Sonic's Character Portrayal based on Voice Actor

While I do hope to finish up my review of Sonic Mania Adventures episodes 2 and 3, I thought I'd change things up and write a blog post for Sonic the Hedgehog's birthday. As of 2018 the character is 27 years old and though corny, I thought I should do something unique when it comes to me writing Sonic-related content on this here blog.

And so to add more content to my blog while I toil away on other projects on and offline, here's my special little analytical essay with the theme of Sonic's character portrayal over the years based solely on the voice actors playing him. I hope you enjoy.

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Character Portrayal based on Voice Actor

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Sonic's had a lot of adventures over the years not just in games, but also in the form of comics, manga, cartoons, anime and even a live-action movie that's been in development hell over the past few years that's probably going to be a Sonic version of Rodger Rabbit that'll have him making out with yet another human woman. Today however, I'd like to focus on the more animated side of Sonic's career because I find that as a character, Sonic's personality seems to change based on the voice actor voicing him. So I'll be discussing each of his voice actors over the years and analyzing how each one adds or detracts from Sonic's personality. Just keep in mind that I'll only be focusing on ENGLISH voice actors for Sonic.

Why just the English voice actors?

Well the English cast is the one I grew up with here in North America. On top of that: Sonic was a character designed to appeal to Americans and so trying to review his voice actors in other languages is not only unfamiliar territory for me (and difficult for me to get access to) BUT the English voices are the most iconic because of this design choice that existed from the first game onward. Sonic was designed to appeal to Americans and so that's why I'm only focusing on the English voice actors for the character.

These hedgehoes be runnin' out of poses.

With that in mind, enjoy the content ahead!

The first voice actor for Sonic who played the character in both Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog as well as Sonic Sat AM is Jaleel White.

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Sat AM came out at a time where just about every video game was getting a cheap animated cartoon that aired on Saturday mornings. Sonic was no exception to that trend but Sonic differed from the other shows at the time. It had not one, but TWO vastly different continuities going on at the same time – Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog being much more comedy based with attempts at teaching kids moral values and lessons at the end of each episode and Sat AM being the much better show and one of the first animated shows to prove that the Sonic franchise could handle telling stories, especially ones with dark or serious tones.

Jaleel White definitely gave the character a very high pitched and somewhat naive sounding voice. The Sonic in these shows comes off as a newbie though that's not entirely a bad thing. I get the impression that he's meant to sound like a kid in AoStH and SatAM because that's probably the target audience they were aiming for with these shows. This was also the first time Sonic was animated and being given a voice in a cartoon so for the first actor to give Sonic a voice it's not terrible, a little cheesy and a product of it's time but not awful. Not to mention all of the memes we now have because of Jaleel White's performance...

On an interesting note: this version of Sonic was confirmed to be Classic Sonic.

When developing Sonic Generations, there were rumors floating around of hiring Jaleel White to reprise his role as Classic Sonic because he was the first voice actor to give Sonic a voice – Aaron Weber even confirmed this in an interview with Kotaku. However Jaleel White has stated that he was never asked about reprising the role by SEGA so this likely means that the idea of getting White back to voice Sonic was just an idea floating around during development that ended up falling through. Classic Sonic was ultimately left mute in Generations and is still mute in his other 3D appearances.

Sonic Mania Adventures is another example of Classic Sonic being animated, though he has no voice – none of the characters have voices in Mania Adventures but it actually works in their favor for the tone the series is going for. Instead the Classic Sonic in Mania Adventures relies on his expressiveness and the occasional sound effect to help him emote – proving that Classic Sonic doesn't necessarily need a voice to entertain. In theory White's voice could still work for Classic Sonic now, but giving Classic a voice wouldn't work for the direction SEGA wants to take that version of Sonic in – leaving White's performance a product of the past that provides us with many a good meme.

Ryan Drummond was the second major voice actor to give Sonic a voice and an iconic one at that. He made his debut voicing Sonic in Sonic Adventure 1 and onward up until the premiere of Sonic X and every game that followed.

Ryan Drummond's Sonic voice is a little on the 90s-tastic side as well, but he also gives Sonic a slightly mature voice to indicate that the Modern and/or Dreamcast Era Sonic was a teenager who was growing alongside his audience (which I can respect from a brand awareness and character development standpoint). I don't have much to say about Drummond's Sonic in general aside from the fact he does show that Sonic is growing as a character. Through his voice performance we can hear that Sonic has grown up into a teenager who wants to be the cool hero type.

The Dreamcast Era voice actors are certainly iconic in their own way though this is also the cast that some fans will accuse of being “cringey”. I however don't fault the actors – it's the voice directors directing them. If a line is said awkwardly by an actor it's the director's job to give them directions on how to improve their performance. And as I said before, the voice Drummond gives his version of Sonic is a little 90s but that doesn't make it bad. It's a very serviceable voice that a lot of fans certainly have an attachment to as he voiced the first major 3D Sonic games and as such he's a very iconic voice for the blue hedgehog.

