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Information in this article is about real-life people, companies, and objects, which do not relate to the in-universe Sonic series. |
4Kids Entertainment was an American licensing company responsible for the English localization of Sonic X. Following a lawsuit and bankruptcy, 4Kids was reincorporated as 4Licensing Corporation, but that company once again filed for bankruptcy in 2016.
History[]
4Kids specialized in the licensing and production of children's entertainment, including English-dubbed Japanese anime. Like many other Japanese animated television shows at the time, Sonic X was heavily edited by the company for American viewers to satisfy broadcasting regulations and standards. Numerous scenes, especially those that referenced violence and other content deemed inappropriate, were either cut out or modified extensively. In addition, the deaths of three characters were censored and sidestepped and the ending to the second season was greatly altered.
In 2005, starting from Shadow the Hedgehog, the 4Kids voice cast took over as the official English voice cast for the Sonic the Hedgehog video games. This was up until late 2010, when the entire voice cast (except for Mike Pollock as Dr. Eggman) was replaced yet again, now with the Studiopolis cast.
The CEO of 4Kids, Alfred R. Kahn retired on 11 January 2011. In 2012, 4Kids was served with a lawsuit from TV Tokyo. 4Kids was accused of entering illegal agreements that allowed them to collect royalties from the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise without paying a portion to TV Tokyo. 4Kids filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and later reincorporated as 4Licensing Corporation, with their rights for the English distribution of Sonic X being transferred to Kidsco Media Ventures.[1] In September 2016, 4Licensing Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy once again, and ceased all operations after 7 February 2017.[2][3]
Notable 4Kids-represented voice actors[]
- Greg Abbey (voice of Sam Speed in Sonic X) (credited as Frank Frankson)
- Amy Birnbaum (voice of Charmy, Helen and Cosmo in Sonic X)
- Pete Capella (voice of Silver)
- Dan Green (voice of Knuckles, Vector, Storm, and Mephiles) (also credited as Jay Snider)
- Jason Griffith (voice of Sonic, Shadow, and Jet) (also credited as J. Griff and Adam Caroleson)
- Suzanne Goldish (voice of Chris in Sonic X)
- Wayne Grayson
- Rebecca Honig (voice of Cream, Vanilla, Tikal, Maria, and Omochao (and Cheese and other Chao in Sonic X))
- Matt Hoverman (voice of Dark Oak in Sonic X)
- Bella Hudson (voice of Blaze, Wave, Shahra and the Secretary in Shadow the Hedgehog)
- Liza Jacqueline (voice of Omochao in Sonic Riders)
- Jennifer Johnson (voice of Topaz in Sonic X)
- Ted Lewis (voice of the President, Nelson and Yellow Zelkova in Sonic X) (credited as Ed Paul)
- Rachael Lillis (voice of Danny in Sonic X)
- Jerry Lobozzo (voice of Chuck in Sonic X) (credited as Jack Quevas)
- Kathleen Delaney (voice of Rouge)
- Matthew Mitler
- Lisa Ortiz (voice of Amy Rose and Christina Cooper)
- Amy Palant (voice of Tails)
- Andrew Paull (voice of SCR-GP, SCR-HD and Master Core: ABIS)
- Mike Pollock (voice of Dr. Eggman, Eggman Nega, and Ella in Sonic X)
- Kayzie Rogers
- Jonathan Todd Ross
- Sean Schemmel (voice of Black Doom)
- Michael Sinterniklaas (voice of teenager Chris in Sonic X)
- Veronica Taylor
- Marc Thompson (voice of the G.U.N. Commander)
- Kerry Williams (voice of Frances in Sonic X)
- David Wills (voice of Espio)
- Oliver Wyman (voice of Big and Pachamac) (credited as Pete Zarustica)
- Stuart Zagnit
Former[]
- Maddie Blaustein (voice of the Babylon Guardian, E-10000G, E-10000R, Omega and the President in Shadow the Hedgehog; died in 2008)
- Darren Dunstan (voice of Bocoe and Mister Tanaka in Sonic X)
- Megan Hollingshead (voice of Scarlet Garcia from Sonic X)
- Andrew Rannells (voice of Decoe, Mr. Stewart and Gamma in Sonic X and various G.U.N. troopers in Shadow the Hedgehog)
- Tara Sands (credited as Tara Jayne)
- Eric Stuart
- Carter Cathcart (voice of Vector in Sonic X and Shadow the Hedgehog) (also credited as Jimmy Zoppi)
Sonic media featuring 4Kids voice casts[]
- Sonic X
- Sonic Rush
- Shadow the Hedgehog
- Sonic Riders
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Sonic Rivals
- Sonic and the Secret Rings
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
- Sonic Rivals 2
- Sonic Rush Adventure
- Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- Sonic Unleashed
- Sonic and the Black Knight
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
- Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
- Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U (archived from Super Smash Bros. Brawl)
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (archived from Super Smash Bros. Brawl)
Trivia[]
- All the main series games with the 4Kids voice actors; Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), and Sonic Unleashed have ESRB ratings of E10+.
- 4Kids produced a crossover featuring Sonic X and other shows called The Fight for the FoxBox in 2003.
Gallery[]
Logos[]
References[]
- ā Loo, Egan (16 June 2012). Konami to Get 4Kids' Yu-Gi-Oh! Assets Under Proposed Deal. Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014.
- ā 4Licensing Corporation Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Business Wire (22 September 2016). Archived from the original on 2 November 2020.
- ā 4Licensing Bankruptcy Plan Effective, Summarized. Bankrupt Company News (7 February 2017). Archived from the original on 5 September 2017.
External links[]
- 4Kids Entertainment at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia