Product Description

The compete series available for the first time ever on a 4-DVD box set!

Sonic the Hedgehog (voiced by Family Matters' Jaleel White)leads a group of freedom fighters bent on restoring their planet's beauty and freeing its citizens from the tyranny of the evil Dr. Robotnik. The fusion of powerful storylines witty banter and a dark atmosphere made Sonic The Hedgehog--dubbed SatAM by its legions of fans--a favorite among youngsters and teens when it premiered on ABC in 1993. Inspired by the phenomenon that took the gaming world by storm Sonic The Hedgehog likewise broke through the barriers of what was expected of a Saturday morning cartoon. Now all 26 episodes are available in this action-packed collectors box set.

Bonus Features Include:

Way Past Cool!: A Conversation With Sonic Writer Ben Hurst
The Fastest Thing Alive: A Conversation With Jaleel White
Storyboard-to-Screen: The Doomsday Project
Printable Heads Or Tails Pilot Script
Digital Re-Print of Archie Comics Sonic The Hedgehog #1
Original DiC Concept Art
Exclusive Fan Art

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4745 in DVD
• Brand: UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP DISTRIBUTION
• Released on: 2007-03-27
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Formats: Animated, Box set, Color, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Dimensions: .50 pounds
• Running time: 570 minutes

Amazon.com
Nineties-era cartoon fans may remember that at one time, two animated series based on the ultra-popular Sega game character Sonic the Hedgehog sped across TV sets in 1993. This Sonic aired on Saturday mornings between '93-'95 and offered a slightly darker tone and more elaborate stories than its syndicated counterpart, The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (1993 to present). Jaleel White (Urkel from Family Matters) provided the voice of Sonic for both series, but the similarities between the two shows essentially ended there; SatAM (as it was known to its small but loyal fanbase) followed the futuristic adventures of young Sonic and his band of Freedom Fighters (which included Bunnie Rabbot, Antoine, and other characters from the original games) as they attempted to foil the evil plans of mad scientist Dr. Robotnik, who had enslaved the city of Mobotropolis and turned its citizens into robots. Where The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog focused on the comic elements of the games, SatAM played more like a serial, with each week presenting a new dilemma for Sonic and his pals to overcome. Sadly, the Freedom Fighters' struggles only lasted for two seasons (though a third was reportedly plotted out), but fans can enjoy the entire 26-episode network run with this four-disc set, which includes a respectable amount of supplemental features. Chief among these are short interviews with White and series head writer Ben Hurst; a smattering of deleted and extended scenes are also included, as is a storyboard-to-screen comparison, a gallery of concept art, and a printable script for the series' pilot, "Heads or Tails." Devoted fans may also glimpse a reproduction of their own Sonic fan art on the set's case. -- Paul Gaita

Customer Reviews

Great Cartoon? Or Greatest Cartoon?
Finally, the Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon that aired on ABC in 1993-1994 (known as "Sonic SatAM" to the fans) comes to DVD in its entirety. Many of those who managed to catch the show on TV well over 10 years ago fell in love with it then, and have been fans ever since. It had just the right blend of comedy, drama, and action, with no one of those standing out too much above the others. It was also a fairly dark show for its time. This is a much anticipated release in the Sonic fan community, and this DVD set contains all 26 episodes, collecting the complete series in one 4-disc set!

This cartoon was made back before the SegaSonic storyline really got developed, and you won't be seeing familiar faces like Knuckles, Amy Rose, or the more recent characters from Sonic Adventure 2, Shadow and Rouge, simply because, well, none of them existed back then (Sonic 3, which was Knuckles' first game, didn't even come out until the year after it started airing). But that doesn't detract from the show at all as there are plenty of well developed characters added here that weren't from the games. This cartoon set-up the first real storyline behind the whole Sonic universe (in the U.S. anyway), and in my opinion, was one of the best American made cartoons ever. The Archie series of Sonic the Hedgehog comics was loosely based on this cartoon, but really failed to capture the quality of writing used to produce this show. (Archie has since moved on to try to emulate the games more).

Despite the age of this show, if you're a Sonic fan, you definitely shouldn't pass this one up. Definitely the best Sonic cartoon ever produced, in my opinion, as well as one of the greatest cartoons of all time. I'd give it more than 5 stars, but well.. that's the most you can give here on Amazon.com :)

Fans Rejoice! Good buy for new and "true blue" fans alike!
FREEDOM FIGHTERS FOREVER!

