Don't worry, you'll catch the next show.
Red and Mokey are on their way to the Great Hall to put on a puppet show—but Mokey stops, hearing someone crying. She follows the sound and meets Begoony, a magical but desperately lonely creature. Mokey and Begoony become friends, but when Mokey leaves to do the show, Begoony casts a spell, then begins calling out to her. Back and forth Mokey goes, trying to keep Begoony company and still do the show, getting smaller all the while. When Begoony imprisons her inside a house he's magically created, she escapes and tells him she refuses to be his friend or to stay with him always, breaking the spell and restoring her to normal size.This episode contains examples of:
- An Aesop: Do not let friends or romantic partners belittle you.
- All Take and No Give: After they become friends, Mokey runs back to help Begoony whenever he calls her. In response, he tries to isolate her from her other friends and her activities, even going so far as to imprison her to make her stay with him always.
- Beware the Nice Ones: When Begoony tries to carry off the now-tiny Mokey, she demands to be put down, then tells him he doesn't care about her and that she refuses to be his friend any longer.
- Chase Fight: Red follows Mokey and sees her get locked in the house Begoony made, then shoves him aside and opens the door so that Mokey can escape. Begoony immediately starts after Mokey, but Red grabs him by the tail, slowing him down. This chase ensues, with Begoony fighting to break free from Red while searching for the fleeing Mokey.Begoony: Oh, Mokey, come back! I didn't mean to hurt you!
Red: [wrestling with him] Oh, no? [Grabs his tail.] - Cobweb Jungle: The cave where Begoony spends the first half of the episode has quite a few big cobwebs.
- Creepy Dollhouse: Begoony makes one, gets Mokey to enter it, then locks her in.
- Crocodile Tears: Begoony does this as a means of manipulation. At the end of the episode, Mokey snaps at him to cut the tears.
- Crowd Chant:
- While waiting for the show to start, the audience starts chanting, "We want a puppet show! We want a puppet show!"
- When Begoony picks up Mokey and she demands to be put down, all the other Fraggles start chanting, "PUT HER DOWN! PUT HER DOWN!"
- Curse Escape Clause: When Mokey emphatically tells Begoony that no, she does not want to stay with him always, the spell is broken.
- Damsel in Distress: Red, when she sees Begoony lock Mokey in the house, immediately comes to her best friend's rescue.
- Didn't Think This Through: Begoony knew that Mokey had other friends, but he clearly didn't stop to think that they would come to her rescue if he imprisoned her.
- The Eeyore: Begoony insists that everyone but Mokey hates him and always will. This is why he refuses when she invites him to come with her and watch the puppet show.
- Entitled to Have You: Mokey offers Begoony her friendship, saying she'll come back whenever he needs her. When she introduces Red as her best friend, he's practically enraged, insisting that he must be Mokey's best friend—and then he shrinks and imprisons her in an attempt to keep her to himself.Begoony: Mokey's my friend! She said so herself.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: The second time Mokey, now the size of Begoony, runs back to him, he magically creates a little house, then says he'll make some curtains for it. When she runs back a third time...Begoony: I made the curtains. Why don't you go inside and look at them?
Mokey: Oh, Begoony, don't be silly. I couldn't possibly fit into this little... [realizes she's now smaller than Begoony] ...house. - False Friend: Begoony, who wants Mokey to himself and tries to keep her away from her activities and other friends.
- Forgets to Eat: Gobo and Boober suggest that Mokey's shrinking could have been the result of something she ate, but Mokey says she hasn't had time to eat that day.
- Friendship Favoritism: What happens when Begoony meets Red.Mokey: Begoony, this is Red, my best friend. Red, Begoony...
Begoony: But she can't be your best friend! I must be your best friend! I must, I must, I must! - Frivolous Summoning: The first time Begoony calls Mokey back, it's to ask her to scratch behind his ears.
- Hand Puppet: The Fraggles' puppets, although lacking arm sleeves, are stick puppets operated entirely by hand.
- Hand Puppet Mockery: Begoony gets mocked this way when he breaks free from Red and enters the puppet stage, looking for Mokey.Boober: [through his puppet] Hey, you're not much in the looks department, are ya?
[Boober pulls his puppet back.]
Boober: [to puppet] Stop it! [to Begoony] Now, sorry about that. - Hey, Let's Put on a Show: The Fraggles are doing one. For entertainment purposes, though.
- Hostile Hitchhiker: Averted. Mokey, fleeing from Begoony after escaping the house, hitches a ride back to the Great Hall on a vehicle driven by a Doozer. Neither Mokey nor the Doozer behaves hostilely.
