Sonic the Hedgehog Plushes USA 20

Sonic the Hedgehog Plush Dolls USA Page 20 - Modern Plushes

This page has only MODERN (post-Sonic Adventure-era from 2010 and onward) plush dolls.
This page will have a focus on 2020-2023 plushes, likely from GE Entertainment, KidRobot, JakksPacific and more. With plushes showing up at offline retail stores and online at more places like Amazon & Target plush availability seems to be on the rise.

A double first?
It seems like it, with this fun GE Entertainment Motobug Badnick plush. It's probably the first USA badnick plush...and it's the first reversable plush too! If you turn it inside out, the other side is a Flicky Bird. (So, you can play 'release the small animal from the badnick' like the games) Also, yes Metal Sonic has had plushes before but he is not a regular badnick and so doesn't count for the first. This is a factory photo, and they didn't take one of

the other side. That will be added to the entry when the Flicky Side of the plush is revealed. So far though, it does look good, they've got the exahust, the tire with texture lines, the little claws and 3D antenna. It is also a fun idea if the flip gimmick pans out. Likely to be a spring 2023 item.

GE Entertainment surprises everyone with this Mephiles evil plush doll! The antagonist of Sonic 2006 gets a very complicated and well done plush with GE's expected quality.
This character is super wierd looking and detailed to begin with, he's footless, noseless and very crystaline/ craggy looking. He's of course somewhat based on Sonic/Shadow because he started as a rather formless thing/and naturally our gang being mixed up in the plot led to this boss creature appearance.

With the 'stitching' type lines on the eyeball surface, good embroidery, and attention to getting all the details this does look like the game, but if you were going to have a haunted doll of some sort this thing looks like a candidate for such.
Suggestion: This is really well done and reasonably priced. It should be on Amazon in 2023. If you want this do buy it because it is unlikely to be re-released. (Villain items seldom are unless its like Eggman or MetalSonic or something)

Well it was a pretty big debate on whether these should land on Mutant Gear or go here, onto the Plush Section.
So it might move in the future!
Anyway these...frightful eggs are actually Squishmallows, the popular thing from Kellytoy. They usually select silly real or fantasy animals and make simply shaped

and variously sized 'pillow like' friends to collect. (Think puppies, kitties, dinosaurs with simple features) For some reason, they got the modern license and scruffed it up with these 3 problems. It combines the flat / round zombie staring Funkopop-goblin eyes with the color ring (for modern characters) and their flat staring faces are somehow worse for it? No highlight detial for the eye (but yet is on the nose??) and the oddly smallish eyes (especially for Sonic) rudimentary features, and egg like shapes make these look like something Eggman may have made for target practice. Very wierd.

Franco, the bedding company has a line of "Pillow Buddies" plush from various licenses franchises. They got the modern Sonic license a while ago, and produced Modern Sonic, who then seemed to only be sold in Walmart and maybe Target for a while. Apparently though, he did well because

In spring 2023, Franco Pillow Buddies adds 2 more characters: Amy Rose and Shadow. And...well Shadow's better. These plushes are big, about 20 inches long probably, but like the old (nasty) plushes over on mutant gear, they make them super long / noodly / lanky so they can boast about the size of the doll even though they're just mostly leg length.

The Sonic had wierd proportions too, so it's no surprise they're following the (likely literal) pattern here. Amy isn't great at all because of the heavy black eye border going all the way around the eye edges. They're also very tall. It makes her expression come across as odd, even if her head shape is all right. The long torso doesn't do her a lot of favors either. But, they did get details like her bangs, the nicely thick shoes, and gold bracelets.
Shadow is better, with properly pointing up spikes, good shoe detail, normal sized hands and the red triangle marks in the right places however...he suffers because look how close together his eyes are. The poor thing looks crosseyed and it messes up his whole expression. Compare him even to Amy. Putting the eyes even just a bit further apart and he'd be pretty darn good. These will probably also appear in the BED AREA of Walmart & Target. (NOT the toy or plush aisle, they get in with the blankets and such)

Here's the first Sonic-item reversable plush!
Reversable plushes use an 'inside-out' gimmick to go from one thing to another. So, it's basically a plush that is 'stuffed' with another plush so you can switch it back and forth with a pocket/zipper type system. In this case it's a blue flicky bird & a motobug badnick.
This makes perfect sense, as the 'little animal' comes out of the bad robot when Sonic breaks it/saves them. So, a smart start to the idea here, directly from games.
However...the Flicky...needs a bit of help. It's clearly modeled after a stock art

but they didn't shape the eyes like...at all...and they're super huge? The eyes are usually shown as wider at the bottom so they don't just look like huge vertical slots in the face. Also why does the mouth/beak need to be open? These things combine to have it kind of wierd looking and the face doesn't come across as that cute?
The motobug though, is quite good looking from these photos, complete with pop up antenna and the little claw things & drawn on tire-texture. You can see how the zipper on the back of the head will change them back and forth. This is a factory photo. More photos will be added along with where to get it and pricing, once it is released in Summer 2023.

