Diapies & Dragons

"Diapies & Dragons" is a Season 9 episode of Rugrats.

Characters Present

 * Tommy
 * Dil
 * Chuckie
 * Kimi
 * Taffy
 * Britannica
 * Gracko
 * Yummi Bear
 * Token Seller
 * Dragon's Children

Synopsis
''Taffy makes her second appearance by taking the Rugrats to a video arcade. When the babies think she has been captured in by a video game dragon, they enter the game to rescue her. Will Tommy, Kimi and Chuckie bet up the challenge, or will the dragons get them too?'' - Description from Klasky Csupo.

Summary
Taffy takes the Rugrats to a video arcade; the Rugrats imagine themselves trying to save "Princess" Taffy from the dragons in a video game.

Plot
The episode begins at the arcade, where Taffy and her friend, Britannica, have taken Tommy, Dil, Chuckie, and Kimi for the day. While Taffy is excited to play Super Mortal Extreme Doom 3D Ping-Pong, she hopes the babies won't be too bored. Britannica assures Taffy that the babies will think the arcade is the best place ever. Chuckie, seeing how dark the arcade is, thinks it's the scariest place ever. Tommy tells Chuckie that he thinks the arcade looks fun, but Chuckie strongly disagrees with him, pointing out a claw machine grabbing a teddy bear, a racing game where the player crashes his car, and an arcade game shaped like an alien spaceship. Kimi tells Chuckie not to worry, as there are kids playing in the spaceship. Chuckie retaliates by telling her that when the aliens return, the kids will be in big, big trouble. Taffy and Britannica come to a castle-themed arcade game, where a dragon named Dragon is the villain. Britannica tells Taffy that the game will pull you right in, as she spent most of last summer in it. Taffy wants to try out the game, and claims that she has great hand-eye coordination, just before tripping and falling into the game.

Tommy asks Chuckie where Kimi is, and Chuckie tells him that the Aliens got her. Tommy finds Kimi, who is mesmerized by a Dummi Bears-themed arcade game. Taffy tries the Castle game out, but doesn't get very far. That doesn't stop her from giving up, though, as she leaves to find more tokens. Chuckie manages to snap Kimi out of her trance, and she asks him what happened. Chuckie tells her they almost lost her. Tommy looks in the Castle game and finds that now, they've lost Taffy. Chuckie tells him that Taffy might have left to go to the bathroom. Inside the game, Dragon says that he has taken the Princess, and they will never get her back. Chuckie tells Tommy and Kimi that Dragon must talking about someone else, but then, a princess who looks and sounds just like Taffy appears in the game, crying for help. Dragon grabs and flies away with her, and Tommy tells Chuckie that Taffy must have been pulled into the game. Chuckie tells Tommy that he knew they should have gone to the park, and Tommy tells him they have to get Taffy out of the game, as she is the best babysitter they ever had. Dil agrees with him.

Meanwhile, Taffy and Britannica are at a dancing-themed game, when Taffy sees a teenage boy managing the tokens dancing along. She tells Britannica that the boy is boy-band cute, and Britannica tells her to ask him out. Taffy tells her that if she does that, the babies will miss her. Britannica assures her that the babies won't even notice she's gone.

Back in the Castle game, as Tommy, Chuckie, and Kimi attempt to play it, Dil hits his rattle against the plug, loosening it. This causes the game to reset, and give Tommy, Chuckie, and Kimi the credit to play. The game starts at the first level, and Tommy assures Taffy that he, Chuckie, and Kimi, are coming to save her.

In their fantasy, Tommy, Chuckie, and Kimi land on a giant flower. Chuckie then looks up and sees Dragon fly away with Taffy while dropping some eggs. As Taffy cries for help, Dragon's eggs land and hatch into his children, who serve as the game's enemies. Tommy decides that, in order to stay above Dragon's children, follow Dragon back to his castle, and save Taffy, he, Chuckie, and Kimi must jump across the flowers. Tommy does so with ease, But Chuckie has a hard time, as he bounces all over the place, and Kimi simply just jumps on the same flower over and over while hitting the cloud above it. Eventually, Chuckie flies into a green bubble and gets stuck in it. Dragon's children jump on the mushrooms below Chuckie and try to attack him, but the bubble causes them to bounce off it. Chuckie realizes that, with the bubble protecting him, he doesn't have to be afraid of Dragon's children anymore. Unfortunately, he falls off the flower, causing the bubble to pop when he lands on the ground. Chuckie is now cornered by Dragon's children, and Tommy tells him to jump back. Chuckie is so scared, he can barely move, so Tommy jumps across the flowers to try to get back to him. Eventually, Chuckie runs to the nearest mushroom and jumps on it. He then jumps on a flower, but Dragon's children are now jumping towards him. Thankfully, Tommy gets to him first and pulls him out of the way just in time, as Dragon's children now bump into each other. Chuckie thanks Tommy for saving him, and Dragon's children have now cornered Kimi. Tommy bounces towards her and pulls her away just in time, as Dragon's children, who jump towards her, now bump into each other. The three babies then jump across the flowers and follow Dragon. They see Taffy and hear her cries for help, and jump off the flower.

