The eleventh episode of the sixth season of Rugrats (1991).
The Jungle
The babies go on an imaginary journey into a plant nursery, pretending it's a jungle as they try to save Dil from a horrible disease that turns him into a beaver.
The Old Country
When Tommy and Chuckie prepare to spend the weekend at a cabin Boris and Minka rented, they think the cabin is under attack by elephants after they hear Stu say the cabin isn't meant to keep out the elements.
"The Jungle" provides examples of:
- Bait-and-Switch: The episode begins with a close-up of some plants, which water falls on. It is then revealed that this is actually an illustration in a book of plants that Didi is reading, which Dil drools on.
- Big Brother Instinct: When Tommy thinks Dil has a case of Jungle Beaver, he stops at nothing to find the cure.
- Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: While at the plant nursery, Lou suggests they grow something he can eat, like corn or soybeans. He then says that corn is one of the things that can be made from soybeans.
- Drawing Straws: When Tommy comes across a basket to get him and his friends across the river, he finds out that the basket is only big enough for two babies to fit in. Phil and Lil argue over which one of them will go first, then they decide to pull Chuckie's hair (much to the latter's dismay), and whoever picks the hair that is the longest will go first. Phil's hair is longer, meaning he gets the first turn. When Tommy tells Lil and Chuckie that the next one in the basket will have to bring Dil, Lil asks Chuckie if he wants to draw for it, but Chuckie refuses.
- Find the Cure!: When Tommy sees Dil covered in pollen and sneezing after having sniffed a flower, he believes Dil to have Jungle Beaver, and sets off on an adventure to find the cure. In the end, the babies imagine Didi as a doctor and her herb-and-root smoothie as Dil's medicine.
- A Good, Old-Fashioned Paint Watching: Discussed. When Chuckie doesn't want to participate in the adventure Tommy, Phil, and Lil want to go on, he says that he'll stay behind with Stu to watch the grass grow.
- Here We Go Again!: This episode ends with Dil chewing on a toy soldier, leading the babies to believe that Dil really did turn into a beaver. Chuckie tells Tommy that he didn't think Dil took enough medicine (really Didi's herb-and-root smoothie), since he saw Dil spit some out after Didi gave it to him.
- Hiccup Hijinks: After the babies cross the river, Dil starts hiccuping, which leads Tommy to believe that his Jungle Beaver is getting worse.
- Imagine Spot: This episode has the babies imagine themselves as explorers in a real jungle as they look for the cure for Jungle Beaver.
- Jungle Japes: A non-video game example; the babies imagine that the plant nursery they visit is a jungle, where they have to find the cure for Jungle Beaver before Dil turns into a beaver, and get chased by a lion (really a poodle).
- Malaproper: The babies mishear "Jungle Fever" as "Jungle Beaver", believing it to be a disease that turns its victim into a beaver.
- Not-So-Innocent Whistle: When Chuckie asks the other babies why a lion (really a poodle) keeps chasing them, Phil whistles, then tells the other babies that he's not hiding anything.
- Parental Neglect: When Didi asks Stu to look after the babies, Stu puts Dil on a cart, but then gets distracted by a video on Kentucky Bluegrass, leaving Dil behind to watch it and him completely oblivious to the other babies pushing the cart away.
- Psycho Poodle: Throughout the episode, a poodle chases the babies because Phil took his dog biscuit, and the babies visualize him as a lion.
- Quicksand Sucks: When he gets to the hospital, Chuckie jumps into a pit of quicksand (which is really steer manure from a bag that ripped open) and starts sinking. Tommy saves him by using a car/truck twine as a rope.
- Tempting Fate: When Chuckie refuses to cross the river at first, only to change his mind when he sees a lion (really a poodle that Phil took the dog biscuit from), he says that the only good thing about the situation is that it can't get any worse. Cue the rope breaking and Chuckie having to swing its remains over the river.
- Trouser Space: Phil finds a dog biscuit in a dog bowl, licks it, and stuffs it in his diaper for later.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Near the end of the episode, when the babies find out that the reason the lion (really a poodle) was chasing them was because Phil took his biscuit, they call Phil out for this.
"The Old Country" provides examples of:
- Cruel Elephant: In this episode, Tommy and Chuckie believe that elephants are coming to destroy Boris and Minka's cabin after mishearing Stu say that it isn't fit to keep out the elements.
- Dramatic Drop: Chuckie drops his sandwich upon hearing Chas' native drumming, having mistaken it for elephants stomping.
- Elephants Are Scared of Mice: Discussed; when he and Chuckie try to come up with a plan to keep the elephants away, Tommy tells Chuckie about his Muffy the Mouse book, and in it, how the titular mouse scared an elephant away before he could step on Mouse Town. This gives him the idea to find a mouse to keep the elephants away, but Chuckie isn't keen on finding a real mouse, so Tommy decides to draw a mouse on the cabin with his crayons instead. Unfortunately for them, Didi and Minka wash it off.
- "Eureka!" Moment: When Didi and Minka wash the mouse that Tommy drew on the cabin off, Chuckie laments that the elephants are coming and that he didn't even get to take a nap, use the bathroom, or even eat his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Upon hearing the last part, Tommy gets the idea to use the idea to spread a trail of peanut butter around the cabin to lure the elephants away.
- I Do Not Like Green Eggs and Ham: Early in the episode, Stu begs for Didi not to take him to Boris and Minka's cabin, due to it having no electricity or indoor plumbing. By the end of the episode, Stu begins to like his trip to the Old Country due to the clean air, Minka's borscht, and chopping wood with Boris. He is even inspired to make shadow puppets by candlelight.
- Lots of Luggage: Stu brings a lot of suitcases with him, as he isn't looking forward to spending the weekend at the cabin and is trying to make the best of a bad situation. When Minka sees how much luggage Stu has, she remarks, "What? They're staying two days or two years?"
- Malaproper: When Tommy and Chuckie overhear Stu and Didi saying that Boris and Minka's cabin isn't fit to keep out the elements, they mishear "elements" as "elephants" and think that elephants are coming to destroy the cabin.
- Scream Discretion Shot: This episode ends with a view outside Boris and Minka's cabin as Tommy and Chuckie scream after seeing Stu's shadow puppet of a menacing-looking elephant head (complete with the sound of an angry elephant trumpeting).
