garbage.