The Mechane and Lemony Snicket's Self-Sustaining Hot Air Mobile Home

[137beth]

Here's something that randomly occurred to me yesterday.


In the climax of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Vile Village,
The protagonists are unexpectedly rescued by their friends flying in the Self-Sustaining Hot Air Mobile Home, a giant balloon-powered airship created by their good father-figure Hector. Hector and the Quagmire Triplets attempt to use the Self-Sustaining Hot Air Mobile Home to rescue the Baudelaires from a bunch of evil parent figures. The airship's arrival doesn't completely resolve the situation, as the Baudelaires still have to escape, but it does give them a chance they wouldn't have otherwise had.

The protagonists explicitly call the Mobile Home's arrival a "Deus Ex Machina," despite there being plenty of foreshadowing.

Meanwhile, in the climax of OOTS: Blood Runs in the Family, the protagonists are suddenly a balloon-powered airship. Elan says he called a good father figure (Julio) to help rescue them from an evil father figure. Many Playgrounders called the Mechane's arrival a "Deus Ex Machina," despite Elan's statement that there were a ton of hints. Others pointed out that the name "Mechane" is itself a reference to the phrase "Deus Ex Machina."

So, how many of those similarities are coincidences?

[Precure]

I don't think it's anything more than coincidence. Hot air baloons are part of the story as a Final Fantasy parody.

[brian 333]

I don't think it's anything more than coincidence. Hot air baloons are part of the story as a Final Fantasy parody.

It was portrayed as such when the Mechane was introduced. Kupo! (Thog still not get reference.)

To be honest, I expected non-trademark-infringing Chokobos, not dinosaurs, in the desert.

[KillianHawkeye]

It's still so strange to me that Final Fantasy 6 was the only one in which the airships were integrated with dirigible balloons (unless they revisited the concept in the recent games which I haven't played). They usually fluctuate between being boat-shaped helicopters and high-tech jet aircraft (or flying submarines, a couple of times). :smallconfused:

EDIT: A quick bit of Googling reveals that the book in question was published in 2001. Final Fantasy 6 released in 1994. Make of that information what you will.

[tyckspoon]

It's still so strange to me that Final Fantasy 6 was the only one in which the airships were integrated with dirigible balloons (unless they revisited the concept in the recent games which I haven't played). They usually fluctuate between being boat-shaped helicopters and high-tech jet aircraft (or flying submarines, a couple of times). :smallconfused:

EDIT: A quick bit of Googling reveals that the book in question was published in 2001. Final Fantasy 6 released in 1994. Make of that information what you will.

FF9 used the floatbag airships, quite probably as a specific reference to the FF6 designs - the game is about 80% made of references to prior Final Fantasies.

[Doctor West]

7's Highwind technically had a gasbag, though the rocket engines it sprouts in disc 4 are sharper in my memory. FF14's airships have balloons too. Not sure about 11, I didn't play it for long enough.

[KillianHawkeye]

FF9 used the floatbag airships, quite probably as a specific reference to the FF6 designs - the game is about 80% made of references to prior Final Fantasies.

Did they? I guess I don't remember. :smallsigh:


7's Highwind technically had a gasbag, though the rocket engines it sprouts in disc 4 are sharper in my memory. FF14's airships have balloons too. Not sure about 11, I didn't play it for long enough.

Yeah, I haven't played either of the MMO games because I don't play MMOs on principle. But aside from FF13 and FF13-2, I haven't played anything since FF10. Except for remakes (I just finished the FF6 pixel remaster tonight, it was glorious!).

[WanderingMist]

EDIT: A quick bit of Googling reveals that the book in question was published in 2001. Final Fantasy 6 released in 1994. Make of that information what you will.

Airships have been a staple of fiction since at least Jules Verne, far before FFVI, and in the case of A Series Of Unfortunate Events, the Verne connection is far more relevant, as that series is packed with literary references.

[KillianHawkeye]

Airships have been a staple of fiction since at least Jules Verne, far before FFVI, and in the case of A Series Of Unfortunate Events, the Verne connection is far more relevant, as that series is packed with literary references.

Yes, but the question was about the connection with OOTS, and OOTS is clearly referencing Final Fantasy 6 here, not only with the appearance of the ship but also with the costumes of the people seen when it was first introduced. I know that Final Fantasy didn't invent the idea of airships. Especially not the kind that are just glorified dirigibles, which were a real thing IRL.