The sixth episode of the fourth season of Rugrats (1991).
America's Wackiest Home Movies
Stu tries to get Tommy to do funny stuff for a video contest.
The 'Lympics
The babies have a competition against the McNultys.
"America's Wackiest Home Movies" provides examples of:
- Audience Surrogate: Stu plays one after an episode of America's Wackiest Home Movies ends with "Baby Mudslinger" winning $10,000. He says it wasn't funny which is a common complaint most nominations and winners of the actual show receive from detractors.
- Baby See, Baby Do: After Stu complains about the America's Wackiest Home Movies contest winner not being very funny, he sees Tommy copying Spike scratching his body with his hind leg.
- Bait-and-Switch: The episode begins with a close-up of what looks like Tommy drinking milk out of a bottle, but it is soon revealed that the bottle was actually on television and Tommy was licking the TV screen.
- Birthday Episode: The climax of this episode takes place on Stu's birthday.
- Brick Joke: Angelica tells Tommy that he should stay calm in front of the camcorder in order to get a quarter. When Stu and Drew end up filming themselves goofing off at Stu's own Surprise Party, they crash into a plate full of coins, one of the quarters rolling to Tommy.
- Camera Shy: Discussed; Stu wants to catch Tommy doing something funny on camera, but Tommy does nothing (as he was told by Angelica that if he stays quiet, he'll get a quarter). Didi wonders if this is because he's camera-shy and notes that Dr. Lipschitz claims infants can have this problem.
- Covered in Mud: In the park, Stu tries to film Tommy with a camcorder hidden in a ten-gallon hat, only for the resulting device to prove too heavy, causing Stu to stumble into a mud puddle.
- Dark Horse Victory: Stu and Drew get into a competition over whether Tommy and Angelica can do the funniest thing for the America's Wackiest Home Movies contest. Lou ends up winning with his own film of his sons rollerblading through Tommy's house at Stu's birthday party.
- Description Cut: When Charlotte tells Didi that she and Drew are coming to Stu's birthday party, Didi tells her that Stu would be so unhappy if his older brother wasn't there on his special day. Cut to Stu saying, "I want you out!"
- Failures on Ice: A roller skate example; when Stu arrives at his party, he steps on one of Angelica's roller skates and rolls across the house with it, then into Drew, causing them both to fall into a cooler.
- Hollywood Tone-Deaf: Drew tries to film Angelica singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" horribly off-key.
- Malaproper: Angelica calls Stu's camcorder a "clam-quarter" and says that if you clam up in front of it, you get a quarter.
- Pun: Charlotte's line:"The market in Europe is going crazy! British beef is down, soybeans are up, and the dollar is weak in France! Okay, Jonathan, sell the beef, and buy francs and beans!"
- Screams Like a Little Girl: Stu and Drew when they see Tommy and Angelica acting goofy on live TV.
- Scream Discretion Shot: A view outside the hospital (named Mercy Hospital, no less!) is shown when Stu and Drew scream when they see Angelica wearing Lou's glasses and Tommy wearing his quarter as an eye patch on America's Wackiest Home Movies.
- Shout-Out: Angelica says to Howard, "I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeVille!"
- Show Within a Show / Affectionate Parody: America's Wackiest Home Movies is based on America's Funniest Home Videos.
- Spy Cam: After Stu reads Dr. Lipschitz's advice on how infants can be camera-shy, he hides a camera inside a ten-gallon hat so Tommy won't notice when he's being filmed. The weight of the camera causes Stu to lose his balance and fall into a muddy pond.
- Surprise Party: Didi and the other adults throw one for Stu's birthday.
- That Poor Cat: A cat yowl can be heard when Stu and Drew rollerblade through the kitchen.
- Trouser Space: When Tommy finally gets his quarter, he puts it in his diaper. Near the end of the episode, he pulls it out so he can use it as an eyepatch.
- Wacky Sound Effect: In-universe, as just like the show it's parodying, America's Wackiest Home Movies adds goofy cartoon sound effects to the home videos presented on the show, most notably with the "Baby Mudslinger" video featuring Hanna-Barbera's "temple block riot" and Disney's "quick whistle zip by" Stock Sound Effects. Though it's also played straight when Stu's birthday cake flies into the ceiling and then back down on Stu and Drew's heads, accompanied by Disney and Hanna-Barbera's "pie in face splat" sound effect.
"The 'Lympics" provides examples of:
- Bathroom Control: Chuckie says he has to use the bathroom, but Angelica says he can't yet because it's almost his turn to run in the relay race. This motivates him to finish it as quickly as possible, and this causes Angelica's team to win.
- Delicious Distraction: Timmy throws a Popsicle in Phil and Lil's direction during the relay race. Phil and Lil promptly fight over it.
- Disqualification-Induced Victory: In the first event, Tommy and Teddy (the youngest of the McNulty-brothers) get spun around on a merry-go-round and have to bring a rock from a pile of dirt to it in their dizzy states. Tommy appears to win the event at first, but then Phil and Lil discover that Tommy's "rock" is actually a dirt clod. As a result, the point is given to Teddy.
- Evil Counterpart: In this episode, the McNulty brothers are seen as this to the Rugrats.. Specifically:
- Teddy to Tommy.
- Terry to Chuckie.
- Ty and Todd to Phil and Lil.
- Timmy to Angelica.
- Family Theme Naming: All five of the McNulty-brothers have first names that start with "T" (from oldest to youngest: Timmy, Terry, Todd and Ty (they're twins), and Teddy).
- Filthy Fun: Phil and Lil take great delight in playing in a mud puddle during the water ballet event.
- Potty Emergency: Chuckie's desperate to go to the bathroom, but Angelica tells him he can't until after he's won the race against the McNulty babies. This leads to Chuckie running as fast as he can to win the race quickly, and then subsequently dashing to the park toilet.
- Pseudolympics: Angelica and the babies compete in the "Lympics" against Timmy and his brothers in this episode.
- Spear Counterpart: Timmy acts as Angelica's male counterpart.
