Official Synopsis:
In the third animated series based on the popular SEGA videogame character, Sonic The Hedgehog (voiced by Family Matters' Jaleel White) along with his siblings Sonia and Manic, battles the evil Dr. Robotnik, while making time for his real passion, their rock band, Sonic Underground. For the fist time ever, Sonic fans will receive a CD Soundtrack featuring 8 of Sonic Underground's Greatest Hits!
Our Take:
Always having been a Nintendo loyalist (I’ve never even so much has owned a Sega) I've never watched any incarnation of Sonic on TV. I always saw him as Mario’s rival, so I had no idea what I was in store for with Sonic Underground. Forget everything you might know about the Sonic universe, though, because this is a brand new hedgehog! Despite having two previous series based on the infamous Sega video game, Sonic Underground takes the basic storyline of Sonic and turns everything else upside down.
Sonic Underground follows three siblings, Sonic, Sonia, and Manic, who were separated as infants by their mother after hearing a prophecy made by an Oracle. The series begins years later after the evil Dr. Robotnik has occupied the planet Mobius, turned a lush, green environment into a wasteland and turned many of its inhabitants into robots. As fate has it, the siblings are reunited and each discovers they have powerful medallions that change into musical instruments as well as weapons. While trying to defeat “Robuttnik,” as Sonic lovingly refers to his nemesis, the siblings are chased by his bumbling bounty hunter sidekicks, Sleet and Dingo.
Overall, Sonic Underground seems to be on par with other cartoons from the late ‘90s. There are lots of mindless action sequences, cheesy dialogue and random animated music videos in the middle of the episodes. This show is geared towards children and for that it exceeds in doing its job well. It looks decent and they manage to fit some good storylines in that children will find entertaining.
Once again the fine folks at Shout Factory have done a bang-up job with their DVD set and presentation.
* Developing The Underground (7 minutes) - A retrospective interview with Executive
Producer Robby London.
* Songs From The Underground (9 minutes) - A look at the music of Sonic Underground
featuring interviews with Original Songwriter Michael Piccirillo and Executive Producer Robby London.
* Play All Music Videos – Every episode has an original song featuring a music video-esque montage and clips highlighting a moral from the story. Here you have the option of watching the videos by themselves outside of the episode.
* Storyboard-to-Screen: The Opening Title Sequence (1 minute) - Watch the opening to the series in storyboard form.
* Original Concept Art (10 minutes) - Check out visuals for all the main characters including Sonic, Sonia, Manic, Robotnik and others.
* Bonus CD Soundtrack featuring 8 of Sonic Underground's Greatest Hits!
Only having been released in 1999, this series hardly qualifies as retro or something to even remotely consider as nostalgic. If you’re looking for a Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon that follows the same storyline as the video games, then look elsewhere. If you’re looking for something harmless to sit the kids in front of, then this might be a good bet.
Overall Picture
Show: C+
DVD: B
- Chris Lawrence
Staff Writer
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