Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog

[Soniman]

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog aired in September 4, of 1993 and ended on December 4th, of 1993. With 65 episodes under its belt it is the DiC Sonic with the largest number of episodes. The series was made right smack dab in the middle of the "Sonic fever" craze that was present in the early 90s, here is the crazy ass intro.

The show had a distinct silly, slapstick style, similar to shows such as Ren and Stimpy and Rocko's Modern Life, and the general art design was crazy and colorful (and at times incoherent).

As far as connections with the games go, it's probably the DiC cartoon that got the closes to doing so, they make references to zones from the game like Marble and Casino Night Zone. Of course they tend to look almost nothing like how they did in the games, but at least they get a mention. Also the term badniks is used for Robotnik's various creations. It's also the only show to actually use the music from the games (admittedly it was just the title screen theme, but at least it's something).

Interestingly enough, the term "Freedom Fighters" was also first coined in this series, a term which I thought started with SatAM. It's kinda odd, I mean, Robotnik doesn't really "rule the world" per se, he just terrorizes it from time to time.

Now let's talk about the characters.

Sonic in this iteration is fast talking guy who loves adventure, chili dogs, and screwing with Robotnik and his minions. This is the version of Sonic that most kids in the 90s associate him with, rather than the relatively chiller SA1 version that would come many years later. I think his outgoing and wild personality works in favor of this show because of the general zany tone of the show, unlike say, SatAM. It's always funny to see him outsmart Scratch and Grounder and don many different disguises.

Tails has the same role as he does in the games, being Sonic's best friend and sidekick, and he's fucking adorable. He joins in on Sonic's adventures almost all the time, and he's pretty capable of handling himself for a 4 year old, that is when he's not getting kidnapped by Robotnik. His voice actor (Christopher Evan Welch) does a magnificent job with the character, giving him an adorable voice. It's just cool to see Sonic and Tails having fun while screwing with Robotnik.

Scratch and Grounder, or the 'Super Special Sonic Search and Smash Squad' as they call themselves, are a bunch of bumbling Badniks that Robotnik (for some reason) use in order to destroy Sonic, of course they never do. Have the fun of the show is watching to see how Sonic ruins their stupid plans, it's actually somewhat reminiscent of old Looney Tunes cartoons like Wile E. Coyote, and Bugs Bunny, but with a ton of more slapstick of course. Over the years we've seen many parallels to these to guys, such as Sonic Underground's Sleet and Dingo, Sonic X's Decode and Bocode, and in the Sonic games, Orbot and Cubot. None of these have really manage to match the charms these to have (except debatably Orbot and Cubot), and they certainly help in making the show entertaining to watch.

Now, lets move on to the best character in the show.

Robotnik in AOSTH is an utter joy to watch, he pretty much steals every scene he's in. It's the way he goes about speaking his lines, his voice actor (

Long John Baldry) speaks his lines so eloquently, and the general wordplay that he brings to it adds a whole lot of charm to the character. Im sure almost all the memorable lines we remember from the showa from this characters (snooPINGASusualIsee, NO!, etc).

Now let's talk about the last notable aspect of this show.

Sonic Sez was a small segment at the end of every episode where Sonic teaches kids many life lessons such as never letting your friends talk you into doing stupid things, never use graffiti on buildings, never jump in washing machines, and never letting someone touch you inappropriately....... As you can see some of these segments could get really hilarious (to a memetic level in some cases), but then again most PSAs back then usually were.

As for AOSTH in other media, the SSSSS Squad appeared in the Archie Comics a few times.

The design of AOSTH's Robotnik was used as the design for Fleetway's Robotnik

And I'm sure we've all heard of this little gem.

The only Sonic game that was based on a Sonic cartoon, Mean Bean Machine is, basically a rescind port of Puyo Puyo, but it's no less enjoyable. It's pretty much just a simple puzzle game. And the basic plot has that silly AOSTH flair (Robtnik kidnapes bean people to stop them from creating music). Overall its a simple and enjoyable time waster of a game, and it's pretty fun in multiplayer (it's the only Sonic game my sister actually likes).

Personal opinion on AOSTH: As far as the DiC cartoon's go, id say it's about on par with SatAM for me. It's kinda stupid and silly, but it's enjoyable nonetheless. The kooky animation helps to keep me entertained, and the humor is actually pretty funny most of the time (again, thanks to Robotnik).

Overall it's a fun show, that doesn't take itself seriously. What are your thoughts?

Edited September 3, 2012 by Soniman

[Barry the Nomad]

I love AoStH. It's the main reason I got more into Sonic in the early 90's.

Of course, my pride as a fan is that I got into the franchise in December of 1991, so I was right there at (nearly) the very beginning. However, if it wasn't for Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog I really do think that my fandom would end with just the games. I probably would have ended up being one of those casual fans who loved the games but never joined any forums or bothered with merchandise.

When AoStH premiered, I remember exactly where I was. It was September 6th 1993 and I was eating breakfast in our kitchen, catching the first episode (in airing order, not production order) "Best Hedgehog". The image above is a pretty accurate representation of what I saw. Yes, despite it being 1993 we still had an old black and white in our kitchen.

