Angelica the Magnificent

"Angelica the Magnificent" is an episode of Rugrats from Season 2.

Characters Present

 * Tommy
 * Angelica
 * Chuckie
 * Phil
 * Lil
 * Drew
 * Stu
 * Chas
 * Howard

Synopsis
''With her Wee Wizard Magic Kit, Angelica finds it's easy to make things disappear -- even Lil. But can she get her back before Stu, Drew, Howard and Chas finish building their storage shed?'' - Description from Klasky Csupo

Summary
A new magic kit installs a new hobby for Angelica, who desperately wants to demonstrate for anyone who will pay attention to her. The adults are too busy doing yardwork, so the babies are chosen to be the audience. Unfortunately, Angelica's latest trick seems to make Lil transform into a butterfly. It is up to "the magician" to get Lil back before the adults find out.

Recap
Angelica tries to make a ball disappear, with unsuccessful results. As Drew tries to have Stu, Chas and Howard help him build his shed, he "helps" his daughter by asking her to sprinkle some fairy dust. As she does so, Drew sneaks the ball out of her cup, and Angelica thinks that the trick worked. She shows off the magic trick again and again to the dads, but they are getting tired. Drew asks if she can perform the magic trick to the babies.

She puts on a magic show, putting on her magician costume from her "Wee Wizard" magic kit. She shows the trick to the babies, and after doing so, the ball falls out from under the cup. Angelica's next trick is making her wand float in thin air, but it's clearly noticeable that it's hanging by a string. Angelica then says she's going to make her wand disappear like she did the ball, but Lil points out that the ball is sitting on the ground by her feet. Lil wants Angelica to pull a rabbit out of her hat, but Angelica claims that she can't. After getting fed up with Lil, Angelica decides to try and make Lil disappear. Angelica gets a cardboard box for the trick and shoves Lil in it. While she's reciting the magic words, Lil gets out the back of the box after getting distracted by a couple of butterflies, one of which gets inside the box. With Angelica's trick seemingly being a success (albeit with different results), the boys try getting Angelica to "change Lil back." When the boys get the butterfly they think is Lil, Angelica tries unsuccessfully to change Lil back.

Since Angelica can't do anything, Tommy gets mad and points out that Angelica's going to be in serious trouble when the adults find out what she did to Lil. Angelica, not having realized that beforehand, acknowledges that Tommy is right. Angelica then suggests that Phil should pretend to be Lil for a while by putting a pink bow in his hair, but Chuckie points out that it won't work because there wouldn't be anyone to pretend to be Phil at the same time. Tommy makes Angelica tell their dads about what she did to Lil, which Angelica agrees to do (albeit very reluctantly). While Angelica goes to tell their dads about what happened, Lil comes up to the boys after being disappointed at not finding a rabbit in Angelica's discarded magic hat. The boys are surprised (but relieved) to see that Lil's okay.

Angelica tries telling their dads about what happened, but ends up fibbing at the last second by claiming the babies dug a hole and buried Lil in it. The dads are shocked, but relieved when they see that Lil and the boys are perfectly fine. Drew figures that Angelica's been watching too many cartoons and decides to put her down for a nap, which Angelica strongly (and loudly) protests. While Drew carries Angelica into their house, Tommy grabs his cousin's wand and attempts to do a magic trick on the now-finished shed.

However, the shed was completely unstable and, coincidentally, falls to pieces the second Tommy points his wand at it. Thinking that he caused it, Tommy throws the wand away and tells his friends, "There are some things even a baby shouldn't fool around with."

Trivia

 * When Angelica tries to bring Lil back after making her disappear, her spell includes the words "In A-Gadda-Da-Vida," the famous 17-minute song by Iron Butterfly.
 * The Rugrats Music Identification was also used in Disney's Adventures in Wonderland.
 * This is the first appearance of Angelica's tragedy cry effect. However, it was eventually used again in "When Wishes Come True".
 * In the early draft, Nickelodeon requested that the scenes involving the shed must be removed from the script, but it remained in the episode.
 * Angelica's dad does a bit of magic as well. Watch Drew demostrate his "Sleight of Hand" tricks in this episode.
 * This is the first episode where all of the Rugrats' dads appear without any of the moms appearing.
 * Even though this episode was aired in 1993, it was actually made in 1992, according to the copyright text on the Nickelodeon logo; it also happened to the previous episode "Rebel Without a Teddy Bear".
 * Moral: Be honest and take responsibility for your actions.