Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog | |
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![]() Title card | |
Genre | |
Based on | |
Developed by |
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Directed by |
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Voices of | Jaleel White Christopher Welch Long John Baldry Garry Chalk Ian James Corlett Phil Hayes |
Theme music composer | Clark Gassman |
Composers |
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Country of origin |
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Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 65 + 1 special |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producer | Kent Butterworth |
Editors |
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Running time | 22 minutes |
Production companies | DIC Animation City[a] Sega of America Reteitalia, S.p.A. |
Distributor | North America Bohbot Entertainment (former) Europe Silvio Berlusconi Communications Worldwide ABC Distribution Company |
Release | |
Original network |
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Original release | September 6, 1993 November 24, 1996 | –
Chronology | |
Related shows |
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog is an animated series that was based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series produced by Sega of America,[1] DIC Animation City, Bohbot Entertainment and the Italian studio Reteitalia S.p.A. in association with Spanish network Telecinco. Airing during the autumn of 1993, 65 episodes were produced, which was syndicated by Bohbot Entertainment in the United States. The series inspired a video game, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, which features several original characters from the series. Furthermore, other elements, such as Sonic's fondness for chili dogs, would be featured in later video games and media of the franchise. Additionally, on November 24, 1996, USA Network aired "Sonic Christmas Blast", a Christmas special which was produced to promote Sonic 3D Blast (originally meant for the ultimately cancelled Sonic X-treme).
Plot[]
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog is a comical, light-hearted and gag-driven adventure series based on the titular character Sonic the Hedgehog, a sometimes arrogant yet kind-hearted and mischievous teenage hedgehog with the power to move at supersonic speeds. Sonic, along with his idolizing young friend Tails, regularly oppose the main antagonist Dr. Robotnik, his robot henchmen Scratch, Grounder, and Coconuts, and thwart their plans to conquer their home planet of Mobius.[2] The series features a short PSA segment titled "Sonic Says" at the end of each episode excluding Sonic Christmas Blast; these segments were written by Phil Harnage.[3]
Characters[]
Heroes[]
- Sonic the Hedgehog – The main character of the series. Sonic travels the world and works to defend Mobius from the threat of Dr. Robotnik. Just like in the video games, Sonic can move at incredible speeds. He has also shown to be quite cunning and deceitful, using various tricks and disguises to get one over his opponents, especially whenever his speed is nullified.
- Miles "Tails" Prower – A two-tailed fox who is Sonic's best friend and sidekick. Sonic found him as a toddler, apparently abandoned because of his multiple tails, which he can use to fly like in the video games. He usually displays child-like intelligence, but has shown to have exceptional skills as a mechanic and a pilot like his video game counterpart.
Villains[]
- Doctor Ivo Robotnik – An evil mad scientist who uses his robots and inventions in order to take over Mobius. His headquarters is a fortress atop Mobius' tallest mountain, where he uses his Robo-Matic Machine to create robots called Badniks to aid him in his plots.
- Super Special Sonic Search and Smash Squad (S.S.S.S.S. Squad for short) - A trio of Badniks that that are Robotnik's primary minions who more than often help him in his schemes.
- Scratch – A dimwitted chicken-type Badnik. Originally, Dr. Robotnik wanted the Robo-Matic Machine to create a super robot, only for it to produce Scratch instead due to a malfunction. He is usually the leader of the group.
- Grounder – Scratch's younger brother; an even more dimwitted mole-type Badnik who was created by Dr. Robotnik when he put one of Scratch's tail feathers into the Robo-Matic Machine. He has tank treads for legs and drills for a nose and hands (though he frequently swaps them for other tools, even actual hands on occasion).
- Coconuts – A cynical monkey-type Badnik who was created before Scratch and Grounder. At some point, he was demoted to working as Dr. Robotnik's janitor and is often trying to impress him by outdoing Scratch and Grounder in stopping Sonic to no avail. He is shown to be somewhat smarter than Scratch and Grounder, and is shown to have his own styled gadgets in his attempts of defeating Sonic.
Other characters[]
- Breezie – A beautiful hedgehog-type Badnik created by Dr. Robotnik in a plot to get rid of Sonic. She initially manipulated Sonic into falling in love with her and giving her various gifts, but when she realized that Sonic really did care for her and does not see her as a robot, she developed genuine romantic feelings for him and betrayed and left Dr. Robotnik's services. Breezie later met Robotnik Jr. who later developed a crush on her.
- Momma Robotnik – The mother of Dr. Robotnik who is even worse than her son. While kept in an asylum called the Mobius Home for Really Bizarre Mothers, she tends to escape on occasion and her insanity even scares Dr. Robotnik.
- Wes Weasley – A weasel who works as a salesman at H.D.S.V.A.D.L. (Handy Dandy Super Villain Appliance Distributors Limited) company. He would often sell devices to Dr. Robotnik that would either fail because of either Sonic's ingenuity or Scratch and Grounder's incompetence.
- Sergeant Doberman – A Doberman Pinscher who is a retired army sergeant and a known war hero.
- Professor Von Schlemmer – A brilliant but eccentric and kooky scientist who is an ally of Sonic and Tails.
