Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog is an animated series that was based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series produced by Sega.[1] Airing during the fall of 1993, 65 episodes were produced for first-run syndication. The series was co-produced by DiC Animation City, Sega of America, Inc., Bohbot Entertainment and the Italian studio Reteitalia S.p.A. in association with Spanish network Telecinco.

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
Title card
Genre	Adventure Comedy
Based on	Sonic the Hedgehog by Yuji Naka Naoto Ohshima Hirokazu Yasuhara
Developed by	Bruce Shelly Reed Shelly Phil Harnage Kent Butterworth
Directed by	Kent Butterworth Blair Peters (Special only)
Voices of	Jaleel White Christopher Stephen Welch Long John Baldry Phil Hayes Garry Chalk Ian James Corlett
Theme music composer	Clark Gassman
Composer(s)	Reed Robbins Mark Simon Stephen C. Marston (Special only)
Country of origin	United States Italy Spain
Original language(s)	English
No. of episodes	65 + 1 pilot + 1 special
Production
Executive producer(s)	Andy Heyward Robby London Michael Maliani (Special only)
Producer(s)	Kent Butterworth
Editor(s)	Mark A. McNally Sue Odjakjian CK Horness
Running time	22 minutes
Production company(s)	DIC Animation City[lower-alpha 1] Sega of America Bohbot Entertainment Reteitalia, S.p.A.
Distributor	Bohbot Entertainment
Release
Original network	First-run syndication (U.S.) Italia 1 (Italy) Telecinco (Spain)
Audio format	Dolby SR
Original release	September 6 (1993-09-06) – December 3, 1993 (1993-12-03) November 24, 1996 (1996-11-24) (Christmas special)
Chronology
Related shows	Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic Underground

On November 24, 1996, USA Network aired a Christmas special which was produced to promote Sonic 3D Blast (originally meant for the ultimately cancelled Sonic X-treme). The series inspired a video game, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, which features several original characters from the show. Furthermore, some elements of the series, such as Sonic's fondness for chili dogs, appeared in later video games and media of the franchise.

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 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; these segments were written by Phil Harnage.[3]

Characters

Main

• Sonic the Hedgehog (voiced by Jaleel White) - The main character of the series. Sonic works to defend Mobius from the threat of Dr. Robotnik.
• Tails (voiced by Christopher Stephen Welch, except for "Sonic Christmas Blast"; voiced by Chris Turner) - A two-tailed fox who is Sonic's friend.

Villains

• Dr. Ivo Robotnik (voiced by Long John Baldry) – An evil mad scientist who uses 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.
• Scratch (voiced by Phil Hayes) – A dim-witted chicken-type Badnik who is one of Dr. Robotnik's henchmen. 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 the older brother of Grounder, both of whom work to catch Sonic which with comical results.
• Grounder (voiced by Garry Chalk) – A Badnik with a drill-nose, drill-hands, and tank treads for legs who was created by Dr. Robotnik when he put one of Scratch's tail feathers into the Robo-Matic Machine. He is the younger brother of Scratch.
• Coconuts (voiced by Ian James Corlett) – A 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.

Other characters

• Breezie (voiced by Venus Terzo) - A hedgehog-type Badnik created by Dr. Robotnik in a plot to get rid of Sonic. She developed feelings for him and left Dr. Robotnik's services. Breezie later met Robotnik Jr. who later developed a crush on her.
• Momma Robotnik (voiced by Kathleen Barr) – 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 Weasely (voiced by Michael Donovan) – 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 (voiced by Phil Hayes) - A Doberman Pinscher who is a retired army sergeant and a known war hero.
• Professor Von Schlemmer (voiced by French Tickner) - A brilliant but eccentric and kooky scientist who is an ally of Sonic and Tails.
• Professor Caninestine (voiced by Garry Chalk) - 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 (voiced by Garry Chalk) - A retired superhero raccoon who briefly came out of retirement to help Sonic defeat Robotnik.
• Robotnik Jr. (voiced by Ian James Corlett) - A short Dr. Robotnik-resembling Badnik created by Dr. Robotnik to be his son and carry on his legacy the day after Dr. Robotnik passes away. Unfortunately, he defects from his creator and sides with Sonic. Robotnik Jr. later fell in love with Breezie.