The next voice actor who premiered in Sonic X and every game after that was Jason Griffith.

Jason Griffith was certainly a like it or hate it kind of performance. The first few episodes of Sonic X in the English dub he did sound a little odd – almost as though he was trying to imitate Jaleel White's Sonic voice from back in the day but after a few episodes Griffith's awkwardness fades and he finds a Sonic voice of his own with a lot of personality and his voice is easy to get used to without sounding too dated.

The Sonic in Sonic X was a very well rounded kind of guy. He was still a guy who liked going on adventures and going fast but he also had sweet sides to him when it involved Amy or Cream. He's shown to be sort of a brother as well as a role model to Tails. He had Chris to play off of when it came to explaining how his world worked, there were really good slapstick moments in the show. But that's just Sonic X's story... How does Jason Griffith's performance change Sonic's character on it's own?

It did take him a while to find a Sonic voice of his own, but when he found it: Griffith definitely gave Sonic many layers of personality with his voice. He gave Sonic a nicer tone of voice when he needed to be nice or understanding, he made Sonic sound really angry when he needed to be angry and overall he just made Sonic seem friendlier compared to Drummond's voice which definitely put more emphasis on how “cool” Sonic was supposed to be.

Another thing to note was Griffith's Darkspine and Werehog voice which are essentially the same voice (Darkspine Sonic predating the Werehog). His voice for Darkspine definitely sounded scratchy. I get what he was going for in trying to make Sonic sound angry in this super form but it just sounds off. The voice works much better for the Werehog as you expect a wolf, werewolf or were-HEDGEHOG in this case to growl, sound growly or rougher in terms of voice. But that's just a matter of giving the right character the right voice – not really how Sonic's personality changes depending on the voice he's given.

I personally would've given Darkspine Sonic a darker or more mysterious sounding voice similar to Mephiles (Sonic 06) or Infinite (Sonic Forces) if I were the voice director or casting director for the game. At most, all Griffith's growly voice does for Darkspine is make him sounds like he's suffering from heartburn (which is essentially the plot of Secret Rings...?)

As for the Werehog he sounds fine as he is and the scratchy voice works for several reasons – not only because this is basically a werewolf Sonic but also due to the fact that this form is new for Sonic himself. All his life he's been a hedgehog and suddenly he's a wolf/hedgehog hybrid with stretchy arms and extendo fingers? That actually adds some character to the Werehog! It shows that he's getting used to this side of himself and adjusting to this transformation. He's also allowing himself to fight in a much more aggressive and confrontational style than he's used to which can also be reflected by the voice.

Sonic's transformation into the werehog also seemed painful for him which you can also get from the voice in those cut scenes as well as the transformation scene in the Night of the Werehog movie. It's pretty standard fair for werewolf stories to involve painful transformations but that's not a side of Sonic we see often. He's not a character we see in pain. So far Griffith is the only Sonic actor to do this (at least to my knowledge). This and in addition to the character arc Sonic goes through in Unleashed in regards to getting used to his werehog self, fearing that others may fear him and realizing that he's still himself at the end of the day, it's no wonder that there are fans that think Unleashed was Jason Griffith's BEST when he was Sonic's voice actor. Such a character arc is also standard fair for werewolf stories (that is to say the battle of humanity vs. being a monster/animal) - but you don't exactly expect something that deep coming from Sonic the Hedgehog. And yes while somewhat corny considering it's a wereHOG, Griffith's performance and delivery of his lines definitely sells this odd choice of character arc to me. I think it works - it actually made a long time Sonic-avoider like me go 'awww' and feel bad for this character in Unleashed's story.

(And that's a big thing for me to say as I was completely averse to this franchise for years and even now I'm still pretty closeted about being a fan of it.)

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While I can certainly understand why fans came to love Jason Griffith as Sonic and saying that Unleashed was his peak performance as the character, Griffith ended up being replaced by the CURRENT Sonic voice actor: Roger Craig Smith.

Like Griffith, Roger Craig Smith's Sonic voice is a voice you'll either love or hate – his first game being Sonic Colors. He also voices Sonic in the Sonic Boom games and the cartoon, but we'll talk about his performance in the Boom cartoon later on. Let's focus on the games:

In the games, Roger Craig Smith's Sonic voice sounds like he's trying to make Sonic cool again. He sounds a bit like he's trying to be Ryan Drummond 2.0 but where as Drummond tried to make Sonic sound cool and a true teen of the 90s, Roger's performance gives Sonic a lot more snark and sarcasm compared to previous iterations of the character as well as making Sonic sound more like an adult compared to the previous actors. He gives Sonic this air of being too cool for certain people at times, throwing snark at everyone – even his close friends as well as Eggman. I also have no way of knowing what is the script and what's improvisation on the part of the voice actors but Roger's Sonic's style of humor also relies heavily on meta jokes relating to previous games and the Sonic fandom in general. I can't say I've been a Sonic fan long enough to notice when this effect really took place but it's definitely there – especially in the Boom cartoon.