- Professor Caninestein – A highly-intelligent dog scientist that invents gadgets for Sonic to use. Dr. Robotnik once captured him and had him build a time machine in order to steal four Chaos Emeralds in different time periods.
- Captain Rescue – A retired superhero raccoon who briefly came out of retirement to help Sonic and Tails defeat Robotnik.
- Robotnik Jr. – A diminutive and Robotnik-resembling Badnik that Robotnik initially created to be his son and carry on his legacy when he passes away. Unfortunately, he defects from his creator and sides with Sonic and Tails. Jr. later fell in love with Breezie.
Voice cast[]
Main cast[]
- Jaleel White as Sonic the Hedgehog, Masonic, Mummified Hedgehog (in "Tails' Tale")[4]
- Christopher Welch as Miles "Tails" Prower[5]
- Long John Baldry as Doctor Robotnik, Robotnikhotep I[6]
- Phil Hayes as Scratch, Sergeant Doberman
- Garry Chalk as Grounder, Professor Caninestein, Captain Rescue (in "Over the Hill Hero"), Dragon Breath, Computer (in "Grounder The Genius")
- Ian James Corlett as Coconuts, Robotnik Jr. (in "Robotnik Jr.," "Sonic the Matchmaker"), Rocket the Sloth (in "Slowwww Going"), Gambling Sheep, Doctor Warpnik (in "Trail of the Missing Tails"), Wallace A. Ditso, Sketch Lampoon (in "Sonic Breakout"), Goobster (in "So Long Sucker")
Additional cast[]
- Kathleen Barr as Katella, Momma Robotnik (in "Momma Robotnik's Birthday," "Momma Robotnik Returns," "The Last Resort", "Zoobotnik", "Sonic is Running"), Miss Sniffed, Lucinda (in "Best Hedgehog"), additional voices
- Michael Benyaer as Lawrence (in "Pseudo Sonic")
- Jay Brazeau as Robot Santa (in "Sonic Christmas Blast"), Santa Claus (in "Sonic Christmas Blast"), Spelunk (in "Subterranean Sonic"), additional voices
- Jim Byrnes as Thrust, Coachnik (in "Coachnik")
- Babz Chula
- Jennifer Copping as Henrietta
- Michael Donovan as Wes Weasley
- Kyle Fairlie
- Terry Klassen as Doctor Quark, additional voices
- Wally Marsh
- Scott McNeil as MacHopper (in "MacHopper")
- Shane Meier
- Jane Mortifee
- Pauline Newstone
- John Stocker
- Jayleen Stonehouse as the Waitress (in "Too Tall Tails")
- John Tench
- Venus Terzo as Breezie
- French Tickner as Professor Von Schlemmer
- Lee Tockar as Wick
- Louise Vallance as Miss Possum, Catty Carlisle
- David Ward
- Cathy Weseluck as Suzie, Robot, Rebot, Becky, Penelope, Cat, Parrot
- Alec Willows as the Music Destroyer
- Dale Wilson
Unaired pilot[]
- Russi Taylor as Miles "Tails" Prower
- Jim Cummings as Dr. Robotnik, Scratch
- Gary Owens as Narrator
Episodes[]
![]() | It has been suggested that this article be split into a new article titled List of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog episodes. (Discuss) (July 2020) |
Pilot[]
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Sonic Says segment | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
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0 | 0 | "Pilot" | Looking before you cross the street | Kent Butterworth | Unaired (produced in 1992) | 100 |
This is the pilot used to sell the show. Note: While Sonic is voiced by Jaleel White, the voices of Dr. Robotnik and Scratch are provided by Jim Cummings, the voice of Tails is provided by Russi Taylor, and Gary Owens plays the narrator. One of the scenes from the pilot was later reused for the ending credits of the show. Additionally in the episode "Untouchable Sonic," Scratch and Grounder can be seen watching clips from the pilot on TV. |
Main episodes[]
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Sonic Says segment | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
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13 | 1 | "Best Hedgehog" | Reading | Martha Moran | September 6, 1993 | 116 |
Sonic and Tails rescue Lucas, Robotnik's first prisoner, and attempt to reunite him with his girlfriend, Lucinda. However, Robotnik is also in love with Lucinda and pursues Lucas. | ||||||
16 | 2 | "Tails' New Home" | Running away | Bruce Shelly and Reed Shelly | September 7, 1993 | 120 |
When Sonic decides to find Tails a suitable foster home to ensure his safety, Robotnik finds out and has two of his Badniks pose as Tails' long-lost parents. Note: For unknown reasons, the background music in this episode is lower compared to other episodes in the series. | ||||||
12 | 3 | "Birth of a Salesman" | False advertising | Bruce Shelly, Reed Shelly, and Steven J. Fisher | September 8, 1993 | 111 |
An energetic salesman named Wes Weasley sells Robotnik numerous gadgets to help Scratch and Grounder capture Sonic. However, Robotnik later comes to regret it when Weasley's gadgets keep backfiring. | ||||||
26 | 4 | "Submerged Sonic" | Shallow water | Bob Forward | September 9, 1993 | 123 |
Robotnik attacks the city of Submerbia in the Labyrinth Zone with the intent of obtaining its fabled Power Pearls. Sonic and Tails are enlisted by a local citizen to thwart his plans. | ||||||
22 | 5 | "Pseudo Sonic" | Poison ivy | Cliff MacGillivray | September 10, 1993 | 126 |
Plotting to tarnish Sonic's reputation, Robotnik creates a robotic Sonic suit that he forces his unwilling laboratory rat to operate. | ||||||
