Sonic Prime, Episode 1.01: Shattered

Sonic Prime, Episode 1.01: Shattered

Original Release Date: December 15th, 2022

I’ve been actively updating Hedgehogs Can’t Swim for about seven years now. In that time, I’ve never been there to talk about a brand new “Sonic” cartoon as it premiered. Honestly, after “Sonic Boom’s” uneven commercial performance, I wasn’t too sure there would ever be another “Sonic” cartoon. As someone whose head is so buried in the franchise’s comic book and animated past, I didn’t even want to speculate on what the possibility of Sonic’s future as a TV series might include. I’m not here to predict what might be, I’m here to nerdily and endlessly rehash the past. I always call my reviews “retrospectives” and you can’t be retrospective about something that just came out. 

Yet in 2022, the “Sonic” franchise is healthier than maybe it’s ever been. The movies are big hits. The new game is selling well and has received pretty good reviews. Now is the perfect time to release a new animated series… Because we are living in the future, the series debuted on Netflix, instead of on Saturday mornings. Because this year is obsessed with multiversal stories, that’s the general premise of “Sonic Prime.” And even though WildBrain, the modern incarnation of DiC, is behind this show, it’s a totally new take on Sonic and the gang that leaves all prior versions behind. We are in a bold new “Sonic” frontier and I’m honestly not sure how to feel about it. 

Not that being unsure how to feel has ever stopped me from rambling in the past. So let’s jump right in and begin discussing “Shattered,” the first episode of “Sonic Prime.” We begin in Green Hill Zone, where Sonic and his friends – Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Rouge – are ready to stop Dr. Eggman’s latest evil scheme. He is digging up something called the Paradox Prism. In the middle of the fight, the crystal is shattered and Sonic is tossed through dimensions. He lands in New Yolk City, an industrial, dystopian version of Green Hill ruled over by a group of five Eggmen, called the Chaos Council. After running from some evil robots, Sonic encounters a grouchy, cybernetic version of Tails called “Nine.” It’s not long before they are captured and placed before the Council, Sonic’s search for answers only beginning. 

Staring down a new “Sonic” cartoon, with no conception of what its reputation is or even where it might be going... What did I think of “Prime’s” first episode? It’s okay. It’s fitting that the first batch of installments dropped shortly before Christmas because, it seems to me, this is almost the “Sonic” version of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” His conversation with Nine makes it clear that this is a reality where Sonic was never born. Our hedgehog hero gets to see the impact he’s had on the world and on his friends’ lives. The lush, green world he calls home is now a grim cityscape. Tails, with no one to defend him from childhood bullies, has become an angsty, misanthropic mad scientist. Amy is a cyborg. And the freedom, which defines Sonic’s life, is nowhere to be seen. The residents of New Yolk City all walk around with their heads down, never acknowledging each other, living in quiet misery. 

Despite this potent idea, “Shattered” is 90% set-up. I guess kids, who might not be as genre savvy as a wizen old nerd like me, will be the primary viewers of this show. That audience perhaps isn't familiar with alternate universe stories like this. Sonic doesn’t immediately figure out what has happened and is still in search of answers, which this episode is slow to revealed. The meat of this episode is devoted to him realizing he’s in a corrupted version of his home world, after bumbling through several encounters. The alternate versions of Rouge and Knuckles briefly appear, their roles not clear yet. How or why “Rusty” Rose is a cyborg in service to a group of five Eggmen – seemingly made up of the doctor from five periods in his life – is yet to be revealed. The episode concludes with Shadow appearing to Sonic as some sort of trans-dimensional vision and I don’t know what that means just yet. This forty minute long premiere is all about laying down plot points that the rest of the show can build on. 

When an episode is as premise-driven as this one is, it can be hard to leave any room for the stuff that typically sucks me into a show: The characters and their inner lives. Fans of the games are clearly the target audience here and that’s why the gang seems pretty simplified so far. Sonic is speedy, curious, snarky, loves his friends and loves his freedom. Tails is his brainy pal who maybe gets a little too invested in his gadgets, without Sonic there to pull him back down to earth. Eggman is an egomaniacal villain with a desire to rule the world and crush Sonic. Basic stuff. We barely meet Knuckles and Amy here, with Rouge barely getting more screen time. Obviously, more fleshing out remains to be done with these guys. Because we clearly don’t get much of it here. 

