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This article is about a real-life person.
Information in this article is about real-life people, companies, and objects, which do not relate to the in-universe Sonic series.

Jaleel White is an American actor, producer, and screenwriter who provided the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog in three animated series from the 1990s: Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Sonic Underground.

History[]

Past[]

In the beginning, Jaleel White did not want to be the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog because he felt it was going to be too much for him, but his mother Gail and the producers of the SatAM series showed him concept art and story pitches of the character, which convinced him to ultimately take the job. Because of school commitments and filming Family Matters, Jaleel White recorded his lines for the 1993 Sonic the Hedgehog television series separate from all the other actors who recorded their lines together.[citation needed]

Developing the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog[]

Being the first to step into the character of Sonic the Hedgehog, Jaleel White mentions he made an effort to have Sonic sound raceless. He developed a unique voice for Sonic to have that does not represent any particular human race or stereotype, as he did not want Sonic the Hedgehog to sound identifiable, that anyone can claim "is Sonic black, is he white, is he surfer, is he whatever?" Instead, Jaleel made Sonic sound "just hero, just fast."[1]

Filmography[]

TV series[]

Credits[]

Voice acting[]

In other media[]

Books and comics[]

Archie Comics[]

Main article: Wolvurkel
Wolvurkel Scene

Wolvurkel, from Sonic the Hedgehog issue #8.

Jaleel White appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, redesigned (or rather, roboticized) as Wolvurkelbot.

One day, Dr. Robotnik was feeling uninspired and uncreative in hatching his latest scheme against Sonic the Hedgehog. Seeing his Badnik Crabmeat's favorite comic books (from beyond the fourth wall), he took them for inspiration. There, he created a line of Super-powered 'Bots based on heroes, such as the Spawnmower, to fight, and hopefully defeat, Sonic the Hedgehog. One bot, a Wolverine bot (based on the comic book character of the same name), got Robotnik really excited for his sharp claws and even Sonic took a moment to be scared by the spikes.

But due to a communications glitch, a Wolvurkel (a combination between the superhero Wolverine and Steve Urkel) bot was sent and started dancing and laughing. Robotnik got mad by another misstep and Sonic the Hedgehog states that the Wolvurkel bot sounds familiar to him. Archie's Editors confirm: "Jaleel "Urkel" White is the voice behind T.V.ā€™s cartoon Sonic!". The bot's fate was left unknown.

Trivia[]

  • Jaleel White is the first official English voice actor of Sonic the Hedgehog and the second voice actor for Sonic in general after Takeshi Kusao.
  • Jaleel White has mentioned that not many people know of his involvement with the Sonic the Hedgehog cartoons. He is quoted saying "You gotta Google me deep to know I did Sonic."[citation needed]
  • In Sonic Underground, White was replaced in the music videos as the singing voice for Sonic by Samuel Vincent. However, in the Sonic the Hedgehog television series and Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, White actually sang in his Sonic voice.
  • In Sonic Underground, Sonic's voice sounds toned down compared to his two other portrayals, this is due to White maturing. This can also be heard in the Sonic fan film.
  • According to an interview with Aaron Webber, he claimed that if anyone were to voice Classic Sonic in Sonic Generations, it would be Jaleel White. Aaron mentioned that he grew up with the classic cartoons of Sonic like Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, and he thought Jaleel White did a fantastic job.[2]
    • Due to the idea of having Classic Sonic speak in Sonic Generations being dropped early in production, White was never contacted by Sega for the opportunity.[3]
  • He voiced Sonic in Eddie Lebron's short Sonic film which was released online in January 2013. His tone is more mature than his previous incarnations but still similar.[4] White recorded many lines for Sonic, including a handful that didn't make it into the final version.
  • Some fans had wanted Jaleel White to take the role of Sonic the Hedgehog in the Sonic the Hedgehog film series produced by Paramount Pictures. White stated that he didn't receive a call or email from the film's creators and added that he is still confident that he is still a Sonic fan in general.[5]
  • Deven Mack confirmed on Twitter that when creating a voice for Chaos Sonic on Sonic Prime, he channeled Jaleel White to do the job.[6]
  • White will be the host of a game show called Flip Side, premiering autumn of 2024.

References[]

  1. ā†‘ "The Fastest Thing Alive: A Conversation with Jaleel White" featurette. 'Sonic the Hedgehog: The Complete Series'. Shout! Factory (March 27 2007). "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, y'know, of no race. So, when you listen to Sonic, I don't think you even get an impression that, y'know is it like is he black, is he white, is he surfer, is he whatever? No, instead, he's just hero, just fast."
  2. ā†‘ E3 2011 HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONIC! with StarSlay3r & Mo Chocolate - Black Nerd E3 (Part 4). YouTube. Black Nerd Comedy (June 23, 2011). Retrieved on January 27, 2024.
  3. ā†‘ Tamaki (15 January 2012). Sonic Generations [Beta ā€“ PS3/Xbox 360]. Unseen64.net. Retrieved on 8 February 2016.
  4. ā†‘ MAGFest 9: Sonic Fan Film Trailer and Interview. YouTube. Tainted Reality (17 January 2011). Retrieved on 1 October 2018.
  5. ā†‘ Jaleel White on Sonic the Hedgehog Film. YouTube. Convention Junkies (March 28, 2019). Retrieved on January 27, 2024.
  6. ā†‘ Deven Mack on Twitter. Twitter (July 14, 2023). Retrieved on January 27, 2024.

External links[]

Voice actors of Sonic the Hedgehog

Former English voice actors

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