Sonic The Hedgehog (1993)

Sonic the Hedgehog (Italian: Sonic) is an American-Italian animated television series based on the video game series of the same name. It was story edited by Len Janson and produced by DIC Productions, L.P., Sega of America, Inc., and the Italian studio Reteitalia S.p.A. in association with Telecinco. It is the second of DiC's Sonic cartoons, following Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. It features a more dramatic and dark story than the lighter Adventures series, depicting Sonic as a member of a band of freedom fighters battling to overthrow Doctor Robotnik, now a despotic dictator who conquered their home planet Mobius years prior, ruling it as a polluted industrial dystopia. To distinguish it from other Sonic the Hedgehog media, the series is commonly referred to by fans as "SatAM", in reference to its Saturday morning timeslot.

The program aired for two seasons with a total of 26 episodes on ABC from September 18, 1993 to December 3, 1994, and continued in reruns until 1995. A third season was planned, but ABC canceled the show, ending it with a cliffhanger. Despite its cancellation, a fan following has elevated the series to become a cult hit. The show also inspired a video game, Sonic Spinball, and a long-running comic book series of the same name.

## Plot

The series takes place on Mobius, a planet mostly populated by anthropomorphic animals. The Kingdom of Acorn, based within the city of Mobotropolis, was at war with an unseen enemy. The King recruited a human scientist, Julian, to build war machines to end the war with a victory. However, during peacetime, Julian and his nephew Snively launched a coup d'état against the kingdom. The King is banished to another dimension, the Void, and the citizens are captured and transformed into robot slaves, through a machine called the Roboticizer. Julian renames himself as Dr. Robotnik, now the ruthless dictator of Mobius. Mobotropolis is renamed Robotropolis, a polluted, industrial cityscape.

Robotnik finds himself at odds with a small collective group called the Freedom Fighters, who operate out of the hidden woodland village Knothole. They are led by Sonic the Hedgehog and Princess Sally Acorn, the King's sole heir. Other members include Sonic's best friend Miles "Tails" Prower, computer genius Rotor the Walrus, French coyote Antoine Depardieu, half-roboticized Bunnie Rabbot, and Dulcy the Dragon. They act as a rebellion against Robotnik's regime. Sonic uses the Power Rings to gain a temporary boost in power. Both the rings and the Roboticizer were designed by Sonic's uncle Chuck, one of the victims of the machine.

Early on in the series, Sonic uses a Power Ring to restore Uncle Chuck's free will in his mechanical body. Chuck decides to act as a spy for the Freedom Fighters, operating from within the city. He is eventually discovered by Robotnik in the second season, and escapes to Knothole. Sally searches for her father during the series. He is found alive within the Void, shared with a sorcerer, Naugus, who was also imprisoned within the dimension by Robotnik. Naugus attempts to escape the Void, but both he and the King discover their bodies turn to crystal whilst back on Mobius, and are forced to return to their prison. The heroes gain other allies, including Ari the Ram, and Lupe, leader of the elusive wolf pack.

In the series' sole two-part episode, "Blast to the Past", Sonic and Sally use the Time Stones to travel back in time, in an attempt to prevent Robotnik's planned takeover. They fail, but manage to get their younger selves to the safety of Knothole, with help from Sally's nanny Rosie Woodchuck. In the series finale, Robotnik builds the Doomsday Project to destroy the population. The Freedom Fighters launch a full scale attack against Robotnik, with Sonic and Sally destroying the Doomsday Project with the power of the Deep Power Stones. Robotnik is killed, and the Freedom Fighters declare victory, with Sonic and Sally kissing.

In a final scene, Snively becomes the main antagonist, accompanied by an unseen ally with red eyes. Ben Hurst, one of the series' writers, confirmed the figure was Naugus.

