The tenth episode of the second season of Rugrats (1991).
Reptar On Ice
The babies and their parents go to a Reptar ice show, where Tommy tries to return Reptar's "son" (a lizard Tommy found in the backyard) to him.
Family Feud
The Pickles and the DeVilles get into a feud with each other, and the babies' attempts to end the feud end up making things worse.
"Reptar On Ice" provides examples of:
- Adults Are Useless: At the ice show, Stu and Didi are almost comatose from boredom, while Lou is enraptured, so they don't notice the kids are gone until after Chuckie interrupts the big kiss between Reptar and the female reporter.
- An Aesop: Watch over your kids and don’t let them wander off in authorized areas.
- Blame Game: After Didi brings the babies in from outside, she asks Stu and Lou which one of them left the back door open so the babies could get out. Stu and Lou both point at each other.
- Chocolate-Frosted Sugar Bombs: Stu reads the ingredients for Reptar Cereal on the side of the box (including re-hydrogenated cardboard bits) and remarks, "Hey Deed, there's no actual food in here!". Didi tells him that Angelica (who's staying over) won't eat anything else.
- Comically Missing the Point: When the adults realize the babies are out on the ice, Didi wonders what they're doing out there. Lou, looking over the show transcript, comments "It's not in the program, that's for sure!"
- Expressive Mask: The Reptar suit used in the ice show is ultra-realistic; The zipper in the front disappears when the suit is fully zipped, and Reptar's mouth actually moves perfectly with the man in the suit's voice, along with the eyes blinking and showing expression.
- Hero Stage Show: Reptar On Ice, obviously.
- Historical Longevity Joke:Lou: In my day, dinosaurs didn't skate around with a bunch of ninnies in costumes.
Stu: (to Didi) In his day, the dinosaurs were real.
Lou: I heard that! - I Do Not Like Green Eggs and Ham: When the adults and babies go to the show, Lou was vehemently opposed to going (he wanted to go bowling). Once the show began, however, he was enthralled, and by the end, could only offer up this stunned observation:"Brilliance... sheer brilliance."
- Improv: An in-universe example; when the babies interrupt the show's climax, Reptar improvises a song about the kids being on the ice...Hey, look! It's some kids, on the ice!What's a dinosaur to do, when there's kids on the ice?Quick! Somebody call their MOM!!!
- Interspecies Romance: Show Within a Show example; in the ice show, Reptar has a romance with a female reporter.
- Irony: Leo, the guy cast to play Reptar, is perhaps the least qualified person to be playing him, with him even wondering why he took the job; he can't skate, hates kids and has a fear of lizards.Leo: And that goes for your amphibians too!
- Little Stowaway: See Squirrels in My Pants below.
- Malaproper: Angelica pronounces fossil as "tonsil" when she tells Stu and Didi that dinosaurs are extinct. This leads to a depressed Tommy telling his friends that Reptar turned into a tonsil.
- Manly Tears: Although Stu and Didi are bored by the show, Lou is clearly moved to tears by the romance between Reptar and the reporter.
- Musical Episode: The B-plot of involves the actual show and people's reactions to it. The A-plot focuses on the babies' adventure.
- No Name Given: The female reporter Love Interest of Reptar's never gets a name, and neither does the actress playing her.
- Noodle Incident: Where Stu put the tickets for the ice show. After finding them, Didi is heard asking why he put the tickets there of all places. Stu remarks it seemed like a good idea at the time.
- On Ice: The babies and their parents go to the Reptar on Ice show.
- People in Rubber Suits: This is how Reptar is portrayed in the ice show, complete with Expressive Mask.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: The reporter breaks character to tell Reptar he's on his own when the babies interrupt the show.Reporter: Quick! Do something!
- Squirrels in My Pants: In order to bring the lizard with them to the ice show, Tommy hides it from the adults by hiding it in his diaper. It initially causes him to make funny faces, but he gets use to it after a while. Chuckie hides the lizard at one point as well, with the same results.note Lastly, it happens at the end of the episode when the lizard climbs from Tommy's diaper and into Stu's pants.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Angelica appears at the beginning of the episode, but disappears after Tommy tells his friends that Reptar turned into a "tonsil" and doesn't join the rest of the Pickles family in seeing the show.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Leo, the guy in the Reptar costume, hates lizards and panics when Tommy shows him the one he found.Yah! Get it away from ME! (Ends up knocking the other actors over while trying to flee)
- You Just Had to Say It: Tommy believes Reptar is dead, but Chuckie believes he's just hiding. This cheers Tommy enough to have them go looking for him. Chuckie groans "I did it again."
"Family Feud" provides examples of:
- Adults Are Useless: While the Pickles and the DeVilles play this straight (as usual) with their constant arguing, Chas actually notices that the babies have gone (mostly because of said arguing) and calls the other parents out for their pettiness.
