Sonic Boom (TV series)

Sonic Boom is a French–American computer-animated children's television series, produced by OuiDo! Productions, Warner Bros. Animation, Saban Brands and Sega of America, Inc. in collaboration with Lagardère Thématiques and Jeunesse TV, respectively for channels Canal J and Gulli. Based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video game franchise created by Sega, the series is the fifth animated television series based on the franchise (plus the second one to be co-produced in France following Sonic Underground), and the first to be produced in computer-generated animation and in high definition.

The series premiered in November 2014. The series is a part of the Sonic Boom spin-off franchise, which also consists of three video games, Rise of Lyric, Shattered Crystal and Fire &amp; Ice, a comic series by Archie Comics, and a toyline by Tomy.

Production
The animated series was first announced on October 2, 2013, revealing a teaser image featuring Sonic the Hedgehog Jr, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna and Amy Rose, in silhouette form. The series, which consists of 52 11-minute episodes, was developed by Evan Baily, Donna Friedman Meir, and Sandrine Nguyen, with Baily and Bill Freiberger as showrunners, under the supervision of Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka. On February 6, 2014, Sega and Warner Bros. Animation revealed the first trailer for the series, showcasing the new designs for the characters.

The series features returning voice actors except the new actors from the video game series, including Jonathan Taylor Thomas (replacing Kari Wahlgren) as Sonic Jr, Michael Clake Duncan (episode 1; who died during the production, he is dedicated to the memory), James C. Mathis III (Season 1, replacing Duncan after his death) and Keith David (Season 2) as Knuckles, Mae Whitman (episodes 1-4), Natalie Lander (episodes 5-26), Amanda Leighton (episodes 27-) and Cindy Robinson (singing voice) as Amy, Jim Cummings / Barry Bostwick as Old Sonic Sr and Jennifer Love Hewitt as Old Cynder respectively, while the voice actors Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Michael Clake Duncan (episode 1; who died during the production, he is dedicated to the memory), James C. Mathis III (season 1), Keith David (season 2), Kevin Michael Richardson (season 1), Paul Giamatti (season 2), John Eric Bentley (episode 1), Kevin Grevioux and Wayne Knight succeeds Kari Wahlgren, Roger Craig Smith, Travis Willingham, Mike Pollock, Dorian Harewood and Wally Wingert in the roles of Sonic Jr, Knuckles, Dr. Eggman, Orbot and Cubot and the voice actress Colleen O'Shaughnessey succeeds Kate Higgins in the role of Tails. The series also introduces a new character named Sticks the Jungle Badger, a somewhat-delusional hunter who has been living alone in the wilderness for many years before meeting Sonic Jr and his friends, who is voiced by Grey DeLisle Griffin (episodes 1-12) and Bryce Dallas Howard (episodes 13-). Also, the score and main theme was composed by Polygon, Iizuka stated the series came about as a desire to appeal more to Western territories, following the 2003 Japanese anime series, Sonic X, with Iizuka also stating that the franchise will run in parallel with the 'Modern' series of Sonic games. Baily stated that the series would be a mixture of action and comedy, featuring an episodic structure. On October 4, 2014, Sega announced the air date of the series in the United States to be November 8, 2014.

On February 19, 2015, Cartoon Network announced in a press statement that Sonic Boom, along with 10 other shows, will return for the 2015-2016 TV season. This was subsequently confirmed by executive producer Bill Freiberger in a fan commentary to not be an indicator of a renewal or second season at this time. However, on October 10, 2015, Lagardère Entertainment Rights and Warner Bros. Television Distribution announced a second season which premiered on October 29, 2016. It was announced on November 10, 2016, that the remainder of season two will air on Boomerang while Cartoon Network airs reruns of the series. Strangely, the show was removed from the Cartoon Network app and is most likely to return at some point.

Season 1 of Sonic Boom was released in Japan by Warner Bros. Entertainment Japan as a Netflix exclusive on July 1, 2017, under the title Sonic Toon.

Plot
Sonic Jr (son of Sonic Sr and Cnyder), Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and Sticks reside on Bygone Island and defend it and New York City (formerly New Badger City) they live in from various threats, most frequently the mad scientist Doctor Eggman (until his death in 2035), Clone Dr. Eggman and his robotic creations.

Broadcast

 * Main article: List of Sonic Boom episodes

Sonic Boom made its international debut on Cartoon Network in Australia and New Zealand on April 4, 2015. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the series premiered on Boomerang on June 1, 2015. The series is also airing on Cartoon Network in Singapore and Malaysia, on Cartoon Network in India as Sonic Boom Dhamaal Aur Dhoom, and on Okto in Singapore. It also began airing on Boomerang in the United States on October 8, 2015. The series premiered on Family Chrgd in Canada on October 24, 2015. It has also been acquired by the English-language feed of Cartoon Network in Africa as well as the English and Arabic-language feeds in the Middle East.

