The fourteenth episode of the seventh season of Rugrats (1991).
The episode begins at Susie's house one rainy day after Christmas. Alisa is talking to her friend, Jen on her new cell phone, Buster is practicing kicking his soccer ball, Edwin is working with his chemistry set, and Susie has given all of her dolls new hairstyles from her beauty salon. When Susie runs out of customers, she asks her brothers if they're interested in going to her beauty salon. Edwin tells Susie he's too busy trying to create a cure for hiccups, and Buster tells her that he needs to practice for the soccer finals. Susie then asks Alisa if she's interested, but Alisa is too wrapped up in her conversation with Jen. Susie gets upset, but Buster reminds her that Great Aunt T is coming to visit and that she could ask her, but Alisa reminds him that Aunt T is 86 years old.
Just then, Aunt T arrives, saying she hasn't seen a storm this bad since Hurricane Coco in Tahiti. Susie is frightened when she first sees Aunt T, and hides behides Lucy. Aunt T tells Lucy it's so good to see her again as she gives her a hug. The feeling is mutual for Lucy, who then asks where Great Uncle Charles is. Aunt T tells her that Uncle Charles is still in Zanzibar, as he missed the plane she was on, but he will catch the next one. Aunt T then introduces herself to her great-nieces and great-nephews, addressing Susie as "the baby of the family". Susie tells Aunt T that she's not a baby anymore, as she's three and a half years old. Aunt T tells her that at her age, everyone's a baby to her. After Aunt T gives Susie's brothers and sister a hug, she tells them that they're going to have an extra-special Kwanzaa this year. Susie and her siblings are confused by this, so Lucy admits to her aunt that they've never really celebrated Kwanzaa before (even though Edwin had done a report on it a few years ago). Aunt T tells everyone that Kwanzaa is about being together as a family, and since they're all together, they can celebrate. Lucy decides that they are going to do just that for her. Susie's siblings aren't too enthusiastic, but Susie still wants to know what Kwanaa is. Edwin tells her that Kwanzaa is a holiday invented in 1966, celebrating the first harvest celebrations of Africa. Susie is still confused, so Aunt T. simplifies it by saying that it's a time to give thanks and honor the legacy of their great people. She then sits on the couch and tries to get Buster to give her a foot massage, much to the latter's horror, but Lucy says that they should find Randy first. Aunt T asks Lucy if he's still writing for The Dummi Bears, and Lucy tells her he is.
Later that evening, Chuckie, Kimi, and Tommy arrive at Susie's house. Chuckie thanks Susie for inviting him and his friends to her Kwanzaa party as she gives him a new hairstyle. Chuckie is impressed with it, saying it makes him look like her little brother. Tommy and Kimi giggle as they chase Aunt T, who plays a bongo drum. Tommy compliments Chuckie's new hairstyle, and asks Susie if she can give him one as well. Susie, noticing how little hair Tommy has, tells him, "Maybe next year." Randy then comes in, telling Aunt T that he can't concentrate on writing his next script over her drumming. Aunt T then looks over the trophies on the mantlepiece, including one Randy got for comedy. After telling Randy she never pegged him as a funny man, she tells him that there are a lot of great people in the Carmichael family. Kimi asks Susie which of the trophies is hers, and Susie admits to her that none of them are. She then figures that she hasn't done anything great like her parents or siblings. After Aunt T gives Randy a hug, she decides to have a karamu, in other words, a big feast tonight instead of having to wait a few days. Randy declines and decides to go back to work on his script, much to Aunt T's disapproval.
Alisa, Buster, and Edwin meet up with Aunt T again, and she gives them their Kwanzaa presents, but not before educating them on Swahili vocabulary. She then gives one to Susie, and tells her to share it with her friends while she tells Lucy about tonight's karamu. Susie opens her present, only to find it is an old scrapbook. Tommy, Chuckie, and Kimi are more impressed with Susie's siblings' presents. Alisa got a feathered headband, Buster got a beaded necklace, and Edwin got a frightening mask.
