“I see your Baby Yoda and raise you a BABY SONIC!”

December 29, 2019 11:13 AM

Make some room, Baby Yoda: Japan's Sonic The Hedgehog trailer introduces Baby Sonic [AV Club] “A certain mossy-toned, pint-sized Jedi Master waddled into the pop culture zeitgeist at an auspicious time, when Disney+’s The Mandalorian and anticipation for The Rise Of Skywalker worked in tandem to bring maximum attention to the Star Wars franchise. In addition, some would say that before Baby Yoda, there was a troubling dearth of tiny, adorable versions of larger-than-life cultural icons. (It’s us. We’re saying this.) Since November, the lil’ bub has been prospering, delivering meme after meme and cornering the market like a frog-eating, mug-wielding boss. But before he gets too comfortable, there may be a new contender aiming to dethrone him as the Biggest Cutie Of The Moment. The Japanese film trailer for Sonic The Hedgehog, which dropped yesterday, opens with a brief origin story featuring a young Sonic—or Baby Sonic.”

• The decade in babies [The Verge]

“This decade, babies took on a new life. Everyone wanted to be a baby, and particularly this year, babies dominated the meme cycle. We’re obsessed with babyfication — turning everything into a baby including ourselves and beloved characters. Unlike infantilization, babyfication suggests corporate strategy, foresight about how turning users or characters into babies will spur brand visibility. I can’t pretend to understand why we’re baby-crazy, except for positing that it has something to do with a complete lack of control over the world and our lives. Climate change is going to burn up the Earth; wealth inequality is rampant; and generally, many things are bad. Babies, on the other hand, are good. They’re innocent and pure. They don’t know how horrible the world can be; they’re just babies. Babies are cute. We love babies. (We can’t help it, genetically!)”

posted by Fizz (18 comments total)

Also part of this phenomenon in my eyes is the whole Funko Pop collector doll craze, which is really just putting baby/toddler features out as "cute" versions of adult characters.
posted by hippybear at 11:20 AM on December 29, 2019

which is really just putting baby/toddler features out as "cute" versions of adult characters.

We do have a technical term for this: Kindchenschema [wiki]

“a set of facial and body features, that make a creature appear "cute" and activate ("release") in others the motivation to care for it.[3] Cuteness may be ascribed to people as well as things that are regarded as attractive or charming.[4]”

posted by Fizz at 11:24 AM on December 29, 2019 [4 favorites]

Right, yes, I know. But the oddly adult baby-faced versions of things Funko puts out just strike me as playing into this same marketing scheme.
posted by hippybear at 11:27 AM on December 29, 2019

Allow me to be the first to say, I'm baby
posted by potrzebie at 11:29 AM on December 29, 2019 [6 favorites]

Nothing new, Donkey Kong fleshed out a full Kong family including an aggressively cute Ditty Kong, and aren't all "first phase" pokemons essentially babies?

The history of animated babies goes way back... Tweety Bird was an antropormorphic infant, I personally disapproved when the Flintstones universe aged Pebbles and Bam-Bam into teenagers, and Stewie of Family Guy seriously tried to lampshade every baby trope... and Muppet Babies has kept the Muppets alive when nothing else did.

I'm awaiting apprehenively for other Sci-Fi franchises to get into the Baby Boom... Baby Spock? Sadly obvious. Blade Walker Babies? Scary. Would the babies of Avatar's blue people look like Smurfs? And there is regretably a future for Baby Freddie Kruger...
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:49 PM on December 29, 2019 [2 favorites]

baby spock you say

(Season 2 of DSC)
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:21 PM on December 29, 2019 [1 favorite]

Yeah that's just a weird misshapen beanie baby with creepy cartoon eyes, I'll stick with baby Yoda, thanks
posted by mmoncur at 2:16 PM on December 29, 2019

This won't end until we see Baby E.T., and then we'll all be sorry.
posted by skymt at 3:06 PM on December 29, 2019 [4 favorites]

Still waiting for Watchmen Babies: V for Vacation
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 4:23 PM on December 29, 2019 [7 favorites]

Baby Hannibal, or GTFO
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:00 PM on December 29, 2019

But before he gets too comfortable, there may be a new contender aiming to dethrone him as the Biggest Cutie Of The Moment.

THAT is not cute.
posted by See you tomorrow, saguaro at 5:34 PM on December 29, 2019

But before he gets too comfortable, there may be a new contender aiming to dethrone him as the Biggest Cutie Of The Moment.

When contacted for comment, Baby Yoda closed his eyes, quietly reached out his tiny arms and hands, and made a gesture generally understood to mean, "Come at me, bro."
posted by fuse theorem at 6:04 PM on December 29, 2019 [4 favorites]

Galaxy Brain: Ewoks are just Wookie Babies
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:51 PM on December 29, 2019 [1 favorite]

First of all, Baby Yoda is a ridiculous badass while remaining a baby. This is important. Baby Yoda would straight-up murder you, and your entire extended family, if you were so foolish as to threaten Mando. He/she would feel no guilt while doing so. You act, he/she acts, and everyone you’ve ever known dies.

Baby Sonic does not threaten my genetic lineage in the same way.

Second, Baby Yoda has fun with terrifyingly dangerous machines. Placed in a warp-capable vessel, I would not dare touch a single goddamn thing. I would suspend myself in space, by sheer force of will, to avoid touching any of the hideously dangerous knobs. Baby Yoda does not share my concerns. Baby Yoda would fucking eat the warp core itself just because it looked dangerous, and danger=flavortown.

Baby Sonic, meanwhile, would run fast.
posted by aramaic at 8:26 PM on December 29, 2019 [5 favorites]

I want it noted on the record that this post was NOT an endorsement of Baby Sonic, simply an announcement that another contender had entered the competition. I vastly prefer all things to be Baby Yoda, like make ALL The memes about Baby Yoda, because omg awwwwwwwwwww.
posted by Fizz at 4:43 AM on December 30, 2019 [2 favorites]

Another contender enters.
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:32 PM on December 30, 2019

Not even close.
posted by The Hyacinth Girl at 7:26 AM on December 31, 2019

Speaking of mossy, don't forget Baby Groot, although he is technically the OG's offspring.
posted by carmicha at 6:23 AM on January 1, 2020 [1 favorite]