| Cool Hand Angelica | Gallery | Transcript |
|---|
| Season 3 Episode 2b | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cool Hand Angelica | |
| Original Airdate | October 3, 1993 |
| DVD release | Season 3 Retro Essentials Complete Series |
| Previous Episode | Chuckie's First Haircut |
| Next Episode | Tricycle Thief |
"Cool Hand Angelica" is a Season 3 episode of Rugrats.
Characters Present[]
- Tommy (speaking cameo)
- Chuckie (does not speak)
- Phil (does not speak)
- Lil (speaking cameo)
- Angelica
- Susie
- Drew
- Charlotte
Characters Mentioned[]
Characters Introduced[]
- Jack Bubble
- Camper
- Camper 2
- Les
- Bodhi
- The kids and worker at Susie and Angelica's Day camp
Synopsis[]
Angelica and Susie go to day camp, but Angelica only wants to do things she likes.
- Description from Klasky Csupo
Plot[]
While all the Rugrats are over at the Carmichael home, Susie tells them that she's going to be spending most of the summer at a day camp. She shows off all the stuff she's going to be using at camp. Tommy, Chuckie and the twins are happy for Susie and tell her that day camp sounds like fun and that they wish they could go. Susie says they're too little to go to camp-- she says that while camp is fun, it's also really hard. Angelica scoffs at this, claiming, "Camp is for kids who can't handle real life." Susie tells Angelica that camp in general is a lot harder than you'd think it is, but Angelica brags that she could handle camp, even going so far as to say, "They'd probably make me boss of the place my first day." After Angelica leaves, Susie gets an idea on how to get back at her.
Later that day, while Angelica is watching T.V. at her own house, Susie's mother, Lucy, calls Angelica's mom, Charlotte. After they are done talking, Charlotte goes to talk to her husband, Drew. Susie presumably told her mom that, when Angelica heard about day camp, she got excited about it. Lucy convinces Charlotte and Drew to enroll their own daughter in the day camp that Susie's going to, and they decide to do so. Angelica ends up being very against the idea. She screams and cries and tries to convince her parents to not enroll her in the camp by telling them that she's "special"... which makes them determined to send her.
The next day, Angelica, with all her stuff in tow, is on a bus bound for the day camp with a bunch of other kids who are going. After she and the other kids get to the camp and meet the director, a man named Jack Bubble, Susie comes up to Angelica. Realizing that Susie was the one who ultimately convinced her parents to enroll in her in the camp, Angelica gets mad at her. But Susie tries telling Angelica that camp really is fun and points out some of the activities they can do, such as swimming in the lake, hiking through the woods and even going on an obstacle course. Angelica doesn't want to participate, but she gets caught by one of the counselors and is forced to participate in the activities.
During Angelica's time at the day camp, she has a hard time doing the activities and fitting in with the other campers (with the exception of Susie, who does try helping her). After a disastrous tug-of-war, Angelica lands in a big pile of mud and one of the older campers tells Angelica, "Face it, kid; you're never gonna be a camper." Susie helps Angelica out of the mud and realizes that maybe some kids just aren't meant to be campers. But Angelica shouts, "No! As bob as my witless, I AM gonna be a camper! I AM!"
A montage then shows Susie helping Angelica improve at the camp activities and ultimately fit in with the other campers. Angelica greatly improves and ultimately has fun at the day camp. But when Angelica gets called to Mr. Bubble's office, Susie and the other campers get worried for Angelica. After getting to the director's office, however, it turns out that Angelica's not in trouble-- her parents have simply come to pick her up early because the three of them are going to have dinner at Stu and Didi's house that night. Angelica is surprised to find herself not wanting to leave. As Angelica is taken away, Bodhi, Susie, and the other campers start chanting her last name "Pickles" out of respect, and Angelica is left happy that she got to attend.
Music Identification[]
- Bah Vocals: Mark Mothersbaugh
Trivia[]
- The title of the episode, as well as some plot elements, are a reference to the 1967 movie Cool Hand Luke, starring Paul Newman. Like Angelica at summer camp, the film's title character was also taken away from home but was a prisoner. Like Angelica, Luke gained popularity among those confined with him, but unlike Angelica, was never brought back home and taken away near the end of the film with the intent of being transferred back to prison after escaping; he also died during this matter. At one point, the art teacher says the famous quote, "What we've got here is failure to communicate" from the film.
- The camp counselor is a reference to Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, from the 1987 movie, Full Metal Jacket as well as the Warden from the 1979 movie, Escape from Alcatraz and, to some extent, the sunglasses-wearing chain gang overseer in Cool Hand Luke.
- The shot of Angelica trying to catch a chicken is a reference to the 1976 film Rocky.
- This is the first episode in which Tommy does not play a main or supporting role, as he, Chuckie and the twins only appear in the opening scene. Also, neither Chuckie nor Phil have any lines in this episode--but Tommy and Lil both do.
- This is the first episode that only focuses on Angelica as the main character.
- This is the only time Angelica is wearing a blue swimsuit and the only time she wears water wings.
- Morals:
- Encountering new experiences may seem uncomfortable at first, but it will be interesting later.
- When you participate for the first time, don't let others put you down, and never give up.
