Grandpa Moves Out

"Grandpa Moves Out" is a Season 3 episode of Rugrats.

Characters Present

 * Tommy
 * Angelica
 * Didi
 * Stu
 * Drew
 * Lou
 * Spike
 * Roberto
 * Mildred
 * Old Man
 * Ethel

Synopsis
''When Grandpa begins to feel like he's in the way, he packs his bags and heads for Flushing Waters luxury retirement home. Although it looked great on TV, Grandpa soon finds out that it is no Shangri-La. Can a visit from Tommy and Angelica set things right again?''

- Description from Klasky Csupo

Plot
After feeling unappreciated and unwelcome due to Stu and Didi being somewhat busy at times, Grandpa Lou decides to move into a retirement center that is not as luxurious as advertised. While visiting the elder Pickles Tommy and Angelica cause a series of mishaps that makes him realize what is most important in life.

Summary
The episode begins at Tommy's house, as Didi and Stu are preparing a dinner for the Henderson's. Didi has fixed up a plate of devilled eggs, while Stu is flipping chicken cutlets. Meanwhile, Tommy is trying to eat a carrot that Stu and Didi are preparing to use in a salad. Didi tells Stu she needs the spatula, and Stu responds by telling her that he's currently using it to flip his chicken cutlets. Didi is not happy with Stu's progress on the cutlets at all. Just then, Lou walks in with his new fishing rod, the Flymaster 2000. He asks Didi if she wants to see him cast, but Didi is too busy with the devilled eggs. Lou picks one up and eats it, deciding it needs more pepper, and shaking pepper from a shaker onto it. Didi tries to tell him he doesn't have to help, but Lou insists. Unfortunately for them, the lid to the pepper shaker comes loose, and as a result, all the pepper spills out onto the devilled eggs. Didi tells Lou he ruined the devilled eggs, but Lou tells her they're not completely ruined. He wipes the pepper off one of them, but before he can eat it, Didi takes the rest away, telling Lou he's done plenty for her already.

Lou then walks up to Stu, telling him he appreciates his help. As Stu flips his chicken cutlets, Lou takes a pitcher of orange juice out of the refrigerator. He asks Stu if he would like some orange juice to give his chicken cutlets extra flavor. Stu tries to tell Lou he doesn't need his help, but before he can get the words out, Lou pours the orange juice into the frying pan, setting the chicken cutlets on fire. Stu scolds Lou, then tells him that if he'd like to help, he should make a salad. Lou decides to do just that then, just as Tommy is about to eat his carrot, Lou takes it away from him, causing him to cry. This gets Stu and Didi's attention and, as Lou tries to calm Tommy down, Didi tells Lou to go into the living room and watch TV with his new bowling ball.

Lou walks into the living room and sits down in his chair. Next to it, Spike is chewing on a bone. Lou asks Spike if he'd like to play a game of fetch with him, but Spike growls angrily at him, wanting to continue to chew on his bone. Lou tells Spike "Fine! Have it your way!" and turns on the TV. A commercial for Flushing Waters Retirement Center featuring Roberto Mazatlán airs. In the commercial Roberto claims that Flushing Waters has gourmet food and wonderful on-site fishing. Upon seeing the commercial, Lou decides to pack his bags and leave. Lou packs his things and goes to the kitchen where he finds Stu and Didi, who have managed to calm down Tommy, whose too upset with his grandfather to listen, and who are getting the table set. He tells Stu and Didi that he knows when he's not wanted and that he's moving out. Didi and Stu don't pay much attention but when they realize what he just said they are surprised. Before anyone can say or do anything Lou drives away.

What feels like an entire year has passed, as the weather changes from summer, to fall, to winter, and then back to summer again. However, it has only been a week since Lou moved out, and there have been unusual changes in the weather throughout the week. Drew and Angelica stop by Tommy's house, and Drew tells Stu about the unusual changes in the weather. Angelica finds Tommy in the playpen, looking sad. Tommy explains to her that Lou has gone missing and he can't find him, even though he's looked everywhere in his house. Angelica tells him that she knows where their grandfather is. Tommy guesses that he’s in the closet to which Angelica tells her cousin that Lou doesn't live in his house anymore because he moved out. Tommy, who doesn’t understand what moving out means, asks Angelica when Lou will be coming back to which Angelica tells him he’s never coming back, as he went to a "tired center". Tommy asks Angelica what a "tired center" is, and Angelica explains to him that it is where old people go to live when they get tired. Everyone there has their own big comfy bed, and they take lots of naps.

Stu is on the phone with Lou, and has arranged for him and his family to come and visit him. Stu tells Drew that Lou told him Flushing Waters sounds very luxurious. Drew then tells Stu that he would still feel better if he moved back home. Stu then tells him and Didi that as soon as they get to Flushing Waters, they'll convince Lou to come back home. Didi then tells Stu not to force Lou to come back, otherwise, Lou will be more stubborn. Stu then picks up Tommy and tells him and Angelica they're going to visit Lou.

