Once Upon a Time

This article is about theRescue Botsepisode. For the Marvel issue, seeOnce upon a Time...

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Into the woods/Without delay/But careful not/To lose the way
"Once Upon a Time"
Season	4
No. in season	19
Production company	Hasbro Studios
Airdate	July 27,2016(UK) September 3,2016 (US)
Writer	Gregory Bonsignore
Director	Kevin Altieri
Animation studio	DHX Media Top Draw Animation
Watch this episode on YouTube

The Rescue Team is drawn into the woods to solve the mystery of what's making the Griffin Spruces fall.

Contents 1Synopsis 2Featured characters 3Quotes 4Notes 4.1Continuity notes 4.2Transformers references 4.3Real-world references 4.4Animation and technical errors 4.5Trivia 4.6Foreign localization

Synopsis

Chief,Cody,Chase,andBoulderwalk through the woods, discussing the old riddle of the tree falling and whether it makes a sound. They're actually there to findwhythe trees have been falling down, though Boulder's attention is caught by some strange flowers. They hear the sound of a chainsaw and findMilosawing at a tree, but as it turns out, he's just carving sculptures out of already-fallen trees. Cody spots more of the flowers, but as he goes to pick them, a tree starts to fall. Luckily Boulder manages to catch it before it flattens the boy. They take samples of both tree bark and the flowers back to thefirehouse.

Grahamsets about trying to identify the flower, whileKadeattempts to write a story as part of his application for a web seminar, though he isn't having much luck. Graham comes up blank on the flower, but Cody finds it inGriffin Rock Tales and Legends,a book which identifies the species as the "Northern Red Fairy Bell", which is supposedly used byfairies.Bladesasks if this is a real thing, but the others tell him it's merely a fable. Chase relates a Cybertronian fable which ends with the characters being eaten by giant space monsters — as it turns out most Cybertronian fables end that way. Dani gets a call fromTaylorwho has accidentally locked himself in the old reservoir tower, and heads off with Blades to help. Meanwhile Graham has determined that the trees are falling over because they're being killed by disease. While they're discussing going to take a look, Cody gets a call fromFrankiewho invites him to help make a delivery toMrs. Neederlander.As it's dangerous for Cody to go alone,Heatwaveand Kade are volunteered to go too.

The three groups head into the woods, but Frankie's group find Mrs. Neederlander's cabin deserted. They find animal tracks leading away as well as footprints, and start following. They soon find more of the Fairy Bells, and then realize they've lost their way. Frankie reveals she's been making a trail of crackers, however the birds have been eating them. Meanwhile Blades discovers things are rocky between Dani and Taylor. They find Taylor himself, though Dani refuses to talk to him, and Blades helps him down from the tower. When Taylor says he wanted to take some pictures before leaving the island, Dani does not react well. Chief, Chase, Boulder and Graham aren't having luck finding the fallen trees, and Boulder theorizes that fairies are behind it. They find themselves swiftly getting lost.

Frankie's group hear cat noises and head into a cave where they find Mrs. Neederlander andMister Pettypaws.As they go to leave the cave, trees fall and block the entrance, but Heatwave uses his dino mode to clear a path. Dani's group also realize they're lost. Taylor starts taking photos, but when he tries to take a group shot, a bird flies off with his camera. He goes after it, and Dani and Blades are surprised when a short time later the camera soon returns around the neck of a frog which leads Blades to believe Taylor has been turned into the frog by the fairies. As he's securing the frog in his canopy, a swarm of bats appears and he runs off in alarm.

Chief's group reaches a fork in the road, but while they're trying to decide which way to go, Blades runs through pursued by the bats. Dani arrives a short time later, and at a cry from Blades, they find him standing in the grove full of felled trees. He points out the sparkling webs which he believes are fairies. Frankie's group also arrives, and Mrs. Neederlander identifies the sparkles as "fairy dust". The ground suddenly starts to quake and gives way underneath the group, forming a hole which trees then fall on. When Blades drops his frog so he can join Heatwave in assisting Boulder, it hops away shortly before Taylor himself arrives. Mrs. Neederlander insists all their problems are down to fairies. Once everyone's out of the hole, Taylor reveals he's not actually leaving the island and arranges a date with Dani that night. Graham takes a closer look at the webs and identifies them as spider mite webs, which it turns out are spreading the disease, but Frankie's sure her dad has a treatment that can fix it. The path out of the woods finally reappears and as they head out, Taylor looks through the photos he took, and he and Dani notice what appears to be a fairy in the background of a shot.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Cut to the chase!"
"How am I involved?!"

—DaniandChase

"This reminds me of the Cybertronian story where these two bots-"
"Just the ending please."
"Eaten by a giant space monster."
"Again?!"

—BladesandDani

"You know, that's the third time we've passed this tree."
"Impossible! A Rescue Bot's sense of direction is infallible."[walks into tree]"usually."

—GrahamandChase

"Hmh! Showoff!"

—Mrs. Neederlanderis not easily impressed.

"Fairies are as real as aliens from outer space."
"She's kinda got you there."

—Mrs. NeederlanderandFrankie

Notes

Continuity notes

• (tbd)

Transformers references

• (tbd)

Real-world references

• There are numerous references to fairy tales:
  • Cody namesLittle Red Riding Hood,Rapunzel,andHansel and Gretelas examples of fairy tales.
  • In an obvious nod toLittle Red Riding Hood,Frankie sports a red hoodie while carrying a basket on a hike to Mrs. Neederlander's cabin in the woods.
  • Kade makes reference toGoldilocks and the Three Bearsas he tests Mrs. Neederlander's oatmeal.
  • The idea of a wolf visiting Mrs. Neederlander is probably also fromRed Riding Hood.
  • Frankie leaving a trail of crackers is a reference toHansel and Gretel.
  • Taylor stuck in the tower is a reference toRapunzel.
  • The idea of Taylor being turned into a frog and requiring a kiss to turn back is fromThe Frog Prince.

Animation and technical errors

• (tbd)

Trivia

• Apparently most Cybertronian fairy tales end with someone getting eaten by a giant space monster.

Foreign localization

French

• Title:"Il était une fois..."(" Once upon a time... ")
• Original airdate:?

Italian

• Title:"C'era una volta"(" Once upon a time ")
• Original airdate:5 October2017