The short review: Way Past Cool! If you're a fan of the series you have to have this DVD collection!

The long review:

EPISODES
For anyone who's had to stand watching cut or badly recorded episodes from TV, I can't express how good it feels to watch these in clear stereo with no tracking lines and perfect picture. I can even see the paintbrush strokes in the background art it's so clear! So far as I can tell, everything has been restitched back together wonderfully and I can see no weird edits. It's just like I remember in Ben Hurst's words "fresh - like watching it for the first time!"


BONUS FEATURES
A few people have complained about the lack of bonus features, but I can't say good enough about them. The series was produced 10 years ago, since then most if not all of the artwork in the vaults has been lost, sold online (I've seen a number of cels pass by there) or locked away. The fact they managed to find even a small amount of high-quality artwork makes it well worth the trouble. I too wish there was more, but the stuff they did find is very good. I believe there are really only two bits of the extended/deleted scenes that are truly new material but it's all well archived and the one silent animatic has the script super-scripted in so it's easy to follow. The concept art is beautiful, there are a few new model/expression sheets in the interview with Hurst and tons of background art that will blow you away. This is the same quality one would expect in feature post production work. Both of the interviews are engaging, enlightening and even a little tearful at times, especially Ben's moving speech about Season 3 and his support for the fans. Considering how hard the crew at FUS has worked to get this DVD, they deserve it. The DVD menus themselves are a blast -- I have seen a number of poorly produced menus with "craptastic" art in them and these blow me away. They are thoughtful and even funny! In one part Snively hits the "Bonus Features" button. It's the little things like that which show the effort and care they put into making the DVD.

BOX ART
Okay so some of the artists who contributed art are very young and aren't what you would call "good artists". But to me, it's refreshing to see a company that actually WANTED and ACCEPTED input from the fan base. It shows that we are all united together as fans of Sonic, no matter what our background is. You can tell each of the artists was excited and trying their best to make something to show how much they love the show. I go as far to say a few of these artists ARE exceptional, some of them even drawing "on-model" as we in the animation business say. Ken Penders (while not really a fan per se since he's worked professionally on Sonic Artwork) did a pretty good job with the cover, as it did include most of the cast and it doesn't show anything that isn't there (Thank Goodness his arms aren't blue either :D). Compared to the first test cover, this final one is much better. Dr. Robotnik is the best part of the cover, he's very well drawn.

ANYTHING ELSE?
Just so you know where I'm coming from, I was prime age when SATAM came out, being 10 at the time, and it is a big reason I am who I am today and certainly a reason why I'm going into the animation industry. That being said I can't express enough why it's important to support this release. They did a fantastic job. And I think it's worth buying this for any Sonic fan, especially if you know someone who likes Sonic X --

In Sonic's words, "Get ready to rock, cause this will knock your socks off!" :)

If you're new to Sonic and like this series, I highly recommend checking out Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, and Sonic Underground as well (the other two shows produced by DiC, the predecessor to SATAM and it's later cousin, respectively.) A lot of fans would say otherwise but I just can't get enough of the blue blur!

- Joanie /^>

SatAM!
The Saturday morning Sonic cartoon was always one of those special treats when I was younger. I loved Sonic, but I was rarely up early enough to catch these shows when they were on originally, so I'm especially grateful to see them all in a single DVD package now.

Sonic fans probably already know the premise behind these shows: Sonic and the Freedom Fighters are in a continuous guerrilla war with Julian Ivo Kintobor, or "Robotnik," and his myriad robotic minions. Robotnik is able to augment his armies by "roboticizing" innocent Mobians (the anthropomorphic animals, like Sonic and his friends, that are the chief citizens of planet Mobius). Overall, the story is a dark saga of resistance that may seem somewhat trite (due to the similarities with "The Matrix" and the untold dozens of fictional worlds based upon similar premises), but it's still a good story. Fans of the Archie Sonic comics will easily find themselves at home with these cartoons, as they're essentially the same story and characters.

If you were a fan of the shows to begin with, don't hesitate--get these as soon as you can. Other Sonic fans may have a hard time reconciling the ordinarily bright, cheery Sonic universe with these serious shows, but they're pure gold, and I say go for it.