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code
0	0	"Pilot"	Kent Butterworth	Unaired (produced in 1992) (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. Sonic Says segment: Looking before you cross the street
1	23	"Super Special Sonic Search & Smash Squad"	Bruce Shelly & Reed Shelly	October 6, 1993 (1993-10-06)	101
When Sonic and Tails are captured by Grounder and Scratch, Sonic tricks them into letting them escape by reminiscing about how they all met which also explained how Scratch and Grounder were created. Sonic Says segment: Emergency calling Note: Several Badniks seen early on in this episode later appeared in the video game Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine.
2	9	"Subterranean Sonic"	Robert Askin	September 16, 1993 (1993-09-16)	102
Sonic and Tails escape underground from Scratch and Grounder, but they are held captive there by a miserly mole named Spelunk. Sonic Says segment: Sharing
3	8	"Lovesick Sonic"	Bruce Shelly & Reed Shelly	September 15, 1993 (1993-09-15)	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 city near his fortress. Sonic Says segment: Sexual harassment
4	17	"Slowwww Going"	Jack Hanrahan & Eleanor Burian-Mohr	September 28, 1993 (1993-09-28)	104
Sonic must save a family of sloths from Dr. Robotnik's slow-motion ray. But when he himself is slowed down by Scratch and Grounder, Tails and the sloth family must take action. Sonic Says segment: Sloths
5	11	"High Stakes Sonic"	Robert Askin	September 20, 1993 (1993-09-20)	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. Sonic Says segment: Dares
6	42	"Sonic Breakout"	Douglas Zip Purgason	November 2, 1993 (1993-11-02)	110
Robotnik imprisons a satirical cartoonist named Sketch Lampoon for making fun of him in his comic book where he couldn't get up after falling Humpty Dumpty style, much to the anger of his biggest fan Sonic. Sonic 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. Sonic Says segment: Graffiti
7	20	"Trail of the Missing Tails"	Bob Forward	October 1, 1993 (1993-10-01)	109
Robotnik's insane cousin, Dr. Warpnik, captures Tails and lures Sonic into his Zone of Confusion in order to enact revenge on Robotnik for banishing him. Sonic Says segment: Remembering your phone number
8	33	"Close Encounter of the Sonic Kind"	Douglas Zip Purgason	October 20, 1993 (1993-10-20)	134
Sonic and Tails help an alien prince fix his space shuttle to return to his home planet for coronation to become king or else his younger brother will be crowned in his place and destroy Mobius. Sonic Says segment: Sunburns
9	16	"Momma Robotnik's Birthday"	Francis Moss	September 27, 1993 (1993-09-27)	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. Sonic Says segment: Trees
10	14	"Big Daddy"	Jess Borgeson	September 23, 1993 (1993-09-23)	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. Sonic Says segment: Telling parents where you're going 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 deaf and mute; De Celles described his translator as "just great."[4]
11	55	"Sonic's Song"	Kevin Donahue & Donald P. Zappala	November 19, 1993 (1993-11-19)	112
Outraged by a popular song about Sonic, Robotnik outlaws music on Mobius and takes the song's composer captive with the intent of creating his own song. Sonic Says segment: Hearing
12	3	"Birth of a Salesman"	Steven J. Fisher, Bruce Shelly & Reed Shelly	September 8, 1993 (1993-09-08)	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 Weaseley's gadgets keep backfiring. Sonic Says segment: False advertising
13	1	"Best Hedgehog"	Martha Moran	September 6, 1993 (1993-09-06)	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. Sonic Says segment: Reading Note: This episode was the actual 1st full edition of this series to air in syndication, on Sept. 6, 1993.[5]
14	15	"The Robotnik Express"	Doug Booth	September 24, 1993 (1993-09-24)	117
En route to stop a train of explosives from arriving at Robotnik's munition factory, Sonic and Tails must deal with a duo of bears named Big Griz and Mad Mike after Scratch and Grounder tell them that Sonic and Tails are the enemies. Sonic Says segment: Strangers
15	22	"Too Tall Tails"	Rowby Goren	October 5, 1993 (1993-10-05)	115
Robotnik takes Professor Von Schlemmer hostage and uses his growth machine to try and enlarge himself. However, the machine backfires, and enlarges Tails instead in nearby Wienerville. Robotnik tricks the citizens into thinking that Sonic is the villain, while Robotnik is the hero planning to save the city from Tails. Sonic must keep the famished Tails from getting into more danger and return him to normal size. Sonic Says segment: Healthy diets
