Sonic Boom, Episode 1.12: Circus of Plunders

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.12: Circus of Plunders

Original Air Date: February 7th, 2015

This episode of "Sonic Boom" begins with our heroes fighting off Eggman's newest robot of doom. Though the good guys still drive the villain off, Tails using his latest invention – a zapper called a De-Bolterizer, that immediately strips the bolts and bearings off a device – misfires. The resulting rock slide nearly gets our heroes squished, which understandably annoys Amy. Tails flies off right before another plot intercedes on this one. A circus rolls in, run by T.W. Barker. He feeds the heroes a sob story about how his team of performers deserted him and he has no show to put on. Sonic and the gang volunteer for one night... But, of course, Barker is a scoundrel and intends to keep them there forever. Which means it's up to Tails to save the day. 

"Circus of Plunders" begins with what I can only describe as a boss battle. We don't see the events leading up to this scuffle between the Sonic Team and Eggman's latest death machine. One assumes they were running through colorful loops and fighting off a collection of minions. Cause Eggman appearing in a gimmicky vehicle and attempting to crush the heroes, and then flying off after he's been defeated, feels like what happens at the end of a level of any given "Sonic" game. His machine here, an octopus inspired contraption called Octopus Bot, even feels like it would fit right in with any of the classic game's various boss battles. This is "Sonic Boom" so, naturally, the sequence is full of jokes and one-liners. Such as everyone's inability to decide which cephalopod Eggman's vehicle is based on. Yet I still enjoyed how classically "Sonic"-y this scene is. 

This episode of "Boom" is also a little more character centric than I've come to expect from this show, in the sense that it contains a clearly defined arc. At the beginning of our story, Tails has a crisis of confidence. His willingness to test out his new invention almost got his friends hurt. He let them down and feels bad about it. Before this eleven minutes is up, he will prove himself again to his makeshift family by saving the day. It's predictable but I like it anyway. A plot like this is a good way to combine Tails' tradition characterization – a kid desperate to prove himself – with the defining feature of his "Boom" version, that of an overeager genius inventor who frequently gets in over his head. 

If "Boom" was a half-hour show, instead of an eleven minute one, it would've had more time to balance Tails' arc with its A-plot. Instead, "Circus of Plunders" feels like it's going to be about one thing before a traditional action/adventure plot almost literally rolls in. There's such a disconnect between Tails' subplot and the main story of T.W. Barker abducting his friends that it actually creates a plot hole. Tails takes off his headset while perfecting the De-Bolterizer. After putting it back on, he immediately contacts Sonic who reveals they've been taken by Barker... Except Tails wasn't there when Barker appeared. He has no idea any of this happened! How does he know where the tent is set up or even what's going on? I guess you just have to roll with sloppy narrative shortcuts like this, when there's only half the usual time here to tell the kind of story usually told in twenty minutes. 

That's why "Boom" usually focuses on comedy, because goofy gags are easier to pull off in less time. Yet its focus on a classic "heroes vs. villains" plot does distinguish "Circus of Plunders" from your typical "Boom" episode. Either because contrasting the expected circus atmosphere of fun and joviality with villainy is easy to do, or because there's just something naturally seedy about circuses, there's a lot of evil circuses in fiction. Sonic and the gang being captured by such an enterprise, and trapped in archetypal circus performer roles, is the kind of plot you'd expect to see in a superhero show, not a comedy one. There's definitely some novelty to it though. Watching Sonic and the gang fight a villain-of-the-week, caught up in a stand alone scheme before defeating him in a suitably ironic fashion, is sort of fun. It's satisfying, you know?

