Sonic

This has been my favorite cartoon show for years now. Something about just stood out above all others. The cartoon characters are wonderfully integrated with the show's dark tone and the entire voice cast has strikingly good chemistry with each other. Those that stick out are Jaleel White (Urkel) as the fabulously cocky title role, Christine Cavanaugh as the cyborg Bunnie Rabbot, and the legendary Jim Cummings as the convincibly evil Dr. Robotnik. Other notable cast members include Kath Soucie as Princess Sally, Tim Curry as King Acorn, Cree Summer as Dulcy and Shari Belafonte as Lupe, the latter two specifically for the second season. This was the best Sonic cartoon of them all.

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.

This show came out a short time after the other Sonic cartoon. That one was on at the same time as Animaniacs and seeing how I hated it so much, I had no reason at all to watch. Then I hear of this new one, and see that it looks a lot different. After one episode I was hooked. The theme song was great and it was a very cool look at Sonic's world. Man, I wish that the video games were based on the characters on this show. It would've been much more interesting. I liked most of them. Bunnie Rabbot, Princess Sally, Tails, Rotor, Dulcy, Arrie, Uncle Chuck, and (believe it or not) Antoine. I see a lot of people here didn't like him, but heck, he's the comic relief. A lot of shows need comic relief. This was, up to last year, my favorite show based on a video game (Pokemon has now taken its place), but I wish it would've succeeded. I hated the fact that it was off the air right when things were really getting interesting between Sonic and Sally. What cruel fate for such a worthy show.

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.

When i was just a little kid, i watched Sonic The Hedgehog ALL the time. Today I am a complete Sonic The Hedgehog freak! I own every single useless sonic gadgets and toys. I knew almost everything about that show. If you ask me, i think somebody should put that show back on the air. Sonic The Hedgehog had a nice storyline and great animation. The detail was terrific as well. Still to this day i sing that catchy theme song in my head. Sonic The Hedgehog was aired a little after the TV show known as "The Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog" was aired. the 2 shows sound the same, and people who never saw the sonic shows, would think they aren't different. But, when Sonic The Hedgehog was aired, it sky rocketed past the first aired show. Please Bring Back Sonic!!!! Sonic Still Has Many Many Fans Out There!!!