Sonic has always had something of an attitude. But if you listen closely, the voice coming
out of his mouth doesn’t actually quite sound like it used to. Here, check out Sonic’s voice from the 90s. "Ah, yeah! This is happenin'!" And then, the voice he has now. "So what, he's gonna burn me with flamethrowers
or something?" It’s really quite different. So, I started looking into WHY that is. Why Sonic keeps cycling through multiple voice
actors, and huge changes in style. And the main culprit, it’s SEGA, the games’
developer. So, let’s travel back to the 90s, in order
to answer the question: Why doesn’t Sonic’s voice sound like it used to? Oh, but before we start, I’m going to be
talking about the English language voices here, not the Japanese ones, just to keep
this video from getting TOOO loooong. Okay! So, the story of Sonic’s English voice begins
in the year 1993, when two different Sonic the Hedgehog cartoons began airing on TV in
the same month - September 1993. One of them was called Adventures of Sonic
the Hedgehog, and the other was just called Sonic the Hedgehog. And these series are where Sonic first got
his voice. At the time, actor Jaleel White was at the
height of his fame. He was a child actor who’d been working
in TV since he was 4. But his big break came a few years later,
when he played the character Steve Urkel on Family Matters. Now, you almost certainly recognise Steve
Urkel, but in the 90s, he was everywhere! And TV network ABC was keen to keep this character
at the front and centre of people’s minds. So, back to Sonic - in mid 1993, animation
studio DiC Entertainment decided to pitch ABC a cartoon series based on Sonic. And, to make ABC more likely to approve this
series, they picked Jaleel White to voice the main character. After all, White was ABC’s golden boy at
the time. And it worked, ABC picked up the series…
sort of. The original idea for the Sonic cartoon was
something bright, light, and colourful. But, when ABC were shown an early episode,
they didn’t like it at all, and asked DiC Entertainment to start again from scratch. The new cartoon was much darker in tone. So, how did we end up with TWO Sonic cartoons,
then? Well, DiC didn’t want to waste all that
work they’d put into the first series, so they decided to have it syndicated instead,
which just means rather than having it air on a big network like ABC, it aired on smaller
regional networks. And THAT is how we ended up with TWO Sonic
the Hedgehog cartoons airing at the same time, both featuring the voice of Jaleel White. Here’s how his Sonic sounded… "'Bout time Sal! You ready? Okay guys, let's do it! Cooool... I'm outta here!" By the way, since Jaleel White was a child
at the time, he usually recorded his voice separately from the rest of the cast, since
these recording sessions were during school time, and he was a student. But this ALSO meant he could retry a line
again and again until he was happy with how it sounded. And, it turns out, a lot of how it sounded
was left up to him. "I deliberately wanted to make him, y'know,
'cause I'm black, if you haven't noticed, I really wanted to make him just like, of
no race. So, when you listen to Sonic, I don't think
you even get an impression that, is he black, is he white, is he surfer, is he whatever? No, instead, he's just hero! Just fast.” "Sorry bulk brains, gotta juice!" So, after those two cartoons began airing,
we enter what I call “the wishy washy zone”, where Sonic’s English voice was just…
whoever was available at the time. Like, in 1993, for the educational game Sonic’s
Schoolhouse, actress Meg Inglima was cast as Sonic, the only woman who’s ever played
the character. "Hi there, I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. You're going to play in my schoolhouse." Then, in 1999, Jaleel White came back as Sonic
in the cartoon Sonic Underground. THEN, only one week after that, Sonic the
Hedgehog: The Movie was released in America, again, with a completely different voice for
Sonic. This time, he was voiced by Martin Burke. "I'm fine, just fine! So, who's that? Count me out." "Sonic, we've got to do something to help
him!" "You're the one who can fly! You do something!" So, that’s the wishy washy zone. But then, TWO DAYS after the Sonic movie,
a new game came out which forever changed the sound of Sonic’s voice. It’s name…? Sonic Adventure. So, in 1998, the Sonic series was becoming
a little stale in the public consciousness, so SEGA felt as though they had to shake things
up, and develop a next-generation Sonic game, with 3D graphics, huge expansive levels, and
full voice acting. For the Japanese version of the game, SEGA
hand-picked the voice actor for Sonic themselves. But for the English language version, they
instead began holding auditions across America. And one actor who showed up to one of these
auditions was Ryan Drummond. Now, Ryan Drummond originally came from a
theatrical background, but in the 90s he was just beginning to get into voice acting. And so, he showed up to SEGA’s audition,
without really knowing what the audition was for! As Drummond himself explained, “When I got
there I was given pictures of all the characters and I had a few moments to come up with what
I thought would be the "right" voice for each one. I tried out for every voice I could, but the
only one I felt like I really had nailed was Sonic's voice. I guess I was right because they offered me
the job about 15 minutes later”. That’s really rare, by the way! Usually after auditions, actors have to wait