Now Sonic Boom (the games and the cartoon but ESPECIALLY the cartoon) is trying to go for a different tone compared to the other Sonic games and continuities. The humor is very reliant on fandom and franchise meta humor, parody, satire and slice of life comedy with a group of characters who are essentially super heroes in their universe(?). I think if I had to describe it to a non-fan in one sentence I would describe it as: "It's sort of like if Sonic and friends were college kids on an island just living life and occasionally butting heads with the villain of the week - usually Eggman."

The cartoon is one of those shows I consider a guilty pleasure. It's cheesy, at times cringey but it does have it's funny moments and the humor also hits me in a very special way as someone who's experiences in the Sonic fandom are still mostly second-hand experiences. You don't NEED to be a fan to enjoy the who but if you do - or even if you only have second or third hand experiences dealing with the franchise and the fandom you can still get a kick out of it. Just prepare to cringe and be prepared to deal with that cringe when it hits because the cringe can hit hard whether you're a die hard fan of the franchise and it's characters or someone still trying to figure out whether or not they like Sonic period.

In Sonic Boom, the characters feel like they're around college age just based on how they interact with each other and the things they say and do. Where as the Modern interpretations of these characters are all teenage with Sonic being 15 or 16, Amy being 12 or 13, Tails being 10 or 12 and the oldest of the 'teens' being Rouge at 18 – the Boom versions of these characters feel around 20 based on how they're written. I can easily peg Boom Sonic as being 21, Amy as 18 and even Tails feels like he's written to be 13 at the youngest and 16 at the oldest.

Honestly this is where Roger's Sonic is the best utilized. The Boom universe is different from the Modern one so you expect the voice to sound different and he's the oldest-sounding Sonic so far. He makes Sonic sound like he's graduated into adulthood and his voice works for Boom is that version of Sonic is meant to be anywhere from 18-21 because he does have a very frat bro sounding voice which compliments the very parody, satire and meta-based humor of Sonic Boom.

In my opinion his voice doesn't work as well for Modern Sonic.

Ryan Drummond and Jason Griffith expanded upon Sonic's personality with their performances. They helped Sonic grow into what most fans would consider the ideal version of Sonic: someone who is cool, likes adventure and while he can be cocky about it and show off a little, he's not a straight up jerk about it. He has friendlier qualities to him and is capable of empathy and would be willing to help you if you ever got in trouble even if it inconveniences him. He's capable of feeling a wide range of emotions and that's what a lot of Sonic fans want back if SEGA didn't restrict his ability to feel emotions aside from being happy or cocky.

Roger Craig Smith's take on Modern Sonic doesn't live up to that. He could be saying something nice or expressive concern but his default tone is being cocky – almost like he has a false sense of self confidence and a reputation to live up to. While that is certainly the case for Roger as he was Jason Griffith's replacement, the Sonic in-universe has always been a hero and is always going to be seen as one. He doesn't need to prove he's a hero – he's done that plenty of times in-universe! He doesn't need to sound like he's above everybody or rely too heavily on sarcasm either – that tone of humor works much better for Boom Sonic which is meant to be his own thing anyway!

Granted, this can also be an issue of voice director not directing the voice actors and this blog isn't meant to harass these wonderful and talented actors - it's merely an opinion piece and an analysis on how a voice can contribute to a single character in terms of personality.

To conclude the blog:

In my opinion Ryan Drummond and Jason Griffith really gave the role of Sonic everything they had each in their own way. Out of the two, I'd have to say Jason's voice is the easiest to listen to/get used to over time and in this blogger's own personal opinion: he has a great voice in general (I say that as someone who first heard him in a NON-SONIC role - that being Keita from the anime Kurokami)

But I've stroked Griffith's ego enough. What is my final word on Drummond?

Ryan Drummond's performance is also good and he had the important task of cementing Modern Sonic's character as we know him today. This kind of transition isn't always easy as the only other time Sonic had a voice he was childlike newcomer based on Jaleel White's performance. Giving Sonic his first voice in the game was a large task and he did his job well.

I don't have much to say on Jaleel White's Sonic in general because I wasn't born when Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Sat AM were airing. I didn't even watch them as a kid or as an adult and have no attachment to that particular voice and I think I'd be too embarrassed to watch those shows now. Overall: I'm glad that SEGA currently keeps Classic Sonic mute as he has much more to say when he doesn't have a voice (and can give us just as many memes).

Roger Craig Smith definitely takes the cake as the 'like it or hate it Sonic voice'. He does alright and seems to have fun with the role even outside of games and the Boom cartoon which is certainly nice (and actually enjoying your work is rare) but his tone of voice works better for a spin-off version of Sonic like Boom Sonic rather than Modern Sonic though like with Jason Griffith's voice, Roger Craig Smith's voice is one of those voices where if you hear it enough you can definitely adjust to it.

That's all I have for now but I hope to do more analyses like this in the future!