17 | 6 | "Over the Hill Hero" | Wisdom of elders | Francis Moss | September 13, 1993 | 118 |
When the overweight and elderly superhero, Captain Rescue, bungles in his attempts to help Sonic, he grows tired of his incompetence. Robotnik then uses Captain Rescue to successfully imprison Sonic in an impenetrable force field and he and Tails must save him. | ||||||
46 | 7 | "Robolympics" | Being active | Jeffrey Scott | September 14, 1993 | 108 |
An asteroid is heading for Turtle Town and Robotnik offers to save it, but only if Sonic agrees to play in the Robolympics against him and his robots. | ||||||
3 | 8 | "Lovesick Sonic" | Sexual harassment | Bruce Shelly and Reed Shelly | September 15, 1993 | 103 |
When Sonic saves a female hedgehog named Breezie, he falls in love. Sonic does not know that Breezie is a robot that Dr. Robotnik created to keep Sonic occupied while he floods a village near his fortress. | ||||||
2 | 9 | "Subterranean Sonic" | Sharing | Robert Askin | September 16, 1993 | 102 |
Sonic and Tails escape underground from Scratch and Grounder, but they are held captive there by a miserly mole named Spelunk. | ||||||
23 | 10 | "Grounder the Genius" | Using your brain | Doug Molitor | September 17, 1993 | 121 |
Grounder accidentally puts a "genius chip" in his head and it makes him so intelligent that he easily captures Sonic and even takes over Robotnik's operations. | ||||||
5 | 11 | "High Stakes Sonic" | Dares | Robert Askin | September 20, 1993 | 105 |
Sonic and Tails infiltrate Robotnik's new Casino Night Zone to stop him and his henchmen from scamming a group of sheep into becoming Robotnik's slaves. | ||||||
18 | 12 | "Blank-Headed Eagle" | Seat belt safety | Dennis O'Flaherty | September 21, 1993 | 113 |
Scratch suffers a blow to the head and believes that he is his television idol, Edgar Eagle. Sonic uses this as an advantage to foil another one of Robotnik's schemes. | ||||||
27 | 13 | "Boogey-Mania" | Sleep | Rowby Goren | September 22, 1993 | 129 |
Robotnik reconfigures a machine created by Professor Von Schlemmer capable of bringing figments of dreams into reality and unleashes a dream monster upon Mobius. | ||||||
10 | 14 | "Big Daddy" | Telling parents where you are going | Jess Borgeson | September 23, 1993 | 106 |
After being exiled by Robotnik, Coconuts finds a lost baby gorilla who thinks he is his father. Coconuts attempts to use the gorilla to stop Sonic. The baby gorilla's father is under the control of Robotnik and Sonic has to save him. Notes: Pierre De Celles, an animation director, described "Big Daddy" as an episode he felt "really proud of," though he described the editing as "poor." He described the animation process as taking "4 times longer than usual" since the animator of the episode was a deaf-mute; He described his translator as "just great."[7] | ||||||
14 | 15 | "The Robotnik Express" | Strangers | Doug Booth | September 24, 1993 | 117 |
En route to stop a train from arriving at Robotnik's ammunition facility, Sonic and Tails must deal with a duo of bears named Big Griz and Mad Mike after they mistake Scratch and Grounder for them. | ||||||
9 | 16 | "Momma Robotnik's Birthday" | Trees | Francis Moss | September 27, 1993 | 107 |
Robotnik's obnoxious mother visits her son on her birthday and expects a present. After he fails to destroy a nearby forest as a present, however, she decides to capture Sonic as her own gift. | ||||||
4 | 17 | "Slowwww Going" | Sloths | Eleanor Burian-Mohr and Jack Hanrahan | September 28, 1993 | 104 |
Sonic must save a family of sloths from Robotnik's slow-motion ray, but when he himself is affected by the device, Tails and the sloths must take action. | ||||||
20 | 18 | "So Long Sucker" | Pets | Cydne Clark and Steve Granat | September 29, 1993 | 122 |
Tails adopts a squishy creature from another dimension named Goobster, who turns out to be a black hole. | ||||||
36 | 19 | "Robotnik's Rival" | Cheating | Gordon Bressack | September 30, 1993 | 137 |
Robotnik and a rival named Doctor Brandon Quark try to cooperate in capturing Sonic. However, Sonic tricks them into becoming enemies, and they try to outdo each other. | ||||||
7 | 20 | "Trail of the Missing Tails" | Remembering your phone number | Bob Forward | October 1, 1993 | 109 |
Robotnik's insane cousin, Doctor Warpnik, captures Tails and lures Sonic into the Warp of Confusion in order to enact revenge on Robotnik for banishing him there. | ||||||
32 | 21 | "Momma Robotnik Returns" | Obeying laws and going to court | Francis Moss | October 4, 1993 | 136 |
Momma Robotnik visits her son, and after he fails once again, she disowns him and decides to adopt Sonic as her own son in order to capture him. | ||||||
15 | 22 | "Too Tall Tails" | Healthy diets | Rowby Goren | October 5, 1993 | 115 |
While Sonic and Tails visit Wienerville, Robotnik attempts to use Professor Von Schlemmer's size enhancement machine for his next scheme. However, the machine backfires and instead enlarges Tails. Unable to control his appetite, Tails now begins to cause chaos for Wienerville. Sonic must return Tails to his former size as Robotnik tricks the citizens into thinking that Sonic is responsible for it, while he is planning to save the town. | ||||||
