Sonic Boom is an animated television series produced by Sega of America, Inc.
Loosely based on the video game franchise Sonic the Hedgehog created by Sega, the series is the fifth animated television series based on the franchise and the first to be produced in computer-generated imagery animation and in high-definition.
Sonic Boom | |
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Based on | |
Developed by |
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Directed by | Natalys Raut-Sieuzac |
Voices of | |
Composer | Michael Richard Plowman |
Country of origin |
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Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 104 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Editors |
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Running time | 11 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | Cartoon Network & Boomerang (U.S.) Canal J & Gulli (France) |
Release | November 8, 2014 November 18, 2017 | –
Related | |
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic Underground Sonic X Sonic Prime |
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 & Ice; a comic series by Archie Comics, and a toyline by Tomy.
The series focuses on the adventures of Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles and Sticks—the main characters in the Sonic Boom series of video games—as they protect their home village on Seaside Island from attacks by Doctor Eggman and his robot creations, as well as other villains and hostile beings. Each episode mainly features a stand-alone plot that mainly features comedic elements, with characters facing various issues and problems that impact their efforts to defend their homes.
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
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First aired | Last aired | Network | |||
1 | 52 | November 8, 2014(U.S.) | November 14, 2015(U.S.) | Cartoon Network (U.S.) | |
2 | 52 | October 29, 2016(U.S.) | November 18, 2017(U.S.) | Boomerang (U.S.) |
Sega confirmed various cast and characters for Sonic Boom on February 25, 2014. On May 29, 2014, Sega announced that Nika Futterman will 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 voice director, a role he has also held for the video game series since 2010.
The CGI-animated series was first announced on October 2, 2013, revealing a teaser image featuring Sonic the Hedgehog, 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 revealed the first trailer for the series, showcasing the new designs for the characters.
The series features returning voice actors from the video game series, including Roger Craig Smith as Sonic, Travis Willingham as Knuckles, Cindy Robinson as Amy, Mike Pollock as Doctor Eggman, Kirk Thornton as both Orbot and Shadow and Wally Wingert as Cubot respectively, while voice actress Colleen Villard succeeds Kate Higgins in the role of Tails. The series also introduces a new character named Sticks the Badger, a somewhat-delusional hunter who has been living alone in the wilderness for many years before meeting Sonic and his friends, who is voiced by Nika Futterman. In an interview with 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 Cartoon Network.
On February 19, 2015, Cartoon Network announced in a press statement that Sonic Boom, along with 10 other shows, was to 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 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.
Season 1 of Sonic Boom was released in Japan as a Netflix exclusive on July 1, 2017, under the title Sonic Toon (ソニックトゥーン).
As of May 21, 2020, there are no plans to continue the show past its two-season run.
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 and premiered on Pop on 25 August 2018. 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 (later Okto on 5) in Singapore. It also aired on Boomerang in the United States from October 8, 2015, to November 12, 2017. 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.
In the UK in 2016, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment released 4 13-episode volumes of the series, all combining the first season. "The Sidekick" was released in the UK on February 8. "Hedgehog Day" was released on May 30. "Mayor Knuckles" was released in the UK on July 25 and the last volume "No Robots Allowed" was released in the UK on October 10. The first two volumes were released in Brazil in 2017.
On May 22, 2016, the entire first season was made available to stream on Hulu in the United States, under a deal with Sega and OuiDo! Productions. The series was later made available for streaming on Netflix outside of the US as of December 23, 2016. The second season of the show was added to Hulu on November 19, 2017.
The launch edition of the game Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice for the Nintendo 3DS included a Sonic Boom DVD with 3 Episodes from Season 1.
On March 12, 2019, a DVD titled "Sonic Boom: Here Comes The Boom!" was released in the US by NCircle Entertainment featuring 8 episodes from Season 1.
On June 4, 2019, a DVD titled "Sonic Boom: Go Team Sonic!" was released in the US by NCircle Entertainment featuring 8 episodes from Season 1 and a bonus episode from Season 2.
On October 1, 2019, a DVD titled "Sonic Boom: Season 1, Volume 1" was released in the US as both a standard DVD only release as well as a limited edition action figure + DVD release with a Sonic the Hedgehog action figure and a Dr. Eggman action figure by NCircle Entertainment a collection of 26 episodes of the first season.
On February 4, 2020, NCircle Entertainment released “Sonic Boom: Season 1, Volume 2”, a collection with the remaining 26 episodes of the first season as both a standard DVD only release as well as a limited edition action figure + DVD release with a Miles "Tails" Prower action figure and a Knuckles the Echidna action figure. The episode “Fire in a Crowded Workshop” uses Spanish audio instead of English. Customers had to reach out to NCircle Entertainment to get the fixed issue.
On September 1, 2020, NCircle released a fifth DVD, “Sonic Boom: Robot Uprising”, featuring mostly Season 2 episodes.
Sonic Boom: The Complete First Season was released on Blu-ray by NCircle Entertainment on May 4, 2021.
Sonic Boom: Season 2 Volume 1 was released on DVD as both a standard DVD only release, as well as a limited edition with a Sonic backpack clip by NCircle Entertainment, on May 4, 2021.
Sonic Boom: Season 2 Volume 2 was released on DVD as a standard DVD only release by NCircle Entertainment on September 21, 2021.
Sonic Boom: The Complete Second Season was released on Blu-ray by NCircle Entertainment on September 21, 2021.
Sonic Boom: The Complete Series was released on Blu-ray on March 8, 2022.
On January 31, 2023, Netflix released both seasons in the US.
Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media said that it was somewhat violent for children but that some viewers can have fun watching it. Patrick Lee of The A.V. Club called it the first great Sonic cartoon in over 20 years, finding the updated cast of characters to be "a good fit for a hangout show".
In a scene of the "Eggman's Anti-Gravity Ray" episode, Amy boasts about proving that a woman can be just as good of an athlete as a man, prompting Knuckles to tell her that when "someone calls attention to the breaking of gender roles" it "undermines the concept of gender equality", by implying an "exception", rather than a "status quo". Knuckles then proclaims himself to be a feminist. Charles Hall of Polygon praised this scene as having a progressive message for children.
Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
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2016 | Universal Film Festival | Best Animation | Marlene Sharp | Nominated | |
2017 | Chico Independent Film Festival | Best Animation | Natalys Raut-Sieuzac | Won | |
TV France International Export Awards | Animation | Nominated | |||
Teen Choice Award | Choice Animated TV Show | Nominated |
A pair of video games that serve as prequels for the series were released for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS systems in November 2014. The Wii U version, Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, was developed by Big Red Button Entertainment and the 3DS version, Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal, by Sanzaru Games. 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, Tails, Knuckles and Amy. The game utilizes each of their abilities—Sonic'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, Tails, Knuckles and Sticks and places more emphasis on platforming and puzzle-solving than the more adventure-oriented Rise of Lyric. Rise of Lyric received absolute critical lambastment and became notable for its mostly negative reception from critics, who criticized its gameplay, story, low quality visuals, level design and glitches. 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 & Ice, was for Nintendo 3DS 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 and mentioned in peripheral Sonic titles that are not part of the Boom brand, such as Sonic Runners, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, and Sonic Frontiers.
In early 2016, a series of children's books adapted from several Sonic Boom episodes were released in France by Hachette under the Bibliotheque Verte collection.
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 nebulously-defined "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 continued to be printed as part of the Sonic Super Digest and Sonic Super Special Magazine books. Flynn and Stanley later began writing for the television series during its second season.
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