The third episode of the third season of Rugrats (1991).
Tricycle Thief
When Susie's tricycle goes missing, everyone thinks Angelica took it.
Rhinoceritis!
Angelica becomes a doctor, and tells Chuckie he's going to turn into a rhinoceros.
"Tricycle Thief" provides examples of:
- An Aesop: Don’t accuse people of doing something that they actually didn’t do or never happened in the first place.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: This exchange from the babies when Susie finds her tricycle is missing;Phil: Call the police!
Lil: Call the army!
Chuckie: Call me when it's over! - Artistic License – Physics: There's no way that Cynthia would be able to float up in the air along with the balloon while tied to the other end of the string. She would just act as the balloon's anchor.
- Balloonacy: Susie ties Cynthia to Chuckie's balloon, with the intent to have Chuckie let it go and send Cynthia into the sky. Chuckie eventually lets go when Susie accuses Angelica of stealing her tricycle when she gets caught red-handed, but by this point, it's too late to get it back. Thankfully, a miracle (or a low-flying plane) pops the balloon and Cynthia falls back into Angelica's hands before she can rip Susie apart.
- Big "NO!": Angelica lets out a horrified one when Susie decides to send Cynthia flying.
- Courtroom Episode: A trial of sorts is presented, as Angelica is suspected of stealing Susie's tricycle. Cynthia is tied to Chuckie's balloon while testimony is presented. While Angelica claims she was innocent, evidence seemed to be against her (literally caught redhandednote ) and Chuckie overhearing Angelica quietly telling Susie she'll be sorry).
- Covered in Mud: Angelica when she rides Susie's tricycle and ends up crashing it into a garden gnome and flying into a mud puddle. The babies find this hilarious, but Angelica storms off in a huff.
- Deliberately Monochrome: Chuckie's flashback of Angelica crashing Susie's tricycle is shown in black and white.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Even if Angelica had taken Susie's tricycle, sending Cynthia floating off into space was a bit extreme.
- Epileptic Flashing Lights: Happens after Angelica crashes on Susie's tricycle. The screen flashes black and white for a few frames when she lands in the mud.
- Even Evil Has Standards: This line from Angelica:Angelica: I may be mean, and I may be a bully, but I'M NO TRICYCLE THIEF!
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Susie's tricycle can be seen under the stairs to the deck before it's revealed Angelica didn't steal it.
- Jerkass Ball: Susie and the twins take Angelica's doll and tie it to Chuckie's balloon purely on the accusation that Angelica stole Susie's tricycle (which she hadn't). Not only did they take Angelica's prized possession but they took something from Chuckie (who averts grasping the ball because he was being honest about what he heard) who was innocent the entire time.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Even though it was extremely harsh for Susie to punish Angelica for supposedly taking her tricycle (Angelica didn’t do it), Susie does make valid points about Angelica lying all the time, especially to the babies.
- Malaproper: When Chuckle reveals what was mentioned under Once More, with Clarity, Susie declares it the 'final nail in the coffee'note .
- Mistaken for Fake Hair: One of the lies that Susie reminds Angelica of is the time she told Phil and Lil that their father, Howard's hair was a wig. The twins recall how mad Howard was when they tried to pull it off, but how funny it was anyway.
- Mistaken for Thief: Susie thinks Angelica stole her trike, but really she didn't, she just has an identical trike.
- Noodle Incident:
- Chuckie mentions in this episode that he put a penny up his nose once.
- When Susie doesn't believe Angelica is telling the truth, she tells her about the times she told Tommy his new baby sister was coming in the mailnote , the time she told Phil and Lil that Howard's hair was a wig (and the twins recall how mad Howard was when they tried to pull it off, but how funny it was anyway), and the time she told Chuckie the guy on the oatmeal box moved in next door (which Chuckie tells Susie not to remind him of).
- Not Me This Time: Susie blames Angelica for stealing her brand-new tricycle and punishes her by tying her doll to a balloon and letting it go. Despite the evidence against her, Angelica was completely innocent — Susie's trike was under her porch, Angelica's trike was her own and Angelica's red hands (which Susie thought was from opening her shed's painted doors) were actually from her finger painting an apology letter. Thankfully for Susie, a miracle (or a low-flying plane) gets Angelica's doll back to her and everyone's happy again, except of course for Chuckie, as it was his balloon, and it didn't survive the ordeal.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: This is the first time Angelica tells the truth and nobody believes her, which is no surprise seeing as she always tells lies. They should have believed her when she was telling the truth.
- Once More, with Clarity: When Angelica stormed off while covered in mud, she was seen muttering something the audience couldn't hear. Later on, we hear from Chuckie's perspective that she said Susie would be sorry.
- Shout-Out: This episode and its name could possibly be a reference to the 1948 film Bicycle Thieves, an Italian film directed by Vittorio De Sica.
- Spoof Aesop: At the end of the episode, Tommy says that they've all learned a lesson, and Chuckie tells him he certainly has; never let Susie borrow your balloon.
- Thicker Than Water: Tommy, the only one related to Angelica, is the only one who believes in her innocence. He winds up being right.
- Unexpected Kindness: Susie accuses Angelica of stealing her tricycle. There's a lot of evidence against Angelica, such as her being literally caught red-handed because the tricycle was in the freshly-painted shed. She claims she was just finger-painting, but no one believes her because of her general dishonesty. Susie has Chuckie let go of a balloon with Cynthia tied to it as punishment, but right afterwards, it's revealed that Susie's trike was actually under the porch all along. Angelica then says she was finger-painting an apology letter to Susie for breaking her reflector.
- Visual Pun: When Tommy tries to prove that Angelica didn't steal Susie's trike, Angelica gets caught "Red-Handed", as in she has red paint on her hands. As Randy had painted the shed earlier, the paint was still wet, and this leads Susie to believe that Angelica really did steal her tricycle. As it turns out, Angelica's red paint was from an apology card she made for Susie for crashing her tricycle.
"Rhinoceritis!" provides examples of:
- An Aesop: Teasing and bullying younger siblings or playmates is mean, and will always come back to bite you.
- Exact Words: Stu says that he keeps a record of everything he buys, though he doesn't mean the receipts which Drew points out.
- Hoist by Her Own Petard: Near the end of the episode, Angelica reveals to the babies that she made Rhinoceritis up. However, Chuckie doesn't believe her, and believes that she has Rhinoceritis when she shows him the scabs on her knees and the bump on her head.
- Malaproper: Angelica mispronounces surgeon as "sturgeon". Chuckie then asks Tommy what a surgeon is, using the correct term.
- Noodle Implements: When Spike causes Drew's organized tax forms to go flying, Stu comes in and comments that he's relieved Drew didn't mess up his filing system.
- Parental Bonus: The B-plot of this episode involves Drew helping Stu and Didi do their taxes. Drew, being an accountant, gives Stu some very sound advice about why it's smart to file taxes properly.
- Show Within a Show: Binks McGill, Pre-Teen Brain Surgeon, which inspires Angelica to become a doctor.
- Somethingitis: Angelica tricks Chuckie into thinking that he contracted "Rhinoceritis", a rare disease that causes its victim to turn into a rhinoceros.