A while later, Stu, Didi, Tommy, Drew, and Angelica arrive at Flushing Waters, only to find out it looks a lot more run-down than advertised. Didi even mentions to Stu that Lou told him it looked just like the Country Club. Stu assures her that they've come to the right place. As soon as Stu, Didi, Tommy, Drew, and Angelica go inside, Stu tells the Receptionist that they've arranged to meet Lou. The Receptionist tells her that Flushing Waters doesn't allow juvenile visitors. Didi initially thinks she is referring to Stu, but rather, the receptionist is referring to Tommy and Angelica, as she believes children can be very noisy and disturb the residents. Stu assures her that Tommy and Angelica never cause any trouble, and all they want to do is see Lou. Didi asks the Receptionist if they could speak to the Manager about this, only for the Receptionist to reveal that she is also the Manager. Didi then tells her that she, Stu, and Drew can't leave their children unsupervised. The Receptionist tells them that they can stay in the lobby with Mildred, their resident surrogate grandmother. Didi doesn't want to take advantage of Mildred, but Mildred assures her that she spends a lot of time in the lobby to watch visitors' children. She enjoys it, and claims to get extra ginger snaps for it. Didi then decides to leave Tommy and Angelica with her after all, and gives her Tommy's diaper bag in case of an emergency. She then says goodbye to Tommy, and Drew tells Angelica to be nice to Mildred. Angelica tells him she will, and the Receptionist opens the doors to let Stu, Drew, and Didi into the hallway.

Stu, Drew, and Didi visit Lou in his bedroom. Lou thinks it's snazzy, and asks them if they agree. Didi, realizing the room isn't very luxurious, tries to tell Lou it isn't, but Drew interrupts, saying it's beyond snazzy. Stu then adds that it looks positively swank. Lou, happy to hear this, decides to give his sons and daughter-in-law the grand tour. On his way out, he tells them not to trip on the loose floorboard.

Back in the lobby, Mildred asks Tommy and Angelica if they'd like to see pictures of her grandchildren. Angelica is surprised to hear that Mildred is a grandmother, and Mildred assures her she is. In fact, she has seven grandchildren, who apparently were named after the Seven Dwarves. She remembers the names the first six children; Doc, Happy, Grumpy, Sneezy, Dopey, and Bashful, but forgets the name of the seventh one. Angelica asks her, "Sleepy?", but Mildred, misunderstanding, thinks she asked her if she's tired, and promptly falls asleep. Tommy is surprised to see Mildred fall asleep, but Angelica tells him that she's in a "tired center" because she's so tired. She then tells him that they're going to find Lou. As they sneak away from Mildred, the doors open, and Roberto Mazatlán comes out, counting all the money he made from the senior citizens thanks to his commercial scam (he has made at least $23,800). Tommy and Angelica run through the doorway just before the doors close. Tommy asks if everyone who lives at the retirement center is a grandparent, and Angelica tells him that they must be. Tommy then gets the idea that there are plenty of children like them whose grandparents can't play with them because they're so tired, and if they weren't so tired, they could go home to play with their grandchildren again. Thus, it's up to them to wake them up.

Angelica sneaks into the room of a former sailor. She tries to wake him up, but he is a sound sleeper. Tommy tells her their plan isn't working, as the man must be really tired. Angelica then looks up at the nightstand near his bed, and sees a pitcher of cold water on it, which suddenly gives her an idea.

Lou takes Stu, Didi, and Drew to the activity center, where all the senior citizens are playing games, but are very bored. Drew asks him if they're really in the activity center, and Lou asks him if anything's wrong. Drew, who can see how bored the seniors are, tells him he expected just a little more activity. Lou then tells him that cribbage players like the ones at Flushing Waters are hard to find.

Back at the former sailor's room, Angelica picks up the pitcher of cold water, and tells Tommy that her mom told her that cold water always wakes everyone up. Tommy tries to ask her if it's a good idea, but before he can get all his words out, Angelica pours the cold water on the former sailor, waking him up. He then thinks he's on a submarine submerging, then looks down and sees that Tommy and Angelica woke him up. Angelica then tells Tommy to run, and she runs away, dragging Tommy along.

At the cafeteria, the "gourmet" food turns out to be something one would expect from a public school cafeteria. Lou tells Stu, Drew, and Didi that Flushing Waters serves the best pork and beans he's ever eaten. Drew asks Lou about the fancy French cuisine he told Stu about over the phone, but Lou, who obviously made that up, tells him that he uses French food for bait, and prefers American pork and beans. Didi then tells Lou that he's right, and the food is wonderful. She eats a spoonful of pork and beans, only to find out it tastes terrible, but swallows it out of respect for Lou. She then pushes her plate forward and says she's full.

Meanwhile, Tommy and Angelica find a can of coffee on a table in the cafeteria. Angelica tells Tommy that coffee is what adults drink when they want to stay awake, and in order to make it, they have to pour the contents of the can into a bucket of mop water. Tommy tells Angelica that he'll climb onto the table to get the can, and he jumps, but is unable to reach it, and falls on the floor. He then looks over at an electric scooter, and suddenly has an idea.

