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** '''[[List of Sonic the Hedgehog characters#Orbot and Cubot|Orbot]]''' (voiced by [[Kirk Thornton]]) - Doctor Eggman's orb-shaped [[robot]] henchman. He is the more formal and blunt of the two, often being totally honest even at Eggman's expense.
** '''[[List of Sonic the Hedgehog characters#Orbot and Cubot|Orbot]]''' (voiced by [[Kirk Thornton]]) - Doctor Eggman's orb-shaped [[robot]] henchman. He is the more formal and blunt of the two, often being totally honest even at Eggman's expense.
** '''[[List of Sonic the Hedgehog characters#Orbot and Cubot|Cubot]]''' (voiced by [[Wally Wingert]]) - Doctor Eggman's cube-shaped robot henchman. He is the more slow and dimwitted of the two, often misunderstanding the meaning of other characters' statements.
** '''[[List of Sonic the Hedgehog characters#Orbot and Cubot|Cubot]]''' (voiced by [[Wally Wingert]]) - Doctor Eggman's cube-shaped robot henchman. He is the more slow and dimwitted of the two, often misunderstanding the meaning of other characters' statements.
** '''Badniks''' - The Badniks are robots that make up the foot soldiers of Doctor Eggman's robot legions. They resemble normal animals where they have a number of armaments.
*** '''Bee Bots''' - A bunch of [[bee]]-type Badniks.
*** '''Crab Bots''' - A bunch of [[crab]]-type Badniks.
*** '''Motorbugs''' - A bunch of [[Coccinellidae|ladybug]]-type Badniks with a black tire instead of legs and exhaust pipes.


* '''[[Weasel]] Bandits''' - A group of three dangerous thieves that were first seen robbing the Gogobas. At least one unnamed Weasel Bandit is a member of the Lightning Bolt Society.
* '''[[Weasel]] Bandits''' - A group of three dangerous thieves that were first seen robbing the Gogobas. At least one unnamed Weasel Bandit is a member of the Lightning Bolt Society.
Line 74: Line 78:
** '''Tree Spy''' - A [[Gray wolf|wolf]] who serves as the scout and spy for the Lightning Bold Society. So far, his attire includes a tree costume.
** '''Tree Spy''' - A [[Gray wolf|wolf]] who serves as the scout and spy for the Lightning Bold Society. So far, his attire includes a tree costume.


* '''T.W. Barker''' (voiced by [[Kirk Thornton]]) - An anthropomorphic wolf who is the [[Ringmaster (circus)|ringmaster]] of T.W. Barker's Circus of Wonders which holds its performers against their will.
* '''T.W. Barker''' (voiced by [[Kirk Thornton]]) - An anthropomorphic wolf who is the [[Ringmaster (circus)|ringmaster]] of T.W. Barker's Circus of Wonders which holds its performers against their will. In "Don't Judge Me," T.W. Barker is shown to be a skilled lawyer when he represents Dr. Eggman into suing Sonic.


===Recurring characters===
===Recurring characters===

Revision as of 17:56, 21 July 2015

Sonic Boom
Series logo
Genre
  • Comedy
  • Action
  • Adventure
  • Fantasy
Created bySonic Team
Developed by
  • Evan Baily
  • Donna Friedman Meir
  • Sandrine Nguyen
Directed byNatalys Raut-Sieuzac
Voices of
ComposerMichael Richard Plowman
Country of originUnited States
France
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes32 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Sandrine Nguyen
  • Boris Hertzog
  • Donna Friedman Meir
  • Jane E. McGregor
  • Evan Baily
  • Bill Freiberger (co-executive producer)
Producers
  • Yvette Kaplan (consulting)
  • Malinda Hee (associate)
Editors
  • Natalys Raut-Sieuzac
  • Benjamin Schrepf
Running time11 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkCartoon Network (U.S.)
Canal J & Gulli (France)
ReleaseNovember 8, 2014 –
present

Sonic Boom is a French-American CGI-animated television series, produced by OuiDo! Productions 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 on Cartoon Network in the United States on November 8, 2014 and on Canal J and Gulli in France on November 19.[1] An international release is expected to follow by late 2015.[2] 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.[3]