About the only moment here that rises above the rest is Sonic’s meeting with “Nine.” We might not be familiar with the “Prime” version of Tails but anyone watching this show knows what Tails’ deal is. To see a version of the little fox that is antisocial and aggressive, not to mention cybernetically enhanced, is a decent shock. The flashback to the different ways Sonic and Nine recall their first meeting, provides the real emotional meat here. That’s the moment when Sonic, and the viewer, really gets a feel for the impact he has had on the world. To see his friend in such a state, to know he suffered without him, has an effect on Sonic. We needed more of that kind of stuff. 

That flashback, by the way, it’s animated in a pixel art style clearly meant to invoke the Genesis era of “Sonic.” That’s probably my favorite visual moment in a show that is, thus far, well animated. My opinion on CGI animation on a TV budget is usually low. Yet “Prime” looks nice. The characters are lively and expressive. The action scenes are very fast paced. Honestly, so much stuff is happening during the various action scenes that a re-watch might be necessary for me to catch everything. The scuffle between Sonic and Nine atop two subway trains or the opening fight with a horde of Badniks are especially noteworthy. I’m not entirely sold on all the character designs just yet. Big’s pudgy face still looks weird and I’m undecided on the Chaos Council’s appearances. Yet “Prime” already looks a lot better than pretty much every episode of “Sonic Boom.” 

Yet my general feeling about "Shattered" is that it puts the cart before the horse a bit. This is a season premiere so devoted to setting up its premise, that it doesn't find much time to make the audience care. We are just meeting this version of Sonic and his friends before the hedgehog gets tossed between worlds. A lengthy sequence, where Sonic is floating through a starry void and sees images of his friends, seems to exist to establish these characters more. Wouldn't just a little more of a prologue done that better? This is also reflected in the kind of weird structure this debut has. After several minutes of Sonic being confused and pursued through New Yolk City, the episode flashes back to the lead-up to that opening battle. There's a couple more leaps around the timeline here too, the episode seemingly ending in the middle of one. I get the appeal of opening in media ras but it left me a little mixed up here. Maybe let the audience get to know your principal players before introducing us to alternate versions of them? 

Only one episode in and this already feels like the “Sonic” cartoon most influenced by the video games. Aside from the prominent role Green Hill Zone plays here, Sonic also collects Power Rings and looses them when he's hurt. How that works outside of the context of a game play mechanic, I don't know. And I have no idea if the show will really explain that. (Where do the rings come from in this setting?) There's also a somewhat unnecessary sequence in the second half, where Sonic has to navigate springs, spikes, and traps, another indicator that the showrunners are very aware of the game roots here. What this means for the other characters yet, I don't know. Does this Knuckles have a Master Emerald or an Angel Island to protect? I guess we'll find out.

A new “Sonic” cartoon means a new cast of voices for these well-known characters. It's an interesting mixture. Deven Mack's Sonic recalls a lot of things about Roger Craig Smith's Sonic but includes some of Ben Schwartz' quirky humor and neediness. Ashleigh Ball has a nice gravelly quality to her voice, making her Tails sound more like a temperamental little boy than he usually does. From what we hear of them here, Shannn Chan-Kent and Kazumi Evans have their own takes on Amy and Rouge, that are distinct from previous versions. Unlike Brian Drummond as Eggman, who is pretty clearly attempting to sound like Mike Pollock... Though Drummond also voices a few of the other doctor characters, which is presumably why he was hired instead of Pollock just coming back. I really don't like Adam Nurada as Knuckles though. He puts on such a fake sounding “gruff” voice that it's practically an Arnold Schwarzenegger impression.

I guess it's clear that my initial reaction to “Sonic Prime” is a bit mixed. It looks good and there's certainly plenty of potential here. Obviously, there's a larger story to told and you can't judge it all just based on the first episode. Maybe once I watch it all – or at least watch the eight episodes currently available on Netflix – I can return to this one with more open eyes. As it stands right now, “Prime” is getting off on some slightly shaky ground that maybe needed to prioritize setting up its characters before setting up its premise. [6/10]