Seeing Sonic in a cartoon, TALKING no less, was a huge deal. I caught the first act of the premiere upstairs, and then ran downstairs to see Sonic in color. Looking back, "Best Hedgehog" was a very odd premiere episode. The true first episode, "Super Special Sonic Search and Smash Squad", actually introduces the main baddies Scratch and Grounder. "Best Hedgehog", however, puts new characters Lucas and Lucinda at the forefront.

I remember being confused, I wasn't sure if these characters appeared in a game that I missed (they hadn't) or if they were intended to be secondary characters for the rest of the show (they weren't). Despite the confusing aspects of the premiere, I was hooked on the show and didn't miss a single episode. I even began recording the show and soon amassed a stack of a dozen VHS tapes.

Anyway, since then I was a big AoStH fan and after a while I moved on to other things (still liked Sonic, just didn't watch the cartoons anymore). However, when Shout announced that the series was rereleasing to DVD my interest was revived and I started learning more about the show's production including Milton Knight's contributions. I even got into a bit of an email correspondence with him and got him to do a commissioned painting. I love this thing, its one of my favorite Sonic collectables:

I also own some animation cels from the show, these were middle school graduation gifts I believe: http://sega-memories.blogspot.com/2009/08/up-over-and-gone-aosth-production-art.html

[TheOcelot]

SatAMday and Sunding morning cartoons. Now that is how you advertise a fast and witty cool Hedgehog. AOSTH was great. I have all 65 episiodes on DVD. A show that was just fun and entertaining. Never took itself to seriously. It was mainly Sonic and his best bud Tails avoiding Grounder and Scratch (and sometimes Coconuts) rubbish traps-normally a chili dog to try and fool Sonic, or Sonic storming Robotniks fortress on top of that little hill.

Edit: Oh and Jaleel White is my favourite Sonic voice actor. He was just way past cool.

Edited September 1, 2012 by MilesKnightwing

[Jack / Joker]

PINGAS!

Nuff said.

[Solkia]

AoSTH is the entire reason I became a fan in the first place.

I originally had no idea that Sonic was a video game series until my sister brought home her shitty model 2 that has nothing on the model 1

SEGA Genesis, along with Sonic 2.

AoSTH is great. It's stupid, it's silly, and it's fun.

[Law]

PINGAS!

Nuff said.

Not to mention his voice actor was gay.

[SenEDDtor Missile]

Off Topic:

Is there a SatAM topic on this forum? If so, link.

[Soniman]

Off Topic:

Is there a SatAM topic on this forum? If so, link.

Not a general one, no. But expect one coming a week or two down the line.

Edited September 1, 2012 by Soniman

[Komodin]

This show... man, I love it so much!

This is not only part of what made me a Sonic fan in the first place, it's also one of the reasons why I'm still one. I mean, say what you will about Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM)'s story and writing, but this show, as a whole, gels way more with the actual game series, and is much better (in my opinion) for that. Unlike the other Sonic show made throughout the years, I can still watch this and leave with a huge smile on my face. It's cheesy fun... just the way I like it.

[Mangoaxe5]

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog is a fucking boring piece of shit. I tried to watch it on Youtube to see if it was worth my time but it was just too stupid. It's such a downgrade going from watching Satam to watching this piece of crap.

[Soniman]

Let me guess, because it wasn't 'dark' or 'moody' or 'dramatic' enough for you?

[Your Vest Friend]

The only Sonic game that was based on a Sonic cartoon

The only one based on a specific Sonic cartoon anyway, Spinball was a mishmash of the games with sprinkles of SatAM and AoStH (Scratch is seen in one of the bonus rounds). Just sayin'

Anyway, I do love this show to death, it's so fun that you can't help but have fun with it yourself even if you're well aware of how technically flawed it is.

[Barry the Nomad]

I definitely think time has been good to the series. It really is very close to the classic era in that Sonic 1&2 period of time. You've got Sonic not tied down to any one place, followed around by Tails. Robotnik's Egg-O-Matic is flying about, badniks are the enemies, zones get name dropped and there were even Emeralds and special stages! Sure it wasn't 1:1 with the games, but as a kid I imagined AoStH happening around or after Sonic 2. Can't say that about Underground or SatAM.

I suggest people who are casual viewers or never got into the series check out the multi-episode time travel story. The animation is lovely, the story is fun and it has Emeralds and a Super Robotnik! Episodes are: Blackbot the Pirate, Hedgehog of the Hound Table, Robotnik's Pyramid Scheme add Prehistoric Sonic. Also, Super Robotnik is a fun episode with great animation.

I always found it funny that Blackbot the Pirate kicks off like the OVA does, with Sonic and Tails being visited by a kooky old man while they're chilling at the beach.

Edited September 1, 2012 by Barry the Nomad

[McGroose]

Never grew up with AOSTH, so I don't share the amount the amount of nostalgia some of you have with the show, but I do like to watch it from time to time, and I enjoy it quite a bit, even if I do prefer SATAM just a tad bit more. I really should get around to buying the the complete DVD set of the series from Shout! Factory.