1 | 23 | "Super Special Sonic Search & Smash Squad" | Emergency calling | Bruce Shelly and Reed Shelly | October 6, 1993 | 101 |
When Sonic and Tails are captured by Scratch and Grounder, Sonic creates a diversion by telling the duo the story of their creation. | ||||||
47 | 24 | "Magnificent Sonic" | Gun safety | Jeffrey Scott | October 7, 1993 | 141 |
Sonic becomes the sheriff of Tranquil Gulch, in hopes of keeping Robotnik's cronies from harassing the locals. | ||||||
40 | 25 | "Zoobotnik" | Wildlife | Rowby Goren | October 8, 1993 | 144 |
An intergalactic huntress visits Mobius, capturing various citizens and falling in love with Robotnik. | ||||||
24 | 26 | "Tails in Charge" | Home safety | Martha Moran | October 11, 1993 | 124 |
When Scratch and Grounder use Robotnik's latest invention to turn Sonic to stone, Tails attempts to foil the duo to ensure Sonic's safety. | ||||||
28 | 27 | "Musta Been a Beautiful Baby" | Tumble dryers | Gordon Bressack | October 12, 1993 | 130 |
Robotnik's attempt to cause Sonic to age rapidly with his newest device backfires, turning him and Tails, and later himself, into toddlers. Now stuck in a daycare, the infantile Sonic and Tails must try to keep Robotnik under control, while Scratch and Grounder attempt to get him back. | ||||||
38 | 28 | "Sonic the Matchmaker" | Playground safety | Robert Askin | October 13, 1993 | 139 |
Robotnik pursues Breezie and Robotnik Jr. in order to find out why they betrayed him with the intent of building a perpetually loyal robot wife. In a subplot, Junior falls in love with Breezie and enlists Sonic's help in winning her affections. | ||||||
41 | 29 | "Attack on Pinball Fortress" | Stupidity | Bob Forward | October 14, 1993 | 145 |
Robotnik has unleashed his Stupidity Ray on Mobius, knowing that those affected by it will be too unintelligent to stop him. As Sonic and Tails make their way to Robotnik's new lair, the Pinball Fortress, they find themselves competing with Wes Weasley and Sergeant Doberman, both of whom want to capture the device for their own purposes. | ||||||
35 | 30 | "The Last Resort" | Walking alone | Gordon Bressack | October 15, 1993 | 146 |
Robotnik seemingly announces his surrender to Sonic and he invites him to a resort in his gratitude. Unbeknownst to Sonic, the resort is just another trap created by Robotnik. | ||||||
43 | 31 | "Coachnik" | Warming up | Doug Molitor | October 18, 1993 | 142 |
Robotnik constructs a pushy robot coach in an attempt to increase Scratch and Grounder's fitness. This leaves Robotnik time to create a football-like bomb in order to defeat Sonic by secretly placing it in Grounder's head. | ||||||
21 | 32 | "Sonic Gets Thrashed" | Rubbish | Cydne Clark and Steve Granat | October 19, 1993 | 119 |
When Robotnik opens up a resort to make resident Mobians his slaves, Sonic enlists the help of some robots from an area of Mobius called Scrap Valley. | ||||||
8 | 33 | "Close Encounter of the Sonic Kind" | Sunburns | Douglas Zip Purgason | October 20, 1993 | 134 |
Sonic and Tails help an alien prince fix his space shuttle so he can return to his home planet for his coronation before his younger brother is crowned in his place and has Mobius destroyed. | ||||||
39 | 34 | "Tails Prevails" | Boredom | Bob Forward | October 21, 1993 | 133 |
On Sonic's birthday, Tails builds a flying bicycle. Realizing Tails' potential with mechanics, Professor Von Schlemmer invites Tails to be his research assistant, but then Robotnik captures and impersonates him to get Tails to build his latest anti-Sonic weapon. | ||||||
29 | 35 | "Robotnik, Jr." | Peer pressure | Robert Askin | October 22, 1993 | 127 |
Robotnik constructs a robot son in order to help him with his conquest of Mobius. Robotnik Jr., however, is inspired by Sonic, and helps him thwart his latest plan. | ||||||
37 | 36 | "The Magic Hassle" | Money | Douglas Zip Purgason | October 25, 1993 | 135 |
Coconuts acquires a magic wand and magical gadgets from Wes Weasley and warns Sonic (after agreeing to forward all payments to Robotnik), and attempts to master them. Meanwhile, Robotnik tries to reshape the Mobius Mint's Sonic-themed banknotes in his image. | ||||||
48 | 37 | "Black Bot the Pirate" | Caution with sharp objects | Jeffrey Scott | October 26, 1993 | 148 |
Robotnik goes time-traveling to find the four Chaos Emeralds that bestow the user unlimited power. His first stop is the time of Blackbeard the Pirate, where he enlists the pirate's help to find the first emerald. However, with help from a local scientist, Sonic and Tails go after him, and thwart his attempts to obtain the emerald. | ||||||
49 | 38 | "Hedgehog of the 'Hound' Table" | Swimming alone | Jeffrey Scott | October 27, 1993 | 149 |
Robotnik's next stop in his search for the Chaos Emeralds is the Middle Ages, where the second emerald is. Sonic follows him, but Robotnik, with the unwilling help of a local wizard, obtains the emerald and rises to power. | ||||||