Main characters
Sega and Warner Bros. Animation confirmed various cast and characters for Sonic Boom on February 25, 2014. On May 29, 2014, Sega and Warner Bros. Animation announced that Grey DeLisle (eps1-12) and Bryce Dallas Howard (eps13-) will both play the role of Sticks, a jungle badger, who joined the franchise as a major character. Several new characters were also created for Sonic Boom, such as Mayor Fink, Fastidious Beaver, and Perci. Jack Fletcher works as the show's casting and voice director with the casting and voice directors Kris Zimmerman Salter and Collette Sunderman. This is the first show for Fletcher and Zimmerman who also both held for the video game series since 2010.


 * Sonic the Hedgehog Jr (voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas) - The heroes' leader of the series and son of Sonic the Hedgehog Sr and Cynder, a 15-year-old blue hedgehog with super speed. Sonic Jr has good intentions and is heroic, but can be shortsighted of others' feelings and impatient. He also enjoys the benefits of being a hero and dislikes competition. Unlike most incarnations, the Sonic Boom version of Sonic Jr has blue-furred arms and wears a brown neckerchief around his neck and athletic sports tape on his wrists.
 * Miles "Tails" Prower (voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey) - An 8-year-old two-tailed fox who is Sonic Jr's sidekick. He sports goggles and a tool belt, and serves as the group's mechanic and technology expert. Tails' inventions do not always work out as intended, though he's highly confident in his abilities. He maintains the same personality overall, though he can be more blunt and openly skeptical.
 * Knuckles the Echidna (voiced by Michael Clarke Duncan (first episode; released posthumously), James C. Mathis III (Season 1) and Keith David (Season 2)) - A 16-year-old red echidna and the muscle of Team Sonic, whose redesign for Sonic Boom is the most drastic of any Sega character altered for the series: Knuckles is considerably taller than most versions of the character, appears more muscular, and wears sports tape around his hands as opposed to spiked boxing gloves. Whereas other versions of Knuckles have a history of being gullible, Boom Knuckles is clueless and often annoys his teammates.
 * Amy Rose (voiced by Mae Whitman (episodes 1-4), Natalie Lander (episodes 5-26), Amanda Leighton (episodes 27-) and Cindy Robinson (singing voice)) - A 12-year-old pink female hedgehog who is the peppiest member of the group. Amy wields a giant hammer in battle. As in other series, Amy has a crush on Sonic, but seems to be more cautious about it than other versions of herself. Eggman has referred to her and Sonic as if they were a married couple, and to her as Sonic Jr's girlfriend. She is the more emotionally mature member of the group, offering common sense when the rest of the team gets carried away.
 * Sticks the Badger (voiced by Grey DeLisle (episodes 1-12) and Bryce Dallas Howard (episodes 13-)) - A badger skilled in the use of boomerangs that comes from the jungle. Sticks is a paranoid individual of wild habits, who enjoys digging through garbage and looking at shiny objects. While she may at times seem insane, her madness does occasionally stray into genius, allowing her to find solutions that no one else could have thought of.
 * Doctor Eggman / Clone Doctor Eggman (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson (Season 1) and Paul Giamatti (Season 2)) - A mad scientist who's age is unknown but he often acts like a child and is the constant nemesis of Team Sonic and the inhabitants of Bygone Island, residing in a lair off the island's coast. In this series, Eggman is typically portrayed as being rather buffoonish, with his schemes usually being considered annoying rather than threatening. At times, he even appears to be on friendly terms with the heroes, though this usually leads to some scheme in which he tries to defeat them. His ambitions are to conquer the island in order to build his own theme park until he is sentenced to die for a treason in 2035 and later he is created by the American Scientists which is called "Clone Doctor Eggman".
 * Orbot (voiced by John Eric Bentley (first episode) and Kevin Grevioux) - Eggman's red orb-shaped robot henchman. He is the more formal and blunt of the two, often being totally honest even at Eggman's expense.
 * Cubot (voiced by Wayne Knight) - Eggman's yellow cube-shaped robot henchman. He is the more slow and dimwitted of the two, often misunderstanding the meaning of other characters' statements.