- An Aesop:
- Fighting never solves anything.
- The safety of your youth is important, no matter what.
- Never make big deals out of petty differences.
- In Stu’s case, just because someone doesn’t know what you know doesn’t make them stupid.
- In the babies’ case, pick your battles. Their every attempt to end the feud only worsens it.
- Beware the Nice Ones : Normally a neurotic Nice Guy, Chas' "The Reason You Suck" Speech to the Pickles and the DeVilles is proof that he has guts!
- Children Are Innocent: In contrast to the adults, Tommy, Phil and Lil don't understand why their parents are bickering and in fact they try to stop it.
- Delayed Reaction: Happens twice with Howard.
- First, near the beginning;Betty: Time! It's Dances with Wolves.
Howard: Oh! I never saw that movie.
Stu: You must have heard of it.
Howard: I don't really like musicals.
Stu: IT ISN'T A MUSICAL, YOU IMBECILE!!
Didi: Now, dear, it's only a game!
Stu: Well, why do I always have to get teamed up with Howard?
Howard: Now, wait a minute... Are you calling me an imbecile?!
Stu: Say, very good, Howard. And that only took you 15 seconds. - Then, near the end;Stu: I'm sorry I called you a fathead.
[After everyone made up and leave]
Howard: Wait a minute... You called me a "fathead"?!
- First, near the beginning;
- Feud Episode: The Pickles and the DeVilles get into a argument over a game of charades that lasts for the rest of the episode. Though the wives initially find their husbands' fight ridiculous until they began to criticize each other's husbands.
- From Bad to Worse: The babies' every attempt to get their parents to reconcile only makes the feud progressively worse.
- Grail in the Garbage: While attempting to call Phil and Lil, Tommy accidentally dials the number to a radio station, telling him he's the lucky fourteenth caller and will win $50k if he stays on the line. Tommy hangs up when he realizes he dialed the wrong number.
- It's All My Fault: After Chas calls them out, Howard blames himself for starting the feud (even though Didi, Stu and Betty all just as responsible). Betty quickly stops her husband, reminding him they have to find their kids.
- Irony: The babies' actions end up having the opposite effect of what they wanted. After their attempts to get their families to patch things up backfire, they finally succeed after giving up on them.
- Literal-Minded: When giving a watch to Chuckie to give to Stu and Didi, Phil and Lil think watches are called "times". Their reason? Adults look at them and say, "Look at the time!".
- Loose Lips: Stu apologizes for calling Howard a fathead, which he never directly did to him. Howard is slow to pick up on it until they're leaving the park.
- Mistaken for Thief: Tommy takes Didi's earrings to Phil and Lil to give to Betty. Phil and Lil return the favor by having Tommy give Stu Howard's watch. When Didi and Howard notice, they both accuse Betty and Stu respectively of theft.
- Mouth Cam: Used at the beginning of the episode, when Stu does a wolf imitation during a game of charades.
- Noodle Incident: When Betty finds Didi's earrings that Phil and Lil left for her on the counter, she thinks that Howard got them for her as an anniversary present. Howard tells Betty that he wouldn't forget their anniversary, at least not after what happened last year.
- No, You: Stu, towards Howard, after Didi accuses Betty of stealing Didi's earrings.Howard: Betty, a thief?! That's an absurd proposition!
Stu: YOU'RE an absurd proposition! - Only Sane Man:
- Chas is stuck in the middle of the Pickles and DeVilles' fight, and clearly sees how petty they're being. He is also the first to notice the babies missing at the park, and finally reaches his limit when the other adults just continue to argue.
- Unlike their parents, the babies themselves are still on good terms with each other and attempt to help them reconcile.
- Papa Wolf: Chas in particular ultimately gets fed up with the whole feud when he sees it's caused their kids to leave without them noticing, pointing out their resulting negligence.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: The Pickles and the DeVilles spend the entire episode hating and insulting each other with poor Chas stuck in the middle and unable to make them calm down and reconcile. Near the end, the babies wander off (as usual) and when the families do nothing about it but start fighting more, Chas finally snaps and calls them on their childish behavior, bringing them all to shame and ending the feud.Chas: LOOK AT YOU! DON'T YOU SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?! While you've been insulting each other and bringing up every petty difference from your past, you've forgotten about your children—the most important thing in your insignificant lives! YOU OUGHTA BE ASHAMED!
- The Runaway: After the babies' attempt to get their parents to stop arguing with each other only makes the argument stronger, the babies decide to run away.
- Shout-Out:
- During the charades scene, the movie Stu tries to act out is Dances with Wolves.
- Also, Betty mentions that she likes Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when Didi mocks Howard for not watching a single movie after that.
