Some of us are not aware of our talents until a situation arises where we have to put them to the test. We don't always know what we are capable of or where our strengths lie. Sometimes we never know, other times they happen completely by surprise. From what we've seen in the video games, Tails is very handy with gadgets and machines, though we've rarely seen that in the cartoons. Luckily in this episode, we get to see what he's made of, and it's not quite as contrived as you would think. Sonic's birthday was only a few days away, and this will make the second birthday episode he gets in this series. The other being "Robotnikland," meaning this series spans only two years. The hedgehog wants to spend his special day in Sky City, which isn't based off any level in the Sonic games that I'm aware of, and it consists of several large blocks suspended high in the air. But uh oh, Tails doesn't know what to get his best buddy for his birthday, and he doesn't have any money. Oh no! He attempts to rectify this by earning money raking leaves. Speeding up the process not only blows all the leaves onto the neighbor's yard but also creates a giant tornado. Kid doesn't know his own strength. Next, he tries delivering papers, but because he's so impatient, he tries to speed up the process and only reenacts Paperboy: breaking windows and incurring the wrath of angry neighbors, including a pink Mike Wazowski, and each time, Sonic had to save him. Perhaps it would be best to consider a gift that doesn't cost any money, so Tails turns his attention to the city dump, and after collecting a few pieces of junk and assembling them, he builds the perfect gift for a certain hedgehog who has everything... and yet, has nothing. It would be unveiled at Sonic's party, which was a lot of fun, people bashing Robotnik pinatas and celebrating the birth of Mobius' number one hero. Unfortunately with most parties comes the inevitability of crashers, so here come Scratch and Grounder with their gift: flying robot dentures. Sonic manages to clip their wings, then sends the party crashers packing. After that, he can finally open Tails' gift: a hover hanglider, which was a bicycle with wings, and it really flies. The bots report this to Dr. Robotnik, who plans to trick Tails into using his talents to serve him, with some manipulation of course. He finds the boy genius, along with Sonic in Professor Von Schlemmer's floating laboratory, where they were working on Sonic's next present: a machine to grab Robotnik and imprison him, aptly named the Robotnik-Grabber. Seeing this as his chance, Botsy sends Grounder and Scratch to cause a distraction, by way of crashing into a movie theater that was showing... an episode of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. Shouldn't the universe now implode within itself? Anyway, Sonic goes down to investigate the disturbance via rope ladder, while Robotnik disguises himself as Von Schlemmer simply by taking a photograph of the professor, stretching it over himself and voila, instant disguise. He jets over to the building, taking up the rope ladder so Sonic can't get back in, then locks the real Von Schlemmer in a closet. I dunno, that disguise wouldn't fool anybody, and we just established Tails as a child genius, he may see right through it. As the fox comes in with the dinglehoppers he was requested, yes, he really says that. They're dinglehoppers... so Scuttle was wrong, they're not forks at all. Anyway, he comes back in and notes that the professor looks different. No, ya think? Thank goodness for inconsistent writing or this little scheme would've crashed and burned like the Hindenburg.
Really, Tails can't tell that the once slim, green-skinned Von Schlemmer is now pasty, overweight, red-eyed, and has a pointy mustache? If they established Tails as nearsighted, it would've made sense. Anyway, Dr. Von Schlembotnik's newest scheme is to transform the Robotnik-Grabber into the Sonic-Grabber, and to prove he knows nothing about subtlety, he tries to drop an anvil on Sonic, which right away tips him off that something's gone wrong in the professor's lab. Jumping on the hover hanglider, Sonic heads up to investigate. Despite Robotnik's attempts to keep him out, he gains access through the sewer system, and arrives just as the fake Von Schlemmer is revealed to be none other than Dr. Robotnik. Wasting no time, he sends his new giant Sonic-Grabber robot after our heroes. They manage to make it crash through the wall and fall far to the ground below, but unfortunately, Tails included a flying feature, so the mammoth machine flies back up and nabs Tails, while Robotnik jumps on board with the real Von Schlemmer. As for Sonic, he nearly falls to his doom before activating the whistle summons feature on his hover hanglider and they engage in mid-air battle, with Robotnik showing once again that he has all the marksmanship of an Imperial Stormtrooper as he fires frickin' laser beams, which Sonic manages to fire back using only his fingers. Mary Sue powers, activate! I like the Star Wars and Star Trek references in this scene, like Robotnik zeroing in on Sonic and says, in a Darth Vader voice, "I have you now," then Tails imitating Scotty by saying, "I've given her all I've got, Captain." Botsy demands more speed, and Von Schlemmer lets it slip about the super speed button. Blabbermouth. Tails and the professor book it as the Sonic-Grabber blasts into hyperdrive. Oh, and guess what? Scratch and Grounder literally drop in, so they can accompany their boss on his non-stop flight. Sonic rescues Tails and Von Schlemmer, and all was well again. As for Robotnik and his robots, they wound up at the North Pole, sitting in the snow and freezing to death. Since we were doing movie references, they should've thrown in one from The Shining here: see Robotnik's frozen corpse, then we pan down a narrow hallway, to an old black and white photograph from 1921, and there's Robotnik, posing in front of a huge crowd of people. That would've been funny. Our Sonic Says is about using your imagination, which is a very good lesson. Tails used it so he could build Sonic that hover hanglider, which unfortunately we never saw again. It faded into obscurity after this episode, and too bad, because it could've come in handy a few times. I guess after this adventure, Sonic decided to leave flying to the birds and the foxes.
