Now entering Scorchwater Valley. Population: Dying
In the wild, Rhinos and Red-Billed Oxpeckers have a very unique symbiotic relationship. The oxpeckers spend their day nestled on top of the rhino for food and protection, and in return they help to alert the often visually-impaired rhinos if there is danger in the area. They can however, be a nuisance to their hosts, often picking at wounds when searching for food, and their bond can quickly turn parasitic
— The first paragraph of the official description of the pilot
The Rhino and the Redbill (also known as Tales from Scorchwater Valley) is a canadian CGI web animation pilot by Alex Henderson Animation
. Funded by Kickstarter in 2020, it was released on Youtube and Newgrounds on February 15, 2022.
The story, based off the symbiotic relationship between the two titular species in real life, follows Niles, a blind but kickass rhinoceros, and Red, a flightless red-billed oxpecker, working together to survive the drought-ravaged wasteland that is Scorchwater Valley and find somewhere safe to live on it. Their deal is it as follows: Red serves as the guide and navigator for Niles, and in return the rhino promises to help his bird friend to traverse the dangerous valley. However, with their respective physical disablities, their conflicting personalities and the fact that EVERYONE is out to get them, this will prove to be a difficult task.
The pilot can be viewed on YouTube and on Newgrounds'''. The creator has stated that it would serve as a proof of concept for producing more content with the characters in the future.
The Rhino and the Redbill provides examples of:
- 2D Visuals, 3D Effects: An interesting inversion: the entire short is animated in cel-shaded CGI, but some backgrounds (mostly static ones) were actually drawn in 2D with the 3D characters and elements added later.
- All There in the Manual: Some lore about the series was only revealed in concept art and info from the Kickstarter campaign(s), such as Niles' job as a mercenary or Red's real name being Redford.
- And the Adventure Continues: The pilot ends with Niles and Red heading towards the eponymous Valley, suggesting that Rolo most likely won't be the last danger the duo might encounter in their journey.
- There is also an after-credits scene showing a mysterious masked buffalo finding Niles' tracks and heading in Niles and Red's direction.
- Appropriate Animal Attire: Niles and Rolo are fully dressed (although Niles doesn't wear any footwear) while Red is always naked, possibly because he's a bit closer to his real-life counterpart compared to the former two.
- The Big Guy: Niles definitely applies, not just for his species, but his badassery in general.
- Big Guy, Little Guy: Niles and Red, respectively. Although Niles is both the muscle and the common sense of the two, whereas Red is more of The Heart.
- The Blind Leading the Blind: Niles' blindness is literal, but Red's come from his inexperience at travelling in the Valley and tendency for not thinking before acting, which leads the both of them into trouble.
- Circling Vultures: Happens in the beginning of the pilot when Niles lays down on the ground, claiming defeat after realizing that his water supply has run out.
- Crapsack World: Scorchwater Valley (formerly Springwater) is this in spades. Thanks to a drought, the Valley has become overrun with many dangerous factions that do unspeakable things to survive, with Rolo's scavenger gang just being one of them.
- Cheated Angle: Niles' face is never seen from the front, saved from a few frames when he turns his head around. This is more noticeable when he and Red barely manage to avoid falling off a bridge that was risen, and his head remains at a 3/4 angle even when the camera changes to zoom in his face.
- Chromosome Casting: Currently there's no female characters in the main cast. But in one scene there is a female scavenger that does have a line showing frustration about not being able to eat her own arm after getting it amputated.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: During the minecart scene, Niles easily puts many scavengers out of commission with his fists, with a little help of Red guiding him to where to aim.
- Disabled Snarker: Niles lives on this trope, even if the remark he's snarking to isn't related to his blindness.
- Egg MacGuffin: Niles (relunctantly) and Red are taking care of an unhatched egg named "Sam". Whether the baby is Red's biological child or not hasn't been clarified yet.
- Face of a Thug: Niles can easily be mistaken for a bad guy thanks to his appearance and overall demeanor, but he's a pretty gentle fella nonetheless.
- Finger Poke of Doom: Niles does this to Red often as a Dope Slap of sorts. Considering that he is much, much bigger than the tiny bird, and could easily crush him with his big hands, this is justified.
- Forgiven, but Not Forgotten: Even though Red has apologized for getting them into trouble, Niles actively states that he will have to earn the his trust back if he wants to continue with their partnership, as well as any help on raising Sam.
- Hammy Villain, Serious Hero: Rolo is always giggling (he is a hyena after all) and doesn't puts on a serious face while doing his job as a scavenger until the climax, whereas Niles is a Perpetual Frowner that rarely raises his voice even to scream. Red, on the other hand, is a bit more quirky and emotional than his friend, which makes him a fine line between the two.
- Handicapped Badass: Niles is completely blind, but that doesn't stop him from being a force to be recknoned with, taking down enemies with his bare fists or his walking stick. To an extent, Red has a broken wing and can't fly for very long, and yet he often puts himself in danger in order to save his friend and unhatched child, including pecking Rolo's face.
- Heinous Hyena: Rolo Redstone, the main antagonist of the pilot, has all of the negative traits of hyenas in fitcion, although he also seems to be an Evil Genius considering he has built a Humongous Mecha out of spare parts.
- How Many Fingers?: When Red notices that Niles seems to be about to pass out from dehydration, he uses his Feather Fingers to conduct this test... forgetting that his friend is blind.Niles: You know, I never get tired of that bit. Here. How many am I holding up? (it shows him about to raise his middle finger before it cuts to Red's reaction)
- Indy Ploy: In the climax, Red mentions that he can't find an escape route because of the exhaust coming out of Rolo's robot, which makes Niles realize that the machine has an exhaust pipe, so he asks Red to guide him to it. His plan? Jam the pipe with his walking stick, causing the robot to overheat and expode, setting them both free of the mine.
- I Will Only Slow You Down: A non-injury example. Niles instructs Red to go on without him twice in the pilot: once in the beginning when he's too tired and dehydrated to keep moving, and at the climax, as the duo finds themselves cornered by Rolo's giant robot. In both cases, Red sticks by his friend and encourages him to continue their journey together.
- Low Clearance: While the main duo are having a Casual Danger Dialogue during the minecart scene, Niles gets bumped in the back of his head by a low obstacle, leaving him unconscious for a while, long enough that Red worringly thinks his friend has died.
- Missing Mom: If Sam is indeed Red's biological child, we currently have no clue to what happened to the mother.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The entire conflict of the pilot is set because Red tricks Niles into taking an uncharted route in order for them to make it to an outpost faster. This backfires as the route was filled with a gang of mentally unstable scavengers that want to harvest Niles' horn.
- Obviously Not Fine: A Running Gag on the pilot is Red insisting that "everything's fine", no matter how much more of the obvious signs of danger the duo comes across in the shortcut. Eventually, after meeting Rolo and being temporalily held captive, Niles stop believing his friend's claims.
- Oh, Crap!: The three main characters in the pilot have this reaction:
- Niles, once he realizes that Red tricked him into taking the shortcut;
- Red, as soon as he starts seeing the scavengers inside the mine, and it reaches a high point once he see the skeletal remains of their victims;
- And finally, Rolo when he finds out that his robot is about to explode from overheating after the main duo manages to jam its exhaust pipe.
- People Puppets: Red guides Niles by pulling his ears, which are surprisingly flexible.
- Perpetual Frowner: Niles spends the majority of the pilot with a frown on his face. The closest he's been to smiling is near the end, when he and Red let out a bit of Mirthless Laughter to each other after surviving the explosion of Rolo's robot.
- Reflectionless Useless Eyes: Niles' blind eyes are given grey pupils (as if they were clouded) to differentiate them from Red's and Rolo's eyes, which work normally. Although, the couple of times his face is zoomed in, he does indeed have light reflecting on them.
- Rollercoaster Mine: Since most of the pilot takes place in a mine, it was pretty predictable that Niles and Red would end up in a minecart at one point.
- Rhino Rampage: Niles is a downplayed example. While he does have the strenght and bad eyesight characteristic of the media portrayal of rhinos, he's not overly violent and is shown to be intelligent and compassionate, if a bit of a Dead Pan Snarker.
- Run or Die: Once the main duo is surrounded by Mooks after breaking free, Niles, despite being able to knock the down easily earlier, quickly gets overwhelmed by them due to the fact that his blindness makes them more terryfing and decides to run away instead of fighting them, much to Red's disappointment.
- Sinister Switchblade: Zig-zagged. Niles, one of the good guys, did had a switchblade to defend himself when the main duo first meet Rolo. After being captured, though, the rhino drops the knife and it's shown not long after that Rolo took possession of it.
- Short Cuts Make Long Delays: Red notices that there's a trail in the middle of a trench that's not on the map, and despite Niles' skeptcism, he gets tricked by his oxpecker friend into taking the detour anyway. Turns out, there was a good reason why the route was uncharted: the trench was infested with scavengers, and probably until that point, nobody made it out alive.
- Spider Tank: Rolo's gigantic mecha has some spider-like qualities.
- Stealth Pun; The protagonist's names Niles and Red sound like the word "Nilered",a type of chemical.
- Stronger Than They Look: Red, despite being the size of Niles' ears, somehow is still able to move his friend's heavy body effortlessly after the rhino is made unconscious during the end of the minecart scene.
- Toothy Bird: A rare CGI example, Red bares his teeth when awkwardly smiling after realizing that the shortcut he chose wasn't safe after all.
- The Stinger: After the credits roll, a scene is played that features a shady-looking Cape Buffalo that seems to be pursuing Niles and Red, for currently unknown reasons.
- The Symbiote: Of the mutualism type: Red cannot fly for very long thanks to an injured wing, as well as having an unhatched child on the way, so he enlists Niles' help for transportation, in exchange for help the blind rhino navigate through the Valley. Although, considering how often the two argue, it may also be a bit parasitic on a psychological level.
- Thirsty Desert: Scorchwater Valley seems to be a combination of this and the Darkest Africa thanks to its drought. One of the smaller conflicts of the pilot is even about Niles and Red running out of water to drink.
- Too Much Information: Red, in order to regain Niles' trust, lets out many stuff he's been hiding from his blind friend... including the fact that he has been naked the entire time. Niles' reaction suggests this trope is at play upon learning that bit.
- Tuft of Head Fur: Red has three small feathers sticking out of his forehead, though we have yet to see other oxpeckers to compare him to. In contrast, Niles is completely bald, and Rolo not only has a head full of hair (tied into a man-bun), but sideburns as well.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: When Niles and Red are first captured, you can see multiple other prisoners trapped in cages in the same room they are in, presumably to also be harvested, like how it was intended to be done with Niles' horn. After the main duo escape, they leave these other prisoners behind (not that they would be able to help them out in the first place), and we never learn their fates for the rest of the episode.
- World of Funny Animals: Considering that the series IS named after the main characters' species, this seems obvious. However, the premise makes it clear that the world they live in is anything but funny.
