Line #13 Literature/TheGreatRingtailGarbageCaper


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cbe9dfe.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Trash Day is a very dangerous day.]]
3	Life on Gull Island is almost idyllic for a community of raccoons. The island's dump has no shortage of delicious trash thrown out by the wasteful human population, allowing the ringtails to thrive in luxury. All this changes when the island's new garbage collectors prove far more efficient and hardworking than their predecessors, leaving not a scrap behind. Faced with the prospect of losing access to their favorite foodstuffs, the raccoons put together a BadassCrew and embark on a plan to get back their easy lives by hijacking the garbage truck and going on a wild midnight trash run to claim the spoils for themselves.
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5	A children's novel written by Timothy Foote, the book was also adapted by ''Creator/HannaBarbera'' into an episode for CBS Storybreak.
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8	!!Tropes:
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10	* AnimatedAdaptation: Was made into a thirty minute episode for ''CBS Storytime.''
11	* ArcSymbol: Arc Gesture? Much is made of the fact that humans and raccoons share having opposable thumbs. Thus it is that the "thumbs up" hand gesture is given any time any member of the heist team begins to doubt their ability to carry out the plan. A reminder of how capable they are as a species.
12	* AvengersAssemble: Most of the heist team is hand picked by The Oldest Raccoon, with small blurbs given to a few members such as Big Ben and Fat Franky's status within the community.
13	* BadassCrew: Each member of the Daring Dozen is the leading expert in a particular skill: Big Ben is the strongest raccoon on the island, Sailor Bill knows how to read street maps, while Greasy Gene lives above a garage and is familiar with mechanical devices. Get them together and they work like a single unit.
14	* TheCaper: Central to the plot is the raccoons' plan to hijack the garbage truck and use it to steal Gull Island's usable supply of trash.
15	* CantHoldHisLiquor: Some of the raccoons get tipsy when celebrating the successful heist. The narrative can't help but wag a gentle finger for the benefit of its young readers to remind them that drinking a little is okay, but getting completely ripped is embarrassing and disgraceful.
16	* CivilizedAnimal: More pronounced in the AnimatedAdaptation which have the principle characters some clothing. In the original, no real mention is made of the raccoons adopting human habits or inventions, but much is made of them having favorite bits of trash they like to eat. This is actually part of what makes going back to foraging so distasteful.
17	* DinkyDrivers: The plan involves a crack team of raccoons stealing the local garbage truck so they can get first dibs on the trash.
18	* TheFamine: When first cut off from the dump, this is the initial fear of the community. Subverted in that the raccoons still all possess the necessary skills needed to forage and live off the land, so none will starve, but as human trash is much more abundant and what they're used to, this is seen as a distasteful choice. Especially since it implies the raccoons aren't smart enough to access the better choice.
19	* FoodPorn: The description of the generous leavings the raccoons enjoy. Granted, it does lose a little appeal when you remember it's ''garbage,'' but the raccoons describe it in terms of a feast.
20	* GreenAesop: A rather sneaky one amid the hijinks when the Oldest Raccoon mentions that humans have become more environmentally aware and are looking for new ways to dispose of their trash, including turning it into fuel, meaning that the raccoons might still have to fend for themselves in the future.
21	* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Subverted. While Nip and Tuck's actions as the new garbage men lead unknowingly to the crisis the raccoons are suffering, the ringtails themselves actually understand the humans' actions and don't really see them as malicious, just annoying.
22	* PickyEater: Having been raised on human food, the kits of the island refuse to switch to natural fare.
23	* ShorterMeansSmarter: Joshua is the smallest kit in the community, and most of his peers write him off as useless. He becomes integral to the raccoons' plans because he is the only one who figures out how to make a key work.
24	* SlidingScaleOfAnimalCast: Type 3. The raccoons take center stage for most of the book, with the humans mostly just going about their business. Justified because the raccoons are trying to operate without the humans knowing what's going on.
25	* TitleDrop: ''The Great Ringtail Garbage Caper'' is literally the name the raccoons give their plan.

Context Literature / TheGreatRingtailGarbageCaper