16	2	"Tails' New Home"	Bruce Shelly & Reed Shelly	September 7, 1993 (1993-09-07)	120
When Sonic decides to find Tails a suitable foster home to ensure his safety, Robotnik finds out and creates a robot fox family, who pose as Tails' long-lost parents. Sonic Says segment: Running away
17	6	"Over the Hill Hero"	Francis Moss	September 13, 1993 (1993-09-13)	118
When overweight, 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 Tails and Captain Rescue must save him. Sonic Says segment: Wisdom of elders Note: This is the only episode where Sonic doesn't appear in the "Sonic Says" segment.
18	12	"Blank-Headed Eagle"	Dennis O'Flaherty	September 21, 1993 (1993-09-21)	113
Scratch suffers a blow to the head and believes that he is his favorite television character, Edgar Eagle. Sonic uses this to his advantage in preventing another of Robotnik's schemes. Sonic Says segment: Seat belt safety
19	44	"The Mystery of the Missing Hi-tops"	Kevin Murphy & Ed Ferrara	November 4, 1993 (1993-11-04)	114
During a fair in his honor, Sonic's shoes are stolen and he and Tails use detective intellect to try and solve the whodunit case. Sonic Says segment: Stealing
20	18	"So Long Sucker"	Cydne Clark & Steve Granat	September 29, 1993 (1993-09-29)	122
Tails adopts a squishy creature from another dimension named Goobster, who turns out to be a black hole. Sonic Says segment: Pets
21	32	"Sonic Gets Thrashed"	Cydne Clark & Steve Granat	October 19, 1993 (1993-10-19)	119
When Robotnik opens up a resort to make the resident Mobians his slaves, Sonic enlists the help of some robots from an area of Mobius called Scrap Valley. Sonic Says segment: Rubbish
22	5	"Pseudo Sonic"	Cliff MacGillivray	September 10, 1993 (1993-09-10)	126
Robotnik creates a robot Sonic suit with the intent of ruining the hedgehog's reputation. He forces a lab rat named Laurence to pilot by threatening his parents. Sonic Says segment: Poison ivy
23	10	"Grounder the Genius"	Doug Molitor	October 17, 1993 (1993-10-17)	121
Grounder accidentally puts a "genius chip" in his head and it makes him so smart that he easily captures Sonic and even takes over Robotnik's operations. Sonic Says segment: Using your brain
24	26	"Tails in Charge"	Martha Moran	October 11, 1993 (1993-10-11)	124
When Scratch and Grounder zap Sonic with Robotnik's new freeze ray, Tails uses intellect and disguises to foil the two henchmen and ensure Sonic's safety. Sonic Says segment: Home safety
25	56	"Sno Problem"	Sandra Ryan	November 22, 1993 (1993-11-22)	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. Sonic Says segment: Bicycle safety check
26	4	"Submerged Sonic"	Bob Forward	September 9, 1993 (1993-09-09)	123
Robotnik is after the Power Gems from the city of Submerbia in the Labyrinth Zone. Sonic and Tails are enlisted by a local citizen to stop Robotnik. Sonic Says segment: Shallow water
27	13	"Boogey-Mania"	Rowby Goren	September 22, 1993 (1993-09-22)	129
Robotnik reprograms a machine created by Von Schlemmer capable of turning dreams into reality and unleashes a Nightmare Monster upon Mobius. Sonic Says segment: Sleep
28	27	"Musta Been a Beautiful Baby"	Gordon Bressack	October 12, 1993 (1993-10-12)	130
Robotnik's attempt to turn Sonic into an old man with his newest device backfires, turning him and Tails, and later himself, into babies. Now stuck in a day-care the infantile Sonic and Tails must try to keep Robotnik under control, while Scratch and Grounder attempt to get him back. Sonic Says segment: Tumble dryers
29	35	"Robotnik, Jr."	Robert Askin	October 22, 1993 (1993-10-22)	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. Sonic Says segment: Peer pressure
30	50	"Full Tilt Tails"	Robert Askin	November 12, 1993 (1993-11-12)	132
Robotnik makes chewing gum that makes the consumer as fast as Sonic. Robotnik gives it to Grounder, but he loses and Tails gets a hold of it. Sonic Says segment: Smoking
31	48	"MacHopper"	Doug Booth	November 10, 1993 (1993-11-10)	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. Sonic Says segment: Currents and riptides
32	21	"Momma Robotnik Returns"	Francis Moss	October 4, 1993 (1993-10-04)	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. Sonic Says segment: Obeying laws and going to court