Production

The animated series was first announced in October 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 eleven-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.[4] On February 6, 2014, Sega revealed the first trailer for the series,[5] showcasing the new designs for the characters.[6][7]

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 Orbot and Wally Wingert as Cubot respectively, while voice actress Colleen Villard succeeds Kate Higgins in the role of Tails.[7][8] 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 and his friends,[9] 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.[10] Baily stated that the series would be a mixture of action and comedy, featuring an episodic structure.[11] On October 4, 2014, Sega announced the air date of the series in the United States to be November 8, 2014.[12]

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.[13] 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.[14]

Plot

Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and Sticks reside on Bygone Island and defend it from various threats, including the mad scientist Doctor Eggman and his robotic creations.

Characters

See also: List of Sonic the Hedgehog characters

Main characters

Sonic Boom features characters redesigned for Western audiences. From left to right: Sticks (a new character to the series), Knuckles, Sonic, Amy, and Tails.

Sega confirmed various cast and characters for Sonic Boom on February 25, 2014.[7] 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.[15][16] Several new characters were also created for Sonic Boom, such as Mayor Fink, Fastidious Beaver, and Perci.[17] Jack Fletcher works as the show's voice director, a role he has also held for the video game series since 2010.

  • Sonic the Hedgehog (voiced by Roger Craig Smith) - The leader of the heroes of the series, a blue hedgehog with super speed. Unlike most incarnations, the Sonic Boom version of Sonic has blue-furred arms and wears a brown scarf.
  • Amy Rose (voiced by Cindy Robinson) - A girl hedgehog who is the peppiest member of the group, and who 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.
  • Miles "Tails" Prower (voiced by Colleen Villard) - A two-tailed fox who is Sonic's sidekick. He sports goggles and a toolbelt, 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.
  • Knuckles the Echidna (voiced by Travis Willingham) - 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.
  • Sticks the Badger (voiced by Nika Futterman) - A badger skilled in the use of boomerangs. 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.

Villains

  • Doctor Eggman (voiced by Mike Pollock) - A mad scientist who 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.
    • Orbot (voiced by Kirk Thornton) - Doctor Eggman's 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 Wally Wingert) - Doctor Eggman's cube-shaped robot henchman. He is the more slow and dimwitted of the two, often misunderstanding the meaning of other characters' statements.
    • Badniks - The Badniks are robots that make up the foot soldiers of Doctor Eggman's robot legions. They resemble normal animals where they have a number of armaments.
      • Bee Bots - A bunch of bee-type Badniks.
      • Crab Bots - A bunch of crab-type Badniks.
      • Motorbugs - A bunch of ladybug-type Badniks with a black tire instead of legs and exhaust pipes.
  • Weasel Bandits - A group of three dangerous thieves that were first seen robbing the Gogobas. At least one unnamed Weasel Bandit is a member of the Lightning Bolt Society.
  • Lightning Bolt Society - The Lightning Bolt Society is a group of wannabe villains on Bygone Island. They consist of small-time scientists and regular folks that want to ascend as bad guys at the level of Doctor Eggman (who the group admires despite the fact that Doctor Eggman looks down on them).
    • Willy Walrus (voiced by Wally Wingert) - A dangerous yet small-minded walrus criminal who is the de facto leader of the Lightning Bolt Society.
    • Dave the Intern (voiced by Roger Craig Smith) - An anthropomorphic unspecified rodent who is Doctor Eggman's biggest fan. He worked at a fast-food restaurant called Meh Burger before being taken on as an intern by Doctor Eggman. Dave was later fired after he proved too ambitious. Dave later appeared as a member of the Lightning Bolt Society.[18]
    • Tree Spy - A wolf who serves as the scout and spy for the Lightning Bold Society. So far, his attire includes a tree costume.
  • T.W. Barker (voiced by Kirk Thornton) - An anthropomorphic wolf who is the ringmaster of T.W. Barker's Circus of Wonders which holds its performers against their will. In "Don't Judge Me," T.W. Barker is shown to be a skilled lawyer when he represents Dr. Eggman into suing Sonic.