- I Gave My Word: Mokey keeps running back to Begoony because she promises him she'll do so.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: Until he meets Mokey, Begoony has no friends and is desperately lonely—so much so that he tries to make her stay with him always.
- Incredible Shrinking Man: Begoony curses Mokey with this in an attempt to get her to stay.
- Inept Mage: Zigzagged with Begoony, who sometimes has trouble with his magic, depending on what kind of spell he's casting. At the beginning, he conjures up some flowers for Mokey, which wilt a moment later. He admits he's much better at shrinking things than growing them. At the end, though, he does manage to grow a beanstalk for the puppet show.
- Interspecies Friendship: Mokey is a Fraggle. Begoony isn't.
- Lured into a Trap: Begoony does this to Mokey when he begs her to enter the house, then locks her in.
- Magical Gesture: When Begoony casts a spell, his ears go up a bit for a few seconds.
- Manipulative Bastard: Begoony, who uses flattery and crocodile tears to manipulate Mokey into doing what he wants.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": Mokey's friends, when they see that she's shrunk.
- Noodle Incident: Mokey isn't the first friend Begoony had.Begoony: Oh, what if I never see her again? She'll be just like all the others, I know it!
- Oh, Crap!: Mokey steps inside the house Begoony has just made and compliments him on it—until she realizes it's for her.
- Platonic Declaration of Love: Mokey basically says this to Begoony in the song "I'd Give My Soul."Mokey: [singing] Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, if you're blue,
I'll wrap my heart in ribbons just for you. - Please, Don't Leave Me: Begoony wants Mokey to stay with him always and calls her back whenever she leaves to do the puppet show.
- The Power of Creation: Begoony can conjure up flowers and even houses. At the end of the episode, Mokey has him grow a beanstalk as a prop for the puppet show.
- The Promise: Mokey promises Begoony that she'll take care of him.
- Quit Your Whining: At the end, Mokey has had enough of Begoony's Crocodile Tears and snaps at him to cut it out.
- "Reason You Suck" Speech: Mokey gives Begoony one for trying to keep her from her friends and activities by locking her in the house.Mokey: You expect me to give up everything for you! For what? So I can leave my friends and go live in some little house somewhere?
- Roaring Rampage of Rescue: Red goes on one of these when Begoony locks Mokey in the house. She shoves him aside, lets Mokey out, then grabs him by the tail when he starts after her, resulting in a Chase Fight all the way to the Great Hall as he tries to recapture Mokey.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Mokey's play is titled "How Princess Ethel Killed the Giant Without Much Help From Anyone Else."
- Self-Care Epiphany: Mokey's running back and forth between Begoony's demands and those of the puppet show exhaust her—and every time she goes back to Begoony, she gets smaller. Toward the end, when he tries to carry her off, she has one of these and gives it to him straight.Mokey: Begoony, being friendly is not about saying yes all the time. If all I do is give and give and give... then, before you know it, there's nothing left for anyone to take.
- Short Cuts Make Long Delays: Downplayed. At the beginning of the episode, Red and Mokey are taking a shortcut to the Great Hall but are having trouble finding the way.Red: Some shortcut this was, Mokey! Now where do we go?
Mokey: Um... I don't know. I really don't know!
Red: Now we're not just late. We are really late!
Mokey: Well, don't worry. They won't start the rehearsal without us.
Red: "Don't worry," she says. All the Fraggles in the world are coming to see our puppet show, and we're lost forever in some dumb tunnel! - Shout-Out: The episode's title is a shout-out to The Incredible Shrinking Man.
- Stalker with a Crush: Begoony, who acts much like this toward Mokey. She takes pity on his loneliness and befriends him, to which he responds by trying to isolate her from her other friends, even going so far as to imprison her so she will stay with him always.
- Stop Saying That!: Wembley, while rehearsing with his puppet, keeps repeating his one line: "What are you going to do?"Gobo: [running in] Hey, you guys, I can't find Mokey or Red anywhere!
Wembley: Oh! What are you gonna do?
Gobo: Wembley! Will you stop saying that? - Telepathy: Possibly. Since none of the other Fraggles can hear Begoony calling to Mokey, he may have been talking to her mentally.
- True Companions: Red, freeing Mokey, then grabbing Begoony when he starts to chase her.
- Undying Loyalty: Defied. Mokey is devoted to Begoony—until he locks her in the house, then tries to carry her off when she escapes.
- The Unfettered: Begoony, in his determination to keep Mokey with him, has no qualms about shrinking her and then locking her up.
