The fourth episode of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.
Dr. Robotnik invents the Slow-Mo Ray gun to slow Sonic down for good. A family of sloths comes under attack from Scratch and Grounder, who use them to lure Sonic into the path of the Doc's ray. When Sonic gets zapped, it's up to Tails, with the help of the sloth family, to save him.
This episode provides examples of:
- Age Lift: Tails' canon video game counterpart is eight years old. In this episode, Tails is revealed to be four and half years old.
- And Knowing Is Half the Battle: In the "Sonic Says" segment, Tails complains to Sonic about the Sloths being so slow. Rocket points out that Tails is in quicksand. Tails panics, but Rocket tells him to move slowly and he'll be able to get out okay. Sonic explains that everyone has something special to offer, even sloths.Sonic: Even you can learn something from a sloth.
- Awesome, but Temporary: After the crystal breaks, the effects of the Slow-Mo Ray are reversed, making things go faster instead of slower. When Rocket gets zapped by accident, Tails discovers this and uses the Slow-Mo Ray on the rest of the sloth family to get them to help him rescue Sonic. However, Robotnik makes it very clear that the effects of the Slow-Mo Ray only last for an hour. In fact, in this episode's "Sonic Says" segment, the sloth family are back to their normal slow selves.
- Badass in Distress: At the end of this episode's first act, Sonic gets zapped by the Slow-Mo Ray and captured by Scratch and Grounder. It's up to Tails, with the help of the sloth family, to rescue him.
- Be the Ball: Much like Sonic and Tails' canon video game counterparts, the sloth family shape themselves into balls as they launch themselves at Scratch and Grounder.
- Cobweb of Disuse: When the sloth family is first seen, they are all covered in cobwebs.
- Difficulty by Acceleration: In the "Sonic Says" segment, Rocket warns Tails not to move fast as he's standing in quicksand and he could just sink faster. By moving slowly, he is able to get out alive thanks to the sloths nearby.
- Entertainingly Wrong: Robotnik panics as Tails is about to fire the Slo-Mo ray at him, worried that he'll become slow again. He instead becomes too fast to control himself thanks to the Power Crystal breaking earlier.
- Ironic Name: One of the sloths Sonic and Tails meet is named "Rocket". Despite his claims that he's the fastest sloth on Mobius, he's still incredibly slow, even when compared to people other than the titular hero. When he gets zapped with Robotnik's broken Slow-Mo ray, he actually lives up to his name.
- Literal-Minded: Sonic gives Rocket the job of sounding a gong, telling him to hit it if he sees anything. Rocket is about to hit the gong, but Sonic stops him and clarifies that he should only hit it if he sees trouble.
- Motor Mouth: What Robotnik is stuck with after getting zapped with the reversed Slow-Mo Ray:Robotnik: Stop! I-can't-take-this-for-an-hour! I-get-speed-sick! I'll-get-Sonic-for-this! Hey! Where-did-that-mountaintop-come-from?!
- Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Rocket wears a blue sweater, while his sister wears a pink dress.
- Power Crystal: The Slo-Mo Ray is powered by a Mobian Mega Crystal that took Robotnik nine years to make. When Tails attempts to zap Scratch and Grounder with the Slow-Mo Ray while their backs are turned, Grounder swats the Ray out of his hand, breaking the crystal as a result. When Tails brings the Slow-Mo Ray back to the sloth family, Rocket accidentally gets zapped by it. However, because the crystal broke, the effects of the Slow-Mo Ray are reversed and Rocket temporarily becomes faster.
- Quicksand Sucks: This episode's "Sonic Says" segment has Tails stand in a patch of quicksand and slowly sink into it. Rocket advises Tails to move slowly in order to escape from it.
- Rule of Three: Robotnik gets zapped by the Slow-Mo Ray three times. The first two times are done by accident from Scratch and Grounder, temporarily slowing him down. The third time is done on purpose by Tails after the crystal breaks. Robotnik expects to be slowed down again, but since the crystal is broken, the effects are reversed and he is temporarily made faster.
- Seesaw Catapult: Sonic builds one to launch boards in the air and help the sloth family rebuild their house. The sloth family later uses it to attack Scratch and Grounder after Tails zaps them with the broken Slow-Mo Ray.
- Sluggish Sloths: The sloth family that Sonic meets are quite slow going and they speak pretty slow as well (despite Rocket insisting that he's the fastest sloth in Mobius). However, when they get hit by Robotnik's broken Slow-Mo Ray, they end up moving quite fast.
- Speedy Snail: At first, the sloth family is as slow as any real sloth. Upon being zapped by the broken Slow-Mo Ray, they become incredibly fast.
- Verbal Tic: Rocket speaks incredibly slow to remind the viewers that he's a sloth. This changes after he gets zapped with Robotnik's broken Slow-Mo Ray.
- Watch Out for That Tree!: After being zapped with the broken Slow-Mo Ray, Robotnik loses control of his Egg-O-Matic and crashes into a mountaintop.
