The fifty-second episode of the first season of Dennis the Menace (1986).
Animalympics
The kids have entered their dogs in a special show showcasing their talents. Most have won in various events, except Ruff, Dennis' dog. In one event, chaos ensues when the dogs chase a squirrel away from the park, pulling their owners along on skates. They reach the Wilsons' backyard, ruining their relaxing day and pulling down their laundry line. However, this is fortunate for Ruff as he wins the costume contest when he's seen in Mrs. Wilson's dress.
No Bones About It
Alice drops Dennis and Joey off at the museum, but Ruff manages to sneak in even though dogs aren't allowed. Trouble ensues when Ruff is spotted and the boys flee with him through the various exhibits to avoid the guards. They then witness the theft of a rare jewel and pursue the crooks, eventually capturing them in the dinosaur exhibit. Ruff is awarded a medal for his heroism and get a bonus of bones to bury. However, Dennis has to keep him from burying them in Mr. Wilson's rose garden.
Dennis Takes the Cake
Dennis visits the Wilsons with a trumpet he received from his grandfather. Mr. Wilson, annoyed by the noise, offers him a rare coin as a trade. Afterward, Dennis and his mother take a tour of Grandma Quigley's bakery to see how pastries are made. Dennis drops his coin and goes after it, causing a huge mess in the factory. Grandma Quigley (actually a man) is unprepared due to the surprise visit by a health inspector, who cites him for unsanitary conditions. Dennis returns to the Wilsons' saddened of having lost the coin. But when Mr. Wilson takes a bite into a pastry Alice was forced to buy, the coin turns up, cracking his tooth. Dennis then takes his trumpet back since Mr. Wilson won't be able to play it.
"Animalympics" provides examples of:
- Animal Jingoism: During the roller race, the dogs chase a cat named Goober, who chases a mouse named Rover.
- Dog Walks You: There's an event centered around this in the dog show. Each dog must run around a tree while their owner holding the leash follows behind them on roller skates, with the first dog to make it to the finish line winning the trophy. Ruff and the other dogs chase Goober, a cat chasing a mouse named Rover off course and through Mr. Wilson's backyard, pulling their owners along with them.
- Doomed Supermarket Display: In the roller race, the dogs pull their owners towards a market and knock over a pyramid of cans.
- Hollywood Tone-Deaf: Margaret sings a very off-key rendition of "I Was Strolling Through the Park One Day", and her pet poodle, Foo-Foo, howls along. When Foo-Foo wins the singing event, Dennis tells Margaret, "Make sure they know which one of you is Foo-Foo!"
- Pet Contest Episode: Dennis and his friends enter their dogs in a dog show in this episode.
- Pet Dress-Up: The last event in the dog show is the costume contest, where the best dressed dog will win the trophy. Ruff wins this event when he wears one of Mrs. Wilson's dresses.
- Rule of Three: Before Ruff wins the costume contest, three of the other dogs win the other events. Joey's dog, Moose, wins the toss and fetch, Jay's dog wins the roll over and play dead event, and Margaret's poodle, Foo-Foo, wins the singing event.
"No Bones About It" provides examples of:
- Closest Thing We Got: As Ruff makes off with the last brontosaurus bone, the professor subsitutes it with a beef bone, hoping no one will know the difference.
- Comically Missing the Point: While on the run from the museum guard and disguised as eskimos with Ruff as a sled dog, Dennis tells Ruff, "Mush, Ruff, mush!". Joey then says, "I hate mush."
- Dinosaur Doggie Bone: Ruff sneaks into the museum to get a bone from a dinosaur skeleton, with the museum's guards trying unsuccessfully to get him out. At the end of the episode, Ruff stops a pair of jewel thieves and is rewarded with the skeleton.
- Disproportionate Reward: Ruff is rewarded with the brontosaurus skeleton for stopping the jewel thieves.
- Kid Hero: Dennis and Joey stop a pair of thieves when they try to steal a jewel.
- Handbag of Hurt: When one of the museum's workers asks a pair of elderly ladies if they're enjoying themselves at the museum just after they've been ambused by Dennis, Ruff, and Joey, one of them hits the worker with her purse.
- Hates Baths: Ruff freaks out when he overhears Alice telling Dennis and Joey that she's going to take him for his monthly shampoo.
- Nobody Here but Us Statues: Used twice in this episode:
- In order to get into the museum, Ruff poses as a Siberian Prairie Wolf statue so the museum's workers will bring him in. His cover is blown when Mrs. Tompkins, an elderly lady touches him, having mistaken him for a Norwegian Elk Hound.
- Later in the episode, Dennis and Joey pose as eskimos and Ruff poses as a sled dog to avoid being detected by the museum guards. Their cover is blown when a worker brings in a statue of a cat, which Ruff chases.
- Priceless Ming Vase: Several get knocked off their stands when Dennis, Joey, the professor, and the museum guard chases Ruff. Fortunately, the professor catches the vases before they hit the ground and shatter.
- Replaced with Replica: When Mrs. Tompkins leaves a rare gem unguarded, a pair of jewel thieves take it and swap it out with a replica.
- Tempting Fate:
- When Joey tells Dennis that he's afraid of the brontosaurus skeleton, Dennis tells him not to worry, as there aren't any live animals in the museum. Just then, they overhear Ruff barking.
- After the professor finishes building the brontosaurus skeleton, he says, "Finished! Now I'll never have to see that dog or those annoying youngsters again!". When Dennis, Joey, and Ruff head towards the skeleton, the professor says, "I had to open my big mouth!"
- Totem Pole Trench: Dennis and Joey hide in a suit of knight's armor to avoid being detected by the museum's guards, with Dennis on top and Joey on the bottom. They later use the suit of armor to stop a pair of jewel thieves.
"Dennis Takes the Cake" provides examples of:
- Contrived Coincidence: Dennis loses the rare coin Mr. Wilson gave him, but Mr. Wilson ends up finding it in the pastry Alice was forced to buy when he takes a bite out of it.
- Gender-Blender Name: Grandma Quigley is actually a man.
- The Inspector Is Coming: After Dennis leaves, the health inspector gives Grandma Quigley a surprise inspection of his factory. Thanks to Dennis' antics, Grandma Quigley ends up failing the inspection.
- What the Hell, Hero?: When Mr. Wilson convinces Dennis to trade his trumpet for a rare coin, Mrs. Wilson calls him out for this, saying he should be ashamed of himself.
- Would Hurt a Child: When Dennis falls into a vat of cake batter looking for his rare coin, Alice is horrified, telling Grandma Quigley that Dennis is about to be whipped. Upon hearing this, Grandma Quigley tells her, "He deserves to be!"
- Yank the Dog's Chain: This episode ends with Mr. Wilson breaking his teeth when he finds the rare coin he gave Dennis in the pastry Alice was forced to buy. When he tells this to Dennis, Dennis tells him that now he can't play his trumpet, so he takes it back, and when he plays it, crystals from Mr. Wilson's chandelier fall on Mr. Wilson.
