Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.13: Full-Tilt Tails

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.13: Full-Tilt Tails

Original Air Date: November 12, 1993

Sometimes I have no good introductions for these reviews, so let's just jump right in this time. "Full Tilt Tails" begins with Robotnik robbing a whole village of their useless junk, only for Sonic to defraud him in turn. Enraged, the doctor unveils his latest invention: Speed-Mint gum, a chewing gum that grants its chewer speed greater than even Sonic's. Grounder successfully test-runs it but, because he's an idiot, he immediately loses it. Tails, who has been testing his own speed of late, accidentally picks up the gum. Granted amazing speed, the fox attempts Sonic-like feats of heroics but discovers it's harder than it looks.

Throughout the early "Sonic" franchise, there was a reoccurring fascination with Tails' potential greatness. Ben Hurst's unrealized season three plans supposedly included exploring Tails' capacity for greatness. An early Archie "Sonic" story involved Tails gaining advanced intelligence after eating a magical apple. "Full Tilt Tails" follows a similar pattern but this time one that directly plays on Tails' insecurities. Tails looks up to Sonic. He wants to be like him and that includes being super-fast on foot. (Never mind that Tails has no trouble keeping up with Sonic via his flight.) But I get it. The kid wants to be just like Sonic. That's a potentially rich vein to explore and a unique angle on it, since soon his mechanical skills would become Tails' defining characteristic.

Surprisingly, considering what show we are talking about here, "Full Tilt Tails" actually runs with this idea. Tails wants to be just like Sonic and the speed gum gives him that potential. But Tails lacks the experience Sonic has, causing him to make mistakes. He gets his foot caught in a train track, nearly getting flattened in the process. His attempt to play hero has him pissing off a parachuting daredevil and nearly getting beaten by an enraged biker. Ya see, kids, with great power comes great responsibility and Tails soon learns that. Superpowers don't make you a hero. The ability to use them in the responsible way makes you a hero. For a show usually more concerned with underachieving slapstick, I'm sort of surprised this episode delivers a coherent moral like that.

After Tails loses the gum and the corresponding superspeed, Sonic makes sure to give him a pep talk. That he's great just the way he is. But an earlier scene really calls into question how good of a mentor Sonic is. After he gets super-speed, Sonic says Tails shouldn't show off... But Tails points out that he shows off all the time. And he's right! Maybe you should teach more by example than words, Sonic. This makes you realize that someone can't really be a kid's cool older brother, best buddy, and his wise teacher. This episode doesn't explore the fact that a cool dude with 'tude probably isn't the best mentor. But I wish more "Sonic" media explored the weird inequalities in Sonic and Tails' relationship. It seems like a juicy story angle. 

Another element elevating this episode is that the Speed Mint gum is a genuinely cool invention. Across the various games, comics, and cartoons, Robotnik has invented many robots that try to be as fast as Sonic. A few times, he's even made attempts to drain Sonic's speed from him. But this is the only instance I can think of where Robotnik has tried to replicate Sonic's speed. The process to manufacture the speed gum is so arduous, that only this one strip exists. But imagine if Robotnik could mass-produce the gum! Imagine whole fleets of super-fast SWATBots. Mobius would fall in hours and Sonic would be overwhelmed soon enough. Let me tell ya, the world is just waiting for a grim-dark reboot of this show.

So it's a surprisingly solid episode but there's one weird thing about it. The first five-ish minutes have almost nothing to do with the rest of the episode. Robotnik decides he wants to kick back and relax with some petty burglary, before Sonic tricks him into trading all the stolen junk for gold-painted chili beans. Robotnik blames Coconuts, who has no further role in this episode, before attempting to crush some country-bumpkins with a rockslide. Sonic easily navigated the traps set out for him, defeats Robotnik, and saves the citizen. All of this is totally unrelated to the gum plot involving Tails. It really feels like the script was a few minutes short, forcing the writers to throw together this largely unrelated opening. 

It's strange but, considering my low expectations for this show, it's not enough to distract from an above-average episode. You'd think the "Sonic Sez" segment would expound on this personal responsibility theme but, nah, it goes with an anti-smoking lesson. Because tobacco and the predatory corporations and the FDA apparently exist on Mobius. Anyway, this is the fiftieth episode of this show I've reviewed and I still have fifteen left. If all the installments were on the same amicable level at this one, which focuses more in actual storytelling than obnoxious slapstick, this trip would've been less painful. [7/10]