33	47	"Spaceman Sonic"	Bruce Shelly & Reed Shelly	November 9, 1993 (1993-11-09)	138
Robotnik sends Scratch and Grounder into space to pillage the 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. Sonic Says segment: Common colds
34	58	"Mad Mike, Da Bear Warrior"	Doug Booth	November 24, 1993 (1993-11-24)	131
Robotnik starves a village of rabbits into building a statue of himself. With help from Big Griz and Mad Mike, Sonic and Updike, one of the villagers, manage to infiltrate the statue. Sonic Says segment: Medicine
35	30	"The Last Resort"	Gordon Bressack	October 15, 1993 (1993-10-15)	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. Sonic Says segment: Walking alone
36	19	"Robotnik's Rival"	Gordon Bressack	September 29, 1993 (1993-09-29)	137
Robotnik and a rival named Brandon Quark try to cooperate in capturing Sonic. However, Sonic tricks them into becoming enemies, and they try to outdo each other. Sonic Says segment: Cheating
37	36	"The Magic Hassle"	Douglas Zip Purgason	October 25, 1993 (1993-10-25)	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 change Sonic-themed mobium banknotes into Robotnik banknotes in the Mobius Mint. Sonic Says segment: Money
38	28	"Sonic the Matchmaker"	Robert Askin	October 13, 1993 (1993-10-13)	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 is in love with Breezie, and enlists Sonic's help in wooing her. Sonic Says segment: Playground safety
39	34	"Tails Prevails"	Bob Forward	October 21, 1993 (1993-10-21)	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. Sonic Says segment: Boredom
40	25	"Zoobotnik"	Rowby Goren	October 8, 1993 (1993-10-08)	144
An intergalactic huntress captures various citizens of Mobius and falls in love with Robotnik during her visit. Sonic Says segment: Wildlife
41	29	"Attack on Pinball Fortress"	Bob Forward	October 14, 1993 (1993-10-14)	145
Robotnik has unleashed his "Stupidity Ray" on Mobius, knowing that the newly-stupefied Mobians will be too brain dead to stop him. As Sonic and Tails make their way to Robotnik's new lair, the Pinball Fortress they find themselves competing with Wes Weasely and Sergeant Doberman, both of whom want to capture the Stupidity Ray for their own purposes. Sonic Says segment: Stupidity
42	46	"Mass Transit Trouble"	Kevin Murphy & Ed Ferrera	November 8, 1993 (1993-11-08)	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. Sonic Says segment: Bicycle safety 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.
43	31	"Coachnik"	Doug Molitor	October 18, 1993 (1993-10-18)	142
Robotnik uses his Robo-Matic Machine to construct a pushy robot coach from a football called Coachnik by placing playbooks, game films, strategies, plenty of grit (in the form of a bag full of sand), nerves of steel (represented as several steel bands), and a 300 lb. ham into the Robo-Matic Machine. He uses Coachnik in an attempt to increase Scratch and Grounder's fitness. This leaves Robotnik time to create a football-shaped bomb in order to destroy Sonic by secretly placing it in Grounder. Sonic Says segment: Warming up
44	41	"Untouchable Sonic"	Dennis O'Flaherty	November 1, 1993 (1993-11-01)	143
Sonic comes to the rescue of a town that is held for ransom by Robotnik's crime syndicate. A few scenes from the pilot animation are integrated into this episode. Sonic Says segment: Gangs
45	45	"Super Robotnik"	Rowby Goren	November 5, 1993 (1993-11-05)	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 chink in Robotnik's newfound powers in an Olympics-style gladiator match. Sonic Says segment: Chemicals
46	7	"Robolympics"	Jeffrey Scott	September 14, 1993 (1993-09-14)	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. Sonic Says segment: Being active
47	24	"Magnificent Sonic"	Jeffrey Scott	October 7, 1993 (1993-10-07)	141
Sonic becomes the sheriff of Tranquil Gulch, in hopes of keeping Robotnik's robots from harassing the locals. Sonic Says segment: Gun safety Notes: This episode was banned from Fox Kids airings due to the Columbine High School Massacre in 1999. Nowadays, this episode is no longer banned and continues to air on many TV networks.
48	37	"Black Bot the Pirate"	Jeffrey Scott	October 26, 1993 (1993-10-26)	148
Robotnik goes time-traveling to find four Chaos Emeralds that could make him all-powerful. His first stop is the time of Blackbeard the Pirate, where he enlists the pirate's help to find the Emerald of Invisibility. However, with help from a local scientist, Sonic and Tails go after him, and thwart his attempts to obtain the Emerald. Sonic Says segment: Caution with sharp objects