## Characters

### Knothole Freedom Fighters

* Sonic (the) Hedgehog (voiced by Jaleel White as a young man, Tahj Mowry as a boy) – Sonic is the main protagonist of the series. He is able to run at superhuman speed, and is the only freedom fighter capable of using magical rings called Power Rings. Sonic has an impatient and head-strong personality, but is also fearless, heroic, and well-meaning. He always mockingly refers to Robotnik as "Ro-butt-nik".
* Princess Sally Acorn (voiced by Kath Soucie as a young woman, Dana Hill as a girl) – A chipmunk who is the rightful princess of Mobotropolis and Sonic's love interest. As a strategist for the Knothole Freedom Fighters, she is knowledgeable and the voice of reason. However, Sally tries to keep Sonic grounded.
* Bunnie Rabbot (voiced by Christine Cavanaugh) – A rabbit with a southern accent. Half of her body was roboticized, leaving her left arm and both legs mechanical. She is skilled in martial arts, and wants to be returned to normal.
* Antoine "Ant" Depardieu (voiced by Rob Paulsen) – A coyote with a French accent whose awkwardness often places the others in danger and gets him captured. He has some difficulty speaking English. He has romantic feelings for Princess Sally, and attempts to impress her. However, his selfishness hinders this goal. Sonic often teases Antoine over his shortcomings.
* Rotor (voiced by Mark Ballou in season one, Cam Brainard in season 2) – A walrus, and the mechanic of Knothole Village. He provides the Knothole Freedom Fighters with useful inventions, and accompanies them on infiltrations.
* Tails (voiced by Bradley Pierce) – A young two-tailed fox who idolizes Sonic. While usually left behind in Knothole, he proves useful in deadly missions.
* Nicole (voiced by Kath Soucie) – A portable computer that Sally uses to hack into Robotnik's technology. Nicole speaks in a female monotone, and exhibits artificial intelligence. It is indicated that Sally received Nicole from her father.
* Dulcy (voiced by Cree Summer) – A young dragon, who provides the Knothole Freedom Fighters with transportation. Sporting powerful lungs, Dulcy can blow enemies away and freeze them with ice breath. She has trouble landing, and often crashes mid-flight. She was introduced in Season 2.

### Villains

* Dr. Julian Robotnik (voiced by Jim Cummings) – A warlord who seeks to cover Mobius in machinery and transform its population into robotic slaves by roboticizing them. He is chiefly opposed by the Knothole Freedom Fighters. Robotnik's obsession with destroying Sonic is often his downfall. In this version, his real first name is Julian, adopting the moniker "Robotnik" after his takeover.
	+ Cluck (vocal effects provided by Frank Welker) – A robotic chicken, and the only creature Robotnik shows affection towards.
	+ Snively (voiced by Charlie Adler) – Robotnik's assistant and nephew. He is constantly abused by his uncle. As such, Snively hates Robotnik and plots behind his back.
	+ Swat-Bots (voiced by Jim Cummings and Frank Welker) – Robotnik's primary henchmen and foot soldiers.
* Naugus (voiced by Michael Bell) – A powerful sorcerer, who resents Robotnik for imprisoning him within the Void. He desires retribution, but he cannot escape without crystallizing.

### Recurring

* Sir Charles "Chuck" Hedgehog (voiced by William Windom) – Sonic's uncle, and the inventor of the Roboticizer before Robotnik stole it. He was roboticized and made into one of Robotnik's slaves, until Sonic restored his memory. He serves as a spy for the Freedom Fighters. According to Robby London, he was named after the writer and animator, Chuck Menville, who passed away in 1992.
* Ari Ram (voiced by Dorian Harewood) – A Freedom Fighter who worked as a double agent for Robotnik, only to be betrayed later and trapped in the Void. He is later rescued by Sonic and joins the Knothole Freedom Fighters.
* King Acorn (voiced by Tim Curry) – The former king of Mobotropolis and Sally's father. He was banished to the Void during Robotnik's takeover, and like Naugus, cannot escape without crystallizing.
* Lupe Wolf (voiced by Shari Belafonte) – Leader of the Wolfpack Freedom Fighters, and one of the Knothole Freedom Fighters' allies in the fight against Robotnik.

