Christmas Is Canceled
Thanks to a calendar error, Big City almost misses Christmas.
Tropes:
- Absurd Phobia: Cupcake is scared of Santa Claus. It turns out it’s because Santa once accidentally tried to eat him (thinking Cupcake was a delicious treat left out for him) when he was little.
- Big "NO!": Dino does one when he thinks they’ve missed Santa Claus, but then stops when he realizes it’s not even December yet. However, when it’s revealed that Mayor Vicky has been telling everyone it’s “November 55th”, it turns out he was right to panic as it really is Christmas Day.
- Binocular Shot: Seen when Peetree is spying on Mayor Vicky, Cupcake, and Dino in order to try to stop them from delivering all the gifts in time.
- Blah, Blah, Blah: Peetree does this when he’s mocking Cupcake and Dino for not being able to help Vicky in time.Peetree: Yeah, so sorry Vicky! Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah and all that stuff. Now somebody put a sash on me or something.
- Christmas Episode: When Santa skips over Big City, it’s up to Cupcake and Dino to save Christmas.
- Crowd Chant: The residents of Big City chant Peetree’s name as he’s getting ready to take Vicky’s position as mayor.Peetree: Follow me, easily-riled-up people!
- Cucumber Facial: Santa is relaxing in a hot tub with cucumbers over his eyes when Cupcake bursts in asking for his help.
- Face Your Fears: Cupcake faces his fear of Santa Claus in order to help his friends.
- Failed Attempt at Drama: Right after Cupcake resolves to push past his fear of Santa to help Mayor Vicky “right here, right now”, he embarrassingly slips back into the dumpster he was hiding in.Cupcake: Or as soon as I get out of this garbage heap. Couple minutes, tops.
- Garbage Hideout: Cupcake jumps into a dumpster to hide when he sees Santa’s sleigh.
- Gasp!: The crowd does this when Lucy announces that she saw Santa pass over Big City the night before without delivering any presents.
- How Can Santa Deliver All Those Toys?: With 100,000 presents left to deliver and only two minutes left before midnight, it looks like Mayor Vicky and Dino aren’t going to make it. Then Santa steps in and delivers all the gifts with his badass magical powers in just seconds. He even does a Three-Point Landing when he’s done.
- Hyperventilation Bag: The mere thought of helping Santa makes Cupcake hyperventilate into a paper bag.
- Long List: Santa’s list of gifts for Big City.
- Medium-Shift Gag:
- Cupcake’s Flashback to explain why he’s afraid of Santa starts with a live-action image of a house. It then returns to animation when the scene moves to the inside of the house.
- When Cupcake and Dino are passing out presents, the scene cuts to a live-action human girl happily catching one.
- Mouth Cam: We see from inside Santa’s mouth when he accidentally tries to eat Cupcake.
- Nested Story Reveal: At the end, it’s revealed that the whole plot was just a Christmas story being read to the audience by Hugo.
- Pals with Jesus: Mayor Vicky has Santa on speed dial.
- Pass the Popcorn: Peetree pulls out a bag of popcorn when he’s getting ready to listen in on Cupcake telling Mayor Vicky why he’s so scared of Santa. He then holds the bag with both hands and pecks at the kernels with his beak.
- Punctuated! For! Emphasis!:Mayor Vicky: Let him go. We! Have! Christmas! To save!
- Race Against the Clock: Cupcake and Dino have to deliver presents to all the residents of Big City before midnight on Christmas or else Vicky will be replaced as mayor.
- Saving Christmas: Mayor Vicky hires Cupcake and Dino to help her save Christmas after her calendar mishap causes the whole city to forget to decorate and be skipped by Santa.
- Skewed Priorities: Dino says the worst part about Cupcake’s story about almost getting eaten by Santa was that they never got the taco thrower toys they wanted. Cupcake’s Death Glare makes him take it back though.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: While Big City is decorating for Christmas, a discordant, minor-key version of “Joy to the World” plays in the background as Cupcake hyperventilates out of fear.
- Subbing for Santa: Vicky, Cupcake, and Dino have to deliver Big City's gifts because Santa is too wiped out from Christmas to do so.
- Trauma Button: Whenever someone says “Santa”, Cupcake goes running off to hide.
Ice Station Dino
Cup and Dino have to box up toothpicks...but after they build a little snow fort.
Tropes:
- Backing Away Slowly: Dino making strange doorbell noises causes a little cactus character who was walking up the snow fort’s stairs to pause and then start walking slowly backwards back down.
- Berserk Button: Peetree learns the hard way why you should never call Cupcake “cute”.
- Binocular Shot: We see through Dino’s binoculars when he’s spying on Peetree and his Yes Hens making a “poultry pile”.
- Coincidental Broadcast: Cupcake and Dino are trying to stay focused on their latest job, when the radio turns on and distracts them.Dino: Hunker down, focus, try super hard not to lose our minds, and avoid all distractions!Radio Announcer: We interrupt this program with a tempting and juicy distraction.
- Comical Overreacting: Peetree and his Yes Hens react with complete shock when Dino tells him to “go fly a kite”.
- Facepalm: Cupcake does one when Dino starts an all-out snowball war with Peetree.
- Gagging on Your Words: It’s almost physically impossible for Cupcake to say that Peetree’s right and it clearly pains him to do so.
- Peetree also struggles with admitting that he lost.
- Good-Times Montage: One of Cupcake and Dino playing in the snow.
- Hey, You!: How Peetree addresses Cupcake and Dino.Peetree: You there, kids I don’t care about!
- Human Snowball: Cupcake and Dino push a giant snowball off the wall of the snow fort which lands on and picks up several Yes Hens as it rolls away.
- Instant Ice: Just Add Cold!: While they’re playing outside, Dino makes Cupcake’s water gun explode back on him. The cold water causes his frosting head to freeze and it slides off his body before shattering into pieces on the ground.
- The same thing happens to Peetree’s “poultry pile” later in the episode.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Dino’s reaction when he realizes he’s abandoned his job and his brother for a giant snow fort that’s now being melted by hot chocolate.
- Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: The ice doorbell Cupcake puts on their giant snow fort obviously doesn’t work, so Dino has to make the “ding dong” sound himself.Dino: I like it. It allows me to play with my vocal range.
- Snowball Fight: In order to keep from being evicted from his snow fort (and to keep shirking his responsibilities), Dino starts a massive snowball fight with Peetree.
- They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!:Cupcake: Good to have you back, Corporal Dino.Dino: Aw, thanks Cup...it’s Commander, but whatever.
- Trojan Horse: After he surrenders, Peetree gives Dino’s team a peace offering of a barrel of hot chocolate, which he blows up to melt Dino’s snow castle.
- White Flag: Peetree waves one when he loses the snow battle to Dino. However, this ends up being a trick to lure him into a false sense of security.
- Wingding Eyes: Dino’s pupils turn into snowflakes when he hears on the radio that Big City is covered in snow.
- The Worm That Walks: Peetree and the Yes Hens link themselves together to form a “poultry pile”, which is essentially a chicken-shaped Humongous Mecha made out of chickens.
