Netflix Adaptation Of Fan-Favorite Character Is An Absurdist Masterpiece

There have been plenty of Sonic cartoons over the years. Some have been good (Sonic X), while others have not (Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog). But no other animated offering has managed to hit the same absurdist highs as 2014’s Sonic Boom.

The show is more Adult Swim than Cartoon Network—not in terms of adult content but in how it squanders its narrative premise in favor of random jokes.

In the same way, Aqua Teen Hunger Force abandoned the idea that its protagonists were detectives, almost immediately Sonic Boom‘s characters are often too busy doing things like putting hats on monkeys to save the world from Doctor Eggman. The closest thing I can compare it to is Teen Titans Go! And much like that series, Sonic Boom has also faced its share of criticism from hardcore fans.

I get it too, because I was one of the DC fans who initially balked at the random lunacy of Teen Titans Go! But I soon realized the entertainment value of taking well-loved characters and using them to tell ridiculous jokes that have nothing to do with the established canon. When Sonic gets a speeding ticket and remarks, “Ugh, I’ll fight it but I doubt they’ll accept ‘Gotta go fast!’ as a medical condition,” you’re too busy laughing to worry about whether he’s going to collect any chaos emeralds or anything else Sonic lore-related.

Sonic Boom is truly the oddest of ducks. Created as part of an alternate universe spin-off franchise, the series shares it’s name and character designs with some of the most hated games in the Sonic franchise. The Sonic Boom video games are widely considered unplayable by the gaming community.

Full of game-breaking bugs and glitches, the Sonic Boom titles are the bane of every streamer’s existence.

And yet, somehow, a cartoon based on the failed game series is one of the best pieces of Sonic media out there. Oddly enough, it’s usually the other way around. Failed movies X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Chronicles of Riddick spawned critically acclaimed video games despite being complete trash fires at the box office.

The official plot for Sonic Boom is that Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and newcomer Sticks live on Seaside Island and must frequently protect their home from Doctor Eggman and his evil robot creations. In actuality, though, the series is an episodic absurdist comedy that plays more like a sitcom than an adventure show. The episodes’ plots are thin and inconsequential. It’s the gags that matter, and oh, what gags they are!

One joke has Sonic Boom‘s resident dumb strong guy Knuckles reacting to something Amy said with “Anytime someone calls attention to the breaking of gender roles, it ultimately undermines the concept of gender equality by implying that this is an exception and not the status quo.” When the other characters stare at him speechless a sheepish Knuckles remarks “Just because I’m a meathead doesn’t mean I’m not a feminist.”

Unsurprisingly, the series has become the source of countless memes online. Possibly the most meme-worthy joke from Sonic Boom involves Sonic and Knuckles caring for a baby. Sonic suggests feeding the baby a chili dog, but Knuckles remarks that it might be too much for the baby to chew.

“Put it in the blender then,” Sonic says. Knuckles responds by carrying the baby over to the blender and is quickly stopped by Sonic, who obviously means the chili dog. I could honestly fill this whole article with out-of-context jokes from Sonic Boom, but instead, I’ll just encourage you to check the show out.

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If you’re one of those cool parents who wants something funny to watch with their kid and doesn’t find jokes about stuffing a baby in a blender too offensive, I can’t recommend Sonic Boom enough. Even if you don’t have kids but like random cutaways and are getting sick of Family Guy, you should try watching an episode or two. You can stream Sonic Boom right now on Netflix.