Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.09: Momma Robotnik's Birthday

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.09: Momma Robotnik's Birthday

Original Air Date: September 27th, 1993

Nowadays, Sega has an explicit rule that "Sonic" tie-in media cannot depict blood relatives of Sega-created "Sonic" cast members. Ostensibly, this is so Sega can keep their characters' origins vague, least a defined backstory interfere with their statuses as corporate mascots. It's also probably so the company doesn't end up in another embarrassing legal fracas, that ends with some weirdo owning the rights to Knuckles' daughter. Nineties "Sonic" tie-in media, on the other hand, was filled with various relatives. The comic were heavy with parents, offspring, and the occasional uncle. The third animated series revolves around Sonic having two siblings. An early manga gave Sonic a little sister. And "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" would even extend this to Robotnik, as several episodes would feature the villain's equally wicked mother. 

"Momma Robotnik's Birthday" revolves around exactly that. After escaping the nursing home she was in, the doctor's rotund mother marches into his base and demands a birthday present. Her first wish is to have an entire park destroyed, as it obscures the view from her bedroom window. After Sonic shows up and saves the day, her new wish becomes to destroy the hedgehog once and for all. In order to facilitate this, Robotnik cooks up a scheme to kidnap Tails and have Sonic run through a park full of deadly traps.

 

"AoStH" would introduce several unintentionally terrifying characters over its run. However, I think Momma Robotnik is terrifying completely on purpose. She looks to be about nine feet tall and can stride through walls with ease. Physically, she's almost an exact match for her son, including the large orange mustache. (Tails actually mistakes her for a crossdressing Robotnik in one scene.) The character designers saw fit to give Momma Robotnik a matronly bust, including disturbingly detailed cleavage. Robotnik's mom speaks with a husky growl, to complete her unnerving presence. Large, obnoxious women were a common comedic trope in the early nineties — this was, after all, when Roseanne was at her maximum power — but "AoStH" managed to create a truly nightmarish example. 

Another common comedic trope among lazy kids media like this is to have the big bad emasculated by a nagging wife or an overpowering mother. So, yes, of course Momma Robotnik is abusive towards her son. She smacks him with her umbrella repeatedly and threatens him with physical violence more than once. During a flashback to Robotnik's childhood — where he is depicted as an anime-eyed blob creature — we see his mother seemingly kept him in a cage. Robotnik, to continue the lazy comedic dynamic, puts up with his mom's abuse, kowtowing to her outrageous demands, and frequently regressing to a childish persona in her presence. 

Last review, I noted that Scratch and Grounder's relationship with Robotnik resembles a needy child with an abusive parent. Now, we learn that Robotnik did not come into this habit on his own. He too is a child desperate to please an abusive, emotionally manipulative parent. He always strives to make her happy but receives only scorn and violence in return. Despite his own proud history of villainy, he's reduced to a cowering child whenever she's around. This is just a dumbass show making dumbass jokes but it accidentally created a compelling example of how the cycle of abuse repeats. I bet if Momma Robotnik ever had a "better" child, she would abandon Robotnik too. 

A more intentional message inside this episode is the environmental one. I've commented frequently on the "Save the Earth" ethos that was common in early "Sonic" comics and cartoons. While "AoStH" never touched on that theme the way "SatAM," it tries a little here. Robotnik sends robots armed with poison gas to strip a park full of (peppermint patterned, for some reason) trees. Sonic steps in and stops the deforestation, not so much because he speaks for the trees, but to defeat the baddy. Yet the message remains clear. Making it even more obvious is the Sonic Says segment, where our hedgehog gives a little speech about pollution and planting trees. We were so obsessed with saving the environment in the early nineties that even garbage cartoons like this felt the need to comment on it. 

All of that aside, "Momma Robotnik's Birthday" does prove to be more amusing than your average episode of "Adventures." A gag where Sonic sets up a fake game show to fool Scratch and Grounder made me chuckle, due to how well the cartoon apes the language of that genre. After Tails is captured, and he's hung upside down in a spooky graveyard, he deadpans that he's in "so much trouble." Still, this show being the absurd nightmare it is, there's still lots of stupid or gross shit too. A gag devoted to Sonic's attempt to chew a chili dog, which ends with him forking his own tongue, is unnervingly fleshy. A later moment where a teddy bear grows into a multi-headed monstrosity featured more body horror than a kid show like this needed. Gags involving robot chili pots, Coconuts speaking with a Cajun accent, or Robotnik being stuck in mud are painfully unfunny. There's also a noticeable animation flub, where Sonic speaks without moving his mouth.

Oh no, I caught myself complaining about "Adventures" being dumb or unfunny again. There's no point in doing that. Like how there's no need to point out how nonsensical it is that Robotnik correctly identifies Sonic in a disguise this time, when he's never been able to before. Or the odd ending, which features an ambulance shaped like a dog's head sliding into frame without any wheels at all. Let's just be grateful that this cartoon made me laugh once or twice, instead of just annoying or distressing me. [6/10]