Slumber Party

"Slumber Party" is the second segment of the third episode of season 1, and the fourth Rugrats segment overall.

Characters Present

 * Tommy
 * Angelica
 * Didi
 * Stu
 * Spike
 * Lou
 * Drew
 * Charlotte (mentioned)
 * Chuckie (mentioned)
 * Phil (mentioned)
 * Lil (mentioned)
 * Herman Schachter (mentioned)

Summary
''Angelica sleeps over at Tommy's, but her desire for an open window leaves Tommy feeling ill. This results in some very bizarre dreams.''
 * - Description from Klasky Csupo

Plot
Tommy is in his room, standing in his crib and fiddling with his baby mobile (on which hangs 5 small objects: A naked Cupid that’s aiming a bow and heart shaped arrow, a Crescent Moon, a Star, a Storm Cloud, and an Old Fashioned Biplane Airplane) when the home’s trademark door buzzer sounds; Didi walks by the bedroom door and says to her son: “That must be Drew and Angelica here for your slumber party.” A curious Tommy slowly repeats to himself in a cute way: “Slum-ber-par-ty”. We then focus on Angelica at the front door, who looks quite unhappy and disinterested in having a slumber party with her younger cousin; she complains to her father: “I still don’t see why I have to sleep in the dumb old baby’s room!” Her father replies: “Cupcake, it’s gonna be your first slumber party.” Drew and Didi answer the door and Stu greets his brother and asks Angelica how she’s doing; Angelica continues to be a brat and doesn’t immediately reply, but Drew eggs her on (“Muffin?”) and Angelica sarcastically replies: “Thank you so much for inviting me and daddy to spend the weekend with you.” Didi fondly replies “Of course sweetums” and she lovingly pinches Angelica’s right cheek (Angelica, however, finds this to be annoying). Stu adds in “I’m just gonna say it Drew; she’s the most beautiful little girl I’ve ever seen”; Drew replies “No question about it little brother.”

Didi then offers the two a seat in the living room while she gets Tommy, and Stu and Drew follow Didi into the house, but Angelica doesn’t immediately follow (still feeling quite grouchy and frustrated about having to spend the weekend at her Aunt and Uncle’s house) and her father whispers to her “Come on muffin”; Angelica, in rage, kicks the front door’s frame and reluctantly follows her father inside (tightly clenching her fists and stomping along the way). Stu, Didi and Drew then have a sit on the couch and start to talk, and Angelica and Tommy (drinking from one of his baby bottles) sit on the floor nearby; as the adults talk, Angelica tells Tommy: “Listen here: I got better things to do than sleep in a ‘bottle sucking’ baby’s room; but since I gotta, I get first dibs on beds.” Tommy however doesn’t immediately answer and only continues to drink from his bottle. The two then briefly listen in on the adults’ conversation before a slightly disgusted Angelica tells her cousin: “Why don’t you grow up and quit sucking that dumb bottle? Only babies suck on bottles.” Didi then interrupts everyone and says that it’s time for the kids’ nap; she asks her niece (who, feeling bugged, clenches her teeth; though faced the other way so that Didi doesn’t see): “Angelica ready for sleepy-bye?” Angelica turns around and sarcastically puts on an innocent looking happy face and nods to tell Didi yes. Tommy continues to suck on his bottle, but then suddenly stops and says “Huh?”

We fade to a bit later on in Tommy’s room as Didi has put Tommy in his crib and is tucking Angelica into a guest bed that’s been set up for her; as Didi tucks Angelica in, she says to her tenderly: “There, you see? Here’s your very own bed.” Angelica, still hiding her inner frustration, smiles and replies: “Thank you Aunt Didi; it’s so nice and comfy.” Didi then walks over to Tommy’s crib and asks Tommy (who’s still drinking from his bottle): “And how are you sleepyhead? Ready for nappy-byes?” Tommy stares back at his mother as he continues to drink from his bottle and then looks at his cousin, who’s making fun of him behind Didi’s back by imitating the way Tommy drinks from his bottle. Didi tucks her son in and then briefly fluffs her niece’s pillows before quietly walking out and closing the door; as soon as Didi is gone, Angelica promptly gets up, sheds her pretend happy expression and takes her frustration out on her pillow by punching it. Tommy interrupts her and asks her: “What’s a slumber party?” Angelica replies: “That’s a really dumb question that only a baby bottle-sucker would ask!” She then takes a quick whiff of Tommy’s room and rudely remarks “It smells like a baby’s room in here!”; she then gets up and opens the bedroom window to air the room out. A chilly draft begins to blow inside and a shivering Tommy states that it feels too cold, and a non-compassionate Angelica sarcastically replies as she gets back into bed: “Aw, Mommy’s little baby to cold?” A curious Tommy then asks: “Come on, tell me, what’s a slumber party?” Angelica rudely replies “If you have to ask, you’ll never know” and then lies down to go to sleep. Tommy then lies down to go to sleep himself and covers himself with his blanket; he ganders at his open window as the chilly draft continues to blow inside, and he then huddles up and tries to stay warm and go to sleep (all whilst continuing to shiver).