And what of that supervillain of the week? T.W. Barker previously appeared in "Dude, Where's My Eggman?" Considering the extra amount of work that was put into his design, I'm not surprised they brought him back. Again, an evil circus ringmaster is a classical villain type. (There's a long-running Marvel villain literally named Ringmaster.) It's a logical idea, as the role of ringmaster brings with it dramatic flare and the premise of control. Barker is a pretty amusing figure. Kirk Thornton's vocal performance – which gives me Timothy Dalton as Mr. Pricklepants vibes – works well. The dude knows how to roll his Rs. It's pretty ridiculous that the good guys so easily fall into Barker's scheme but, ya know, that's just one of those contrivances you have to accept. Otherwise, we wouldn't have an episode. 

No matter how much "Circus of Plunders" feels like a superhero story, this is still an episode of "Sonic Boom." The yuk-yuks and chortles must be represented. They mostly appear here as pithy one-liners, most of which are not very inspired. Right before Knuckles gets rolled over by a boulder, he quips that "he can do this all day" before immediately changing his mind. (Barker also sticks him in the role of the human cannonball, but skips the helmet, leading Knuckles to being repeatedly concussed. See, cause he's stupid!) Sticks mentioning how she should've taken "a log-rolling class" is such a nonsensical moment. So is Barker admitting, while hyping up the audience, that his circus is no different than any other circus. He's trying to get people excited! Why would he do that? But there's still a couple of funny bits. Knuckles asking about Sonic's middle name, Sticks going on a paranoid freak-out about mole foxes, or Amy's distress at being cast as a sad clown are only mildly amusing. Still, I found myself once again wishing "Boom" had just put the giggles aside and focused on the story here. 

The action scenes are also very underwhelming. That's such a typical state of affairs for "Sonic Boom" that it's hardly worth mentioning. Only the specific way Barker is defeated struck me as especially clever. Otherwise, it's the same stiff, weirdly weightless robot smashing we've come to expect from this series. I really wish this show was traditionally animated. While "Circus of Plunders" flubs it in some important ways, I still kind of liked it. It hits the dramatic beats in a satisfying way, even if it feels constrained by the show's runtime and the expectations of being a comedy. [6/10]

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.01: The Sidekick

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.01: The Sidekick

Original Air Date: November 8th, 2014

I've begun every single one of these "Sonic" cartoon retrospectives by talking about each show's intro. Honestly, a completely badass opening was a tradition begun by "SatAM" and continued by every proceeding "Sonic" series. Say what you will about "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" but its theme song and the accompanying animation totally establishes the mood. Even "Sonic Underground," by far the weakest of all the cartoons, had an awesome introduction. 

"Sonic Boom," I'm sad to say, breaks this tradition. Like, it's fine. It even tells you a little bit about the show itself. It depicts Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy all racing towards the camera and striking action movie poster worthy poses. (The longer French version features a little more footage of posing and action, alongside a bitchin' guitar solo.) They then face off as a group against Eggman and his Badniks, before a rainbow colored background. This probably seems like the beginning of an action heavy cartoon show. These expectations are then subverted when the show's title drops down on Eggman's machines in an anticlimactic, comedic fashion. Basically, "Sonic Boom" tricks you into thinking this is going to be a typical video game adaptation before revealing that comedy is the goal here. 

The intro is also only a few seconds long – as not to cut too much into each episode's brief eleven minute run time – so it doesn't really have much of a chance to make an impression. There's no time for Sonic and Sally to destroy a factory or Super Sonic and Shadow to duel it out. The theme song is similarly forgettable. It's a brief piece of orchestra music that ramps up the excitement and then ends, serving its purpose without making much of an impression on the viewer. "Sonic Boom's" intro being simply serviceable is not really the show's fault. Awesome cartoon intros and theme songs have mostly died out alongside their Saturday morning time slots. If the kids were watching this on Netflix or Hulu or whatever, they probably just skip the intro anyway. So why should the animation team put that much effort into it? I'm guess I'm just a traditionalist... 