50 | 39 | "Robotnik's Pyramid Scheme" | Skateboard safety | Jeffrey Scott | October 28, 1993 | 150 |
In his next time-travel stop, Robotnik plans on erasing Sonic's family tree while he attempts to get the third emerald in Ancient Mobigypt. Sonic manages to prevent Robotnik from interfering with his ancestors' meeting and then race to the crypt of Robotnik's ancestor Robotnikhotep, where the emerald is kept. | ||||||
51 | 40 | "Prehistoric Sonic" | Electrical appliance safety | Jeffrey Scott | October 29, 1993 | 151 |
Despite the intervention of Sonic and Tails, Robotnik obtains the fourth and final emerald in prehistory. With the emeralds gathered together, Robotnik uses them to become an all-powerful being. | ||||||
44 | 41 | "Untouchable Sonic" | Gangs | Dennis O'Flaherty | November 1, 1993 | 143 |
Sonic comes to the rescue of a town that is held for ransom by Robotnik's crime syndicate. | ||||||
6 | 42 | "Sonic Breakout" | Graffiti | Douglas Zip Purgason | November 2, 1993 | 110 |
Robotnik imprisons a satirical cartoonist for making fun of him in his comic book, much to the chagrin of his biggest fan Sonic, who purposely allows his own capture as well, but does not expect to be placed in a maximum-security jail cell. Robotnik angrily sends Sonic in the cell for interfering with his plans once again. | ||||||
65 | 43 | "Sonically Ever After" | Library | Gordon Bressack | November 3, 1993 | 164 |
Scratch and Grounder use Robotnik's latest invention to transport him, Sonic and Tails into a book of fairy tales. When some of the fairy tales come to life under Robotnik's control, Sonic and Tails have to try to give them happy endings to stop Robotnik. | ||||||
19 | 44 | "The Mystery of the Missing Hi-tops" | Stealing | Ed Ferrara and Kevin Murphy | November 4, 1993 | 114 |
During a fair in his honor, Sonic's shoes are stolen and he and Tails use detective intellect to find the perpetrator. | ||||||
45 | 45 | "Super Robotnik" | Chemicals | Rowby Goren | November 5, 1993 | 152 |
A chemical accident caused by Coconuts ends up giving superpowers to Robotnik, who quickly uses them to threaten Mobius's world leaders and publicly humiliate Sonic. However, Robotnik isn't completely invincible, and Sonic must find a way to exploit the weak spot in Robotnik's newfound powers in an Olympics-style gladiator match. | ||||||
42 | 46 | "Mass Transit Trouble" | Bicycle safety | Ed Ferrera and Kevin Murphy | November 8, 1993 | 140 |
Robotnik threatens to demolish an airport, a lighthouse, and a train station. Sonic is forced to travel to all three places in order to remove the bombs. Notes: This episode ran for approximately a year and a half before the Oklahoma City bombing forced the episode's withdrawal from circulation. Later, as the incident died down, Toon Disney picked the episode up again, only to have it removed from circulation after about three years of airtime due to the September 11th attacks. | ||||||
33 | 47 | "Spaceman Sonic" | Common colds | Bruce Shelly and Reed Shelly | November 9, 1993 | 138 |
Robotnik sends Scratch and Grounder into space to pillage an asteroid belt, with Sonic and Tails in pursuit. When the spaceship runs out of power, they are stranded at an abandoned space station, pursued by a residing alien. | ||||||
31 | 48 | "MacHopper" | Currents and riptides | Doug Booth | November 10, 1993 | 128 |
Robotnik attempts to brainwash MacHopper, a friend of Sonic's, into doing his dirty deeds, but an explosion causes his memory to become unstable. | ||||||
52 | 49 | "Baby-Sitter Jitters" | Babysitting | Jeffrey Scott | November 11, 1993 | 147 |
Sonic and Tails babysit a trio of unruly baby beavers who end up being abducted by Scratch and Grounder. Robotnik uses the beavers as bait to capture Sonic and Tails, but the beavers become resourceful and help their friends thwart Robotnik. | ||||||
30 | 50 | "Full Tilt Tails" | Smoking | Robert Askin | November 12, 1993 | 132 |
Robotnik makes chewing gum that makes the consumer as fast as Sonic. However, the gum ends up in Tails' possession. | ||||||
62 | 51 | "Lifestyles of the Sick and Twisted" | Vandalism | Kevin O'Donnell | November 15, 1993 | 158 |
When Throbbin Screech features Sonic on his talk show, Lifestyles of the Very Good, Robotnik kidnaps his niece in order to be featured on the show. | ||||||
57 | 52 | "Road Hog" | Calling for help | Jeffrey Scott | November 16, 1993 | 157 |
Sonic and Tails are arrested for speeding as a result of Robotnik's latest creation – artificial pollen that causes brainwashing. | ||||||
55 | 53 | "The Mobius 5000" | Car safety | Jeffrey Scott | November 17, 1993 | 155 |
Sonic and Tails enter a car race in order to save an orphanage that Robotnik threatens to put out of business. | ||||||
53 | 54 | "Honey, I Shrunk the Hedgehog" | Recycling | Jeffrey Scott | November 18, 1993 | 153 |
Sonic, Tails and a group of mole miners are hit by Robotnik's shrink ray and must work together to reverse the effects. Note: This episode is inspired by the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" franchise. | ||||||