This was a really good episode. It was funny, it was entertaining, the animation was decent, the writing was decent, it was a good time. Bob Forward really redeemed himself, after writing the stinkers "Trail of Missing Tails" and "Attack on Pinball Fortress". Well, after two strikes, he hit a homerun. It was nice once again to see Tails in the forefront of an episode, and it proved he could handle himself against Robotnik, as evidenced when the baddie had him by the tails, he spun them and kicked him in the face. Luckily Robotnik is such a pushover. When given the chance, Tails isn't always a wimpy little kid, but sometimes he's just too naive for his own good. I also like just how solid Sonic and Tails' friendship really is, as the two of them are all they have, they're family. Not much else I can say, because good episodes of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog are hard to critique when there's nothing to complain about. This one felt restrained, like there were no Sonic disguise gags, chili dogs are only mentioned once, and even the movie references mentioned above don't feel forced, like they aren't winking at the audience after saying them. In closing, I recommend "Tails Prevails", as it's a fun episode with funny gags, a good story, decent animation, it's definitely a gift.
Really, Tails can't tell that the once slim, green-skinned Von Schlemmer is now pasty, overweight, red-eyed, and has a pointy mustache? If they established Tails as nearsighted, it would've made sense. Anyway, Dr. Von Schlembotnik's newest scheme is to transform the Robotnik-Grabber into the Sonic-Grabber, and to prove he knows nothing about subtlety, he tries to drop an anvil on Sonic, which right away tips him off that something's gone wrong in the professor's lab. Jumping on the hover hanglider, Sonic heads up to investigate. Despite Robotnik's attempts to keep him out, he gains access through the sewer system, and arrives just as the fake Von Schlemmer is revealed to be none other than Dr. Robotnik. Wasting no time, he sends his new giant Sonic-Grabber robot after our heroes. They manage to make it crash through the wall and fall far to the ground below, but unfortunately, Tails included a flying feature, so the mammoth machine flies back up and nabs Tails, while Robotnik jumps on board with the real Von Schlemmer. As for Sonic, he nearly falls to his doom before activating the whistle summons feature on his hover hanglider and they engage in mid-air battle, with Robotnik showing once again that he has all the marksmanship of an Imperial Stormtrooper as he fires frickin' laser beams, which Sonic manages to fire back using only his fingers. Mary Sue powers, activate! I like the Star Wars and Star Trek references in this scene, like Robotnik zeroing in on Sonic and says, in a Darth Vader voice, "I have you now," then Tails imitating Scotty by saying, "I've given her all I've got, Captain." Botsy demands more speed, and Von Schlemmer lets it slip about the super speed button. Blabbermouth. Tails and the professor book it as the Sonic-Grabber blasts into hyperdrive. Oh, and guess what? Scratch and Grounder literally drop in, so they can accompany their boss on his non-stop flight. Sonic rescues Tails and Von Schlemmer, and all was well again. As for Robotnik and his robots, they wound up at the North Pole, sitting in the snow and freezing to death. Since we were doing movie references, they should've thrown in one from The Shining here: see Robotnik's frozen corpse, then we pan down a narrow hallway, to an old black and white photograph from 1921, and there's Robotnik, posing in front of a huge crowd of people. That would've been funny. Our Sonic Says is about using your imagination, which is a very good lesson. Tails used it so he could build Sonic that hover hanglider, which unfortunately we never saw again. It faded into obscurity after this episode, and too bad, because it could've come in handy a few times. I guess after this adventure, Sonic decided to leave flying to the birds and the foxes.
This was a really good episode. It was funny, it was entertaining, the animation was decent, the writing was decent, it was a good time. Bob Forward really redeemed himself, after writing the stinkers "Trail of Missing Tails" and "Attack on Pinball Fortress". Well, after two strikes, he hit a homerun. It was nice once again to see Tails in the forefront of an episode, and it proved he could handle himself against Robotnik, as evidenced when the baddie had him by the tails, he spun them and kicked him in the face. Luckily Robotnik is such a pushover. When given the chance, Tails isn't always a wimpy little kid, but sometimes he's just too naive for his own good. I also like just how solid Sonic and Tails' friendship really is, as the two of them are all they have, they're family. Not much else I can say, because good episodes of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog are hard to critique when there's nothing to complain about. This one felt restrained, like there were no Sonic disguise gags, chili dogs are only mentioned once, and even the movie references mentioned above don't feel forced, like they aren't winking at the audience after saying them. In closing, I recommend "Tails Prevails", as it's a fun episode with funny gags, a good story, decent animation, it's definitely a gift.
