4Kids Entertainment is an anime production company that was in charge of the English localization of Sonic X. Like many other Japanese animated television shows, the company heavily edited Sonic X for American viewers to satisfy broadcasting regulations and standards. Several scenes, especially those that contained violence or even death, were not shown. In addition, the deaths of three characters were censored and sidestepped and the ending to the second season was greatly altered.
After Deem Bristow's death, the 4Kids voice cast took over as the official English voice cast for the Sonic the Hedgehogvideo games in 2005 starting from Shadow the Hedgehog.
This was up until late 2010, when the entire voice cast (except for Mike Pollock, Dr. Eggman's voice actor) was replaced yet again, starting with Sonic Free Riders. The CEO of 4Kids, Alfred R. Kahn retired on 11 January 2011.
In 2012, 4Kids was sued due to a lawsuit from TV Tokyo, who accused them of entering illegal agreements that allowed them to collect royalties from Yu-Gi-Oh! 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]
Notable 4Kids-represented voice actors/actresses[]
- 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)
- 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 Handler (voice of Cream and Vanilla, Tikal, Maria, and Omochao (and Cheese and other Chao in Sonic X)) (credted as Rebecca Honig)
- 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 Lindsey 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 (voice of Earthia in Sonic X)
- Marc Thompson (voice of the G.U.N. Commander)
- Kerry Williams (voice of Francis 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
- Jimmy Zoppi (voice of Vector in Sonic X and Shadow the Hedgehog) (also credited as Carter Cathcart)
Sonic media containing 4Kids voices[]
- 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 and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
- Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Trivia[]
- All the main series games with the 4Kids voice actors are all E10+. These games are Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), and Sonic Unleashed, as well as Sonic and the Black Knight and Sega Superstars Tennis, though both are not mainstream games.
- 4Kids produced a crossover featuring Sonic X and other shows called The Fight for the FoxBox in 2003.