## Production

*Sonic the Hedgehog* was created by DiC Animation City in association with Sega of America, which produced a total of 26 episodes for its two-season run, and the Italian studio Reteitalia S.p.A., part of Fininvest company, in association with Spanish network Telecinco. The show's animation was outsourced to the Korean studio Sae Rom Production, with the exception of the opening sequence which was animated by the Spanish studio Milimetros.

Before production began, Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske and its newly appointed consumer products director Michealene Risley approached DiC Entertainment's CEO Andy Heyward and the ABC network to produce a television show featuring Sonic. After being shown the character, Heyward agreed to make the show and was granted the license. According to Robby London, DiC originally made a deal to produce only the Saturday morning *Sonic* series for the ABC network. The cartoon was originally planned to be more light-hearted compared to the final product, as reflected by its pilot episode and the early issues of Sonic the Hedgehog comics by Archie, which were based on the Saturday morning Sonic cartoon. However, DiC also wanted to go further and produce additional episodes for weekday syndication as well, similar to what DiC has previously done with *The Real Ghostbusters*, but Mark Pedowitz, the then-senior vice president of business affairs and contracts at ABC, who expected the Sonic cartoon to air exclusively on ABC, rejected the idea, telling London "If you guys want to do syndication, be our guest, go with God, but you won’t be on our network." ABC would not agree to the deal until London came with a proposition that DiC would produce a separate, vastly different Sonic show for syndication instead, the end result of which became *Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog*. As a result, the Saturday morning Sonic cartoon was made darker and more serious in order to distinguish itself from the syndicated Sonic cartoon. The show bible for the Saturday morning Sonic cartoon was written in February 1992 with the final revision made on March 10, 1993.

## Cast

* Jaleel White as Sonic the Hedgehog
* Charlie Adler as Snively
* Jim Cummings as Dr. Julian Robotnik, SWATbots, Male Nasty Hyenas (in "Fed Up with Antoine")
* Mark Ballou as Rotor the Walrus (season 1)
* Cam Brainard as Rotor the Walrus (season 2)
* Christine Cavanaugh as Bunnie Rabbot
* Rob Paulsen as Antoine Depardieu
* Bradley Pierce as Miles "Tails" Prower
* Kath Soucie as Princess Sally Acorn, Nicole
* Cree Summer as Dulcy the Dragon
* Frank Welker as Cluck, SWATbots (in "Heads or Tails"), Muttski (in "Heads or Tails"), Kraken (in "Sub-Sonic"), Terapods (in "Sonic Past Cool")
* William Windom as Sir Charles, Cat (in "Sonic Boom")

### Additional voices

* Shari Belafonte as Lupe
* Michael Bell as Naugus
* Crystal Cooke
* Tim Curry as King Acorn, Keeper of the Time Stones (in "Blast to the Past" Pt. 1)
* David Doyle
* Dave Fennoy
* Alaina Reed Hall as Female Nasty Hyena (in "Fed Up with Antoine")
* Dorian Harewood as Ari
* Gaille Heidemann
* Dana Hill as Young Princess Sally
* John Kassir
* Katie Leigh
* Nancy Linari
* Victor Love
* Danny Mann
* Tahj Mowry as Young Sonic the Hedgehog
* Hal Rayle
* Lindsay Ridgeway
* Charlie Schlatter as Griff (in "Warp Sonic")
* April Winchell as Rosie (in "Blast to the Past" Pt. 1 and 2), Ro-Becca (in "Ro-Becca")

## In other media

### Comics

Archie's *Sonic the Hedgehog* comic book was initially based on the Saturday morning cartoon. From its earliest issues, the book shared the characters and story premise established within it. However, the comic differed in that it featured humorous plots modeled after the weekday show. After writer Ken Penders had the opportunity to view the Saturday morning program, the comic gradually became adventure-driven. The comic series shifted focus again after ABC cancelled *Sonic the Hedgehog*, developing into a relationship-based superhero story, and following a reboot, Archie's *Sonic* was primarily inspired by the video game series. Nevertheless, the characters and locales from the Saturday morning cartoon remained prominent until the comic's cancellation in July 2017.

