An old rival of Tiger Lily's father, the Conjurer, tricks Rupert into placing Tiger Lily in an enchanted sleep. The only cure is to fan the victim with a tail feather from a Single Specimen Species of bird called the Dove of Dawn, which lives in the Bird Kingdom. Rupert convinces the Professor’s assistant Bodkin to fly him there, but getting the Bird King’s cooperation won’t be easy.
First appearance of the Bird King and the series’ only appearances of the Conjurer and the Professor’s assistant.
This episode provides examples of:
- Actionized Adaptation: Rupert and the Bird King have met before this adventure in the comics, so, while there is some tension over Rupert and the Sage showing up in the latter’s flying Brella, they’re not put in prison, and there are no battles in the original story.
- Adaptational Karma: In the comic strip story, Rupert wonders at the end what’s going to happen to Tung-tai. The Conjurer and Sage assure him the magician community won’t let him get away with it, and it’s left at that; we never see him punished. In the episode, Tung-lai returns at the end, outraged that his plan failed, loses a magic duel to the Conjurer, and gets turned into a bird.
- Adaptational Late Appearance: In the comic strip, Rupert and the Bird King already knew each other before this adventure, and since the show usually doesn’t bother with showing Rupert meeting his exotic friends, it could have left this unchanged with no plot hole. Instead, the show explicitly makes this their first meeting.
- Adaptation Name Change: Tung-lai’s name is Tung-tai in the original comic strip.
- Adaptation Species Change: The Professor’s assistant is a dwarf in the comic strip. Super-Strength aside, here, he’s, by all appearances, a human.
- Adapted Out: In the comic strip version of the story, the Sage of Um was the one who took Rupert to the Bird Kingdom. He makes no appearance in the episode.
- Arch-Enemy: Tung-lai for the Conjurer.
- Artifact of Doom: The Twilight Fan.
- Ascended Extra: The Professor’s assistant made more appearances in the comic strip than he did on the show, but this adventure was not one of them.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: The Bird King realizes he can trust Rupert when the latter pushes him out of the way of the runaway plane.
- Berserk Button: “You come to the Bird Kingdom in a FLYING MACHINE?!” Birds take wingless creatures cheating the laws of nature by inventing things that allow them to fly like birds as a personal insult.
- Birdcaged: What other kind of prison would you expect birds to use?
- Bright Is Not Good: The titular fan is painted in brightly colored, beautiful patterns. Even Tiger Lily comments on it.
- Captain Crash: Bodkin.
- Closest Thing We Got: Rupert was hoping for the Professor’s help getting to the Bird Kingdom, but he’s unavailable so he has to settle for his assistant, a professional Captain Crash.
- Crystal Ball: Tung-lai uses one of these instead of a Magic Wand like the Conjurer.
- Damsel in Distress: Tiger Lily (not through any fault of her own).
- Exact Words: The spell of the Twilight Fan can only be broken by fanning the victim with the tail feather of the Dove of Dawn. Fortunately, there’s no rule saying the feather must be removed from the bird at the time.
- Forced Sleep: The effect of the Twilight Fan.
- Forced Transformation: The episode ends with the Conjurer turning Tung-lai into a bird with no sign he plans to let him out of that cage anytime soon (given what the guy just did to his daughter, you can’t really blame him).
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Bodkin’s polishing the plane when Rupert first arrives. For a second, he’s seen supporting the nose of the plane with one hand before letting it drop, foreshadowing his Super-Strength.
- Heel–Face Turn: This is the only episode where the Bird King acts as an antagonist. He and Rupert are friends by the third act.
- Horrible Judge of Character: This is the worst trouble Rupert’s Wide-Eyed Idealism ever gets him in. He instantly believes a stranger’s claims about wanting to patch up a quarrel with an old friend and sees nothing wrong with giving Tiger Lily his “gift” without showing it to her father first.
- Hypocrites: The birds insist that only birds have the right to fly. As the penguins demonstrate, not all birds can fly. Is it wrong for such birds to want to fly? If not, why not all creatures?
- It's All My Fault: Rupert blames himself for being fooled by Tung-lai.
- Named by the Adaptation: The Professor’s assistant in the comic strip has no name; he’s usually referred to as “the little man.”
- No, You: During their duel, Tung-lai calls the Conjurer, “Fool!” The Conjurer tells him, “It is you who are fool, Tung-lai!” right before he defeats him.
- Obligatory Joke:Bird King: (to his guards) You... bird brains!
- Painting the Frost on Windows: The Dove of Dawn brings about the sunrise each morning. It’s interesting that the Bird King never brings this up when explaining to Rupert he can’t take away her ability to fly — his sole concern is for the bird herself. The Dove herself, however, is perfectly willing to give up this ability when she thinks it’s the only way to save Tiger Lily.
- Papa Wolf: Tung-lai really should have thought twice about picking a fight with the wizard whose daughter he just practically tried to kill.
- Recurring Extra: The bird janitor who’s constantly cleaning up the messes the adventure leaves around the castle.
- Redemption Quest: Rupert’s willing to do whatever it takes to save Tiger Lily since he sees it as his fault she’s under the spell.
- Revenge by Proxy: Tung-lai attempts to get revenge on his old rival by going after the man’s daughter.
- Sadistic Choice: It seems like Rupert will have to do this — either he lets Tiger Lily sleep forever, or he dooms the Dove of Dawn to a life without flying ever again. Fortunately, he realizes they have a third option.
- Super-Strength: Bodkin is able to rip the metal bars off their cage with ease. (No explanation, but there are far weirder things in this world that have no explanation.)
- Unwitting Pawn: The only time in the series when the villain manages to use Rupert this way.
- We Need a Distraction: Bodkin lures the guards away so Rupert can talk to the Bird King alone.
- You Meddling Kids:Tung-lai: Why, you meddling little bear!