Lou takes Stu, Didi, and Drew to his private fishing creek, which is revealed to be a fountain. Stu asks him where the fish are, and Lou tells him that the fish are purchased, as in Flushing Waters buys them and puts them in the fountain. Stu then asks him if he uses a fishing rod to catch them, but Lou tells them that they use nets instead. Didi asks him why, and Lou tells her that the fish are expensive. He and the other residents are supposed to catch the fish with nets, and then put them back in the fountain when they're done. Drew asks Lou if they're really supposed to simply dip nets into a pool of store-bought fish, then tells him it sounds great. Lou assures Drew that he's a lot more active at Flushing Waters then he ever was at Tommy's house.

Tommy and Angelica push the electric scooter towards the table with the coffee can, but just before they can grab the coffee can, they accidentally turn the electric scooter on, and they drive it out of control through the hallways.

Stu, Didi, and Drew all try to tell Lou they're happy for him but the poor quality of everything at Flushing Waters makes them reveal their true feelings about the retirement home and how ridiculous they think it is that he's living in such a rat trap. They beg Lou to move back to Tommy's house but Lou tells them that he's a retired old man and he belongs in a retirement home. Tommy and Angelica then drive past them and Didi asks Stu, Drew, and Lou if the two kids riding the electric scooter look like Tommy and Angelica, and Drew tells her they do. They suddenly realize the two kids are Tommy and Angelica and chase after them, as they know they're in danger. During the chase, Stu gets pushed back by a hallway door, Drew runs into two movers carrying a fish tank, and Didi slips on some marbles from a game of cribbage two senior citizens were playing, as Tommy and Angelica knocked the table down. As Didi slips on the marbles, she accidentally opens the fire escape door, which sets off an alarm that forces the residents of Flushing Waters to evacuate the premises.

Only Lou is left to stop the electric scooter, which is heading for a dead end wall. Lou uses his fishing rod to snatch the scooter and pull it back, damaging its wheels, but preventing it from crashing into the wall. As Lou picks Tommy and Angelica out of the electric scooter, Angelica tells Lou he saved them, and Tommy giggles.

Lou takes Tommy and Angelica outside, where all the residents of Flushing Waters are. They see Tommy and Angelica, telling Lou they're cute, and asking him if they're his grandchildren. Lou then tells Tommy and Angelica that he missed them, as without them, his life is boring. The truth is, he was miserable the entire time he was at Flushing waters, but refused to admit it, and come back to Tommy's house to be unappreciated. The Receptionist appears and tells Lou that, due to all the problems his grandchildren, sons, and daughter in law caused, he is being evicted from Flushing Waters. Lou is overjoyed to be kicked out, as he feels he truly belongs at Tommy's house. Didi and Stu catch up to him, and apologize to him if they were insensitive and made him feel unwanted. They, along with Drew, ask him to give them another chance, and ask him if he forgives them. Lou, glad to be back with his family, tells them he does.

The residents of Flushing Waters say goodbye to Lou, telling him to come back soon, and to have a good time with his grandchildren. Just as Stu starts to drive him home, Lou tells him he has to go back to Flushing Waters. Stu tells Lou he thought he was coming home. Lou assures he is, but he needs to retrieve all his belongings from Flushing Waters. Stu drives Lou back to Flushing Waters as the episode ends.

Trivia

 * This is one of the few episodes that shows Angelica being nice.
 * Roberto Mazatlán, the pitchman for the Flushing Waters retirement resort, is a parody of Ricardo Montalban (though Mr. Montalban did NOT provide the voice). In this ad, he mentions that the chairs at this resort are made of "rich, Corinthian leather". In the late 1970's, Mr. Montalban was a pitchman for Chrysler, in which he mentions "rich, Corinthian leather" as one of the features of Chrysler's luxury automobiles.
 * When Mildred names her Grandchildren, (Doc, Happy, Grumpy, Dopey, Sneezy, Bashful and Sleepy) they are a reference to the fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, perhaps best known for its 1937 Disney film adaptation.
 * In the scene when the Pickles are driving home, there is a Clam gas station shown. This is a parody of the Shell oil company.
 * This is the first time Grandpa moves out and into a retirement home. He later moves out again this time permanently in "Acorn Nuts & Diapey Butts" but he does come back and visit his grandchildren in several episodes.
 * In the beginning of the episode, there is apparently a diminutive toucan flying through the carrots' stems.
 * On Lou's tour of the retirement home, he mentions to Stu, Didi, and Drew that they use nets to catch the fish out of the creek instead of a fishing rod, due to the expense of stocking the fish in the "creek" (actually, a fountain). They're also supposed to throw them back after they're caught. However, when Tommy and Angelica were on the runaway electric scooter, Lou rescued them by snagging the scooter with a fishing rod (mounted on the wall with the nets). Flushing Waters should have forbidden its residents from bringing fishing rods, as it is against the rules for them to be used for fishing in the creek.
 * Didi triggers the fire alarm by accidentally opening an emergency exit door. While emergency exit doors often do have alarms built in, in real life they would not set off the whole building's fire alarm system; that can only be done by activating a sprinkler, pull station or a smoke/heat detector.
 * Moral: Show your family members that your care for them instead of ignoring them and let them be helpful if they feel like helping you.