The Baby Vanishes

"The Baby Vanishes" is an episode of Rugrats from Season 3.

Characters Present

 * Angelica
 * Tommy
 * Chuckie
 * Drew
 * Stu
 * Didi
 * Chas
 * Charlotte (mentioned)

Synopsis
''Thinking that the vanishing cream can actually make a person vanish, Angelica uses it on Tommy and Chuckie, then on herself. Meanwhile the adults play a very difficult board game called "Neurosis".''

- Description from Klasky Csupo

Summary
Using Didi's bottle of vanishing cream, Angelica schemes to steal dessert from the adults, who pretend not to notice her.

Recap
Drew notices Angelica playing with Charlotte's make up and attempts to punish her, but he lets her off easy, stating that they'll straighten things up a bit so Charlotte won't even notice. He adds that in the future, he doesn't want her to play with Charlotte's $95-an-ounce oil of oleo vanishing cream. Angelica wants to know what vanishing cream is. Drew says it's something that grown-ups use to make things like unsightly liver spots invisible. Angelica asks if vanishing cream really works. Drew admits that it doesn't, but that grown ups pretend for mommy's sake. Angelica smirks, having come up with a naughty idea....

Later that day at Tommy's house, Stu, Didi, and Charles are preparing the Life-style (but significantly more difficult) board game, Neurosis. While Drew rings the doorbell, Didi shows Charles the quiz column area of the latest issue of Lipschitz' magazine. Drew comes into the kitchen with some chocolate crème pie while Angelica heads into the playpen, where Tommy and Chuckie are playing with blocks. Angelica asks if the babies are missing anything. The two friends want to know. Angelica answers: "freedom, "inderplendence"...chocolate pie". She shows the two that the pie is on the kitchen counter, but Chuckie says that they'll get in trouble if the grown-ups catch them taking the pie. Angelica hints that if nobody can see them do it, they can get it, and tells them about vanishing cream. Angelica insists that they'll be invisible to grown ups and can do whatever they want.

As Angelica takes Tommy and Chuckie to Didi's bedroom, the adults are finishing up the quiz, "Fifty Ways to Tell if your Child is a Spoiled Brat". Didi is a little worried, having answered one question negatively. Chas says it's OK, having marked four himself, and adding that according to Lipschitz, up to ten is perfectly normal.

When they look at Drew for his results, he admits to marking almost every question poorly. The others, after several moments pause, say it's just a quiz and doesn't mean anything. But Drew unhappily admits that Angelica is horribly spoiled and he doesn't know what to do. Didi tells him that Lipschitz has a cure for her behavior: to just flat out ignore all of her bad behavior. Drew agrees he'll try that, and the adults begin Neurosis.

The kids find Didi's vanishing cream, with Angelica putting a dab on Tommy and Chuckie and pretending they're invisible. The two go into the kitchen, with the grown-ups taking no notice as they set up the game. Angelica, certain that they'd be caught and punished, is amazed that they stole the pie successfully and believes that vanishing cream does work. As the two start eating the pie, Angelica suggests that the two put the cream on her. They put a dab on her cheeks, but Angelica asks for all of it so she can be extra invisible. They comply and Angelica and Cynthia are thoroughly covered in cream, clothes and all. As she goes into the kitchen to do some invisible things, the parents pretend not to notice her. During this series of charades, Didi tries to serve the pie, but "notices" that it is missing.

Angelica makes fun of her Daddy, saying that she threw his office papers out the window in the freeway because he made her eat broccoli, thinking it was funny. Drew moans in horror because of this and faints on the table.

Angelica then heads back to the pen, saying that she'll never get into any trouble as long as she's invisible. Thinking Angelica took the pie, Didi suggests that the rest would just have cookies instead, giving Tommy and Chuckie one. Angelica begs for a cookie, but Didi simply ignores her. Tommy suggests that Angelica wipes the cream off. Angelica tries to wipe it off, but it wouldn't. Angelica thinks that she's going to be invisible for the rest of her life.

Drew, who has woken up earlier, says that he couldn't believe Angelica threw out the Olsen report, saying it was a multimillion-dollar account. Didi says it was just a mistake and children make them all the time. Drew says that Angelica won't get away with this mistake and marches to the playpen to punish her. However, after hearing that she loves her daddy while lamenting about being invisible, Drew quickly changes his mind, picking her up and saying that she's learned her lesson. Drew suggests that he take Angelica home for some cleanup and that he'll buy her an ice cream cone. Angelica suggests the flavors she wants and some toys she wants, including a Mr. X exploding smash-up doll and a Cynthia lunch box.

Trivia

 * The "vanishing cream" Angelica uses on Chuckie, Tommy, and herself is labeled "Mud". Believe it or not, there actually was a facial cream on the market called "Mudd".
 * Another of Charlotte's cosmetics, "Oil of Oleo," is a parody of the real-life cosmetic Oil of Olay. Oleo is another term for margarine.
 * Angelica says she threw her father’s office papers out the car window on the freeway for making her eat broccoli. However, in the episode “Pickles vs. Pickles,” Angelica’s mother says that she (Angelica) did not think broccoli was so bad the last time she tried it prior to that episode.
 * The title of the episode is a reference to the 1938 Alfred Hitchcock film, The Lady Vanishes.
 * Moral: Your parents will always care for you and show their love for you no matter what you do good or bad.

Goofs

 * Tommy asks what invisible means. But in the episode "My Friend Barney" (earlier in the series) Tommy already knew what invisible meant. Either this episode takes place before "My Friend Barney" or Tommy forgot.