Back in the heyday of the Hedgehog, there were two Sonic shows airing at the same time. One was a high-quality, serious and detailed series known as Sonic the Hedgehog or SatAM, and the other was a light-hearted series known for Robotnik yelling “I hate that hedgehog!” This series was known as The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (AoStH). Instead of focusing on the war between the Freedom Fighters and the evil Dr. Robotnik, AoStH takes a simpler and cheerful approach as Sonic and Tails thwart the shenanigans of Dr. Robotnik and often his robot minions Scratch and Grounder. This DVD contains 7 episodes from this series, and at the low price of five dollars, this DVD must be worth it, right? Well, let’s take a look and find out.
Included Episodes:
“Black Bot the Pirate”- Robotnik travels in time in search of the Chaos Emeralds. While doing so, he encounters Black Beard and turns him into a robot.
“Pseudo Sonic”- Robotnik creates a Sonic robot and forces his lab rat to drive it around Mobius committing crimes in Sonic’s name.
“Too Tall Tails”- Tails grows to a gigantic height after getting caught in the cloud of Robotnik’s growth gas.
“Sonic the Matchmaker”- Sonic attempts to get Robotnik’s robots Breezie and Robotnik Jr. to like each other.
“Slowwww Going”- Sonic helps a family of sloths under attack from Robotnik’s goons.
“Road Hog”- Sonic gets tricked into becoming the leader of a biker gang.
and “Attack on Pinball Fortress”- Robotnik creates a giant stupidity ray atop his pinball fortress, based on the SEGA Genesis game Sonic Spinball.
As I stated, AoStH is very different from SatAM. Instead of loading the show with extremely detailed environments, much character development, and thick plots, AoStH focuses on a thinner plot. Most of the time it is simply Sonic and Tails (throw in an generic supporting cast member for good measure) defending Mobius from the evil Dr. Robotnik and his minions. Expanded, the plot moves to something like time-travel or supporting characters get the spotlight, and that’s not necessarily a good thing. Throughout the DVD, each episode is polluted with extra supporting cast members that have no place there, nor do they contribute anything funny or relevant enough to justify their existence.
For example, one episode features a salesman who tries to sell someone blank encyclopedias. Seriously? The customer says no of course, but then gets blasted by Robotnik’s stupidity ray. He is then happy to buy the encyclopedias and even wants to buy the salesman’s stinky socks. Even some of Robotnik’s badniks do some damage here. One tries to be to be sexy, and another two are paraded as Robotnik’s son and wife. I know the series needs citizens (Robotnik has to be dictator of somebody) but all the extra characters here are cheap. Take a generic stereotype, and draw an anthropomorphic animal to suit it in five minutes. The only quality characters here are Sonic, Tails, Robotnik, and sometimes Scratch and Grounder, but basically the extra characters are what ruin the show. Tails is absolutely adorable. Sonic is awesome as ever. Robotnik is hilarious when he changes into another costume or gets thwarted by Sonic and/or Tails. Though I disapprove of the fact that his butt is outlined all the time, he’s much more enjoyable than his robots or those previously-mentioned random characters. His goons Scratch and Grounder range from enjoyable to miserable. Scratch’s laugh is ridiculous, Grounder is an idiot, and the two together often just mess things up. Atop of that, Robotnik makes other cheesy robots that push he show even further into its grave. I know this DVD claims to be “The Best” but honestly, it’s half-way the worst. I can think of other episodes that would be amazing in this bundle, like “Tails In Charge” for example.
On the plus side, the voice acting and art are high quality. Sonic gets good-ol Jaleel White, so expect good things from him. Fun fact: Grounder is voiced by Gary Chalk, the same person who went on to voice Dr. Robotnik in Sonic Underground. All the other character’s VA’s fit them nicely, especially Tail’s.
While each episode has a little piece of quality, they are overall diamonds in mud. Although Sonic and Tails never do anything to devalue the show. It’s just the other characters that are jumbled in that mess it up. So I can’t say I don’t recommend it because you can slightly enjoy these episodes, but it’s nothing compared to SatAM. Just keep your eyes on the hedgehog, folks.
Content
Language
Nothing.
Violence
Cartoon Violence. Nothing major.
Alcohol/Drug Reference
Nothing.
Spiritual Content
A wizard lizard. He doesn’t do anything.
Sexual Content
This is where it gets weird. Robotnik creates a sexy-robot. She wears a low-cut top and a skirt that displays the sides of her hips and even a large portion of her butt at one time. Momma sloth reveals cleavage.
I feel that a teenager or adult would have a hard time watching some of these episodes, as I did. Over time they’ve grown on me a bit but I still find many elements repulsive and childish. I know this is a children’s show, but like I previously stated, this is in the view of a teenager. However, it could be a good show to watch with the kids while getting some enjoyment out of it.
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The Bottom Line
Ah I remember this show….Loved it and still do but never finished it…..It felt long especially the other animated series……I gotta go back and watch it on Youtube…..
I think there is a DVD release of the entire series in the UK, so if you can get a Region-Free DVD Player, you’ll be set!
Used to love this show, but I preferred the Sonic Hedgehog that was about the Freedom Fighters. Especially since it was based more on the comics, I really enjoyed the characters and plots. Was much darker too.
I feel the same way. Much easier to watch.