So, we've looked at what the Americans and Japanese have done with Sonic the Hedgehog in terms of cartoons.
So far the Americans have done a good job of turning the franchise into a very serious story.
Now they return with another cartoon. Must be a good one, right?
SONIC!
Triplets born
The thrown awaits
A seer warns of a deadly fate
In 1999,
DiC Entertainment among others created another Sonic cartoon titled Sonic Underground.
It was based on SatAM with its dark atmosphere,
and Robotnik having taken over half the planet.
It stars Sonic at a younger age so the first assumption is that this would be a prequel to SatAM.
However, there are several differences that make it very different from SatAM.
Though Robotnik may control half, or less of the world,
he has not roboticized everyone,
and keeps unroboticized aristocrats around as income.
The bidding starts at 100 000 Mobiums!
Plus he enlists the aid of 2 unroboticized bounty hunters named
Sleet, a wolf,
and Dingo, a morphable oaf,
both of which are dimwits.
Dingo, have you seen LaTour?
No, but how do you suppose these suitcases can move all by themselves?
You remind me of somebody...
For some reason makes me think of 2 other morons.
Grounder, you are as dumb as a rock!
Metamorphic,
igneous,
or sedimentary?
Dimwitaraenteous!
The other major difference is that Sonic's mother is a queen,
named Aleena,
making him a prince.
She had 2 other kids
giving him a brother named Manic,
and a sister named Sonia.
What?
For some reason, a seer tells her that she needs to abandon her kids and separate them until the time is right.
Some day you will reunite with your children to become the Council of Four,
and overthrow Robotnik...
But there is a price, Your Highness.
For the prophecy to be fulfilled,
I had to give up my babies.
I think it has something to do with that if they are apart, it is much harder for Robotnik to capture them all.
Though it doesn't make sense seeing as the siblings get together some 10 years later.
Aleena sends them to the 3 corners of the city, and they get brought up in different manners.
Sonic becomes...
Well, I'm sure you know that personality.
No problemo, Uncle Chuck!
Fast is my middle name!
Sonia gets brought up by aristocrats and is a snooty acrobat.
I am never stepping foot in a sewer again!
It's dirty,
it's smelly,
and it's disgusting!
Hey, that's my home you're talking about, princess!
And Manic becomes a thief because he was brought up by the wrong crowd.
Hey, we could sell this to a crooked antique dealer I know and make a bundle for the resistance!
Each sibling wears a medallion representing an instrument they are good at.
With these medallions they can call apon great power by materializing instruments and using them as weapons.
We gonna let these cool instruments go to waste?
Well, of course, if they've got instruments,
why not?
There's something missing
Something's not quite right
Honestly, who thought this was a good idea?
Hey, Sal, don't you call me a fool
Cause, baby, you know that I'm way past cool
Way past cool
Way past cool, huh?
Yo, put the peddle to the metal and baby I guarantee
You'll be juicin' to the 10th degree
Thankfully, this time it is not Jaleel White singing,
but still...
Oh and yes, Jaleel White does the voice for all 3 siblings.
Can you picture over a hundred Urkles gathered together in one house?
Please, not before I eat!
Ok, just to clarify, I do not have a problem with Jaleel White voicing Sonic.
At the start of every episode, Aleena narrates what the kids are gonna go through...
Sometimes you have to take a step back to realize how far you've come.
In Manic's case, however, that one simple step could turn into a slide of no return.
And somewhere in every episode there is a music video about something or another.
All the diamonds and pearls
Can't put love in the world
If you look inside your heart
I know you'll see
That money can't buy
The things you really need
POLL TIME!
Which moral lesson would you prefer?
Sonic Says?
Sonic Underground?
Ok, it's not only moral lessons,
there are other excuses to sing...
The vacation starts today
And we're gonna have
Fun in the sun
Super vacation
Fun in the sun
Gonna have a good time
At some point Sonic and the others form the Sonic Underground,
a kind of freedom fighter resistance gang.
But at the same time they also wish to find their mother.
So they travel the world and end up in all sorts of adventures.
During which they discover the powers hidden within,
learn how to use them,
and learn about themselves.
We can still hit the beach for a swim.
Swim?
Why would we want to do that?
Here's another tidbit for you:
While trying to follow the theme of Sonic not swimming,
they gave him aquaphobia.
I knew Sonic didn't like water,
but he's acting like if he's afraid of it!
Though Queen Aleena and her kids are supposed to be separated until the time is right,
I get the feeling she is constantly watching them.
I, Queen Aleena, shall never abandon Mobius,
or her children,
as long as I may live!
I also get the feeling that almost every clue that they get about her whereabouts,
is actually a message from her telling them to go to a place that needs extra help fighting Robotnik...
Why would mother want to come to a place like this?
...or that will teach them something about the world they live in.
There's not much here.
Read it!
Ok.
According to this, the seer told her:
"I will rejoin my children, but there are many roads that we all must travel before we are reunited."
And here's something I find annoying:
Do the tears have to be slimy?
Honestly, sounds like something I ate,
or excreted...
Also, what's up with some of these creatures' designs?
Didn't think Robotnik's waste was that radioactive.
In this series, Knuckles and his floating island makes an appearance,
and where there's a floating island, there is of course a Chaos Emerald.
Their first encounter is pretty much like in the game.
Robotnik's henchmen trick him to believe that Sonic and his gang are the enemy...
Gotta cruise, dudes.
We gotta find that Chaos Emerald before that dop ee defender Knuckles gets us.
while they steal the Emerald that keeps the island afloat.
Like with most things, if it's used properly,
it can be a source of great power.
My Fortress of Altitude can take care of a trio of troublesome hedgehogs
without your help.
But if broken and consumed by an unstable dingo...
I don't feel so good.
We also get to see Knuckles'
Great Grandfather Athair!
There's been a terrible...
A Chaos Emerald has been broken.
I can feel the chaos swirling around us, tearing Mobius apart.
Why the Sean Connery accent?
Somehow it doesn't seem to fit.
Anyways, the show lasted 40 episodes and was then canceled.
I can safely say, even though I'm curious how it ends,
I won't miss it.
And to think that Ben Hurst had a hand in this.
If anything I was hoping that Ben Hurst would show us the continuation of SatAM.
I suppose we could call it a parallel universe,
I mean, the Archie series seems to like playing with that.
But imagine the kids' confusion if they watch Underground before SatAM.
Did they ever find their mother?
Where did the siblings go to?
And if that's the king of Mobius,
and that's the queen of Mobius,
does that make Sally a sibling too?
What's going on?
Ok, I may be comparing to SatAM a bit too much...
There are some redeeming factors like,
the music's good...
I'm so glad I found my home
I've been walking through this world alone
And the messages to the kids are ok,
but some of it seems to be a little too rushed,
and there are points in which I am reminded of Adventures.
Excuse me, Mr. Swatbot.
Can you tell me if I'm a dangerous member of the Anti-Robuttnik Underground?
I am unable to identify you.
Cool!
Well, that was the end of that.
And there's one more cartoon out there.
We shall look at that in part 5.