Line #14 WesternAnimation/TheBraveEngineer


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_brave_engineer_poster.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:"Come, all you rounders, if you want to hear\
3	The story all about a [[TitleDrop brave engineer...]]"]]
4
5	-> "''Ah, 'tis morning, and all the trains in the railroad yard are fast asleep--all except Casey's; his engine is '''slow''' asleep!''"
6	-->-- '''Jerry Colonna in the opening narration'''
7
8	''The Brave Engineer'' is a 1950 Disney short based on the ballad of Casey Jones, where Casey has to deliver the mail on time. No matter how many obstacles block the path, he'll ensure the Western Mail reaches the station in time. Naturally, HilarityEnsues.
9
10	----
11	!!''The Brave Engineer'' provides examples of:
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13	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Casey deals with rain, a woman ChainedToARailway, bandits, and a brown cow standing on the tracks.
14	* ArtisticLicenceHistory:
15	** Given how the story is mostly PlayedForLaughs, this was a natural result. The short depicts Casey's fateful run as a mail train headed for "'Frisco" (UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco), and his crash as a high-speed, head-on collision with a double-header freight after he was rushing to make up lost time. In reality, while he ''was'' in a rush on that night, and he ''did'' hit a freight train, Casey was pulling a passenger train to Canton, Mississippi, and the collision was rear-end. Also, whereas Casey [[SparedByTheAdaptation survived this crash in the cartoon]], in the real crash he was the only casualty, having stayed in the cab (after beseeching his fireman to jump free) as he applied brakes to slow the speeding passenger train down from 85mph to a relatively slower 35mph, an action that arguably saved the lives of his passengers [[HeroicSacrifice at the cost of his own.]]
16	** The short depicts Casey saving a DamselInDistress from a DastardlyWhiplash villain while the train is moving. He ''did'' save someone in real life like in the cartoon, but it wasn't a hostage, but a little girl who wandered onto the track.
17	* ChainedToARailway: Casey saves a DamselInDistress from the clutches of a DastardlyWhiplash villain (without stopping the train).
18	* ClothingDamage: After Casey's train leaves the station, a young lady's dress gets ripped away, revealing her modest full-bodied pink undergarment.
19	-->'''Narrator''': They're off!
20	* DastardlyWhiplash:
21	** This cartoon features a notorious outlaw with a sinister handlebar mustache tying a DamselInDistress to the railroad tracks, only for Casey to snatch her out of harm's way, with the villain exclaiming "Curses! Foiled again!"
22	** Later on, just as Casey's train is about to cross the railroad trestle, a sinister bearded vandal with a dark suit and pointy hat plants dynamite, blowing the trestle away. Nevertheless, Casey's train manages to proceed after climbing a steep hill.
23	* {{Determinator}}: '''Casey.''' ''Nothing'' -- whether floods, bandits, or any DamselInDistress -- will stop him from delivering the mail. [[spoiler:A head-on collision with another train merely slows him down.]]
24	* ExplosiveOverclocking: When the engine is going at full steam, it begins to fall apart. (Casey, of [[{{Determinator}} course,]] repairs it on the run.)
25	* FailedASpotCheck: Casey doesn't notice the bandits on the train until he nearly shovels one into his train's boiler.
26	* JustInTime: As the station master erases Casey's name from the board, Casey shows up with the mail sack and the remains of his engine a minute later, with Casey's watch reading "On Time... Almost".
27	* JustTrainWrong: Somewhat zig-zagged. Casey's train seems to rely predominantly on cartoon physics, being able to function under water, recover from falling into a canyon (and climbing back up the side!) popping rivets and supporting brackets straight off its boiler, its pilot truck and funnel coming loose, and moving so fast it ''melts the rails.'' Conversely, the train he collides with in the climax is a more accurately depicted double-header slowly steaming its way up the mountain; when the collision is imminent, not just the drivers of the locomotives but also the ''firemen'' are seen jumping free before impact.
28	* {{Narrator}}: Comedian Jerry Colonna (who also narrated the Disney version of ''Literature/CaseyAtTheBat'' for ''WesternAnimation/MakeMineMusic'' and later voiced the March Hare in ''WesternAnimation/AliceInWonderland'') mostly provides running commentary and puts dialogue in the characters' mouths. Most of the actual narrative is conveyed by folk singers The King's Men.
29	* OhCrap: On several occasions, one of the characters will shout "Egad!" Most notably, [[spoiler:Casey shouts this before he crashes]].
30	* PyrrhicVictory: Casey manages to bring the mail to the station on time, at the expense of the train and its cars, with only the engine cab and a few axles surviving.
31	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: The conductor tires to warn Casey about [[spoiler:an oncoming train]], but Casey is too busy to listen to him, so he jumps off for his life. As Casey's train is about to hit the double-team engines, the other crew members jump off their train before the collision.
32	* ShoutOut: When the bandits appear, Colonna yells, "Hi-yoooooooooo, Silverwaaaaaaaaare!" in reference to ''Radio/TheLoneRanger''.
33	* SparedByTheAdaptation: The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_Jones real]] Casey Jones was killed in a rear-end collision with a freight train when he [[HeroicSacrifice stayed aboard his locomotive]] to slow it down before impact rather than jump with his fireman; his death is reflected in the ballad, but in the short he survives to get the mail to its destination, though a bit banged-up from the crash.
34	* TrackTrouble: Someone "not on the level" blows up the bridge right under Casey's train.[[labelnote:]]''GOING DOWN!''[[/labelnote]] Casey, being, well, [[{{Determinator}} Casey,]] just drives his train up the other side and back onto the rails.[[labelnote:]]''Not in condition! Smokes too much!''[[/labelnote]]
35	* UnstoppableMailman: One that drives a train, yes, but the trope is still present.

Context WesternAnimation / TheBraveEngineer