MegaSonicPlush

MegaSonicPlush (MSP) is an American soup opera created by Mark Handon and produced by Team MSP. The show takes place in within a world in which fictional characters from numerous media franchises exist, originally just and .
All of the show's characters are . While the plushes were originally held and moved by their portrayers' hands in episodes from early 2009, in season 2 the characters are used as makeshift puppets, with strings attatched to them that are even visible during the episodes.
The show debuted on its own website on January 1, 2009, and on the next day. The show's first episode became a , and the channel reached nearly 250,000 subscribers in its first five months.
==Premise==
MegaSonicPlush is set in a world in which fictional characters from a variety of media franchises co-exist. Originally, the only characters were and . Currently, Sega and Nintendo characters are still present, as well as characters and original characters based on existing properties.
Most of the characters live in the city of , . However, some live in nearby cities.
==History==
The history of MegaSonicPlush web series dates back to 2007, when Mark Handon put the show into development, and he soon started producing episodes of the show. The show's YouTube channel was created on December 30, 2008, and the show made its debut on January 1, 2009.
On June 3, 2019, Handon announced that the show's YouTube channel had been demonetized due to violations of YouTube's rules.
==Present cast and characters==
*Mark Handon as Sonic, Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Kermit
*Ruby Li as Amy, Cream, and Princess Peach
*Jade Corall as Rosalina
*Gabriel Alvarez as Bowser, Snoof, and Fozzie
*Luis Marquez as Knuckles and David Otherguy
*Felix Monerres as Fozzie
*Reed McCormick as Elmo
==Distribution==
===YouTube===
The series was originally release exclusively on YouTube, and it premiered on January 1, 2009, becoming Team MSP's flagship production, as well as the channel's.
===MSP.com===
In May 2016, following the registration of MSP.com in February, the team announced that new episodes would be uploaded to the website on week before they would be uploaded on YouTube.
==Reception==
=== Critical reception ===
The show was rated 9/10 on Showtalk. 84% of the show's reviewers on WebLook gave it positive reviews, the site calling it "good stuff". Blue.com's Maggi Robinson rated the show 100%, writing, "Parents, stop complaining. The show was made for you, not your kids."
On March 4, 2014, Jeff Luck of Comedy News stated, "Not only is MSP the funniest web series I've seen, but a milestone in web production due to its creativity and its style of plushie use."
===Criticism and controversies===
====Plagiarism====
In March 2017, television producer and animator Tim Young accused Mark Handon of plagiarizing his animated web series Slapdown, which features and characters and characters from the franchise, specifically and . Although Slapdowns first season premiered on March 3, 2010, a short film that the show is based on was released on June 8, 2008. Through a , Young also noted in an interview with Funny.com, "MegaSonicPlush even stole the 'Toad's surname' element of my show."
On April 8, 2017, Handon stated in a video, "Prior to making MSP, I had never heard of Timothy Young's cartoon, and my crew members had not heard of it either. Also, my show's development began in 2007 and lasted into 2008, while Young probably whipped his show up in a few days. Accusing me of copying an unpopular web series only shows Young's lack of intelligence."
====Luigi and Cream controversy====
The martial relationship between Cream and Luigi has been criticized due to its bestial nature. It was also criticized because in Sonic canon, Cream is a child, and Luigi is 40 years old in the show's canon. As a result, a 2012 addressed that she is 39 years old on the show, but the relationship was still criticized.
Kevin Bangapoy of Viewer Nation wrote, "A man in love with a rabbit. That is beyond wrong." Chris Jackson tweeted, "WHY THE HELL IS A MAN IN LOVE WITH A RABBIT?! THAT'S JUST WRONG!" 
After the YouTube channel was demonetized in 2019, the relationship was changed, so the two are now depicted as friends, and any references to them living with each other are not present.
====Demonetization====
On June 3, 2019, Handon announced on YouTube that the channel was entirely demonetized due to violations of YouTube's Terms of Service. He also stated, "Team MSP is doing everything in its power to eliminate strong language; use of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol; adult situations; and sex on the show as much as possible; and violence will only be limited to cartoon violence. That way, we will have a good show that will be fun not just for the adults in the family, but the whole family." The channel's monitization resumed in January 2020.
==See also==
*Other News Network
*Game Play Zoom
==References==
Category:MegaSonicPlush
Category:Web sitcoms
Category:American television shows featuring puppetry
Category:American television shows featuring anthropomorphic characters
Category:Soup operas