days, weeks, sometimes months to hear anything back. But clearly, SEGA really liked Ryan Drummond’s
audition, because he was given the part then and there. And so, in 1999, players in the US and Europe
heard the following voice for Sonic… Now, Drummond continued providing Sonic’s
voice for all of the Sonic games that followed Adventure, like Sonic Shuffle, Sonic Adventure
2, Sonic Heroes, and Sonic Advance 3. By this point, Ryan Drummond’s voice was
cemented in players’ minds as the voice of Sonic. Which brings us to something called Sonic
X. Sonic X was a TV anime series produced by Japanese animation studio TMS Entertainment,
who are best known for animating Lupin III and Detective Conan. Now, Sonic X was different from most of the
previous animated Sonic adaptations in that it was created primarily for a Japanese audience,
with the Japanese cast from the Sonic games all reprising their roles. However, it wasn’t long before SEGA began
work on adapting the series for an English audience. And to do this, they enlisted the help of
the infamous 4Kids Entertainment. When Ryan Drummond was asked about the series
around this time, he said: “Sega America and I really get along and
I knew they'd like to keep using me. Also, there are alot of fans out there who
have "approved" of my voice for Sonic, and when the people that buy the games speak,
the company listens! I'm hoping that 4Kids Entertainment will agree
with that theory and use me for "Sonic X"!” Uh, they did not do that. This is actually one of the most controversial
chapters of Sonic’s history: the great recast of 2004. 4Kids decided to recast just about every character,
rather than hiring the voice cast from the games. Now, Ryan Drummond actually explained the
story first hand on his blog at the time, so I want to read out exactly what he wrote,
to keep things crystal clear. “The full story is this: I told my contacts
at Sega that I wanted to at least have the opportunity to audition for what I believed
to be “my” part. I was hoping that I would just be offered
the part, but that didn’t happen. Sega told me that the production company who
owns the rights to the anime, “4Kids Productions”, had all the power in the Sonic X series, and
that Sega Team had nothing to do with it. Sega was nice enough to recommend me to “4Kids”
and told them I should at least be considered for the role that I’ve been portraying for
four years now. At that point, I waited for 4Kids to call
me. Never happened. After a while and over 500 Emails from fans
asking whether or not I was going to voice Sonic for this cartoon, I decided to call
4Kids myself and find out what was going on. So I put in a few calls and Emails, and after
a week, heard back from the assistant of someone I tried to contact. She told me that her boss was “too swamped”
to talk to me, and suggested I call the production office. I did, and left a message for someone named
“Julie” who I was told was “in charge of casting” for Sonic X. I received an Email
back from “Julie’s” colleague. Here’s what it said:” “Dear Mr. Drummond,
I understand that you left a voice message for my associate, Julie today. Ryan, I can imagine how you must feel about
having another actor voice Sonic. I can only assure that it was never the aim
of 4Kids to change the original voices or replace any of the game voice actors. The simple reality is that we need to hire
actors who live in the New York area. I am truly sorry that circumstances prevent
the original game voices from being in the series, and I sympathize with all the game
actors. It's unfortunate that we weren't all based
in the same place. In any case, I wish you continued success. Sincerely, Michael Producer of Sonic X” So that’s why Ryan Drummond wasn’t hired
as Sonic’s voice. He did say that he would happily move to New
York if 4Kids wanted, but it was too little, too late. 4Kids was already holding auditions to pick
out a new cast for the Sonic crew. And one person who showed up to these auditions
was Jason Griffith. Jason Griffith was an aspiring voice actor
- he’d starred in one live action film in the 90s, but in 2003 he was just starting
to audition for some voice acting roles. Which is how he got acquainted with 4Kids
- he was actually turned down from a role in the anime Shaman King, but a couple of
weeks later he was called back in to audition for the Sonic anime instead. He first tried for the role of human being
Chris Thorndyke, but he was asked to try using that exact same voice for Sonic instead. According to Griffith himself, “I didn’t
really think it went that well, but I got a callback which I thought went even worse,
but then I think a week and a half later they called to say I got the part!” So, before the recording of the first episode,
4Kids played Jason Griffith a clip of what the previous voice of Sonic sounded like. "Ah yeah! This is happenin'" “They played it for me and said here’s
what he sounds like now. We don’t want you to copy that, but just
to know it can’t go too far outta that ballpark, because that’s… it would be a completely
different character then.” And so, that brings us to episode 1 of the
Sonic X anime. Here’s how Jason Griffith sounds in the
show! "Take a good look, I'm a hedgehog, not a cat! Good question! Unfortunately I don't have a very good answer. 'Cos I don't remember. Bleh, no wonder! It tastes like there's cat in it! Sorry kid but crickets don't do it for me. Heh, seeya!" So, at the time, this change of voice actors
seemed like a temporary thing, just for the Sonic X anime. But then came a surprise announcement: SEGA
