| "The Secret Life of Dogs and Babies" | |
| Season/Series: | 6 |
|---|---|
| Number in season: | 3B |
| Original Airdate: |  October 8, 2001[1] January 11, 2002[2] |
| Credits | |
| Written by: | Peter K. Hirsch |
| Storyboard by: | Patricia Atchison Elie Klimos |
| Episodes | |
| Previous "Prunella's Special Edition" |
Next "Muffy's Soccer Shocker" |
| Read transcript |
"The Secret Life of Dogs and Babies" is the second half of the third episode in the sixth season of Arthur.
Summary[]
A journey inside the minds of Baby Kate and dog Pal shows what they really think of Arthur, D.W., and the silly adults around them.[1]
Plot[]
The episode starts with Arthur, D.W., Kate and Pal watching a parody of Rugrats. The babies in the show escape their playpen by building a block pyramid and using a wooden plank to get across. Kate criticizes the show for being unrealistic, because her playpen isn't that easy to get out of and the kids' parents never appear on the show. She says that Vidiboobies is a better show and wishes that D.W. still liked it. Pal responds, "Maybe she does," and changes the channel. Arthur accuses D.W. of changing the channel, but she denies it. They argue, although to Kate and Pal, it just sounds like a bunch of angry "blah, blah, blah." Kate and Pal continue to watch Vidiboobies.
Jane pushes Kate in a stroller and Arthur walks Pal. Kate and Pal are having a discussion about Vidiboobies when Pal eats a half-eaten doughnut. Nemo starts making fun of Pal and he tries to attack Nemo, although both pets are carried away by their owners.
Back at Arthur's house, David panics because he can't find the bride-and-groom cake topper that goes on top of the wedding cake for the Crosswires' niece's wedding he's catering. Kate notices that David is looking for something. Arthur asks if he can just buy a new decoration, but David responds that they specifically ordered one that looks like the bride and groom. David spent all night sculpting them out of marzipan and shows a photo of them. Kate notices a decoration under the table that looks like the people in the photo, and decides that it must go on the "white tower" (wedding cake). Jane tells D.W. to pick up her toys. Kate crawls over to the figurines, but her mom brings her upstairs before she can grab it.
Kate tells Pal to grab the marzipan sculpture. Pal gets close to it, but D.W. collects it in her toy barn, complaining about doing work. She states that "some of these things aren't even mine!" Pal grabs the barn, and D.W. tells Arthur that his dog is trying to eat her toys. Arthur thinks that Pal is just hungry, and brings him back to the kitchen.
In her crib, Kate wonders about what the marzipan figurines will do. She assumes that it'll turn everyone at the wedding into babies and create peace on Earth. D.W. walks into the room and Kate sees the figurines inside her barn. Kate realizes that she can't escape like the babies in the show, so she starts crying to get attention. However, D.W. gives her Larry the Lemon instead of the sculpture.
Arthur feeds Pal some Chicken Feast, although Pal refuses to eat it. Arthur instead offers him bacon, which gets Pal so excited that he sings a song about it. Pal hears D.W. shouting upstairs, and he runs to see what's going on. Kate has gotten a hold of the statue, and D.W. is trying to take it back. Pal chews on D.W.'s dress, which distracts her, and the statue flies into the air. Pal catches it in his mouth and brings it to David. David refuses to see why Pal is barking, as he's looking for the figurines, so Pal leaves the sculpture there and goes to eat the bacon. Everybody thinks that Pal ate the bride and groom instead of the bacon.
The Read family gets in the catering van, with the wedding cake in the back. Pal runs back to grab the sculpture, and Kate tells him that they're probably going to Muffy's place, because she heard the word "Muffy" a few times. Pal runs to catch up with the van, although his leash gets caught on a fence. Nemo has trapped him there. He forces Pal to beg and then tells him where Muffy's place is.
Pal catches up to the van at Muffy's house. He gives the statue to Kate, who manages to throw it on top of the cake from the back seat. Ed Crosswire is glad that the cake turned out better than he expected. At the wedding, Kate is disappointed that everyone didn't turn into babies. Pal points out that everyone is dancing and acting silly, and they're acting like babies. Kate finishes the episode saying, "I don't know how they'd survive without us."
Characters[]
Major[]
Minor[]
Cameo[]
- Grandma Thora
- Dave (Fantasy)
- Bitzi Baxter (Fantasy)
- Mrs. Barnes (As a baby)
- Little Boy (debut)
Mentioned[]
Songs[]
- "Bacon"
Trivia[]
- This is the first episode that Kate, Pal and Nemo are able to talk. They'll start talking again in some other episodes.
- This is another time that Arthur's dad is shown to cry. This and "Arthur's Family Feud" are the only episodes to show him crying.
- As with all season six episodes, the end credits originally featured a remixed version of Believe in Yourself. Beginning in 2015, the credits were reformatted for reruns and now include the standard version of the song.
- The original airing with Justin Bradley doing Arthur's voice has never been released on any home media since its initial airdate.
- In 2002, this episode was voted as a fan-favorite during the PBS Kids Vote-A-Rama event.
Episode connections[]
- D.W. mentions Arthur watching Love Ducks from "That's a Baby Show!"
Cultural references[]
- In the beginning of this episode, the Reads watch a spoof of Rugrats. Kate's comment about "being in Paris by now" references "Rugrats in Paris: The Movie." Pal compares the red-headed kid to a "chew toy." It's a reference to the Rugrats character Chuckie Finster.
- This is followed by a Teletubbies parody. Kate perceives one of the characters as quoting William Shakespeare's The Tempest. Kate later explains to Pal, that "the smiling baby in the sun represents our essential unity with nature." Teletubbies was on PBS Kids around the time the episode premiered
Home Video[]
DVD:
Gallery[]
Screenshots
References[]