Recurring characters

  • Mayor E. Pluribus Fink (voiced by Mike Pollock) - A mouse who is the mayor of the village on Bygone Island. He often prioritizes maintaining his own political position above all else.[19]
  • Admiral Beaverton - A wealthy beaver and known seafarer who is the President of the Jackalope Lodge.
  • Comedy Chimp (voiced by Bill Freiberger) - A chimpanzee and resident of Bygone Island who hosts his own comedy TV series.[20]
  • Fastidious Beaver (voiced by Mike Pollock) - A beaver and resident of Bygone Island who works as the village librarian. He has a tendency to correct other characters' grammar.[19]
    • Wild Cat - A cat who is the assistant of Fastidious Beaver. He once auditioned to be Sonic's sidekick in "The Sidekick."
  • The Gogobas - A tribe of chinchillas who live in Gogoba Village on Bygone Island. They make up for their small size with devious manipulation throug kidness and guilt trips.[21]
    • Chief Gogoba (voiced by Wally Wingert) - The leader of the Gogobas.
    • Young Gogoba (voiced by Roger Craig Smith)
    • Elderly Gogoba (voiced by Cindy Robinson)
  • Lady Goat (voiced by Cindy Robinson) - A goat who lives on Bygone Island and has made various appearances.
  • Lady Walrus (voiced by Bill Freiberger) - A dowager walrus who lives on Bygone Island.
  • Mike the Ox - An ox who owns a store on Bygone Island that doubles as a pet shop and an everyday store.
  • Perci (voiced by Cindy Robinson) - A young woman who lives on Bygone Island. In Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, she is depicted as the latest in a long line of the island's protectors.[22]
  • Pepper - A bearded hippopotamus and sea captain. He is Salty's twin brother, though the two have a longstanding sibling rivalry.
  • Soar the Eagle (voiced by Travis Willingham) - Soar the Eagle is an anthropomorphic turquoise eagle and a television personality who runs a seminar as a motivational speaker and life coach. He is also the local news reporter on Bygone Island.
  • U.T. (voiced by Roger Craig Smith) - Short for "Universal Translator," U.T. is a robot built by Tails who not only translates languages into understandable English, but translates statements made by people into what they're actually thinking-often with consequences for the speaker.[23]
  • Wolfie (voiced by Kirk Thornton) - A wolf who lives on Bygone Island and has made various appearances. He once auditioned to become Sonic's sidekick in "The Sidekick."

Episodes

Main article: List of Sonic Boom episodes

Broadcast

The series premiered on November 8, 2014 in the U.S. and France, and in Australia and New Zealand on April 4, 2015, also on Cartoon Network. [24] Cartoon Network will air it in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom and Ireland (later changed to Boomerang, which premiered it on June 1). It was also acquired by SIC K in Portugal, La Trois in Belgium, Noga in Israel, and Radio-Canada in Canada.[25]

Video games

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

A pair of video games that serve as a prequel for the series were released for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS systems in November 2014.[26] 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.[27] On June 20, 2014, it was confirmed that both games will be released on December 18 in Japan under the name of Sonic Toon.[28] A third game, Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice, will be released for Nintendo 3DS in 2015.[29] Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom, a follow-up to the free-to-pay Sonic Dash, was released on Android devices on July 1, 2015.[30]

Critical response aggregator Metacritic assigned Rise of Lyric an approval score of 32%, based on 28 reviews, indicating "Generally unfavorable reviews".[31] Shattered Crystal received an aggregate score of 47%, based on 21 reviews.[32]

Comic book

Cover of the first issue of the comic

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.[33] Several issues were also written by TV series showrunner Bill Freiberger.[34] 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.[35]

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.[36][37][38][39][40] The series is set to conclude with its 11th issue in September, 2015.[41]