had entered a contract with 4Kids to use their Sonic X cast in the games as well! Reportedly, this was done to retain consistency
between all types of Sonic media, but it came as a pretty sudden and unpleasant announcement
for the current Sonic game voice actors, who had promptly learned that they were out of
a job. The first games featuring Jason Griffith as
the voice of Sonic were Sonic Rush for the DS and Shadow the Hedgehog - both games came
out on the same day. Here’s a quick clip of Sonic’s voice from
Shadow the Hedgehog. Interestingly, Griffith ALSO took on the voice
of Shadow the Hedgehog. He was completely left up to his own devices
with that voice, basing it on an old roommate he used to know, who said everything in a
very… dramatic… way... Over time, the voice of Sonic began to evolve
from something cartoony into a more serious, grown up, and fleshed out Sonic. But just as Griffith’s voice was beginning
to really come into its own, everything stopped. SEGA’s contract with 4Kids was over. And so came another big recast. Let me introduce you to Roger Craig Smith. Back in 2010 he was already a pretty renowned
voice actor, having appeared in both Resident Evil and Assassin’s Creed, among many others. And, during 2010, Craig Smith received a call
from his agent. Apparently, SEGA was holding auditions for
a video game character, and they wanted him to be there. So, Craig Smith showed up at the studio. And SEGA revealed they were recasting Sonic
the Hedgehog. As Craig Smith explained, “They say, this
is what we’re tying to do, this is kinda what direction we wanna skew him in, this
is where we wanna go, that kinda thing. And it’s up to you to tell us what you wanna
do!” A few weeks went by, and SEGA called him back
in to the studio once more. They had narrowed down the candidates, but
they needed to hear Craig Smith give one more performance as Sonic. And, to his delight, he was picked for the
role! He was the new voice of Sonic the Hedgehog! Interestingly, the debut of Roger Craig Smith’s
Sonic voice didn’t come in any of the games, but instead at British theme park Alton Towers,
where he gave safety instructions as Sonic. "First up, you need to be at least 1.2 meters
tall to ride!" But it wasn’t long until Craig Smith appeared
in a big, main series sonic game: Sonic Colors for the Wii. Here’s how he sounds in that! If you noticed that Sonic sounded a little
deeper than usual, well according to Rover Craig Smith, SEGA themselves actually requested
he make the character sound older than it did before! Anyway, for the next 10 years, Craig Smith
continued to appear as Sonic, not just in the big, mainline games, but also in loads
of other Sonic media, like the Sonic Boom cartoon. In fact, in my own personal opinion, I think
Roger Craig Smith’s performance shines the brightest in this cartoon - he’s said himself
that he feels most at home doing comedy, and I think that really shows. "Prepare to be destroyed by Burn Bot!" "So what he's gonna burn me... with flamethrowers
or something?" "Flamethrowers...? Well no..." However, in early 2021, a pretty sad announcement
was made. Roger Craig Smith tweeted the following message:
“Welp, 10 years was an amazing run. Onward to new zones! Much love to the fans who've been so kind. It's been an honor.” People couldn’t believe it! Was Roger Craig Smith leaving the role of
Sonic? Well, shortly afterwards, SEGA shared the
following message: “For over 10 years, Roger Craig Smith has been an integral part of the
SEGA family. He brought the voice of Sonic to life, and
we are forever grateful for his never-ending enthusiasm in helping the community and spreading
joy. Thank you, Roger, for all you've done for
Sonic.” So, there it was. After a decade of providing Sonic’s voice,
Roger Craig Smith, much like Jaleel White, Ryan Drummond and Jason Griffith was leaving
the role of Sonic. I, and many many people round the world, were
just wondering, who would take over the role next? Until that is 4 months later, when Craig Smith
put out a new tweet: “I can't fully express my gratitude for the Sonic the Hedgehog crew
and community. I hope to honor your support and passion as
I'm officially back voicing Sonic The Hedgehog in games.” Uh, so it turns out people were worried for
nothing. As for what exactly was going on behind the
scenes, it’s really hard to know, but considering Amy and Tails’ voice actresses announced
they were departing from their roles too, it seems as though there was some kind of
big shakeup going on at SEGA. Regardless, Roger Craig Smith IS still the
voice of Sonic after all, which I personally am very happy about. Here's to another 10 years!" I know Sonic’s voice can often be polarizing. Everyone has their own opinion about which
voice is the “true” voice of Sonic. From the classic, cartoony Jaleel White, to
the Adventure era Ryan Drummond, to the Unleashed voice of Jason Griffith, to the modern Sonic’s
Roger Craig Smith, I think we can all agree that Sonic has been in some pretty safe hands. I can’t wait to see where Sonic’s gonna
spin dash off too next. This video was a bit of a marathon to put
together, so thank you to everyone who watched it to the end! I think you’d enjoy my video about why Luigi
doesn’t sound like he used to if you’ve not seen it yet, plus I have plenty of other
videos on my channel for you to check out. Seeya!
I wish he'd do one on Rosalina. That's the one I know a lot of Mario fans are stumped on.
Sonic has always had various English voices. Hopefully, they keep a core cast for the foreseeable future.