Tommy and Kimi jump over a hole, then Tommy tells Chuckie to look out for it. Chuckie looks around, asking Tommy, "What hole?" He does see the hole, but it is now too late, as he is standing on the edge of it. He loses his balance and falls in. Tommy and Kimi jump into the hole after him, and Chuckie lands in an underground lair. Tommy and Kimi land next to him, but now, Dragon's children are catching up to them. They run away, then turn a corner and find three shovels next to a cave filled with dirt. One of these shovels is inside a red bubble. As Tommy and Chuckie pick up the other two shovels, Kimi pops the red bubble in the third shovel and a red aura glows over her. This red aura increases her speed, causing her to dig through the dirt quickly and easily. She digs a tunnel leading to a hole outside Dragon's castle, then runs back to Tommy and Chuckie, telling them really fast, that with her newfound speed, she can stop Dragon's children and save Taffy. She then runs into two of Dragon's children, destroying them, and onto the ceiling. Chuckie tells Kimi that they're not allowed to run on the ceiling, and with that, Kimi instantly loses her newfound speed. She falls, then tells Tommy and Chuckie that it was the "funnest" ride she's ever been on. Tommy tells her that the bubbles do good things for them, and that they have to find Taffy.

Back in the game, Dragon tells the babies that they will never get the princess back. Chuckie shudders in fear upon hearing this, but Dragon finishes by telling them the only way to do so is to insert another token. Tommy tells Chuckie and Kimi that now, they need to find some more tokens.

Taffy walks up to the Token Boy and tries to ask him out, but gets nervous, and ends up asking him for more tokens. The Token Boy takes her dollar, and tries to give Taffy her tokens, but he gets distracted himself and drops the tokens. Taffy tries to get the tokens, but she gets distracted and accidentally steps on the Token Boy's foot, causing him to spill his bag of tokens. Taffy apologizes and offers to help the Token Boy get the tokens back, but she and the Token Boy bump their heads trying to get the tokens at the same time. The Token Boy then tells Taffy that she has a really pretty eye, and Taffy smiles upon hearing this.

As Tommy, Chuckie, and Kimi look for more tokens, one rolls past them. Tommy tells Chuckie and Kimi that they have to catch the tokens. After catching a few, Kimi puts them into the game, causing it to continue at level two. Tommy tells Chuckie and Kimi to hold on, as now they have a babysitter to save.

In their fantasy, Tommy, Chuckie, and Kimi reach Dragon's castle, and see Dragon hovering over Taffy, who is crying for help. As they cross the drawbridge, Dragon slams the castle's floor with his tail, causing the floors of the castle to slant into ramps. Tommy, Chuckie, and Kimi climb up the ladders as Dragon swats his eggs with his tail, causing them to roll down the ramps. Tommy, Chuckie, and Kimi all dodge the eggs and climb the ladders up to the top of the castle. They reach another hole, but this time, Chuckie stops before he can fall into it. Tommy and Kimi hold his hands as the former assures him they can make it over the hole. They all jump together, and while Tommy and Kimi make it to the other side of the hole, Chuckie doesn't exactly. He pulls Tommy and Kimi into the hole, and Tommy grabs onto the edge. He tries to pull Chuckie and Kimi back up, but their combined weight causes him to lose his grip, causing all three of them to fall into the hole. Thankfully, they are all saved by an elevator, which takes them to the top of the castle, just outside the turret where Dragon is flying around a crying Taffy. Kimi tells Tommy and Chuckie that Taffy looks very sad.

Meanwhile, Taffy plays Super Mortal Extreme Doom 3D Ping-Pong, and beats the Token Boy at it. The Token Boy is amazed, as nobody has ever beaten him at that game before. He then asks her if she'd like to go out with him sometime, and she tells him she'd love to.

