"Tails' New Home" is the sixteenth episode of the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog television series. Despite being produced as the sixteenth episode, it aired as the second episode during the show's original run.
After Sonic saves Tails from danger, Sonic decides that Tails should have his own family.
Original air date, September 7, 1993.
This episode provides examples of the following tropes:
- All of the Other Reindeer: Because he has two tails, Tails doesn't fit in with other fox families and because he is a fox, Tails doesn't fit in with aerial families despite his ability to fly. Luckily, Sonic takes him in.
- Anything but That!: Tails' reaction to Sonic threatening to reveal his real name is Miles unless he gets out of the house. Tails screams "NO! NOT THAT!" and busts through the nearest wall, leaving an Impact Silhouette.
- Big Brother Instinct: Sonic has this for Tails' as he's both his adoptive older brother and caretaker. It's this same instinct that drives him to find a safe new home for Tails' and keep him out of danger.
- Bindle Stick: In this episode's "Sonic Says" segment, Coconuts carries one when he considers running away from Robotnik. When Sonic tells Coconuts one of the disadvantages of running away, one of the robots Coconuts encounters takes the bindle stick from him.
- Clueless Aesop: This episode's "Sonic Says" segment has Sonic talking about how bad an idea running away from home is. This one is fine in itself, but he was telling it to Coconuts, whose "parent" is Dr. Robotnik.
- Like with the "Sonic Says" in "Super Special Sonic Search and Smash Squad", the writers were possibly aware of the
Unfortunate Implications, as later episodes have Sonic encourage robots that defect from Robotnik (most notably "Robotnik Jr.").
- Like with the "Sonic Says" in "Super Special Sonic Search and Smash Squad", the writers were possibly aware of the
- Cranial Eruption: In Sonic's flashback, this happens to both Sonic and baby Tails when the latter falls headfirst on the former.
- Crash-Into Hello: How Sonic and baby Tails meet in their flashback.
- Denied Food as Punishment: After being taken in, the fox couple take away Tails' food and toys as they reveal their true colors to him.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: The second family is that of Sergeant Doberman, who treats Sonic and Tails like new recruits. Sonic and Tails quickly retreat.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": Tails' reminds Sonic in this episode that he doesn't like his real name and prefers his nickname. Sonic later blackmails him with this only to get him out of harm's way.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: After trying to help Tails find a family closer to his own, Sonic comes to accept that Tails is already his family.Sonic: Sorry for all the trouble, squirt. I was just trying to find you a real family.Tails: I've got a real family. I've got the best!Sonic: Oh yeah, where?Tails: A family is just people who care about each other more than anyone else, right?Sonic: (gasps) Right...Tails: You're it! You're my mom, you're my dad and you're my picket fence! (attempts to hug Sonic)Sonic: Woah! You're not gonna use the "L" word, are you?!Tails: (thoroughly embarrassed) Well...Sonic: (grabs Tails from behind and spins him over his head) Then I will, because it's a great word. I love you, little bro! Now I've got something even more important to say: "Noogie time"!Tails: (laughing) It's good to be home!
- Early-Bird Cameo: Sergeant Doberman makes his first appearance here before being formally introduced in "Attack on Pinball Fortress". Sonic says that he is retired in this episode, but he is in active duty in his next appearance.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Sonic tries to find Tails a home (due to Sonic's concern for Tails well-being after the latter gets injured as a result of Scratch and Grounder) and he eventually finds Tails real parents... or so he thinks as right after Sonic leaves Tails, its revealed to be a trap set by Robotnik. Meanwhile Sonic gets depressed over Tails being gone and has a flashback to when they first met and Sonic gave him the nickname Tails due to him hating his real name-Miles, and then after remembering Tails "father" saying "Tails belongs with his own kind" he then realizes that if those were actually Tails real parents, that they would've called him by his actual name Miles, not the nickname Sonic gave him (since they'd have no way of knowing it) and Sonic then immediately springs into action to save Tails from his fake parents and Robotnik.Sonic: Wait a sec! If those were his real parents they'd have called him Miles, not the name I gave him. Something smells and I bathed this morning.
- Eye Scream: Tails knocks over Robotnik while escaping from the fake fox family's house. Robotnik fixes an eye injury by pulling a brick out of his eye socket.
- The Face of the Sun: A somewhat bipolar version of this appears during Sonic's Growing Muscles Sequence. It rises and smiles after Sonic says he did the right thing, then frowns alongside Sonic when the latter feels guilty about his decision.
- Family of Choice: Sonic tries to find Tails a "real" family to care for him and protect him but as it turns out, Tails prefers Sonic as his family.
