| Season 3 Episode 16b | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chuckie is Rich | |
| Original Airdate | January 9, 1994 |
| VHS release | A Rugrats Thanksgiving |
| DVD release | Season 3 |
| Previous Episode | Under Chuckie's Bed |
| Next Episode | Mommy's Little Assets |
Chuckie is Rich is a Season 3 episode of Rugrats.
Characters Present
- Tommy
- Chuckie
- Phil
- Lil
- Angelica
- Howard (does not speak)
- Betty (does not speak)
- Didi
- Stu
- Drew
- Chaz
- Pat Sajak
Plot
After spending days in their house with a leaky roof (which Chaz could not afford to fix), Chaz and Chuckie become instantly rich after winning $10 million in the "American Dunderhead" magazine contest, the one with "TV personality" Pat Sajak's face on the envelope; Chaz started living it up and investing in an ear wash device called the "Ear Whizz" (on the advice of Drew), while Chuckie wishes to be just a regular person again.
Summary
Chaz and Chuckie have fallen on hard times; at the moment they have very little furniture left, and the roof is leaking badly in the rain. Phil and Lil are visiting, and notice that it's raining in the living room. Stu and Tommy come to visit, and Stu and Chaz talk about the poor shape of his house as Chaz checks his mail. It turns out that he's a finalist in the American Dunderhead sweepstakes, a local contest where contestants win $1 million, $5 million, or maybe even $10 million. Chaz licks the winning stamp on the "yes, I want to win" part of the application.
Six weeks later, TV personality and Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak visits the Finsters' house, where he informs Chaz that he has won the $10 million prize in the American Dunderhead sweepstakes. Two weeks pass, and Chaz has bought a mansion with the money he won. He and Chuckie move to the mansion, vowing that he doesn't have to worry about leaking roofs or bill collectors anymore, and, best of all, that Chuckie can have all the toys he wants.
At Tommy's house, Tommy is worried because he doesn't know where Chuckie is. Angelica explains that he's rich now, and explains what being rich is to the babies.
At the mansion, Chuckie tries to play with the large Thorg doll Chaz bought. When Chaz returns from his tennis match, he asks Chuckie if he wants anymore toys from the toy store before noting he already has just about toy from there. Chaz then says about inviting their friends over to come visit, which makes Chuckie happy.
While on the way to Chaz's new mansion, Stu is worried about what to do or say since the Finsters are rich now, believing that money could have changed Chaz for the worst. When they pull up, they note the plaque says "C. Norbert Finster, esq" and Didi remarks she didn't know Chaz had a middle name. Stu says he could have bought one. Chaz's butler, Jenkins, welcomes the Pickles to the mansion (for a moment Stu mistakes the butler for Chaz) and takes Tommy to Chuckie's room were Phil and Lil are already at. Chaz shows the Pickles' and the DeVille's his new (and presumably very expensive) glass elephant. During this time, Drew comes over with Angelica and a new invention called the Ear Whiz, which Drew urges Chaz to invest money in so Chaz can grow wealthier. Chaz is unsure, but agrees to trust Drew's judgement.
Meanwhile, when Tommy and the DeVille twins are interested in playing with Chuckies new toys (including a video game console and video game starring the Dummi Bears) Chuckie gets offended because they're interested in the new toys instead of Chuckie's favorite ball. When Angelica arrives in Chuckie's room she agrees to play with the ball with Chuckie. When Chuckie wonders why Tommy and the twins are acting strange, Angelica says that they're jealous that he has all these new toys in order to turn Chuckie against his friends. Angelica promises she's his true friend, and Chuckie turns his back on Tommy, Phil, and Lil.
When the Pickles head home, Stu voices his dislike in Chaz' new attitude. Didi tries to tell Stu that Chaz is having difficulties adjusting to his new lifestyle, but Stu ignores what she says and insists that money changes people for the worst. In the back seat, Tommy nods in agreement.
The next day, Chaz takes Chuckie to his new daycare, where many famous celebrities bring their kids there to play. On the ride to the daycare Chaz is on the phone with Drew, who advises Chaz to invest even more money into Ear Whiz. Chaz is reluctant, but continues to trust Drew's judgement. At the daycare, because Chuckie only recently became wealthy the other babies and toddlers aren't interested in becoming Chuckie's friends, and Chuckie feels lonely.
Sometime later, Drew and Angelica visit the mansion with some unfortunate news about the Ear Whiz company. It turns out that the invention increases waxy buildup in the ear canal, and the company has gone bankrupt. When Chaz asks how much money Drew invested, Drew reluctantly admits nearly all of it. Chaz is horrified and begins to panic. He begs Drew to help him, and Drew tells Chaz to sell the mansion and all his new furniture. But Chaz refuses to give up his beloved glass elephant. During this, Chuckie seeks out Angelica and asks if she wants to play ball with him. Angelica overheard their father's conversation and informs Chuckie that he's dirt poor again so she's no longer his friend, because Angelica only liked him for being rich.
In three hours' time, the Finsters move back to their old house. Stu and Tommy come by to visit once again. Stu says he's sorry to hear about Chaz losing his fortune, but Chaz is much calmer now and explains there's enough left to fix the house (and presumably refurnish it as well), and he got to keep his glass elephant. Chaz apologizes for his behavior while he was rich, and Stu forgives him. Meanwhile, Tommy apologizes to Chuckie as well, who says it's fine because he learned who his real friends are. Both of them are happy everything is going back to normal. Stu admires the glass elephant and finally admits it really is nice. However, he accidentally knocks it over a moment later, and Chaz screams.
Trivia
- Current Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak guest stars as himself, with his son making a cameo.
- In early April 2001 on Wheel of Fortune, Pat Sajak paid back the Rugrats in a form of a puzzle, which, when solved, said "THE RUGRATS". After the contestant solved it, he named the characters.
- This is the second episode that Angelica explains what is "rich", the other is Tooth or Dare. Only this time, Phil asks what rich is.
- Chaz's middle name is revealed to be Norbert.
- Giant, mechanical Thorg and Reptar toys like the ones seen in the episode Toy Palace make an appearance in this episode, in this case purchased by Chaz for Chuckie. Presumably he bought them (and the rest of Chuckie's new toys) from Toy Palace, though he doesn't refer to it by name.
- The American Dunderhead its the company where Pat Sajak works apparently, "Dunderhead" it's synonym of "Stupid Person"
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