Cartoon King "Sonic the Hedgehog" (or "Sonic SatAM" as it was nick-named due to it airing on Saturday mornings) was the second animated series based on Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog video games. And like the previous Sonic show this one was also produced by DIC Entertainment, and also featured Jaleel White (Steve Urkel from "Family Matters") as the voice of Sonic. But unlike that show, this one had an actual continuing story, an actually menacing version of Dr. Robotnik, and was also more serious, darker, and dramatic. But this type of show suits Sonic much better if you ask me. This show follows the same story of the video game series, but there are new Freedom Fighters like Princess Sally Acorn, Antoine Depardieu, Bunnie Rabbot, Rotor, and starting in season 2: Dulcy. Also there is now a king of Mobius (voiced by Tim Curry), Sonic now has a super-smart, robotic genius uncle, Dr. Robotnik has a nephew named Snively, and in this show Robotnik has already taken over Mobius, so it's kind of a sequel to the games.This show was just great. It leaves the first Sonic toon (Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog) in the dust. SatAM had stories that were very well written, and very interesting. The writers on this show obviously put a lot of effort and work into this show. There were the exciting action-filled scenes, the sad scenes, and the funny scenes. Also this show had an excellent voice cast. With Jaleel White ("Family Matters") as Sonic, Kath Soucie ("Rugrats"; "Dexter's Laboratory") as Sally, Jim Cummings ("The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh"; "Goof Troop"; "Darkwing Duck"; "The Lion King"; "Aladdin"; "The Powerpuff Girls") as Dr. Robotnik, Charlie Adler ("Rocko's Modern Life"; "Tiny Toon Adventures"; "Cow and Chicken"; "Aaahh!!! Real Monsters"; "The Smurfs"; "Beavis and Butt-Head") as Snively, Rob Paulsen ("Animaniacs"; "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"; "The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius"; "Goof Troop"; "The Tick"; "Pinky and the Brain"; "The Fairly OddParents") as Antoine, Christine Cavanaugh ("Rugrats"; "The Critic"; "Babe"; "Dexter's Laboratory"; "Darkwing Duck"; "Aaahh!!! Real Monsters") as Bunnie, and Cree Summer ("Inspector Gadget"; "Tiny Toon Adventures"; "Rugrats"; "Drawn Together") as Dulcy. These very talented voice actors and voice actresses brought a lot of life into the characters.Sadly this show was canceled on a cliff-hanger. The final episode of season 2 wasn't supposed to be the ending. They left it on a cliff-hanger to get people excited over season 3. But when the new ABC president came in 1994 he said he didn't like the show, and thought it wasn't good competition for Fox's "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers". So he canceled it. And we never got to see Tails as a full-fledged Freedom Fighter, what Snively would do when he was in control, who those red, sinister pair of eyes belonged to (writer Ben Hurst said they were Naugus's eyes), what happened to Robotnik (Hurst said he got sucked into The Void), or see the citizens of Mobotropolis turn back into animals, and the planet Mobius return to it's former beautiful and peaceful state.Well Sonic SatAM is just a fantastic show. It had great characters, superb voice acting, and excellent writing. Too bad the plots were never resolved. Still, it's easily the best animated video game adaptation to date, and honestly, one of the only good ones.Rating: 9/10 "Excellent"

montagrappa This has always been my favorite Sonic show ever since I first saw it as a kid. Before seeing this, I had seen 4 or so episodes of the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (which I like, die-hard Sonic fan that I am, but not as much as this series). I still remember that fateful Saturday morning. I turn on the TV, having heard that Sonic would be coming on soon, & then sit back & relax. Then, I'm shocked that it isn't the Sonic I saw before. Regardless, I continue to watch & am amazed at the awesome theme song. I sit through the whole episode & by the time the credits rolled, I was hooked for life. I know how some people didn't like this show as a kid, but I did. I guess it's because, even as a kid, I liked dark stuff. In fact, I preferred dark stuff. Not that much of a preference, but it was still there. Transformers & Sailor Moon were my favorite cartoons because of their dark moments. But those are other stories for other reviews, which should be coming soon. So naturally this show was right up my alley.The whole series was just brilliant. The stories were excellent & varied. Sonic Boom & Ultra Sonic still strike an emotional chord in me. The 5-part Doomsday project series was my favorite. Most of the other episodes were thrilling. Even those much-hated comedic episodes were funny. Aside from the stories, my favorite part was the characters. Despite what some people say, I have always thought that this show had a good amount of Sonic, & without him it wouldn't have been the same AT ALL. I loved all the Freedom Fighters. My favorite was Bunni. I thought she was so cool. My 2nd favorite was Sally. She & Sonic were the perfect match. I also loved Dulcy (the series charming dragon), Rotor (although I didn't like his redesign in season 2), & even Antoine (he WAS pretty hilarious). They were all well-designed, well-voiced & thought out.And now for the one part I must mention-how it was canceled before it's time. With the exception of War Planets, this would be the one show I would've saved from cancellation. I mean, the comic kept going on, so why not the cartoon? It seems that it will be revived someday, & I only hope that they'll do it right.BOTTOM LINE: 10/10- Tied with War Planets & SWAT Kats for 4th best cartoon ever.