The initial minutes of the first episode, "The Sidekick," pulls a similar trick to that opening. It depicts Sonic chasing Eggman through the rocky canyons of a barren desert. Sonic is soon fighting it out with Eggman's latest killer robot, who is outfitted with snapping claws and rocket punches, above a lava-filled chasm. Tails provides air support in the Tornado, giving Sonic a lightning lasso to swing around on and defeat the robo-baddie with. But Tails' plane is shot down during the skirmish. Sonic rescues his friend from the crashed vehicle, is relieved to hear that his heart still beats, and races his injured buddy back home. 

Sounds pretty dramatic, right? Well, it is. I mean, there's jokes. Sonic makes fun of Eggman's name and the name of his robot, much to the villain's chagrin. But battle banter is nothing new for the "Sonic" franchise. However, the minute Sonic and Tails return to their island paradise abode, it becomes clear that chuckles will be the focus of this program. The rest of the episode revolves around Sonic, concerned for his bro's safety, forcing Tails into sidekick retirement. He holds try-outs for a replacement and the two main candidates are Tails and Eggman, who seizes on the fine print in the ads to audition. Yes, there's more action in the second half, as the two compete in a hover board race and Eggman reveals his plan to betray Sonic and squash them both. But yuks are obviously, primarily the goal here. 

Which begs the question: Did I chuckle, guffaw, titter, or hoot while watching "The Sidekick?" Well, a little bit. The episode has a couple of decent gags. Knuckles auditions to be Sonic's sidekick and immediately begins changing the terms of the agreement. Amy also attempts to be Sonic's sidekick, trying to impress him by juggling and singing. The third applicant is Fastidious Beaver, whom I already know from the "Sonic Boom" comics and who also has a trademark tendency to correct everyone's grammar at all times. These are amusing set-ups but the show returns to them to often. By the third time Fastidious Beaver said "actually" or Amy bursts into a throaty rendition of "When the Saints Go Marching In," most of the humor has been drained out. 

There's a lot of that hyper verbal, overly self-aware humor here. Sonic pedantically criticizes the name of Eggman's new robot, who is called Fire Bot despite having no fiery attributes. There's a fourth wall break during Eggman's villainous speech. After Sonic tries to let Tails down easy, there's a quick exchange where the two establish that he's actually fired. That sort of humor is trying too hard to get a laugh, in my opinion. Smaller gags – like Sonic apologizing to a photo of himself or Eggman taking the time to write up a resume for his evil scheme – are more amusing to me than the constant snark. 

Ultimately though, "The Sidekick" does earns points for being invested in its characters. Sonic has an actual arc here, learning that he needs Tails as much as Tails needs him. That his little buddy is far from a defenseless child. Eggman is obviously not a world conquering despot here yet the attempts he makes in the good guys' lives are still fairly serious. The moment Sonic and Tails defeat him is a very sincere victory, meant to make the kids at home cheer. I like it when even a farcical show takes the characters' lives and the stakes of the story seriously. I have no idea if that'll be the normal state of affairs for the rest of the series but I appreciate it here.

It may take me an episode or two to get used to the show's sense of humor. Similarly, the animation will take some adapting. "Sonic Boom" is, obviously, the first CGI Sonic cartoon. And I'm not typically a fan of CGI animation on a TV budget. "Sonic Boom," ya know, doesn't look as good as any theatrically released CGI cartoon. The character models are a little stiff, especially when it comes to facial expressions. I don't mind the "Sonic Boom" character designs but, in action, the gangly limbs do look a little weird at times. The action scenes are pretty smooth, even if the environments could've been more detailed. The scene where Sonic displays his inability to swim – which, of course, I appreciate – features some pretty choppy water. 

I'm sure I'll have more thoughts on the voice cast as I watch my way through the show, Mike Pollock's Eggman is perfectly gravelly but I still find Roger Craig Smith's Sonic a bit blandly heroic. Overall though, "The Sidekick" starts "Sonic Boom" off on a perfectly cromulent note. There are a handful of funny jokes. It's well constructed enough not to bug me. It doesn't blow me away and the show hadn't found its footing just yet. But, as far as season debut goes, it's fine. Sorry if you were expecting either more praise or damnation than that. [6/10]