Back in Tommy, Chuckie, and Kimi's fantasy, Tommy tells Dragon to give Taffy back to him, Chuckie, and Kimi. Dragon roars at them, and Chuckie nervously asks him, "Please?". Dragon roars at Tommy, Chuckie, and Kimi once more, and his children emerge from the doors near them. As they charge towards Tommy, Chuckie, and Kimi, Kimi tells Tommy and Chuckie that they can't take them all at once and get to Taffy, but Tommy looks up and sees a blue bubble. He tells her and Chuckie that they've come too far to stop now. The bubble can help them, and he's going to get it, or cry trying. Tommy jumps into the bubble, and falls. A blue aura glows over him as Dragon's children surround him. This blue aura causes Tommy to grow to an enormous size, and Chuckie and Kimi gasp as Tommy scoops up Dragon's children and puts them back behind the doors. Tommy then assures Taffy that with his new size, he can easily save her, but then he suddenly shrinks back to his normal size. Tommy tells Taffy that he may still be his normal size, but that won't stop him from saving her. As he runs towards her, Dragon drops an egg on him, which causes him to shrink down to the size of a mouse. Kimi runs up to him, and he tells her that now that he's really small, he should run away. Kimi picks him up and runs away with him, but Tommy suddenly grows back to his normal size and knocks her over. Chuckie runs up to them and congratulates Tommy for defeating Dragon's children. Tommy then looks up and sees Dragon dropping everything he's got; more eggs, and more of his children. Kimi tells Tommy and Chuckie that Dragon is throwing everything but the "Kitty's sink" at them, but Tommy assures her and Chuckie that they're not leaving without Taffy. He then tells Chuckie that, since he's the tallest, he should climb on the shoulders of him and Kimi. Chuckie does so, but tells Tommy that he's not too good at jumping. Tommy assures Chuckie that he can save Taffy. He and Kimi jump, and Chuckie jumps off them, but just before Chuckie can reach Taffy, Dil hits the plug with his rattle again, unplugging it from the socket, and shutting the game off. This leaves the game on an ambiguous ending, and Tommy, Chuckie, and Kimi wondering whether or not they saved Taffy.

Just then, Taffy says, "Hi, Minis!", and Tommy wonders where her voice came from, since the game is shut off. Taffy returns, and Tommy, Chuckie, and Kimi are so glad to see her again, as they missed her. Taffy tells the babies that she missed them as well. She then tells them that she knows they had fun playing the game, but now it's time for them to go home. She then tells them not to worry, as they'll come back to the arcade again tomorrow. Chuckie worries upon hearing this, and asks Tommy if they'll never go to the park again. Tommy tells him, "Not as long as there's giant dragons stealing babysitters.", and Chuckie tells him he was afraid he'd say that to him.

Quotes
(Dil hits the plug, loosening it, and causing it to reset the game.)

Dragon: "You have won credit. Not nearly enough to defeat Dragon!"

(Dragon laughs evilly.)

Kimi: Look! Drago has babies!

Chuckie: "Yeah, and they all need a time-out!"

Kimi (really fast): Wow! I can go real fast now! Don't worry, guys! I'll stop those dragons and everything will be okay! Bye-bye! Whee-hee-hee-hee!"

(Kimi runs through two of Dragon's Children, destroying them, then onto the ceiling.)

Chuckie: "Kimi! We're not allowed to run on the ceiling!"

(Kimi loses her newfound speed and falls.)

Dragon: "You will never get her back!"

(Chuckie shudders in fear.)

Dragon: "Unless you insert another token."

(Tommy has grown to an enormous size, and has defeated Dragon's children.)

Tommy: "Giant Tommy's coming to save you, Taffy!"

(Tommy suddenly shrinks back to his normal size.)

Tommy: "Uh, regular-sized Tommy's still coming to save you, Taffy!"

(Tommy runs towards Taffy, but Dragon drops an egg on him, causing him to shrink down to the size of a mouse. Kimi runs towards him.)

Tommy (in a high-pitched voice): "Uh, really really small Tommy thinks he should probably run by now!"

Kimi: I got you, teeny-tiny Tommy!"

(Kimi picks up Tommy, and as she runs away with him, Tommy grows back to his normal size, causing Kimi to fall over.)

Allusions

 * The game that the babies went into is based on the ' and ' games, both made by Nintendo.
 * Gracko is voiced by Dwight Schultz, who voiced Dingodile in .

Trivia

 * Taffy's friend, who makes her debut this episode is named Britannica. In "Hold the Pickles", she is revealed to work at Boingo Burger.
 * Among the arcade's pinball tables is one with a backbox styled after Gottlieb's Knock Out, a table released in 1950.