Recurring characters

 * Belinda (voiced by Grey DeLisle) - A goat and resident of Hedgehog Village who is Charlie's wife. When Charlie turns to villainy, she encourages her husband and in turn begins expressing villainous tendencies of her own.
 * Charlie (voiced by Dave Fennoy) - A desert rat and an archaeologist on Bygone Island. Knuckles briefly tries to assist him to make up for a past misdeed, but his frustration at Knuckles' incompetence, which eventually causes him to lose yet another job, drives him to become a villain, equipping himself with an ancient exo-suit. In "It Takes a Village to Defeat a Hedgehog," Charlie is among the villains recruited by Doctor Eggman to join Team Eggman.
 * Comedy Chimp (voiced by Kevin Hamilton McDonald) - A common chimpanzee and resident of Bygone Island who hosts his own late-night talk show.
 * Dixon (voiced by Thomas Haden Church) - A ferret and the former media producer who is fired by Senator James Jackson when he is arrested by the NYPD. He frequently uses shady tactics in order to drive up ratings.
 * Mayor E. Pluribus Fink (voiced by Alan Tudyk (third episode) and Clancy Brown) - A mouse who is the mayor of the unnamed village on Bygone Island. He often prioritizes maintaining his own political position above all else.
 * Fastidious Beaver (voiced by Keith Szarabajka (first episode) and Dee Bradley Baker) - A beaver and resident of Bygone Island who works as the village librarian. He has a tendency to correct other characters' grammar and always begins his sentences by saying "Actually" or "Whom".
 * The Gogobas - A tribe of chinchillas who live in Gogoba Village on Bygone Island. They make up for their small size with devious manipulation through kindness and guilt trips.
 * Chief Gogoba (voiced by John Eric Bentley) - The leader of the Gogobas.
 * Young Gogoba (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker)
 * Elderly Gogoba (voiced by Grey DeLisle)
 * Lady Walrus (voiced by Susanne Blakeslee (first voice) and Angela Lansbury (second voice)) - A walrus living on Bygone Island. She has two sons, with a running gag involving her baby constantly being put into danger as a result of Dr. Eggman's attacks.
 * Leroy the Turtle (voiced by Patrick Warburton) - A turtle who serves as a postal worker and mail carrier for Bygone Island.
 * The Lightning Bolt Society - A secret society of villains made up of small-time crooks. Though they are largely considered incompetent and harmless by the villagers and Doctor Eggman. In "It Takes a Village to Defeat a Hedgehog," the Lightning Bolt Society is among the villains recruited by Doctor Eggman to join Team Eggman.
 * Willy Walrus (voiced by Jim Cummings) - A walrus who is the leader of the Lightning Bolt Society.
 * Dave the Intern (voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes) - A nutria and employee at the Meh Burger fast-food restaurant in the Village Center. He is Eggman's biggest fan and was briefly taken on as the Doctor's intern, but was later fired after he proved too ambitious before the NYPD blames Eggman for firing Dave and arrested Eggman. Dave later appeared as a founding member of the Lightning Bolt Society before betraying them and became an CIA and the ally wh. In "Next Top Villain," it is revealed that Dave's mother is also evil and pressures Dave to be a former villain until his betrayal to Lightning Bolt Society and becaming an CIA and later as an ally when he had a change of heart by switching sides.
 * Weasel Bandits (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson and Jim Cummings) - Just as their name implies, it is a group of three weasel bandits. Sometimes, only one of them is present among the Lightning Bolt Society.
 * The Chameleon (voiced by Keith David) - A gray wolf dressed as a tree who serves as the Lightning Bolt Society's spy and talent scout.
 * Metal Sonic (voiced by Crispin Freeman) - A robotic doppelgänger of Sonic Jr created by Eggman.
 * Morpho (voiced by Troy Baker) - A shapeshifting robot built by an alternate-dimension Eggman. After his own dimension is destroyed, he migrates to the Sonic Boom dimension and pledges allegiance to Eggman. He most frequently appears in the guise of Eggman's fictional brother, "Steve Eggman".
 * Perci (voiced by Ming-Na Wen) - A bandicoot who lives on Bygone Island with her twin sister Staci. In Rise of Lyric, she is depicted as the latest in a long line of the island's protectors.
 * Salty (voiced by Mark Hamill) - A hippo who works as a bouncer. In Rise of Lyric, he acts as a sea captain and has a strong rivalry with his twin brother Pepper (voiced by Fred Tatasciore).
 * Shadow the Hedgehog (voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch) - A black hedgehog who was created by Doctor Eggman's grandfather Gerald robotnik and is capable of super speed and teleportation. Idolized by Doctor Eggman for his popularity within the series, he is much more aggressive than other incarnations of the character, considering friendship a sign of weakness and determined to defeat both Sonic Jr and Clone Eggman at all costs until he betrays Clone Eggman and became an ally after he had a change of heart. In the TV series, Shadow has extended red Markers on both his shoes and gloves and has cow-licked quills like Sonic Jr.
 * Soar the Eagle (voiced by Tim Curry) - A blue eagle and local newscaster on Bygone Island, who also hosts seminars as a motivational speaker and life coach.
 * T.W. Barker (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) - A gray wolf who acts as the ringmaster at "T.W. Barker's Circus of Wonders" where it's performers are actually his slaves. In "Don't Judge Me," T.W. Barker worked as Doctor Eggman's lawyer when it came to suing Sonic for the injuries that were afflicted onto Doctor Eggman. In "It Takes a Village to Defeat a Hedgehog," T.W. Barker is among those who were invited by Doctor Eggman to join Team Eggman.
 * Stuntbears (voiced by Nolan North and Charlie Adler) - A trained brown bear and gray bear duo that serve as T.W. Barker's loyal henchmen, stunt performers, and circus performers. In "It Takes a Village to Defeat a Hedgehog," the Stuntbears are among those who were invited by Doctor Eggman to join Team Eggman.
 * Mrs. Vandersnout (voiced by Grey DeLisle / 1st voice and Renae Jacobs / 2nd voice) - An elderly wolf living on New York City. Despite her seemingly innocent appearance, she has repeatedly demonstrated dishonest and immoral behavior, such as scamming the team out of their money and suggesting Sonic Jr be poisoned.
 * Vector the Crocodile (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) - A private detective and reality TV star. Like the other game characters, he has been redesigned for the series, now sporting an arm tattoo and a leather jacket in place of his traditional headphones.
 * Zooey (voiced by Kristen Bell) - A fox living on Bygone Island, whom Tails has a crush on.

