Dr. Robotnik's got a big delivery of explosives coming to him via the railroad: a train pulling cars full of bombs being engineered by none other than Scratch and Grounder. Something tells me his order won't be arriving on time, especially if a plucky hedgehog, his two-tailed companion, and two big-hearted, empty-headed bears have anything to say about it. Such is the confusing chain of events that unfold when taking a ride on The Robotnik Express. As the train flies down the rails, the two dunces fighting over who gets to blow the whistle, they're spotted by Big Mike and Big Gris, two burly bears in hotrods. They know this train is Dr. Robotnik's, and they're only too happy to rob it. At the same time, they see two blurs racing after the train and assume them to be Sonic and Tails, though they never actually saw them before. Up in the engine, the Sonic Alert system goes off, so the bots lock up the throttle lever, that is before switching the train to the new track, so now they will be proceeding down the old track. Eh, what's the worst that could happen? Grounder and Scratch make their way to the caboose, which doubles as an oversized vacuum as it detatches from the train and and sucks up our heroes. Once bringing them inside, it wraps them up like mummies. The robots pat themselves on the back, cheering that they got Sonic, even broadcasting it over loudspeakers for some reason. This overdone display of self congratulations is heard by Mike and Gris, who race to the rescue. Now, if you think a few rolls of toilet paper will stop Sonic in his tracks, then think again. He predictably unwraps he and Tails, then bonds up the robots in their own trap and go to stop the train. That's when the bears come in, and did I mention their gimmick is calling themselves, in unison: Da Bears. Guess they're big fans of Bill Swerski's Superfans. They free Scratch and Grounder and, get this, mistake them for Sonic and Tails. The robots play along, and claim the good guys to be the bad guys, so it looks like Sonic has four nincompoops to deal with instead of two. Speaking of which, he and Tails discover the train to be carrying high explosives, and the robots locked up the throttle, so there was no hope of stopping the train. Sonic races ahead to see where the line headed, and thanks to the bots taking the old track, they were en route to an unfinished bridge, which was hanging over a town full of buffalo. Guess they don't live on the range anymore. Sonic tries to warn them about the impending rail disaster, and they all run for their lives. Deciding to reroute the train earlier, Sonic and Tails try to switch the track, only they aren't strong enough to move the lever, so the hedgehog sticks a pine tree between the tracks, saying the force from the train will push the tree into switching the tracks, thus sending the train off a cliff and into a river. Clever. The only variables are Scratch, Grounder, and their bear buddies. One of Sonic's disguises should bamboozle them, so he dresses like a conductor and says they have tickets for the wrong train, thus sending them on a conveniently passing eastbound train.
The... I mean, Da Bears' next attempt to stop the "bad guys" is blocking a tunnel with rocks, but with yet another disguise, Sonic makes them tear it down and instead suggests a barricade. Mike and Gris takes it to mean "bear-icade", and sit on the tracks with Scratch and Grounder to stop the train that way. Guys, this isn't Tiananmen Square and that is not a tank. They're predictably run over and ordinarily, this would have killed them. Luckily Grounder and Scratch are robots and Da Bears are all muscle, especially above their necks. They become stuck on the front of the train, which was heading for a cactus patch. Sacrificing their track switching plan, Sonic uses the tree as a cactus catcher to spare he bears' some sore bums. Mike and Gris thank them, but still consider them to be the bad guys, and not Sonic and Tails, despite the latter showing off his very obvious two tails, but they claim it to be a disguise. However, when Sonic races to and from da Bears' house and brings them a pot of honey, they finally catch on to who the real heroes are. With that all settled, now there's just the small matter of stopping a train full of explosives from leveling an entire town of buffalo. You may wonder what Dr. Robotnik plans to do with all these bombs. At his new warehouse, he's loading tons and tons of smaller bombs into one enormous missile, and once the bombs on the train arrive, he'll launch it and blow all of his enemies sky high. Talk about overkill. All the bombs he's making at his factory aren't enough? Anyway, while Tails keeps Scratch and Grounder busy on the train, Sonic and da Bears head to the incomplete bridge, which they would try to have finished before the Robotnik Express arrived. Time was of the essence! Without enough time to join the pieces of the bridge, they tilt one end up at a 90-degree angle, sending the train flying over the chasm and landing on the other side. The village is saved, hooray! As for Botsy and his bombs, looks like they would be arriving on schedule, except with one small problem: no way to stop the train! It crashes into the depot, the locomotive lands on the missile, which takes off, catching Robotnik, Scratch and Grounder on it and they fly up high into the sky, and then it explode. Guess they're dead. So the day is saved, Sonic and Tails bid adieu to their new allies and race off. Our Sonic Says is about stranger danger. Scratch and Grounder pull up to Tails in a car, wearing bad disguises, and try the old ruse of saying they're friends of Sonic and that he's hurt and are taking him to him. That's when Sonic shows up to expose their lie, making them take off. Never get in a car with someone you don't know, or in this case, someone you do know who wants to hurt you. That ruse is older than dirt and I hope to God it never actually worked. A very good lesson, as Tails almost got railroaded. Ha, I was waiting to fit that pun in there somehow.