### Video games

Several video games were intended to use elements from the TV series, although only one was completed. This was *Sonic Spinball*, released in 1993 for the Sega Genesis. It contained characters from the show, including Princess Sally, Bunnie Rabbot, Rotor and Muttski. The characters were also planned for use in another game, tentatively titled *Sonic-16*. A prototype was created by the Sega Technical Institute. Yuji Naka disliked the project, and it was cancelled without further development. Directly afterwards, the same team worked on *Sonic Mars*. Prior to cancellation, this would have featured Princess Sally and Bunnie Rabbot as playable characters.

### Feature Film Attempts

In 2002, writer Ben Hurst attempted to pitch an animated film in order to revive the series. Hurst said that he proposed his idea of "a feature film to be the Third Season of *SatAm*" to a Sega executive, who was interested in the project, and that he later received a call from Ken Penders, head writer of the *Sonic the Hedgehog* comic series by Archie Comics, who had been alerted about the movie. He stated: "I generously offered to include him in the effort and told him my strategy. Get Sega to become invested in the idea by hiring us to interview their creative game designers, execs, etc. and see if we could develop a story line that would fulfill the third season - and simultaneously give them creative ideas to develop new games." However, he stated that after calling Sega back, his contact's demeanor had completely changed, angrily stating that Sega is paid to develop Sonic projects, rather than paying others to do so. Hurst theorized that, "Penders had related my strategy to them in a less-than-flattering way ... Then [Penders] dropped hints that he would be the writer for a big Sonic Feature Film." Penders pitched Sega his own concept for a movie, titled *Sonic Armageddon*. He created four concept arts and a homemade pitch video, but the project never saw fruition due to what Penders described as "massive corporate upheaval."

## Reception

*Sonic the Hedgehog* ranked #9 for all of Saturday Morning with a 5.2 rating, an estimated 4.8 million viewers during its second season.

Patrick Lee of *The A.V. Club* gave it a positive review, saying that "the show pushed its cartoon animal characters to the most dramatic places they could go without venturing into self-parody. Over the course of the series, the characters dealt with loss, romance, and death [...] The entire series successfully pulled off that sort of balancing act, and even 20 years later, it’s still a solid Saturday morning cartoon". Mark Bozon of *IGN* criticized the show as dated, considering it "so bad, it's good." Writing for *DVD Talk*, Todd Douglass Jr. remarked that *Sonic* didn't stand the test of time. Overall, he considered it to be of low quality, although he found the stories "Ultra Sonic" and "Blast to the Past" to be "the crème of the crop." Luke Owen of *Flickering Myth* felt *Sonic* aged better than is often supposed, praising its well-executed characterizations and treatment of war, although he considered Antoine to be "one of the worst characters committed to a cartoon series." *GamesRadar* listed the show as one of "the worst things to happen to Sonic." It criticized its plot and characters as "unwanted". *Escapist* journalist Bob Chipman credited the series with providing a viably menacing take on Doctor Robotnik, and an engaging narrative. Bob Mackey of *USgamer* wrote that the cartoon's writing didn't live up to its intriguing premise. In particular, he argued that the Antoine character perpetrated negative French stereotypes. *Sonic the Hedgehog* was also reviewed by Doug Walker in his web comedy series *Nostalgia Critic*, who considered it "a great show," and better than he remembered; he praised it for "literally taking nothing and turning it into something," with a strong story and good character development, as well as a subtle environmental message.