49	38	"Hedgehog of the "Hound" Table"	Jeffrey Scott	October 27, 1993 (1993-10-27)	149
Robotnik's next stop in his time-travel is the time of King Arfur and the Knights of the Round Table to get the Emerald of Invincibility. Sonic follows him, but Robotnik, with the unwilling help of local wizard Merlynx, obtains the Emerald, and takes over the kingdom. Sonic Says segment: Swimming alone
50	39	"Robotnik's Pyramid Scheme"	Jeffrey Scott	October 28, 1993 (1993-10-28)	150
In his next time-travel stop, Robotnik is erasing Sonic's family tree in order to get the Chaos Emerald of Immortality. Sonic goes after him, prevent Robotnik from interfering with his ancestors' meeting, and then race to the crypt of Robotnik's ancestor Robotnikhotep, where the Emerald is kept. Sonic Says segment: Skateboard safety
51	40	"Prehistoric Sonic"	Jeffrey Scott	October 29, 1993 (1993-10-29)	151
Despite the intervention of Sonic and Tails, Robotnik obtains the Chaos Emerald of life in prehistory and the other emeralds and becomes the Supreme High Robotnik. Sonic Says segment: Electrical appliance safety
52	49	"Baby-Sitter Jitters"	Jeffrey Scott	November 11, 1993 (1993-11-11)	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. Sonic Says segment: Babysitting
53	54	"Honey, I Shrunk the Hedgehog"	Jeffrey Scott	November 18, 1993 (1993-11-18)	153
Sonic, Tails and a group of miners are hit by Robotnik's shrink ray and must work together to undo the effects. Sonic Says segment: Recycling Note: This episode is inspired by the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" franchise.
54	59	"Robotnikland"	Jeffrey Scott	November 25, 1993 (1993-11-25)	154
Robotnik takes control of the local amusement park on Sonic's birthday and uses it to try to finish him off. Sonic Says segment: Cooking
55	53	"The Mobius 5000"	Jeffrey Scott	November 17, 1993 (1993-11-17)	155
Sonic and Tails enter a car race in order to save an orphanage that Robotnik threatens to shut down. Sonic Sez segment: Car safety
56	60	"The Little Merhog"	Jeffrey Scott	November 26, 1993 (1993-11-26)	156
Sonic and Tails help a mermaid hedgehog named Merna save her underwater city from the wrath of Captain John Paul Memo. Sonic Says segment: Matches
57	52	"Road Hog"	Jeffrey Scott	November 16, 1993 (1993-11-16)	157
Sonic and Tails are arrested for speeding as a result of Robotnik having hypnotized the law through pollen. Sonic Says segment: Calling for help
58	64	"The Robots' Robot"	Jess Borgeson	December 2, 1993 (1993-12-02)	159
Scratch and Grounder build a robot of their own who soon runs away and ends up befriending Sonic. Sonic Says segment: Fire
59	63	"Tails' Tale"	Bruce Shelly & Reed Shelly	December 1, 1993 (1993-12-01)	160
When Sonic mysteriously vanishes, Tails, Professor Von Schlemmer, and a pilot named William le Due search for him in the Pyramid of Kommamachs. Sonic Says segment: Computers
60	65	"Hero of the Year"	Bruce Shelly & Reed Shelly	December 3, 1993 (1993-12-03)	165
Wes Weasley pretends to host a roast (actually a clip show) to Sonic that Robotnik uses to force his surrender. Sonic Says segment: Alcohol
61	62	"Fast and Easy"	Bruce Shelly & Reed Shelly	November 30, 1993 (1993-11-30)	161
A pickpocket named Easy Eddie picks at Robotnik's Chaos Emerald ring, much to his anger. Sonic must keep Easy Eddie hidden so that he can discard the ring. Sonic Says segment: Breakfast
62	51	"Lifestyles of the Sick and Twisted"	Kevin O'Donnell	November 15, 1993 (1993-11-15)	158
When Throbbin Screechpicks features Sonic on his talk show Lifestyles of the Very Good, Robotnik kidnaps his unnamed niece in order to be featured on the show. Sonic Says segment: Vandalism
63	57	"Sonic is Running"	Doug Molitor	November 23, 1993 (1993-11-23)	162
When Momma Robotnik threatens her son into campaigning for the Mobius presidency, Sonic decides to run against him. Sonic Says segment: Tooth pain
64	61	"Robo-Ninjas"	Francis Moss	November 29, 1993 (1993-11-29)	163
Robotnik captures Kwai Chang Crane, a martial arts master, and uses him to turn Scratch and Grounder into effective ninja to defeat Sonic. Sonic Says segment: Road safety
65	43	"Sonically Ever After"	Gordon Bressack	November 3, 1993 (1993-11-03)	164
Scratch and Grounder use a ray gun Robotnik invented to transport Sonic, Tails, and Robotnik 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. Sonic Says segment: Library