11 | 55 | "Sonic's Song" | Hearing | Donald P. Zappala and Kevin Donahue | November 19, 1993 | 112 |
Outraged by a popular song about Sonic, Robotnik outlaws all music in Mobius and takes the song's composer captive with the intent of creating his own song. | ||||||
25 | 56 | "Sno Problem" | Bicycle safety check | Sandra Ryan | November 22, 1993 | 125 |
Robotnik introduces the "Ultra Freeze-O-Matic", announcing his plan to freeze every citizen on Mobius so that he can install "Servitude Chips" into the frozen citizens and make them unquestionably obedient. Sonic and Tails must foil the scheme. | ||||||
63 | 57 | "Sonic is Running" | Tooth pain | Doug Molitor | November 23, 1993 | 162 |
When Momma Robotnik threatens her son into campaigning for the Mobius presidency, Sonic decides to run against him. | ||||||
34 | 58 | "Mad Mike, Da Bear Warrior" | Medicine | Doug Booth | November 24, 1993 | 131 |
Robotnik forces a starving village of rabbits into building a statue of himself. With help from Da Bears, Sonic manages to save the day. | ||||||
54 | 59 | "Robotnikland" | Cooking | Jeffrey Scott | November 25, 1993 | 154 |
Robotnik takes control of a local amusement park on Sonic's birthday and uses it to in an attempt to defeat him. | ||||||
56 | 60 | "The Little Merhog" | Matches | Jeffrey Scott | November 26, 1993 | 156 |
Sonic and Tails help a mermaid-like hedgehog named Merna save her kingdom from the wrath of an evil sea captain. | ||||||
64 | 61 | "Robo-Ninjas" | Road safety | Francis Moss | November 29, 1993 | 163 |
Robotnik captures a martial arts master and uses him to turn Scratch and Grounder into effective ninjas to defeat Sonic. | ||||||
61 | 62 | "Fast and Easy" | Breakfast | Bruce Shelly and Reed Shelly | November 30, 1993 | 161 |
A pickpocket named Easy Eddie picks at Robotnik's Chaos Emerald ring, much to his anger. Sonic must keep Eddie hidden so that he can discard the ring. | ||||||
59 | 63 | "Tails' Tale" | Computers | Bruce Shelly and Reed Shelly | December 1, 1993 | 160 |
When Sonic mysteriously vanishes, Tails, Professor Von Schlemmer and a pilot named William le Due search for him. | ||||||
58 | 64 | "The Robots' Robot" | Fire | Jess Borgeson | December 2, 1993 | 159 |
Scratch and Grounder build a robot of their own who soon runs away and ends up befriending Sonic. | ||||||
60 | 65 | "Hero of the Year" | Alcohol | Bruce Shelly and Reed Shelly | December 3, 1993 | 165 |
Wes Weasley pretends to host a roast (actually a clip show) to Sonic that Robotnik uses to force his surrender. |
Special[]
No. in season | Title | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
---|---|---|---|---|
66 | "Sonic Christmas Blast" | Bruce Shelly and Reed Shelly | November 24, 1996 | N/A |
Robotnik disguises himself as Santa Claus in order to force him into retirement and con the children out of presents during Christmas. During a visit to Robotropolis, Sonic and Tails rescue the real Santa Claus, who presents Sonic with a speed run test due to a ring Sally Acorn gave him as a gift serving as a key. Oddly, this special includes aspects of the Saturday morning Sonic TV show, such as Robotropolis and SWATbots (neither of which appear as they did in that series) and Sally Acorn (who appears in her regular design but with her pilot episode color palette). Said series had aired concurrently with the original run of "Adventures", but in a different time slot, and had stopped producing new episodes by the time "Christmas Blast" premiered. Despite this, the special maintains the humorous tone of "Adventures" rather than the darker one of the Saturday morning series. Note: The letters page of issue #41 of the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book promotes the special as "An X-Tremely Sonic Christmas" as this episode was originally going to be a tie in for Sonic X-treme on Sega Saturn. However, the game was cancelled, and the title was changed to tie in with Sonic 3D Blast instead. This is also the only episode not to feature a Sonic Says segment at the end. |
Production[]
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog was created by DIC Animation City (in association with Sega of America whose CEO Tom Kalinske and newly appointed consumer products director Michealene Risley licensed the characters to DIC), which produced a total of 65 episodes for its one season, and was syndicated by Bohbot Entertainment, later known as BKN International (in the original run, every episode began and ended with the "Bohbot Entertainment Presents" logo), and the Italian Reteitalia S.p.A., part of Fininvest. The show's animation was outsourced to four animation studios:
- the Chinese subdivision of Rainbow Animation Group (later renamed Galaxy World, Inc.,[8] not to be confused with the Italian studio Rainbow S.p.A.),
- the Korean Sae Rom Production (which also at the same time worked on the animation for the Saturday morning Sonic cartoon for ABC),
- the Taiwanese Hong Ying Animation (which would later work on the animation for Sonic Underground),
- the Japanese Tokyo Movie Shinsha (which would later produce its own Sonic cartoon, Sonic X).
