Sonic the Hedgehog began as Sega's video game mascot in 1991 and quickly moved into animated television in the early 1990s, with series built around his speed and battles with Dr Robotnik. Their opening themes were written to sell that speed in seconds, which made the intro easy to recognise and reuse online. As retro gaming and cartoon clips spread on video platforms, fans began dropping the theme over speedruns, edits and memes, and it remains popular because a few notes instantly identify the character without any explanation needed.