Special

No. in season	Title	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code
S1	"Sonic Christmas Blast"	Bruce Shelly & Reed Shelly	November 24, 1996 (1996-11-24)[6]	S01
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.

Voice cast

• Jaleel White as Sonic the Hedgehog, Masonic, Mummified Hedgehog (in "Tails' Tale")
• Christopher Welch as Miles "Tails" Prower
• Long John Baldry as Dr. Robotnik, Robotnikhotep I
• 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, Dr. Warpnik (in "Trail of the Missing Tales"), 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 (in "Birth of a Salesman," "The Magic Hassle," "Hero of the Year"), Mad Mike (in "The Robotnik Express," "Mad Mike, Da Bear Warrior", "Hero of the Year")
• Kyle Fairlie
• Terry Klassen as Doctor Quark, additional voices
• Wally Marsh
• Scott McNeil as MacHopper (in "MacHopper"), Rattrap
• 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 (in "Too Tall Tails," "Boogey-Mania," "Tails to Prevail," "Tails' Tale")
• 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

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.,[7] 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).

Pierre DeCelles, who worked at Hong Ying as a Senior Animation Director, has described the show as "fun and humorous".[4]

According to Robby London, DiC originally made a deal to produce only the Saturday morning Sonic series for the ABC network. 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.[8][9]

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.[10]

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), and later returned to Broadcast Syndication on the BKN block from 1997-1998, 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. In December 2018, reruns of the series began airing on Starz. Later starting on September 3, 2019, the show aired its reruns on the streaming channel called Pluto TV for the first time since another Sonic cartoon Sonic SatAM aired back on sometime 2017.

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 Japan, the show aired on TV Asahi.

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 Colossus TV. 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 The Netherlands on RTL4, in Germany on RTL II and in 2005 in Arab countries on Spacetoon.

The series also aired on KidsCo, like 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 Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog 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).[11]

The series along with its successors Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Underground is available on the streaming services CBS All Access and Tubi

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.[12]

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 retrospective reviews. 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."[13] Michael Rubino of DVD Verdict criticized the show for being dated, contrived, and bloated with chili dog jokes.[14] GamesRadar listed the show 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."[15] 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."[16] 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."[17] 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 the sexy hedgehog robot) to Saturday Night Live knockoffs (Da Bears, a pair of bears with Chicago accents)".[18]

See also

• Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine

Notes

1. Animation outsourced to Hong Ying Animation, Saerom Animation, Tokyo Movie Shinsha and Rainbow Animation.

References

1. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 757–760. ISBN 978-1476665993.
2. "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.
3. Emad Ahmed (September 5, 2018). "When Sonic and Mario dominated children's television". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
4. Burns, Walter (July 25, 2007). "Pierre De Celles on Animating Sonic the Hedgehog and Other Tales". ToonZone.net. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
5. http://segabits.com/blog/2013/09/06/happy-20th-anniversary-to-adventures-of-sonic-the-hedgehog/
6. "Sonic's Christmas Blast-Part 1". YouTube. 16 July 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-07-16. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
8. Inoa, Christopher (February 18, 2020). "How Sonic scored two different animated series at the same time". Polygon. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
9. "From Captain N to Sonic Underground: Behind videogames' earliest cartoons". GamesTM. Archived from the original on January 14, 2015. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
10. RTÉ Guide.   10-16 September 1994 edition and subsequent dates.
11. https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07KLNHNHF/metacritic_newsletter-20
12. "The Adventures Of Sonic The Hedgehog [2007] [DVD]". Amazon.com. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
13. Miller III, Randy (July 25, 2007). "The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog: Volume 1". DVDTalk.com. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
14. 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.
15. "The absolute worst Sonic moments". GamesRadar. April 23, 2008. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
16. Ashby, Emily. "The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog TV Review". Common Sense Media. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
17. Bob Mackey (October 7, 2014). "On Saturday Mornings, Sonic the Hedgehog Turned Platforming into Pathos". USgamer.net. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
18. 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

• Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog at DHX Media
• Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog on IMDb
• Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog at TV.com