Sonic the Hedgehog: The Animated Series (1993)
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| ♥ | This article is dedicated to Ben Hurst (1951-2010) who died from complications relating to diabetes and Christine Cavanaugh (1963-2014) who died by getting cremated, may they both rest in peace. |
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 Sonic, he's the fastest thing ali-ive!
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Sonic the Hedgehog (also known as Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic SatAM) is an Italian-American animated television series. It was a story edited by Len Janson and produced by DiC Entertainment. Made with the partnership of Sega of America, the show is based on the 1991 video game of the same name on the Sega Genesis. The series depicted Sonic as a member of a band of freedom fighters, battling to overthrow Doctor Robotnik. It is the second Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon, following Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and preceding Sonic Underground. The program aired for two seasons on ABC Saturday Mornings from September 18, 1993 to December 3, 1994. It continued in repeats until 1995.
Plot
In a post-apocalyptic and dystopian future, all life has been challenged by oppression and tyranny, as the evil Dr. Robotnik is on the wake of controlling Mobius. So then the Freedom fighters with Sonic the Hedgehog and Sally Acorn must stop from Robotnik's plan and save Mobius.
Why It's Got an Attitude
- Awesome animation, even by 1993 and 1994 standards.
- It's faithful to the source material, and has some great, innovative, and creative ideas for one of the first TV adaptations based on a video game character.
- It also feels like the animated versions of the Sonic Archie comics that came before and after this show.
- Amazing characters like Sonic himself, Princess Sally Acorn, Tails, Bunnie, and Rotor.
- Great character development, mostly from Sally.
- Very funny and even serious moments that use the dark tone, especially compared to Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog where it was more humorous and was aimed at much younger audiences.
- Because of this, it shows how Sonic works better in action than comedy.
- Speaking of which, unlike the sillier and campier version of Robotnik, who is usually meant to be like an ineffectual, comedic villain towards Sonic. This version of Robotnik is truly a menacing villain, and in such a way that you wouldn't expect. Where he actually imposes serious threats and conquered Mobius entirely.
- Really awesome voice acting, especially from Jaleel White, Jim Cummings, Kath Soucie, Charlie Adler, Christine Cavanaugh, Micheal Bell, Rob Paulsen and Cree Summer.
- Extremely cool and catchy theme song that is extremely memorable and nostalgic to those who watched the show growing up.
- Countless cinematic moments.
- Incredible dark and memorable moments like the season 2 finale.
Bad Qualities
- Season 2, while not terrible, is considered the weaker of the two, as it had some problems not seen in the first season:
- Sonic slowly began to lose his role as the main focus, and it went more towards Sally and the rest of the Freedom Fighters. Antoine especially for some reason.
- Dulcy's appearance had no introduction.
- Overabundance of cheesy comic relief moments.
- This season ended the show on a huge cliffhanger, as ABC canceled the show before DiC even bothered to make another season, even though there was a great plot and script already written for that season. Luckily, a fan-made third season that serves as a continuation to where the show left off is in the works with some of the staff from the first two seasons helping out as well.
- While the other characters are portrayed well, Sonic's, Tails's, Robotnik's, Dulcy's and Antoine's portrayal isn't very strong:
- Sonic can often be very annoying, dorky, unlikable, a bit disrespectful, and he has put his friends in danger a lot in season 2. He also speaks in an incredibly unnecessary and grating 90's slang.
- Tails has been helpful occasionally, but he really doesn't do as much as other portrayals of him. And the sad part is, he could be considered more as a background character than a main character in the show.
- Compared to his other portrayals, this version of Robotnik is rather very stereotypical and lacks the charisma of the other portrayals.
- Antoine is a clumsy and rather arrogant coward who always fails to impress Sally, and he has screwed up plans his team comes up with to battle Robotnik.
- Dulcy is very foolish, ungainly most of the time and loud-mouthed.
- While Jaleel White's voice performance as Sonic is still great, he often makes him sound annoying.
- The chemistry between Sonic and Sally is kind of inconsistent. There have been episodes where Sally is portrayed as Sonic's girlfriend, and then episodes after that where she isn't.
- Considering that this is made by DiC, there are some animation errors at times. Like some of the lip-syncing is a bit out of place occasionally.
- A lot like Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, the Latin American dub was not well received.
- Despite Sonic Spinball being the first game based on this show, it never got another game due to it's cancelled spin-off, Sonic-16, getting rejected by Yuji Naka due to it being too slow for gamers.[1]
Reception
Sonic the Hedgehog (1993) was met with critical acclaim due to its darker tone, amazing animation, strong characters, great character development and its engaging drama. The show currently has a rating of 6.8/10 on IMDb.
Videos
Trivia
- This show's animation (along with AoStH) was so nostalgic, there were many videos of actual cel animation frames from the show that are saved as collectibles (along with many other shows) to this very day.[2]
- Some character designs from the show were utilized in Sonic Spinball in the bonus stages such as Sally, Tails & Antoine.
References
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