Time passes, and by the evening, Tommy continues to shiver in bed and Angelica begins to shiver as well; she wakes up and notices how cold the room is, and she gets out of bed and closes the window. Just before she walks back, she notices Tommy shivering and thinks to herself for a brief moment (wondering if he’s ok) before walking away. We then fade to later on in the kitchen where Tommy and Angelica are having dinner; Angelica is wide awake and eating, but Tommy is barely able to stay awake, apparently having been unable to fall into a deep sleep (all through nap time) because of the chilly draft. As Didi feeds Tommy, he drifts into a micro sleep with the food in his mouth and then sneezes (causing him to involuntarily spit his food out and onto Angelica’s dress). Didi asks her son if he’s ok; Angelica innocently states to her aunt “I can feed myself” and she replies as she tends to her son “Yes, you’re a big girl”. Didi asks her sleepy looking son if he’s still sleepy, and Angelica adds in “Babies need a lot of sleep”; Didi decides to promptly put Tommy back to bed, adding in: “You don’t seem to be feeling well sweetheart.” Angelica innocently adds in “Sometimes I stay up ‘till 9 o’clock.” and Didi replies as she carries Tommy back to his room “That’s nice dear; you finish your dinner while I put Tommy to bed.” Once Didi and Tommy are out of the room, Angelica (apparently not enjoying the food she’s eating) nonchalantly slowly moves her plates to the side of the table, spills its remaining contents onto the kitchen floor, and sarcastically states to no one in particular: “Oops, and it was so yummy to.” Spike comes over and starts lapping up the spilt food.

Meanwhile, up in Tommy’s room, we find Tommy back in his crib; Didi puts Tommy’s teddy bear next to him and gives him a bottle to drink from. Didi then tenderly asks her son: “My little wubby ok?” Tommy is of course is too little to reply to her and only stares back as he drinks from his bottle; Didi then tenderly utters some “baby talk” (gibberish) to him and wishes him “Nighty night”. Didi starts up Tommy’s baby mobile (and it begins to slowly spin around and play its music) and then starts to walk out; she stops at the door, tells her son “I guess you’ll get an early start on your little slumber party”, and then turns out the light and closes the door. Tommy stares up at his mobile and continues to drink from his bottle as he tries to fall back asleep; suddenly however, an exhausted and apparently ill Tommy begins to hallucinate and strange things begin to seemingly happen before his eyes: First, his mobile begins to spin around faster and faster, and then his crib and everything in it (except himself) seem to grow in size; a shocked Tommy nervously drinks from his bottle a tad feverishly. Next, Tommy sees his clown lamp, Mr. Fluffles (which we see get broken in a later episode), come to life and hop around (laughing wickedly as it does so), and he again nervously drinks from his bottle; then, he sees his now apparently giant Teddy Bear fall over, Tommy gasps in slight shock and then continues to nervously drink from his bottle. He then sees his bedroom window briefly come to life (with the part of the window not covered by the shade and creases in the shade itself forming into a scowling face) and blow another draft into his room.