In the second act, Betty and Howard arrive with Phil and Lil. Betty explains to Lucy that they ran late because Howard accidentally got his hand stuck working on a ship in a bottle. Lucy then decides to take Betty and Howard to the hospital to get the bottle removed. When Phil and Lil meet up with their friends, Lil compliments Chuckie's new hairstyle, and Phil asks what they missed. Tommy tells him about how Susie's siblings all got great Kwanzaa presents from Aunt T, and as Phil and Lil play with Alisa's headband and Buster's necklace, Susie shows the twins her scrapbook. Lil tries to spare Susie's feelings, but Phil is more blunt. Aunt T then gathers the family for the karamu, putting Buster in charge of making African peanut butter stew Alisa in charge of setting the table, and Edwin in charge of the decorations. Susie is then upset that Aunt T didn't give her a special job to do, but Alisa tells her to consider herself lucky. After looking over the trophies her parents and siblings got again, Susie comes to the conclusion that Aunt T didn't give her a special job because she isn't a great person. Tommy and Chuckie tell Susie that's she's one of the greatest people they know, but Susie points out to them that she doesn't have a trophy. Tommy decides that he and his friends can make her a trophy, but Susie tells him that trophies can't be made; they have to be won for doing something important. Lil asks Susie what things her family does, and Susie tells her that Alisa is president of her class. Tommy tells Susie that she'd make a great president, but Phil asks what a president does. Susie tells him that presidents make speeches and smile when they get their picture taken.
Susie tries to be a president by giving a speech about her summer vacation into an ear of corn as Lil takes a picture of her. Her speech is cut short when Alisa takes the corn away from her. Next, Susie tries to make a potion like Edwin, but just ends up making a big mess. Then she tries to play soccer like Buster, but ends up kicking his soccer ball into a hook and deflating it. Susie, thinking she isn't good at anything, decides to give up, but Tommy tells her that maybe she should try something special of her own, rather than try to be like her siblings. Susie asks him what, and Chuckie tells her that she's good at making stuff. Realizing Chuckie is right, Susie decides to make a Kwanzaa gift for Aunt T.
Susie tries to make a statue of her head out of modelling clay, telling her friends that Edwin has one on the piano, which he calls a bust. Unfortunately, Susie's pottery wheel spins out of control, throwing clay everywhere, and resulting in Susie's bust being, as Phil would put it, "Really is a bust". Susie cries, thinking that she isn't a great person, and that her family will have to celebrate Kwanzaa without her. She runs sadly up to Aunt T as she's setting up the guest room and tells her about her ruined present. Aunt T tells Susie that her present may not be gorgeous, but it has a lot of character, just like her. The babies walk in as Aunt T tries to calm Susie down. Susie tells Aunt T that Kwanzaa is only for great people, and she's not great because she doesn't have a trophy like the rest of her family. Aunt T tells her that the only trophy she has is the one Uncle Charles gave her for "Biggest Mouth in Town". She then tells Susie that winning awards doesn't make you a great person, then takes Susie and the Babies downstairs to show her some of her favorite people. As this happens, thunder booms and lightning flashes, scaring Chuckie and causing a blackout that causes the lights to go out.
In the third act, Aunt T lights some candles as Randy comes in to check on her and the kids. He then tells Aunt T about a scene from the script he wrote, finding it funny. Aunt T tells him that different people find different things funny. Aunt T then has Susie bring her the Kwanzaa gift she gave her. Aunt T tells her that she kept the scrapbook for nearly 50 years, and it is filled with great people. She opens the scrapbook, and Edwin recognizes Rosa Parks and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Aunt T then tells him about Ella Fitzgerald, then tells the children not to think that all great people become famous and get their pictures in the paper, as most never do. Susie asks who one of the people in the book is, and Aunt T tells her that it's her Great Uncle Charles. Susie asks her if he got many awards, and Aunt T tells her he didn't, but is one of the kindest men she ever knew, helping anyone whenever they needed it. A flashback is then shown where a young Aunt T and Charles help out Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he had car trouble on his way to give his famous speech.
Susie and Edwin like this story a lot, when suddenly, the battery in Alisa's cell phone dies, and with the power out, Alisa has no way of recharging it. Susie then thinks she sees herself in Aunt T's scrapook, but Alisa points out that it's actually their mother, Lucy, when she was a kid. Aunt T is about to tell Susie and Alisa about the day Lucy sang her first solo in church, when Lucy returns, asking Aunt T if she's really going to tell her that story. Aunt T tells her she is, as it's one of the great moments in the family's history. A flashback begins, where a young Lucy is nervous about singing in front of so many people, but her mother tells her not to let fear keep her from doing what she loves. A young Lucy nervously sings "Let it Shine", but becomes more enthusiastic the more she and the choir sing it. As the flashback ends, Susie asks Lucy how she was able to sing when she was so scared. Lucy tells her that sometimes you don't know how much courage you have until you push it out on the stage. Aunt T assures Susie that great people get scared just like everybody else, but they don't let it stop them.