- Fantastic Racism:
- Because he can fly using his dual tails, Tails attempts to become adopted by a nest of birds. Unfortunately, the birds don't see fit to him as he's a fox and discard him from their tree.
- The adoptive "fox family" tells Sonic that Tails' is better off left with "his own kind".
- Grammar Correction Gag: After disguising himself as a mailman, Sonic criticizes the contents of Robotnik's ransom note. Including pointing out Robotnik spelt "Kidnapped with a C" (Cidnapped). Robotnik however explains that's how it will be spelled once he's fully taken over Mobius.
- Growing Muscles Sequence: Sonic briefly has one when he says that he did the right thing by reuniting Tails with his parents. He then feels guilty about his decision and melts into a puddle.
- Happily Adopted:
- Played Straight. Tails with his buddy Sonic, both in the flashbacks of how they met, and in the present.
- Averted with the fox parents, as they turned out to be not just cruel but also really robots in disguise working for Robotnik.
- Harmless Liquefaction: Sonic briefly gets muscular while he's trying to tell himself that giving Tails to his "real" family was the right thing to do. He then melts and slides down a rock.
- Impact Silhouette: Tails leaves a Tails-shaped hole in the wall when he flies away after Sonic threatens to tell everyone his real name is "Miles".
- I Never Told You My Name: The adoptive fox couple called Tails' by his nickname rather than his birth name, cluing Sonic in on their true villainous nature.
- Lamarck Was Right: Subverted, the couple who claim to be Tails’ parents have two tails themselves. They turn out to be imposters working for Robotnik, and while Tails’ biological family never actually appear, it is implied that they abandoned Tails specifically because of his twin tails, suggesting they don’t have this trait.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: When Robotnik decides to give himself a promotion, the word "Promotion" appears on the screen. Robotnik then wipes the letters off, and turns them into a medal.
- Lethally Stupid: The first family is a pair of clumsy Storks who flood their own house and set it on fire. Tails says he would be safer living with Robotnik.
- Narcissist: After Robotnik succeeds in capturing Tails,
he gives himself a prrrromotion! - Ocular Gushers: In Sonic's flashback, the infant version of Tails cries this way, and Sonic slips on his tears and crashes into some debris.
- Oh, Crap!: Tails', when he realizes his "real parents" are robot impostors and Sonic's already left.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Tails' gets his nickname from his genetic defect of twin fox tails and thus prefers said nickname over his real name.
- Out-of-Character Alert: The fox couple who adopt Tails call him by his nickname rather than his real name. Sure enough, they turn out to be robotic impostors who kidnap him for Dr. Robotnik.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: After Sonic finds out the truth about Tails' "parents", he disguises himself as a mailman to rescue Tails. His disguise consists of him wearing nothing more than a hat and a bag of mail, but Robotnik, Scratch, and Grounder all fall for it, the latter two continuing to do so after Sonic exposes his disguise.
- It's also pretty easy to tell that Tails' "parents" are wearing disguises.
- Parental Abandonment: It's implied Tails was disowned because of his two tail defect.
- Promotion to Parent: The young Tails already considers his teenage buddy Sonic to be his adoptive family after being rescued from many disastrously attempts at finding a new home.
- Real Men Hate Affection: Sonic doesn't want to hear Tails say the "L" word (love). Only to change his mind and tell his buddy that he loves him and that he is Tails' family and gives him an affectionate noogie.
- Single Tear: Tails shows one while saying goodbye to Sonic.
- Something Only They Would Say: Sonic snaps out of the flashback and realizes that if those were really Tails' parents they would have called him 'Miles', not his nickname.
- Squashed Flat: Happens to Robotnik, Scratch, and Grounder after Sonic tricks Grounder into flattening themselves with the Ceiling-Squasher Sonic-Smasher/Cruncher.
- Take That!: Sonic barfing after eating airline food and complaining about the lack of in-flight movie.
- Testing Range Mishap: Played for Laughs. While trying to find a foster parent for Tails, Sonic takes him to the remote home of Sergeant Doberman. Doberman spontaneously makes Sonic and Tails do exercises, but is interrupted by an explosion near them. He nonchalantly explains that his wife is doing target practice at the artillery range... without glasses."Hmm... probably shoulda waited till she got her new glasses."
- The Trap Parents: Tails is adopted by a loving fox family who later turn out to be robots created by Dr. Robotnik to capture him. Sonic figured out something was wrong when he realised they called him Tails, the nickname Sonic gave him, instead of his real name, "Miles".
- Vomit Discretion Shot: Parodied. When Sonic has to spit out the airline food he's eating, he pulls down a curtain from the top of the screen to do so.
- Wham Line: After Sonic drops Tails off with his new adoptive fox family and sadly reminisces, he remembers:Fox father: Tails should be with his own kind...
