Sonic

In the 1990s, there was a cool little cliche permeating Saturday morning action cartoons: dystopian future resistance group against megalomaniac and his legions of disposable troops. It started as episodes in ongoing cartoons where the main characters get shunted into a bad future but soon it became the premise that entire shows were built on. One of such shows was SONIC THE HEDGEHOG.

Deviating entirely from the video game source materials, this Saturday morning cartoon had the titular Super speedster join a resistance group led by one Princess Sally. The evil doctor Robotic has taken over the kingdom of Mobotropolis (renamed Robotropolis) and has turned most of its anthronorphic animal populace into subservient robots. Episodes typically involve incursions into the mechanized city or exploring the often deadly countryside for some means to defeat the machine empire and return its people back to normal.

Operating out of the secluded Knothole village, the resistance is a collection of characters with unique and sometimes exaggerated personalities. Aside from the childlike twin tailed fox named Tails, Sonic's best pal from the games, the others are original characters which would occasionally get an episode focused on their development, and them overcoming whatever personality shortcomings they may have whether it's An arrogant one learning humility, an aloof one learning to count on friends or the trusting one learning to be more discerning.

The episodes may seem formulaic after a while but a few of the standout ones do contain a fair amount of tragedy and are surprisingly dark for a kids cartoon. And that's where Sonic himself becomes a bit of a problem.

The stakes are dire, the situation is grim, but here comes Sonic with his "totally radicool" speech style, ever ready with an unfunny quip or cringe pun. His fast talking comical overconfidence stands as a stark contrast to the bleak atmosphere of the plot. A skilled writer could have written his jokey demeanour as a coping mechanism to deal with tragedies he has faced. But alas, it is just passed off as Sonic being Sonic.

The series gets better when it has Princess Sally front and centre. She is a leader, an emotionally vulnerable individual dealing with the loss of her family and kingdom but having to present a strong front to her followers. She is the one reining in Sonic's wild side to get things done; the burden of leadership and the hopes of an entire world weighing down on her petite shoulders.

Another great character for me is Doctor Robotnik. This is not the bombastic boisterous baddie from the games. This guy means business. His rotund character design is offset by inhuman demonic looking eyes and a voice oozing with menace that elevates him from funny fatty to a truly devious devil.

On the quality side of things the animation is more consistent than its sister series ADVENTURES OF SONIC THE HEDGEHOG. There are cool visuals like the polluted dystopia of Robotropolis or the mysterious wilds of mobius, as well as moments of standout animation. Generally it is a tad better than typical outsourced Cartoons of its time but still no where near the level of detail as Japanese anime.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG saw a bit of changes after the first 13 episodes giving us slight design tweaks, stories that were less dark and Robotnik lost some of his menace. By the time it was cancelled after 26 episodes, quality had dipped to the point of repeating or looping past animation to pad out the run time. At very least it ended on a satisfactory though rushed and cheesy conclusion (power of love saves the day) leaving enough teases to spawn an entire franchise continuing in comic form.

Considering the time period of its debut, and its contemporaries catering to the same pre teen target demographic , SONIC THE HEDGEHOG is above average. It lacks the clever scripting of the BEAST WARS, the solid character development in various DC Animated series or the quality control of the Disney cartoons, but it is certainly a better cartoon based off a video game than the likes of Legend of Zelda or Double dragon.

The standout episodes especially the two parter taking place in the past hit all the right pointers for engaging animated stories while the episodes in between feel like mediocre run of the mill filler held up purely by the characters and cast.

Did I ever love this series or what! The "Star Wars" of TV animation if there ever was one. It grabs you from the startling opening credits (which features a stunning shot across a HUGE power station and another of a Death Star-like spaceship assimilating everything in sight, Borg-style.) and never lets go, except a few lame comic relief episodes. The characters had some of the most depth to ever grace a SatAM cartoon, and the artwork was some of the best I have ever seen. I am awfully shocked that it's not available in the US. Here in Asia it's on the Disney Channel, lucky me. And all of you are wrong, this series came before the comic book and the comic book has adhered little to its solid narrative structure. Unlike other video game adaptations this one did not let the story get overshadowed by the action. All in all a truly fantastic series whose impact on animation fans and anthropomorphic fans will not be forgotten. This one should have as many reruns as Batman.

Sonic the Hedgehog, more appropriately known as Sonic SatAM, was the last great cartoon ever aired before the anime takeovers. This wasn't typical cartoony stuff. This show wasn't afraid to show kids a dark and serious side to cartoons. This cartoon was voted to be the second most violent kids show ever, but I would rather watch this than Power Rangers, which killed this show, caused it to go off the air, and then multiplied into many hideous variations. While Sonic had depth, Power Rangers was just cheese and was much more violent than Sonic ever was. This series is not too far off from being a Blade Runner for kids. The atmosphere was dark. The episodes were adventurous and exciting. Dr. Robotnik was made into what a true villain should be--ominous and scary, not the wimpy Sega version. In short, this was a great cartoon, much more than being just another mindless action toon. I even remember the opening sequence and theme song after all these years. It was like the Star Wars of cartoons. It left THAT much of an impression on me. One of the greatest of cartoons is gone forever, but all the children who grew up during that time will never forget.

blue streak speeds by Sonic the Hedgehog too fast for the naked eye Sonic the Hedgehog sonic he can really move sonic hes got attitude sonic hes the fastest thing alive look out when he storms through Sonic the Hedgehog don't doubt what he can do Sonic the Hedgehog sonic he can really move sonic he got attitude sonic hes the fastest thing alive hes the fast thing alive. i swear this was the best song show ever man the other sonic shows are dumb. i cant believe they cancel it. this had the dark look and mysterious look to it. Jaleel white was the best voice for sonic he is sonic man. now they got these dumb shows of sonic x and i am not feeling it

We have here, a bitter war of words between people who like this show and peolpe who like the other one, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.

I have to place myself in this camp. SatAM Sonic is brilliant. Great plots, a working set of characters with fantstic depth (a remarkable effort, given most of them have no SEGA backstory), and pitched at the right level. Not patronising. At just the right distance from the games.

I am told I should "lighten up" about the other show - it is suggested that one is more appropriate for children.

My little brother was under 10 when both these shows came on. We were taping both. Within _one month_, he was fast-forwarding through the "dumb ones" in order to get to SatAM.

But look out for "Sonic X" coming later this year.

I rest my case.