Pleather Plushes?
Please beware, perhaps. (Alliteration much?) Kid Robot gets the idea to use the fabric called 'pleather' to make a Sonic plush and a Tails plush. What is pleather? It's "Plasti-Leather", a shiny, smooth, fabric that's meant to resemble leather in look and feel. This does give the plush a unique look, because it is neither stretchy nor fuzzy and has a semi-shiny surface. So, these would be slightly cool to the touch, absorb no water/stain, and somewhat firm in texture. (So, they can't be constructed using all of the usual plush methods due to lack of stretchy)
So what's the issue?
Pleather doesn't last. It may cost more at the start (which is true for these at, at least 35.00 each) and be tough for a while, but exposure to.....time (not to mention moisture, sun, lack of sun, etc) causes pleather things (at least so far) to degrade. It is subject to cracking, crumbling, and peeling. Even if the item isn't moved around much, 'fault lines' can appear on it over time. So, spending more to collect something that doesn't last forever in a collection is something to know BEFORE you buy, not after--if you don't have any experience with the substance. (Those tatty old office chairs you often see by the side of the road falling apart--those are pleather, most likely)
But aside from the material, how are they?
Kid Robot did their usual pretty decent job here, especially considering patterning for this stuff is hard. They (of course) choose their "sort of chibi style" for the characters with stumpy limbs and big heads. As they are "Sitter Plush" they have that fat dumpy body with the legs attached at the front only so that they sit easily/dangle the legs for a cute look. This doesn't afford them many poses, though. The Sonic's ears are flat fins, but Tails' are 3D. They both have decent expressions, with embroidered features. They don't miss any details, like Tails' glove bands/sock bands and real 3D buckles for Sonic's shoes. The sculpt for his spikes is decent as well. These are decent looking enough for stylized characters, but time will tell how they hold up in people's collections. These are factory photos.

The good thing about GE Entertainment is that they don't let the license rest, they're focused on the fans, turning out new characters with their expected quality plush dolls.
Here, they announce Sage from Sonic Frontiers. They've chosen a chibi style for this villian plush debut. She has her usual unimpressed expression, the signature spiraling hair seems embroidered-detail, and the eye also has plenty of detail. If you lift the hair, what's under there? Will they make an ordinary style for her later if this does well? GE's usual plushes are not stylized or gimmick/they're usually "like the character in the game" so this main line one being chibi is a bit out of their usual MO on this. This is a factory photo.

More dead-eyed little egg things...
Now, Squishmallows adds Shadow to their line up, and appears in Sega Shop Online for the USA. Aren't these things supposed to be cute and lively looking? What's wrong with their eyes that they can't be the proper shape? They look like plush versions of funko pops little beady demon critters.
Squishmallow does use soft/quality fabirc, embroidery and good stuffing, so it's not like they're not a quality item but...it's just what they look like.

GE Entertainment adds a 10 inch Classic Amy to the line in Fall 2023. And, they do a good solid job of it, with this nicely sized plush. It has all the classic details done well. There are real laces for her shoes, the red headband is a separate cloth, the sleeves have the white rim under the cap, and the skirt is very ruffly and correct. They also paid attention to her eye shape and got the lashes right as well as having big/stuffed bangs.
This one should certainly satisfy Amy fans, she's cute, she's classic and she's quality.

In fall 2023, Just Funky will release a set of 'mystery hanger' mini plush. They're meant to go on a backpack or something fairly large, as they're too big to be a keychain at about almost 4 inches tall each.
Sadly, these will be blind bagged in the bag you see at left,

and will be about 10 dollars each at Hot Topic (and probably other stores too)

The characters you could get are Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow or Metal Sonic. Each has a plastic keychain style clip in a matching color on top of their head, and everybody is modern. Above you can see the factory photo, and to the left is the show photo where they were first displayed by the company. (So, this is sure to be the final look) And, as with plush in this super tiny (for a plush) size, they're ok.

You're not going to get the detail or the proportions of a perfect plush at this size so you have things like Knuckles with micro feet, Tails with eyes too big and Metal Sonic looking a bit off. Things like Amy's spikes and Knuckles' too are flat flappy cloth because they're too small to be a stuffed detail. Only fans will be able to judge if these are worth 10 dollars to buy it and not know who you're going to get. Being plush, the stiff poly bag seen here will defeat squeezing it to see which one it is.

GE adds another plush to their line of "Posed Plush Dolls" in the Fall of 2023, with this laying down classic Sonic.
He is posed with elbow down, hand on head and legs crossed as he is on his side. One hand is up in a gesture (so it has to be wired or plastic inside) This is likely off the impatient/laying Sonic stock art. However, his expression is normal/relaxed (Which is likely a better idea than having an annoyed doll) Oddly, there's still a hang loop on him...because he's naturally horizontal. Because it is large, this should be about 30 dollars. This is GE Entertainment's factory photo

Here is another "Stickerbomb Plush" in the 'emoji plush' style.
Knuckles here is about 6 inches, and because he exists, you know that the line would have had at least also Sonic & Tails in this style. The Stickerbomb style was used on several different types of merchandise during the Go Sega or 60th Sega anniversary time. The 'little big-heads' or 'chibi emoji' style started with Boom plush, but once Boom faded, regular characters appear in it.
The use of stickerbomb here replaces all of where he is red, and also the heel color to his shoes. But...because it is combined with an off-model version of him, the chatoic fabric, wierd flattned head and mini-features all combine to make him look...kind of fake.

Like this doesn't really come across as 'Knuckles-like'. There's too many competing styles being thrown all over and its inexpensive/cheap nature doesn't help. These were (probably all?) prize-plush in UFOCatchers/claw machines or winnable at places with tickets like Chuck e Cheese or Dave & Busters. Toy Factory is the producer here, and they usually work with prize type items.
Prize items also have a reputation for becomeing somewhat (or actually) less common/uncommon later on because they couldn't just be bought and are never advertised so there's not as many on the market to start with.