Reception
The show premiered #1 in its time slot. Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media said that it was somewhat violent for children but that some viewers can have fun watching it.

Video games

 * Main articles: Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, Shattered Crystal, and Fire &amp; Ice

A pair of video games that serve as a prequel (Rise of Lyric), a midquel (Shattered Crystal) and a sequel (Fire & Ice) for the series were released for the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, Xbox 360 and Xbox One systems in November 2014. The Windows, PS3, PS4, Wii U, X360 and XO version, Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, was developed by Big Red Button Entertainment and Rebellion Developments, and the PSVita and 3DS version, Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal, by Sanzaru Games and Rebellion Developments. The games were announced alongside the TV series' first trailer on February 6, 2014 and serve as prequels to the series. Rise of Lyric sees players alternate control between Sonic Jr, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Ultraman Zero, Ultraman Dyna and Ultraman Cosmos. The game utilizes each of their abilities—Sonic Jr's speed, Tails' flight, Knuckles' strength, and Amy's agility—allowing two players to play cooperatively and four players competitively. Shattered Crystal lets players control Sonic Jr,, Tails, Knuckles, Sticks, and Ultraman Zero and places more emphasis on platforming and puzzle-solving than the more adventure-oriented Rise of Lyric. On June 20, 2014, it was confirmed that both games would be released on December 18 in Japan under the name of Sonic Toon. A third game, Fire &amp; Ice, was for Console and Handheld systems in September 2016. Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom, a follow-up to the free-to-play Sonic Dash, was released on Android devices on July 1, 2015. Since her debut in the show, the character Sticks has gone on to be featured in Sonic titles that are not part of the Boom brand, such as Sonic Runners and Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Comic book
A comic based on the new franchise by Archie Comics was released beginning in October 2014, with Ian Flynn as the writer and Evan Stanley as the artist, similar to Archie's long-running Sonic the Hedgehog comic series. Several issues were also written by TV series showrunner Bill Freiberger. Jesse Schedeen of IGN rated the first issue of the comic a 7.2 out of 10. He commended Flynn for not having relied on trendy, modern humor or dialogue in the comic's presentation, and also appreciated the fourth-wall humor and "clean, expressive" art style. Schedeen did, however, find the plot "fairly disjointed" and possessing little coherent structure, and he criticized Sticks, whom he considered a needless exposition device.

The Sonic Boom comics were featured alongside Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Universe, and Mega Man comics, as well as various other Sega and Capcom video game series as part of the 2015 Sonic/Mega Man crossover "Worlds Unite", with issues #8-#10 forming parts 2, 6, and 10 of the story. The series concluded with its 11th issue in September 2015, though stories featuring the characters continue to be printed as part of the Sonic Super Digest and Sonic Super Special Magazine books. Flynn later began writing for the television series during its second season.

Home media
A DVD release of the first 13 episodes titled "Season 1 Volume 1- The Sidekick" was released in the UK on February 8, 2016, by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. A second DVD of the next 13 episodes titled "Season 1 Volume 2- Hedgehog Day" was also released by Universal in the UK on May 30. A third DVD release of the third 13 episodes titled "Season 1 Volume 3- Mayor Knuckles" was released in the UK on July 25 by Universal. A fourth DVD release of the last 13 episodes of Season 1 titled "Season 1 Volume 4- No Robots Allowed" was released in the UK on October 10 by Universal.

On May 22, 2016, the entire first season was made available to stream on Hulu in the United States, under a deal with Sega, Warner Bros. Animation, Saban Brands and Technicolor Animation Productions. The series was later made available for streaming on Netflix outside of the US as of December 23, 2016.

Literature
In early 2016, a series of children's books adapted from several Sonic Boom episodes were released in France by Bibliotheque Rose.