[Milo]

Well, I never watched SatAM and Sonic Underground, and I found Sonic X to be feces. I have watched a few episodes of this show (as well as it's memetic clips), and I thankfully am a fan of Looney Tunes/Road Runner cartoons.

So yeah, this show I find to be the most amusing and my favorite out of all of the Sonic cartoons, if only for how silly and nonsensical it is. I feel so bad for Coconuts and his reassigned toilet duty job, he's essentially the Plankton/Squidward of the show. XP

[Tori Himemiya]

I have many fond memories of this show.

Its mostly fun slapstick but who cares. Its rather entertaining if you ask me.

This show really does make Robotnik seem like he's the hero of everything. I don't mind because he's the funniest person on the show with his robots.

[Kiah]

Awesome OP, but how come you forgot to mention Coconuts?

I really liked him and wished that he appeared in the show more often than he did. The episodes that he appeared in just seemed extra special to me. I had always hoped that he would get that PR-R-R-R-ROMOTION from being Robotnik's jainitor since he was smarter than Scratch and Grounder and actually caught Sonic on occasion, as I felt sorry for him. I rooted for Coconuts to no avail.

Anyway, I absolutely LOVE this show! One of my all-time favorites...It was the cartoons that really got me into Sonic more than the games did. I thought all the main characters were well portrayed in the cartoon; there wasn't a single character out of the main cast that I did not like. Sonic was very entertaining with his cool attitude, memorable catchphrases, and endless disguises. Tails was absolutely adorable, along with being faithful and very smart. I downright loved the bromance between Sonic and Tails throughout the show. Dr. Robotnik, as intellgent as he is, was downright hilarious. I was probably laughing at him more than any other character, especially when he said without fail each episode: "I hate that hedgehog!" I mentioned Coconuts already, but he was my favorite among the badniks...Scratch and Grounder are an absolute riot being so absent-minded, and it was hilarious seeing Sonic foil their plans time and time again.

As humorous as the show was, it was informative at times, notably with the Sonic Says segments. One of the things that I got out of the show that I never forgot was that of chilli dogs. I never saw one or knew they existed until I watched this cartoon. So many fond memories, and I laughed aplenty while watching it; and I am doing the same even now. It is just as amusing for me now as it was back then in 1993.

I wish that the show continued on for a few more years at least, as great at it was. But I am thankful that all 65 episodes were put on DVD and I was able to buy the whole set. That allows me to enjoy this awesome cartoon now and for many years to come

[Da Blu Hedgie]

Never grew up with AOSTH, so I don't share the amount the amount of nostalgia some of you have with the show, but I do like to watch it from time to time, and I enjoy it quite a bit, even if I do prefer SATAM just a tad bit more. I really should get around to buying the the complete DVD set of the series from Shout! Factory.

Same here

[Chili Dawg]

AoStH is like SEGA went into one of DiC's offices, handed some animators a Genesis, Sonic 2, and every drug imaginable and told them to make a show.

And it was fucking awesome.

[Lamor]

I didn't grow up Sonic shows to be honest (not counting Sonic X ). But I remember watching Christmas episode on VHS. Honestly I don't like it. Just like all Sonic cartoons but I gotta give this one a credit for Pingas line.

[Barry the Nomad]

The Christmas special is probably the worst way to be introduced to the series. Give the time travel four parter a watch, see what you think then.

[HexiDecimel]

It was... nuts. Very nuts. Like, even the landscapes had a remarkably trippy nature to them. Never forget that AoStH Robotnik though, absolutely fantastic. And not because of that one tired old meme; he was just pretty hilariously egotistically stupid in general with some of the most illogical plans. As far as the show goes, though... nah. Not really my thing.

[SpeedKeed]

Sonic Stadium said this show is a faithful adaption to the first 2 games and I couldn't agree more (a truly faithful adaption)! Plenty of action, plenty of comedy, out of all the Sonic shows, this is my all time favorite. I think it helped me open the door to become a Sonic fan. Sonic's personality in this was the best one for me because he was heroic while at the same time a wise guy and a screwball (sometimes crazy). It's like you take Mickey Mouse, Felix The Cat, Bugs Bunny, classic Daffy Duck, Woody Woodpecker, the Road Runner, and The Pink Panther to create the perfect personality for Sonic to go with his heroic adevnture side. I also enjoyed the brotherly bond of Sonic and Tails in this cuz it was heartwarming at times. Anyway it's a wonderful- hell the best Sonic cartoon ever and it's a shame there was only 65 episodes (I would've given it a 3 season run). I give this an A++.

FYI, my avatar is an homage to AOSTH Sonic to show my love for his crazy side.

Edited September 3, 2012 by SpeedKeed

[TheOcelot]

The Christmas special is probably the worst way to be introduced to the series. Give the time travel four parter a watch, see what you think then.

Edited September 3, 2012 by MilesKnightwing

[Your Vest Friend]

I have never seen the christmas special episode with the character that looks like Princess Sally from satAM. It's not in the 65 episode DVD collection.