The eleventh episode of the ninth season of Rugrats (1991).
Baby Sale
The parents take advantage of a sale on baby clothes, and the babies think they're the ones getting sold instead.
Steve
The kids build a snowbaby and are afraid of him melting.
"Baby Sale" provides examples of:
- Beware the Nice Ones: Kira becomes agressive when a woman tries to take a dress that she saw first. When she wins, Didi says, "Oh, dear. I'd better return her cake pan."
- Continuity Nod: When Chuckie asks Tommy what a baby sale is, Tommy tells him it's probably where babies are sold, like the hospital where Dil came from.
- Crazy-Prepared: When Tommy uses his screwdriver to pick the lock on the gate to the daycare center, an alarm goes off and a stronger gate closes in its place. The manager tells the babies that she spent six years studying fashion security in case something like this happened, then Phil says, "We're gonna need a bigger stewdriver."
- The Door Slams You: The Manager gets hit by the door of a dressing room when a customer exits it.
- "Eureka!" Moment: After the manager locks the babies into the daycare with a stronger gate, Tommy remembers what Alex told him, "Only the bestest babies get sold here." This gives him the idea that if he and his friends act like the worst babies, nobody will want to buy them, except for their own parents.
- Finishing Each Other's Sentences: When Tommy gets the idea to act like the worst babies ever so that nobody will want to buy them except for their own parents. Lil says, "Being the worstest..." and Phil picks up, saying "..is what we do bestest!"
- Hypocritical Humor: Near the end of this episode, Didi and Kira refuse to buy clothes from a store whose daycare supervisor didn't keep a close eye on their children, something that they and the other adults are guilty of on a regular basis.
- Ill-Timed Sneeze: While hiding from the manager in a display by posing as mannequins, Chuckie sneezes when Tommy's hat tickles his nose, causing the Manager to find them and take them to the daycare.
- Literal-Minded: When the babies arrive at the clothing store, they think that a baby sale is where babies are sold. At first, they think their moms want to buy more babies, but then they become worried that they want to sell them.
- Mythology Gag: The hat that Tommy wears in this episode resembles the one that Dil wears in All Grown Up!.
- Nobody Here but Us Statues: The babies hide from the Manager by posing as mannequins in a display. Their ruse is exposed when Kimi falls over, knocking Tommy down and causing his hat to tickle Chuckie's nose and make him sneeze.
- Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Betty dresses Phil and Lil in sweaters that are pink and blue. Lil's has more pink, while Phil's has more blue.
- Toilet Humor: This episode begins with the babies observing a statue that squirts water in the fountain at the mall, and they think it's peeing.
- True Companions: After Alex and Sage get picked up by their parents, Tommy, Phil, Lil, and Kimi worry that if they get bought by other moms, they might never see each other again. They admit they'll all miss each other, and hug each other as they say so. They, along with Chuckie, hug each other again when they think they're going to be sold to other moms.
"Steve" provides examples of:
- Bittersweet Ending: Steve melts and the babies are upset when they find out, but Tommy still recognizes Steve's pieces in the puddle, saying that Steve isn't gone, he's just a water baby instead of a snow baby. He assures his friends that just like how Steve changed, they'll all look different when they grow up, but they'll still be themselves on the inside. The babies decide to throw Steve their party for him after all.
- Cover Innocent Eyes and Ears: When Tommy tells the other babies that Steve is melting, Chuckie covers Steve's ears and tells Tommy that he's scaring Steve.
- Imagine Spot: When the babies decide to throw Steve a party to celebrate his creation, Tommy asks Chuckie what present a snow baby would like. In Chuckie's fantasy, he is a snowbaby trying unsuccessfully to run from a giant clown, only to fall over. This gives Chuckie the idea to give Steve legs.
- Losing Your Head: Steve's head falls off when Tommy says that he and his friends have a surprise for him. Phil then says, "That's a surprise, all right."
- Toilet Humor: When Steve starts to melt, Kimi believes he's peeing. Phil then says, "I knew we should have maded him a snow diapie."
