Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog is an American animated television series. It is based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series by Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara and Sega, produced by Sega of America, DIC Animation City, Bohbot Entertainment and the Italian studio Reteitalia S.p.A. in association with Spanish network Telecinco. The series aired a total of sixty-five episodes from September 6 to December 3 in 1993. It was syndicated by Bohbot Entertainment in the United States. The series features Jaleel White as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog, a fast and wisecracking blue hedgehog, and his companion Tails (voiced by Christopher Stephen Welch), a young two-tailed fox. Set in the franchise's main world of Mobius, the series mainly follows the duo's comedic adventures against antagonist Doctor Ivo Robotnik (voiced by Long John Baldry) and his minions Scratch and Grounder.
A spin-off video game, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, was developed, featuring several original characters from the series. 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). The series has been met with mixed critical reception both contemporarily and retroactively: more favorable reviews praised the series' fast pace and positive tone, while less favorable reviews derided the humor and animation styles. In 2007, the series produced the Internet meme "pingas", based on an abbreviation of a line spoken by Robotnik in the episode "Boogey-Mania".
Plot
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog is a comical, light-hearted and gag-driven adventure series based on the titular character Sonic the Hedgehog, an arrogant and mischievous yet kind-hearted 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.
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 and allowed the series to meet the newly implemented guidelines set forth by the Children's Television Act.
Characters
Heroes
- Sonic the Hedgehog (voiced by Jaleel White) is a blue hedgehog who is the main protagonist of the series. He travels the world and works to defend Mobius from the threat of Dr. Robotnik. Just like in the video games, Sonic can move at fast 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 (voiced by Christopher Stephen Welch in the TV series, Chris Turner in "Sonic Christmas Blast") is a two-tailed fox who is Sonic's co-star, 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 (voiced by Long John Baldry) is a mad scientist and the archenemy of Sonic the Hedgehog who uses his machinations in order to conquer Mobius. His headquarters is a fortress atop the planet's tallest mountain, where he uses his Robo-Matic Machine to create his Badnik robots to aid him in his plots. While Robotnik's mechanical aptitude can make him a genuine threat, his childish, manic and often egotistical nature greatly overpowers his tyrannical side, always leading to his defeat and humiliation. In the first episode, it is mentioned that he once had a full head of hair, but the constant foils from Sonic caused him to gradually tear it out.
- Scratch (voiced by Phil Hayes) is a hot-headed and chicken-based Badnik, though taller and more stylized than any specific bird-based one from the games. Originally, Robotnik wanted the Robo-Matic Machine to create a super robot only for it to produce Scratch instead due to a malfunction. Despite this, Scratch has a self-inflated opinion of his talent, despite being only marginally more intelligent than Grounder.
- Grounder (voiced by Garry Chalk) is Scratch's younger and non-identical twin brother, based on the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 enemy of the same name. He is a dimwitted and mole-based Badnik incidentally created from one of Scratch's tail feathers. He has tank treads for legs and drills for a nose and hands. A recurring gag involves Grounder expressing desire for a mother.
- Coconuts (voiced by Ian James Corlett) is a cynical and monkey-based Badnik who was demoted to Janitorial duties prior to the creation of Scratch and Grounder, also based on a Sonic the Hedgehog 2 enemy. He is unrespected by anyone and seeks to up his status by impressing Robotnik or outdoing Scratch and Grounder. He seems genuinely smarter than other robots, which is always humorously dismissed or left unrecognized. He uses his own styled gadgets in solo attempts at defeating Sonic, and is less likely to be fooled by him.