1. ↑ [1]
2. ↑ *How Sonic scored two different animated series at the same time*. Polygon. Retrieved on March 14, 2020.
3. ↑ *From Captain N to Sonic Underground: Behind videogames' earliest cartoons*. GamesTM. Retrieved on March 14, 2020.
4. ↑ [2]
5. ↑ [3]
6. ↑ [4]
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Expanded Universes: Sonic the Hedgehog comics and cartoon. *Destructoid.com*. ModernMethod (March 4, 2009). Retrieved on July 7, 2012.
8. ↑ http://www.saturdaymorningsonic.com/features/continuity/ "A few months after we launched the comic book, Sonic also made his debut as an animated TV character. In fact, it was perhaps the first time in animation history that two separate shows were simultaneously produced featuring the same character. “The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog” took a freewheeling slapstick approach to the characters and was seen across the nation in daily syndication. Meanwhile, the ABC-TV network checked in with a Saturday morning version simply called “Sonic the Hedgehog.” This series was filled with pure, slam-bang adventure and intrigue—and thoughtful characterization. In the beginning, Sega instructed our editorial team to reflect the art and story styles of the syndicated series, but it soon became apparent from fan reaction that the Saturday morning series was the one striking a nerve. The comic soon followed suit with a mix of the two styles, but a heavier emphasis on the dramatic." -Paul Castiglia, former editor of Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comic
9. ↑ "I became enamored of the storylines in the series but was told we couldn’t tie-in directly to the stories in the series as DiC - just like SEGA - refused to cooperate with us in allowing us access to their material for the purpose of tying together the continuity of the book with the show, something I was very much interested in, as was Scott. It was only during the time when it was uncertain whether or not ABC would even renew the series for a third season that DiC provided us with scripts and other materials, probably out of hope that maybe the book would help attract more viewers if it were tied in more closely with the show. Mike and I were even invited to submit outlines with the idea we would be contributing to the third season as scriptwriters. … It was only when we learned the show was cancelled that I changed my mind about embracing the show as it was and instead decided to proceed as if the book were the third season and continuing beyond that. There were many reasons for this but the most important one boiled down to simply this: the book’s very survival. We never, ever felt the book had much of a shelf life beyond the existence of the games and animated series if we didn’t develop it into its own unique series." -Ken Penders, former writer of Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comic, The Times They Are A' Changing. Original Source: http://www.kenpenders.com - Archived on: http://theamazingsallyhogan.tumblr.com/post/68112487973/sonic-the-hedgehog-ken-penders-bioware
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Cifaldi, Frank (February 22, 2010). Spun Out: The Sonic Games You Never Played. *UGO.com*. UGO Entertainment. Retrieved on July 12, 2017.
11. ↑ Fahs, Travis (May 29, 2008). Sonic X-Treme Revisited. *Retro.IGN.com*. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved on July 7, 2012.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Ben Hurst on SatAM. saturdaymorningsonic.com.
13. ↑ Ken Penders: "SEGA & I Once Tried To Launch Film Project Based On Work I Did For Archie". tssznews.com.
14. ↑ [5]
15. ↑ Template:Cite book
16. ↑ A hedgehog for all seasons: Our guide to 20 manic years of Sonic cartoons (30 September 2015). Retrieved on August 7, 2017.
17. ↑ Bozon, Mark (February 28, 2007). Sonic the Hedgehog – The Complete Series. *Ie.DVD.IGN.com*. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved on July 7, 2012.
18. ↑ Douglass Jr., Todd (March 2, 2007). Sonic The Hedgehog – The Complete Series. *DVDTalk.com*. Retrieved on July 7, 2012.
19. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `lukeowen`
20. ↑ The absolute worst Sonic moments. Retrieved on December 7, 2012.
21. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YDrVRqmrLY
22. ↑ On Saturday Mornings, Sonic the Hedgehog Turned Platforming into Pathos. *USgamer.net* (October 7, 2014).
23. ↑ http://channelawesome.com/nostalgia-critic-adventures-of-sonic-the-hedgehog/
24. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiqFvZNZ7d4