Sonic Underground, Episode 1.03: Mobodoon

Sonic Underground, Episode 1.03: Mobodoon

Original Air Date:  September 1st, 1999

The third produced episode of "Sonic Underground" draws from a seemingly unexpected source. "Mobodoon" is directly inspired by "Brigadoon," the 1947 stage musical famously adapted to film in 1954. "Brigadoon" is about an idyllic village in the Scottish Highlands that is accessible to the outside world only once every one hundred years. Naturally, the main character is a visitor who has to choose between everyone he's ever known and his newly found love. I've always assumed that Brigadoon was a legend from classical Scottish mythology but apparently it was invented by the writers of the musical. A "Sonic" cartoon taking inspiration from a then 53-year-old stage show seems weird but makes more sense when you look at this show, not as a video game adaptation, but as a musical fantasy series. In that light, "Mobodoon" goes from an out-of-left-field reference to something this show's intended audience probably wasn't familiar with to the series paying homage to the genre it belongs to. 

Or maybe the writers were just old guys stealing randomly from old shit. Either way, "Mobodoon" begins with Sonic, Sonia, and Manic searching for the titular location. The utopian village, which appears for one day every four years, is supposedly where they were born. They hope this is where their mother has been hiding. Sleet and Dingo are on their tails. The triplets soon discover Mobodoon is real and treat themselves to its comforts. Manic especially feels at-home in the village and considers staying. That's when Sleet and Dingo lead a military attack into Mobodoon, threatening the peaceful people who live there. 

I want to start by saying that "Mobodoon" is the best episode of "Sonic Underground" I've watched thus far. This statement still comes with a huge stinking caveat. The writing is still badly hampered by exposition and contrived bullshit. The first few minutes are awkwardly devoted to explaining what Mobodoon is and why the triplets are headed there. Later, the episode turns to detailing how Mobodoon can exist, introducing a big Chaos Emerald-like jewel that powers the pocket dimension. The biggest ass-pull in the script is Sonic, Sonia, and Manic draining their medallions with a musical number, forcing them to use their brains to defeat the invaders. If their magic powers have a limit – which they previously did not – maybe our heroes should prioritize defeating evil over singing songs. And, of course, the show continues to tease Queen Alena's appearance in the most obnoxious manner possible. Once again, the triplets just miss meeting up with their mom. 

The characters are still as static as always – cue several embarrassing gags about Sonia getting her hair done or Manic shoplifting – but the episode does manage to find something like an emotional entry point for the audience. When Manic is presented with his and his siblings' royal bassinets, he's moved to tears. Sonic fits in everywhere he goes and Sonia was raised in the lap of luxury. Manic has never felt like he's belonged and the peaceful world of Mobodoon, where everything is free and people are always happy, feels like home to him. You never once believe he's going to abandon his brother and sister and their heroic vow. And he does not, walking away from Mobodoon in the episode's final minutes. Yet at least there's some emotional kernel to this story. Manic's melancholy misfit status is somewhat compelling. Him being forced to choose between his siblings and this hidden paradise could've been developed into a really interesting story. 

I say "could've" because this is only a twenty-one minute long cartoon. The show doesn't have enough time to explore Mobodoon and why it's such a utopia. A deeply unattractive horse-like entity called Miss Whinneyham is the triplet's guide to this world. She mostly spews exposition about how all this works. The episode has to resort to easy shortcuts to show how great Mobodoon. So all the food and services are free and the whole place has a shiny, medieval fantasy kingdom look. Apparently, writer Patrick Hunzinger thinks staying forever at the Renn Fair would be heaven. Me being the cynical fuck I am, any time a story introduces a utopia like this, I immediately wonder what the downside is. Where's the mind control or cannibalism or whatever it is that makes this idyllic place possible? Naturally, "Underground" doesn't go in that direction. We have to accept that Mobodoon is exactly as heavenly as it looks. 

I don't know if the "Underground" creative team was forced to give every episode a message or if that was just the style of children's television the show was made in. Either way, thus far, each episode's song has expressed the cheesy theme or moral of the whole story. Since "Mobodoon" is about Manic trying to find a home – and realizing being with his siblings is his real home – the episode's song also concerns this topic. "I Found My Home" is as cheesy and half-assed as the previous songs. The vocals are especially nasally and irritating. But at least it actually sounds like a real song, with slightly more complex lyrics than previous numbers. The song is also notable for actually featuring guitar, drums, and keyboards. It's still pretty lame but it has a mild New Wave pop/rock sound – the melody resembles "867-5309/Jenny" a little bit – that I don't totally hate. 

The "Sonic Underground" team almost had something with "Mobodoon" but ultimately didn't have the time or skills to really develop it into a truly compelling story. The show is hassled by its status as a quickie kids show. You can also see this in its incompetent, mildly annoying villains. Sleet and Dingo lead a SWATBot invasion into Mobodoon and, since the city is a paradise with no defenses, they quickly overwhelm it. This turns the focus away from the more interesting subplot of Manic's dilemma. It also shows how fucking dumb these two villains are. They manage to screw up what should've been a sure thing. At one point, a trio of their hover-tanks slam right into each other, creating a bottleneck effect that our heroes quickly take advantage of. What a bunch of doofs! I also think it's weird that this show is focusing so much in these two clowns and putting Robotnik in the background. He doesn't even appear in this episode. 

I also continue to be disturbed by Sleet changing Dingo into various mundane objects. What happens to his internal organs when Sleet morphs him into a motorcycle? Does his stomach become a combustion engine? Do his ligaments stretch into chains and gears? Is he a fleshy organic thing in the shape of a motorcycle or is his skin and bones somehow transmogrified into steel and chrome? Am I thinking too much about this? Anyway, "Mobodoon" is still mildly shitty but it's better than the last four episodes. [5/10]