Then, just as if his surroundings couldn’t get any more surreal, the tip of the nipple on Tommy’s own bottle changes into Angelica’s head (which says “Baby” to him); a shocked Tommy tosses his bottle aside. Tommy then nervously looks up at his mobile, and the head of the dangling Naked Cupid is replaced by Angelica’s head, which says: “Aw, mommy’s little baby to cold?” All these illusions leave Tommy quite frightened (and he covers himself with his blanket), but Tommy then hears his mother coming in to check on him and he smiles and sighs in relief; however, all of Tommy’s relief is suddenly turned to more shock as his own mother now appears to be in the shape of the Crescent Moon from his mobile! The seemingly Crescent Moon shaped Didi comes over and picks up her son; and as Tommy is picked up, it seems that he and his mother are ascending into a vast nighttime sky. We then switch from Tommy’s hallucinated point of view to reality; Didi briefly rocks her son in her arms and then feels his forehead and finds that he has a fever (“Oh my, you’ve got a terrible fever honey!”). Stu then walks in and asks his wife what’s wrong with their son, and we then begin to switch back to Tommy’s point of view: We see Stu morph into the storm cloud from Tommy’s mobile, we see Drew, Angelica and Tommy’s grandfather, Lou all come in looking to Tommy like the remaining 3 objects from his mobile (Drew is the Star, Angelica is the Naked Cupid, and Lou is the biplane), and the scene then changes back from Tommy’s room to the vast nighttime sky Tommy is seeing. Didi tells everyone that Tommy has a fever and that “he’s just burning up”, she openly wonders how her son came down with it so fast (not knowing about how Angelica let the chilly draft into his room during nap time). Angelica claims (wanting to look innocent): “It wasn’t me.” Stu then says that he’ll Tommy’s doctor, Herman Schachter, and walks (or, as a storm cloud, floats) out to make the call. Didi tenderly tells her son “Poor little thing”; Angelica then interrupts and states to the two: “Maybe Phil and Lil gave it to him; I know I- didn’t, [she turns to tommy] DID I [and she threateningly aims the bow and arrow at Tommy]!?"

Lou then states: “Aww, you two call that Doc every time the little fella’s got a hiccup. Now in my day…” Drew interrupts his father and suggests he go fetch the thermometer; Lou replies: “Thermometer? Why the boy’s just got a chill. All you gotta do is hold him upside down…” Drew interrupts again “Never mind, I’ll get it” and then goes to retrieve said thermometer. Lou then continues: “Now just get some applesauce and an old sock big enough for his head.” Stu then come back into the scene and attempts to interrupt him, but Didi tells him to let him finish; Lou continues: “I was just saying, you turn him upside-down and then feed him the applesauce.” Stu replies: “I remember that one: There was applesauce everywhere.” Didi suggests that perhaps they could try it, but Stu rejects this, pointing out: “It didn’t work then, it doesn't work now!” Stu then goes on to mention that the doctor said not to worry, and instructed them to give Tommy his baby drops and then call back in the morning. Angelica, still trying to look innocent, claims: “Um.. Maybe Chuckie came over and opened his window.” Drew then comes back into the scene with the thermometer (which in Tommy’s point of view looks like a small bolt of lightning); Lou, still partial to his remedy, states to everyone: “You kids just didn’t have the stomach for the applesauce cure” and Drew replies “Not the applesauce cure.” Lou then goes on to state: “Why in my day we had to walk…” Drew sarcastically interjects “How many miles pop?” Lou finishes: “15 miles to school, for your information, in the snow! With no shoes!” Stu then takes Tommy from Didi and slips the thermometer under Tommy’s left armpit (Tommy briefly shrivels up as the cold thermometer touches his skin; in Tommy’s point of view, the lightening bolt thermometer also creates a bright flash upon making contact with him), and the scene briefly switches from Tommy’s point of view back to reality.

Didi consults her baby book by Dr. Lipschitz and it suggests that they put a radio under Tommy’s pillow, but Stu says that their only available radio is bigger than his pillow; Angelica states to everyone: “I don’t know what the big fuss is all about; he’s just faking it.” Didi then goes on to state that the book also suggests that Tommy could be sung a lullaby; Didi asks her husband is they know any lullabies, and he suggests that they make one up (Didi asks: “You think?”). As they start, we again switch from reality to Tommy’s point of view; as they sing, Stu gently rocks his son in his arms:

Stu: It’s your bedtime champ

Didi: Uh... Let’s turn out the lamp

Stu: You’ll feel better tomorrow

Didi: But this song you can borrow

Stu comments to his wife “Nice, Didi." and she replies “Thanks.” Tommy also begins to smile. They continue:

Stu: If your cheeks are still red

Didi: And there’s heat in your head

Stu: Then we’ll call up the doctor

Didi: His name’s Herman Schachter

Stu: ‘Cause you’re our little boy

Didi: You’re our pride and joy

Stu: And we think you’re the best

Didi: So goodnight; get some rest

As Stu continues to rock his son to sleep, a curious Angelica comes up for a closer look and notices that Tommy is starting to look sick; she comments to herself “Uh oh! Maybe he isn’t faking it.” Tommy then starts to retch; and then, before Angelica can think to back away, Tommy vomits all over her! A horrified Angelica screams and runs away and her father goes after her, telling her: “WAIT UP MUFFIN; YOU’RE DRIPPING EVERYWHERE!” But though Angelica is now a mess, it does serve her right for exposing Tommy to the chilly draft at nap time. Lou tells his grandson “That’s my boy”; and at last, Tommy drifts off to a deep and peaceful sleep, surrounded by those who love him the most, and seemingly floating in a heavenly nighttime sky without any more worries. We see Tommy, Stu, Didi and Lou float deeper into the sky until they’re out of sight and a shooting star rushes by before we fade to black and exit Tommy’s point of view for the final time.

We then fast forward to the next morning, and Tommy wakes up (no longer sleep deprived) to a beautiful sunny day and a bird singing outside his window, and he yawns and stretches; looking around his room, we find that his slumber party has also come to include not just Angelica (who’s sucking on her thumb), but also Stu (who’s sleeping on a chair), Didi (sleeping on her husband’s lap), Lou (who’s sleeping in a rocking chair), and Drew (who’s sleeping next to Angelica). Tommy is delighted to see that everyone has slept with him; Didi then wakes up and walks over to check on her son. Didi feels Tommy’s forehead and finds that his fever is gone: “Oh pumpkin, you seem much better this morning.” Everyone else then wakes up and walks over and has a look at Tommy: Stu asks his son “Hey, how’s my champ?”; Lou states: “Well lookie here, he’s got my stamina, that’s for sure.”; and Drew states to Tommy: “That was some chill you got sports-fan.” Angelica briefly interrupts everyone and asks who will buy her a new dress. Lou then tells everyone that he’s gonna fix breakfast, which he states will be ‘Pancakes and Applesauce’ and points out that he has a strange hankering for some applesauce before walking out and presumably to the kitchen to get started. Stu points out to everyone else “Well after a night like last night, I think we could all use a little of grandpa’s applesauce” and he and the rest of the adults follow Lou out of Tommy’s room.

Angelica then walks over to Tommy’s crib and states to him “I’ve never seen anyone barf like that.. Wow!” A slightly embarrassed Tommy smiles and blushes at Angelica’s comment. Angelica then proceeds to catch up with everyone else, but Tommy gets her attention and asks if slumber parties are always like what happened last night; Angelica simply replies a she walks over and opens the crib so Tommy can get out: “It’s like I told you before: If you have to ask, you’ll never know.” She then walks out of Tommy’s room to catch up with everyone else, and Tommy (after a brief moment) then proceeds to catch up to Angelica and join everyone for breakfast; and the episode comes to an end.

Trivia

 * This is the first time Charlotte is mentioned. However, she doesn't make an on-screen appearance until "The Santa Experience".
 * Tommy's bottle sucking sound heard in this episode is the same sound used for Maggie Simpson sucking on her pacifier on The Simpsons, Klasky Csupo's previous project.
 * This is the first time Tommy was seen sucking a bottle.
 * Tommy and Angelica go down for their nap at 2:15 P.M.
 * This is the second time Chuckie, Phil, and Lil are absent. They are, however, mentioned in the episode.
 * Illnesses are caused by viruses and bacteria. Being cold has nothing to do with it, despite what some people think.
 * However, being cold can make the immune system weaker, making it easier for bacteria and viruses to take over, but usually this occurs when the body is already fighting an infection.
 * The background music heard during Stu and Didi's lullaby in Tommy’s hallucinations was generated by a Roland D-50 synthesizer, using the "Fantasia" internal patch.
 * This episode premiered the same day as The Ren and Stimpy Show episode "Nurse Stimpy" premiered, which also involved one of the main characters getting sick (in this case, Ren).
 * This marks the first episode where Angelica got her comeuppance due to the creators scrapping their original plan on making her a permanent Karma Houdini.

Goofs

 * When Angelica is punching her pillow we see that her shoes are off. But when she is getting out of bed her shoes are on.
 * When Tommy yawns after waking up from his dream he has a full set of teeth yet on the episode "Weaning Tommy" we learn that Tommy only has one tooth.
 * When Angelica is getting into bed, her pillow is gone, and then it comes back.
 * At the beginning of the episode, a clock is shown, but no hands appear to be on it.
 * Didi telling Tommy that Drew and Angelica are here, mistaken to him when she meant to say "Uncle Drew."