Additionally, some of the storyboards were done by Spanish animation studio Milimetros Dibujos Animados, which also worked on the animation for the Saturday morning Sonic cartoon and main title animation for Sonic Underground.
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, early promotional material found in Fleetway's Sonic the Comic[9][10] 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, ABC's senior vice president of business affairs and contracts, expected Sonic to air exclusively on ABC and 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 differentiate itself from the syndicated Sonic cartoon.[11][12]
Broadcast and distribution[]
First-run broadcast[]
The series was shown through syndication in the United States in 1993 on weekday afternoons. In the United Kingdom, the series was screened on Channel 4 in 1993 on Sunday mornings at 9:00, but with the "Sonic Says" segments edited out. They were also edited out on The Children's Channel and the UK VHS releases of the series. The weekday mornings airings in Australia on Seven Network as part of Agro's Cartoon Connection retained the segments. The cartoon was broadcast in the Republic of Ireland on RTÉ Two from 12 September to December 1994 on weekday afternoons with the segments retained also.[13]
Rebroadcast and international airings[]
USA Network re-aired the original episodes of the show in the United States from 1994 to 1996 (with an additional Christmas special ordered by Sega to be produced for the Christmas season of 1996 to coincide with the release of Sonic 3D Blast). The series later returned to syndication as part of the BKN block from 1997 to 1998, and later BKN Kids II from 1999 until 2000. Toon Disney would start broadcasting the series in September 1998, and aired on the channel until 2002.
This TV subsequently aired the first 13 episodes of the show from 2010 to 2011 on their Cookie Jar Toons block. The series was also available on Netflix, containing the 20 episodes. From December 2018-November 2020, reruns of the series began airing on Starz. Later starting on September 3, 2019, the show aired its reruns on the streaming service Pluto TV for the first time.
In the UK, Channel 4 and Pop re-aired the show with the "Sonic Says" segments restored.
In Italy, the show aired on Italia 1.
In Spain, that show aired on Telecinco.
The show was re-aired on in Australia Saturday mornings on Network Ten as part of Cheez TV from 1993 to 1999, and also aired on Nick Jr. and Disney Channel.
In Brazil, the show aired in January 1996, on Rede Globo on the block TV Colosso. Only the first 22 of 65 episodes aired in Brazilian Portuguese, as well as the Christmas special. The show also aired in Sweden on TV3, in Portugal on SIC, in The Netherlands on RTL4, in Germany on Kabel 1 and RTL II and in 2000 in Arab countries on Spacetoon and Qatar Television.
The series also aired on KidsCo, as with many other DIC-produced cartoons.
Home media[]
North America[]
In 1994, Buena Vista Home Video through their DIC Toon-Time Video label, released 6 VHS tapes of the series each containing 2 episodes.
Shout! Factory have released all 65 episodes of the series on DVD in Region 1 in three volume sets. The first volume, released on July 17, 2007, features the first 22 episodes along with two featurettes: "A Conversation With Artist Milton Knight" and "How to Draw Sonic the Hedgehog". The second volume was released on December 9, 2008, and features episodes 23–44 with the featurette "How to Draw Dr. Robotnik". The third volume contains the final 21 episodes of the series, plus the "Sonic Christmas Blast" special and the featurette "How to Draw Tails". These episodes were not compiled in the correct airdate order in the final volume. These sets were discontinued in 2012 along with Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Underground after Shout!'s deal with Cookie Jar Entertainment expired.
From 2007-2010, NCircle Entertainment released a number of single disc releases of the series.
Invincible Pictures re-released the complete series set on August 13, 2019 (originally scheduled for April 9, 2019 and July 16, 2019).[14]
The series along with its successors Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Underground is available on the streaming services Paramount+ and Tubi, as well as the official Wildbrain Youtube Channel.
