When Hulu first started one of the best features for this site was the ability to embed their videos, meaning Saturday Night Showcase could post a lot of stuff. Then they slowly dropped the feature and I was out of luck, since I’d rather use a legal option when possible. This encourages rights holders to put stuff out there, but when that option isn’t available or its in public domain I worry less about it.
Now we have rights holders and distributors using streaming even when the studios and networks try to hold on to the old system because they know how to control it, turning streaming into cable part 3 (part 2 would be satellite). Wildbrain, the current owners of DIC Entertainment’s library, had an official YouTube channel where they post shows and clip. Tonight I thought it would be interesting to highlight the three Sonic The Hedgehog shows, as they have influence on the Archie Sonic and Knuckles comics I review on Wednesdays. At the point I’m reviewing they’re pushing away from that, with “help” from Ken Penders, and that’s going to end poorly. So this is the last chance to do this.
In total DIC produced three Sonic cartoons, two at the same time and all three with the same voice for Sonic, Jaleel White. Robonik and Tails would have different VAs for each show, with Tails absent from the third show. All three shows depict a world taken over by Doctor Robotnik, but with different approaches. With that, let’s get into all three shows and what Archie borrowed from them rather than the video games like more recent Sonic shows.
Adventures Of Sonic The Hedgehog was released in syndication and was the more comical of the set. Few if any characters came from this show, but the early comics would borrow their more Looney Tunes’ style of storytelling. In this episode Robotnik and his flunkies for this show, Scratch and Grounder, get mad at a song being made for Sonic. Later episodes would introduce Coconuts the chimp…and he’s just as stupid as the other villains on this show.
ABC would give the darker version, which is odd given Saturday morning rules at the time. Simply titled Sonic The Hedgehog, it would have more elements that Archie would pick up on. The robots with animals inside them from the games were replace by roboticized anthro animals (later called Robians in the comics). This is where the cast came from, though the comic would have more time to flesh out…no pun intended…those characters backstories, relationships, and character growth, plus grabbing an idea from the end of season two cliffhanger and making a storyline about it. In the episode “Harmonic Sonic”, because I’m trying to keep to a theme here, Robotnik has a spy satellite and the Freedom Fighters need to bring it down to save their secret location from no longer being a secret. I wish I could have gone with a Tails episodes, but favorite character has to take a backseat to connecting the three shows and this has a scene where Sonic gets to play in a band, and apparently this one can’t play guitar. Sally would take a few episodes before getting her classic vest, but it’s still Saturday morning, kids.
Sonic Underground would come out a few years later, combining the darker origins of SatAM with the lighter tone and dumb villains of Adventures. None of the regular game cast besides Sonic and Robotnik shows up in this show, not even Tails, which is why this show failed. No Tails, no show! Instead, Sonic is given two siblings named Manic and Sonja (both also voiced by Jaleel White–yes, including the sister), a mother who is the deposed queen in hiding, and the kids form a music band with instruments that are also sonic weapons. Methinks someone misunderstood sonic booms for sonic waves. I could have gone with another episode with “Harmonic” in the name, but I opted for the first cartoon appearance of our boy Knuckles the echidna in his first episode, “Friend Or Foe”, as the sibs head to the Floating Island in hopes of finding their mother. How will he fit in with this world?
Hope you enjoyed this trip through DIC’s Sonic sub-franchise. Did you have a favorite?
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[…] as a Sonic fangirl, trying to get the early game character in there somehow while they used the syndicated and SatAM cast), is told she is too young to go along. Meanwhile, Elias has learned that the Queen’s […]
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