Salazar What I'm referring to as the Golden Days is the days when "Sonic" (including "Underground") and "Pokemon" were THE HOTTEST AND COOLEST shows on television. Like any other kid of the rockin' 90's, I was in the cult of television shows based on wicked video games. At the time, they were the "Desperate Housewives" of the 90's for kids.Nowadays, we have the pooey "Sonic X" which just doesn't live up to this and "Sonic Underground" and "Pokemon" has crashed and burned now that they've added 493 more Pokemon as well as getting rid of old characters, added new dorky ones, turning Giovanni of Team Rocket into Jim Carrey and getting rid of the classic voice actors.However, "Sonic", "Sonic Underground" and the old school "Pokemon" (ie. when there was 150 Pokemon plus Mew and Togepi) will remain in my heart forever.Thank you for reading my cliché'ed comment and ranting.

Der Himmelhase The thing I love about this show is that it's a Saturday morning cartoon with cute cartoon animals that's based on a popular video game, but it still has great character development and a dark, gritty setting. The cartoon breaks away from the game in many ways, and mostly for the better. Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic 2 were excellent games, but they did not provide much background for a good story, and the writers of this show were right to use creative license. Pretty much the only similarities are the presence of Sonic and Tails and a bad guy named Robotnik.Unlike the bright, cartoony settings in game, the show features a cyberpunk city ruled by the despotic Dr. Robotnik. This Robotnik bears little resemblance with his goofy video game counterpart. He is truly vile, turning cute cartoon animals into mindless robots, and he is also one of the more powerful cartoon villains. While many bad guys come up with some crazy plan every episode just to get beaten down by the heroes, Robotnik has a firm hold of the world he has conquered and he does his part to keep the good guys in their place. The good guys in this show, led by Sonic and Princess Sally, have a difficult time fighting him, and not every victory of theirs is a complete one. Another thing I love about the show is that most the good guys don't come off as stock characters, but as a group kids who had all experienced some great loss in their lives because of Robotnik's actions. Sonic's character is in line with his can-do attitude in the games, but he also has his own suppressed issues. This cartoon isn't afraid to occasionally show him crying like a baby because of his uncle's roboticization. An original character in the show, Princess Sally, is very balanced and well-developed. She is intelligent and assertive without being unpleasant, kind without being sugarcoated, strong without being an unrealistically powerful fighter, and a good, but not invincible, leader. Her romance with Sonic is well done and credible. It's never cloying or ham-handed, and it is fun to watch them bicker and poke fun at each other like a married couple. It is a truly well-developed romance, and Saturday morning cartoons aren't exactly know for that. Bunnie Rabbot is also a good character. She is very friendly and good-natured, but in one episode it shows briefly that she struggles with her partial roboticization. Considering the strong female characters in this show, it's sad that most children's programming nowadays seems to encourage girls to be annoying, materialistic valley girls. Tails is good as an eager child who idolizes Sonic. The animation is above average for a show of this type. Backgrounds are detailed, characters move convincingly, and faces are expressive. Voicework is good as well. Sonic may be voiced by the infamously annoying Steve Urkell, but Jaleel White does fit well, and he even does a decent sad voice. Robotnik is voiced with smooth malevolence by veteran voice actor Jim Cummings.Sonic the Hedgehog, despite being a video game adaptation, is original and is one of greatest Saturday Morning cartoons out there. My childhood memories of this show are quite vague and most of my experience of it comes from the past year, so it's not like some cartoons I like more because of nostalgia than any merit of the shows themselves. Still Sonic "SatAM", despite being light years ahead of other cartoons, has its flaws. Jaleel White's voice is mostly appropriate, but sometimes annoying (like when Sonic does his announcer voice). He also talks in annoying early-90's slang. I suppose having him say words like "mondo" was to make an otherwise dark and serious show appealing to kids. At times it has the strained environmental posturing, but only in isolated bits of dialogue. The 90's are my favorite era for cartoons, but this problem plagued them. At least there was no contrived episode where Sonic where Sonic learned the value teamwork. There are some minor plot holes, but that doesn't detract from the show.Unfortunately, this show is reviled among more puritanical fans of the games themselves. It is still a great show nonetheless,and most of the people who hate it are anime freaks and gamer dorks anyway. Even if you're not a fan of the Sonic games, you should check this show out; it really is a quality cartoon. Don't be discouraged by the fact that it was based on a video game; it's probably the only good game adaptation out there. It might have been a good thing, though, that this show got cancelled when it did, since I don't particularly like the ideas they had for the third season, but the cancellation is still one of the greatest examples of television injustice. SatAM was a superior cartoon that did not have the ratings enjoyed by inferior shows; it was a sort of like a Saturday Morning "Arrested Development" to the Power Rangers' "Friends."