References

  1. ^ "Canal J : "Sonic Boom" débarque le 19 novembre". Média+ (in French). Nore&Press-média+. 3 November 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  2. ^ "Timeline Photos - Sonic The Hedgehog - Facebook". facebook.com.
  3. ^ McWhertor, Michael (6 February 2014). "Sonic Boom gets an animated TV series, toy line from Tomy in 2014". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  4. ^ "Sonic Boom (Working Title) – A New Animated Series Coming Fall 2014". Sega.com. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  5. ^ "Sonic Boom™ - TV Series Trailer". YouTube. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  6. ^ "SEGA Launches New Franchise Strategy for Sonic the Hedgehog with Sonic Boom". Sega.com. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  7. ^ a b c Parker, Kellie (25 February 2014). "Go Behind the Scenes with Sonic Boom". Sega Blog. Sega. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  8. ^ Template:Twitter status
  9. ^ Busis, Hillary (29 May 2014). "Meet Sonic's new pal, Sticks the Badger -- EXCLUSIVE". Polygon. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  10. ^ Corriea, Alexa (6 February 2014). "Why Sega handed Sonic over to Western studios and gave him a scarf". Polygon. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  11. ^ "Sonic Boom Interview with Evan Baily". NintendoWorldReport. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  12. ^ "Timeline Photos - Sonic Boom Air Date". Facebook. Sega Corporation. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  13. ^ "Cartoon Network Approaches Upfront with Unmatched Growth Across All Screens". Cartoon Network / Turner Network Television. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  14. ^ "Sonic Boom Commentaries Uncut: Ep 15 Pre-Show - 'Off & Showrunning'". Last Minute Continue / The Sonic Show. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  15. ^ Parker, Kellie (29 May 2014). "Introducing Sticks to the Sonic Boom Franchise". SEGA Blog. Sega. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  16. ^ SegaAmerica (29 May 2014). "Sonic Boom Sticks Announcement". YouTube. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  17. ^ Parker, Kellie (23 July 2014). "Meet Characters in the Sonic Boom Universe". SEGA Blog. Sega. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  18. ^ "Sonic the Hedgehog on Twitter". Twitter.
  19. ^ a b "Mike Pollock on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  20. ^ "Bill Freiberger on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  21. ^ Sonic Boom Commentaries Uncut: Ep 9 Post-Show - "Natural Selection". YouTube. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  22. ^ "Cindy Robinson on Twitter". Twitter.
  23. ^ https://twitter.com/RogerCraigSmith/status/534002886481412096
  24. ^ Higgins, D (March 30, 2015). "APRIL on FOXTEL: Game Of Thrones, Mad Men, Wentworth, Deadline Gallipoli and 200+ other new shows". The Green Room. Foxtel. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  25. ^ Franks, Nico (10 June 2015). "Int'l nets hear Sonic Boom". C21Media.net. C21 Media. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  26. ^ "Sonic Boom™ - Video Game Reveal Trailer". YouTube. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  27. ^ Narcisse, Evan (6 February 2014). "Meet The New Sonic and His Next Game". Kotaku.com. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  28. ^ "SONIC TOON". Sonic Channel (in Japanese). Sega Corporation. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  29. ^ http://kotaku.com/new-sonic-game-headed-to-on-3ds-this-year-1710082613
  30. ^ http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/Android/Sonic+Dash+2%3A+Sonic+Boom/news.asp?c=66251
  31. ^ "Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric". Metacritic. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  32. ^ "Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (3DS)". Metacritic. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  33. ^ "Archie to Publish Sonic Boom Comic Series". IGN. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  34. ^ http://www.comicosity.com/inteview-sonic-goes-boom-with-bill-freiberger/
  35. ^ Schedeen, Jesse (October 29, 2014). "Sonic Boom #1 Review". IGN. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  36. ^ Schedeen, Jesse. "Sonic Boom and Mega Man X Unite in Comic Book Crossover". IGN.com. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  37. ^ Russ Burlingame. "EXCLUSIVE Archie Action Solicitations For May 2015: WORLDS UNITE BEGINS!". Comicbook.com. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  38. ^ Russ Burlingame. "EXCLUSIVE Archie Action Solicitations For June 2015". Comicbook.com. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  39. ^ Russ Burlingame. "EXCLUSIVE Archie Comics First Look: Sonic Boom #10". Comicbook.com. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  40. ^ "Capcom and Sega Join Forces for Worlds Unite Comic Book Crossover". IGN. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  41. ^ "Archie Comics on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 1 June 2015.

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