On December 13, 2021, it was announced that Discotek Media will release the complete series and Sonic Christmas Blast on standard definition Blu-ray in February 2022.[15]
International[]
Throughout 1993-1994, Abbey Home Entertainment through their Tempo Video label released 8 VHS volumes of the series each containing an assortment of episodes. PolyGram Video through their 4Front Video label would also release a VHS tape of the series in 1997.
In Region 2, Delta Home Entertainment released Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog: The Complete Series on DVD in the UK on June 11, 2007.[16]
Broadcast UK history[]
- Channel 4 (1993–1997)
- The Children's Channel (1995–1998)
- POP (2004–2010)
- ITV2 (4 October 2004 – 31 December 2004) (as part of GMTV2 kids)
Reception[]
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog received mixed reception. Randy Miller III of DVDTalk said, "While it's obvious that The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog [sic] won't ever be mentioned in the same sentence with Disney, Pixar or Studio Ghibli (except for this one), there's enough goofy fun here to entertain any resident of the 16-bit gaming era."[17] Michael Rubino of DVD Verdict criticized the series for being dated, contrived, and bloated with chili dog jokes.[18] GamesRadar listed the series as one of "the worst things to happen to Sonic." It commented that it "made Ren & Stimpy look like a rigid, strictly story driven opus of animation", and criticized the supporting cast as "wholly uninteresting, unfunny and just all around annoying."[19] Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the series an overall rating of 3/5 and noted that while the show's pace is "frantic", "the series emphasizes positive themes for kids about personal safety and interpersonal relationships."[20] Bob Mackey of USgamer wrote that the show's attempts to emulate Looney Tunes and The Ren & Stimpy Show "were done in by the lack of quality control that typically plagued 65-episode syndicated series", and that "the zippy, timing-reliant slapstick Adventures relied on never stood a chance against the animation sweatshops DIC regularly used to pump out their nearly endless supply of televised content."[21] Ian Flynn, writer for the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series by Archie Comics, remarked that Adventures was the closest to "[getting] Sonic right" despite "fail[ing] on the details", although he observed that the show's gags were "polarizing" and that the guest characters "ranged from tired tropes (Breezie) to Saturday Night Live knockoffs (Da Bears)".[22] Pierre DeCelles, who worked on the show as a Senior Animation Director at Hong Ying animation studio, has described the show as "fun and humorous".[7]
See also[]
Notes[]
- ^ Animation outsourced to Hong Ying Animation, Saerom Animation, Tokyo Movie Shinsha and Rainbow Animation.
References[]
- ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 757–760. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- ^ "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog". DHX Media. Archived from the original on March 17, 2015. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
Sonic the Hedgehog, the most fearless hero on Planet Mobius, uses his supersonic speed and teenage irreverence to thwart the comedically despicable Dr. Robotnik. Sonic's idolizing little buddy, Tails, tags along on every fast-action, gag-driven adventure.
- ^ Emad Ahmed (September 5, 2018). "When Sonic and Mario dominated children's television". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
- ^ "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (1993 TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 7 March 2021. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
- ^ "The REAL "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" Tails voice actor speaks up!". SEGAbits. Archived from the original on 2014-04-18. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
- ^ Ben Sisario (2005-07-25). "John Baldry, 64, Singer Who Shaped British Rock, Dies". latimes.com. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
- ^ a b Burns, Walter (July 25, 2007). "Pierre De Celles on Animating Sonic the Hedgehog and Other Tales". ToonZone.net. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- ^ "The Korean Animation Explosion".
- ^ "Saturday Morning Sonic - Features - The Evolution of the Freedom Fighters".
- ^ "Sonic HQ - Cartoon Info - Before SatAM".
- ^ Inoa, Christopher (February 18, 2020). "How Sonic scored two different animated series at the same time". Polygon. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
- ^ "From Captain N to Sonic Underground: Behind videogames' earliest cartoons". GamesTM. Archived from the original on January 14, 2015. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
- ^ RTÉ Guide. 10-16 September 1994 edition and subsequent dates.
- ^ "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog: The Complete Animated Series". 13 August 2019.
- ^ "Discotek Licenses Skull-Face Bookseller Honda-san, Tales of Phantasia, As Miss Beelzebub Likes It, Yowamushi Pedal New Generation, More Anime". Anime News Network. December 13, 2021.
- ^ "The Adventures Of Sonic The Hedgehog [2007] [DVD]". Amazon.com. 11 June 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
- ^ Miller III, Randy (July 25, 2007). "The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog: Volume 1". DVDTalk.com. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
- ^ Rubino, Judge Michael (August 8, 2007). "The Adventures Of Sonic The Hedgehog". DVDVerdict.com. Verdict Partners. Archived from the original on 23 May 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
- ^ "The absolute worst Sonic moments". GamesRadar. April 23, 2008. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
- ^ Ashby, Emily (2 February 2011). "The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog TV Review". Common Sense Media. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
- ^ Bob Mackey (October 7, 2014). "On Saturday Mornings, Sonic the Hedgehog Turned Platforming into Pathos". USgamer.net. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- ^ Ian Flynn (December 14, 2018). "Leave Those Legs Alone: There is No True Sonic". Escapist. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
External links[]
Quotations related to Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog at Wikiquote
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