So that was Robotnik Express, and it was a lot of fun. From beginning to end, it's high-speed action with plenty of humor, not overdone, played just right. Mike and Gris are pretty amusing characters, and we'll see them again in Mad Mike, Da Warrior Bear. They also had cameos in Hero of the Year. The animation is alright, characters stay on model for the most part, the action is well timed, the writing is funny, it's just a well made episode, and a favorite of mine since childhood. I got it on a video where it was paired with Tails' New Home. Ugh, skip that one, but I definitely recommend The Robotnik Express. If you like trains, you like high-speed action, you like bears, you like that Saturday Night Live Bill Swerski sketch, then this is definitely for you. Not much else I can say, except this is a train ride you'll definitely want to take.
The... I mean, Da Bears' next attempt to stop the "bad guys" is blocking a tunnel with rocks, but with yet another disguise, Sonic makes them tear it down and instead suggests a barricade. Mike and Gris takes it to mean "bear-icade", and sit on the tracks with Scratch and Grounder to stop the train that way. Guys, this isn't Tiananmen Square and that is not a tank. They're predictably run over and ordinarily, this would have killed them. Luckily Grounder and Scratch are robots and Da Bears are all muscle, especially above their necks. They become stuck on the front of the train, which was heading for a cactus patch. Sacrificing their track switching plan, Sonic uses the tree as a cactus catcher to spare he bears' some sore bums. Mike and Gris thank them, but still consider them to be the bad guys, and not Sonic and Tails, despite the latter showing off his very obvious two tails, but they claim it to be a disguise. However, when Sonic races to and from da Bears' house and brings them a pot of honey, they finally catch on to who the real heroes are. With that all settled, now there's just the small matter of stopping a train full of explosives from leveling an entire town of buffalo. You may wonder what Dr. Robotnik plans to do with all these bombs. At his new warehouse, he's loading tons and tons of smaller bombs into one enormous missile, and once the bombs on the train arrive, he'll launch it and blow all of his enemies sky high. Talk about overkill. All the bombs he's making at his factory aren't enough? Anyway, while Tails keeps Scratch and Grounder busy on the train, Sonic and da Bears head to the incomplete bridge, which they would try to have finished before the Robotnik Express arrived. Time was of the essence! Without enough time to join the pieces of the bridge, they tilt one end up at a 90-degree angle, sending the train flying over the chasm and landing on the other side. The village is saved, hooray! As for Botsy and his bombs, looks like they would be arriving on schedule, except with one small problem: no way to stop the train! It crashes into the depot, the locomotive lands on the missile, which takes off, catching Robotnik, Scratch and Grounder on it and they fly up high into the sky, and then it explode. Guess they're dead. So the day is saved, Sonic and Tails bid adieu to their new allies and race off. Our Sonic Says is about stranger danger. Scratch and Grounder pull up to Tails in a car, wearing bad disguises, and try the old ruse of saying they're friends of Sonic and that he's hurt and are taking him to him. That's when Sonic shows up to expose their lie, making them take off. Never get in a car with someone you don't know, or in this case, someone you do know who wants to hurt you. That ruse is older than dirt and I hope to God it never actually worked. A very good lesson, as Tails almost got railroaded. Ha, I was waiting to fit that pun in there somehow.
So that was Robotnik Express, and it was a lot of fun. From beginning to end, it's high-speed action with plenty of humor, not overdone, played just right. Mike and Gris are pretty amusing characters, and we'll see them again in Mad Mike, Da Warrior Bear. They also had cameos in Hero of the Year. The animation is alright, characters stay on model for the most part, the action is well timed, the writing is funny, it's just a well made episode, and a favorite of mine since childhood. I got it on a video where it was paired with Tails' New Home. Ugh, skip that one, but I definitely recommend The Robotnik Express. If you like trains, you like high-speed action, you like bears, you like that Saturday Night Live Bill Swerski sketch, then this is definitely for you. Not much else I can say, except this is a train ride you'll definitely want to take.