Lucy then tells Aunt T that she is also a great person, and shows her a photo of them from Lucy's college days. A flashback begins, where Lucy is nervous about being accepted into Harvard Medical School, as her financial aid fell through. Aunt T assures her that she and Uncle Charles have been helping her through this tough time, and hands her a check. Aunt T tells Lucy that she knows she'll make a fine doctor someday, and Lucy happily gives her a hug.
As the flashback ends, Susie suddenly understands why Lucy calls Aunt T "Great Aunt T". Just then, the power comes back on as the rain stops. Buster tells his family that since he couldn't make African Peanut butter stew when the power went out, he had to improvise and make African peanut butter sandwiches instead. Since the table's set, they can have their karamu now. As everyone else goes into the kitchen, Aunt T tells Susie to always be proud of who she is and where she came from, and that she has her whole life to discover how great she really is. She then gives her the job of lighting the candle on the kinara. Aunt T and Susie exchange a hug, and after Aunt T goes into the kitchen, Tommy tells Susie that the book Aunt T gave her was really neat after all. Phil agrees, saying they were the best Kwanzaa stories he ever heard, to which Lil reminds him they were the only ones he ever heard. Kimi tells Susie that she has a great family, and Chuckie says that they think she's the greatest one of all. Susie thanks her friends, and they all run into the kitchen.
Uncle Charles arrives, and Aunt T is glad that he made it just in time for the karamu to begin. At the karamu, the rest of the Carmichael family compliment Buster for his African peanut butter sandwiches. Lucy thanks Aunt T and Uncle Charles for bringing their family together and reminding them of how much they have to be grateful for. Randy asks Susie if she'd like to make the unity toast, but Aunt T says that she can't do it without a cup of unity. She then says that she needs something special for this ceremony, and she knows what it is. Sure enough, it's Susie's Kwanzaa present to her, which Susie uses as a mug. Susie toasts Aunt T for showing everyone that they can be great people, and everyone says, "Harambe!" as the episode ends.
This episode provides examples of:
- An Aesop:
- Just because you don't have a trophy doesn't mean you're not a great person.
- Not every great person becomes famous and/or has their picture taken in the paper; many never do.
- Big Storm Episode: This episode takes place during a rainstorm, which causes the power to go out.
- Broken Ace: Susie. It is revealed in this episode that despite her wisdom and many talents, Susie doesn't have a trophy like her parents or her older siblings have. She tries to do the same talents that her older siblings have, but it doesn't work out, and her attempt to make a bust of her head is, as Phil would put it, "Really is a bust".
- Brutal Honesty: When Susie shows Phil and Lil the scrapbook Aunt T gave her as a Kwanzaa present, Lil tries her best to spare Susie's feelings, but Phil says, "Looks like she got gypped."
- Cool Old Lady: Great Aunt T is a loving, free-spirited, fun, and music-loving person who gets along great with the babies, and Susie takes a liking to her. In her youth, she's seen a lot of things and has even met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he had car troubles while on his way to make his famous "I Have A Dream" speech. She and Lucy also have a close relationship, as when she found out that Lucy's finacial aid didn't have enough to put her through medical school, Aunt T more than willingly gave her all the money she needed to go to college, as that was what her and Uncle Charles were saving up for, telling Lucy that she knows she'll be a great doctor.
- Faint in Shock: In the flashback, we see that Great Aunt T fainted when she realized that she had met up with Martin Luther King Jr.
- Generation Xerox: Lucy looked so much like Susie when she was her age that Susie initially thinks she's in Aunt T's scrapbook when she and everyone else are looking through it before her sister, Alisa tells her otherwise.
- Long-Lost Uncle Aesop: Great Aunt T appears exclusively in this episode to teach Susie and her family the true meaning of Kwanzaa.
- Phoneaholic Teenager: Alisa. She gets a cell phone for Christmas, completely disregarding her parents' warnings that it is for emergencies only so she can talk to her friend, Jen. This comes back to bite her; the battery runs out when the power goes out, making her unable to recharge the battery.
- Poorly Disguised Pilot: This episode was meant to serve as a pilot for a spin-off show focusing on Susie and her family (aptly titled The Carmichaels), which would have them moving to Atlanta, Georgia. However, when the massive success of "All Growed Up" led to All Grown Up! being greenlit, it was decided to scrap The Carmichaels so that Susie could remain part of the cast.
- Power Outage Plot: In the third act of this episode, the rainstorm causes a blackout, and it is at this time that Great Aunt T shares the stories of her from the scrapbook she gave Susie.
