Introduction[]
Francine is seen through the viewfinder of Muffy’s video camera. She stands on the soccer field holding a ball. There are several puddles.
Muffy: Hello fans. Muffy Crosswire here, reporting for the Muffington Post. Today, I'm with Francine Frensky, a soccer star who has overcome incredible odds, having been born with duck's feet.
Francine: What?? That's not true!
Muffy: Well, I have to spice it up.
Francine: Muffy, very few people have successfully done the pinwheel kick, it's incredibly hard. She sketches in the mud with a stick. First, the player has to kick the ball over her head. Then, she turns around in mid-air.
Muffy: Okay, you win. Can you just do it? My designer sneakers are getting soggy.
Francine goes back to take a run-up.
Francine: Today, we make history. She runs, slips in a puddle. and falls on her back onto a net with more soccer balls. Whoaa! The balls bounce her high over the ball she was planning to kick, and headfirst into another puddle. Oof.
Muffy: You were right. That's amazing!
Francine: That's not how it was supposed to go.
***
That evening in her room, Francine watches herself falling into the mud on YouWhoTube.
Francine: Number of views: 202, 203, 204? Ah! I'm doomed!
Title Card: Francine falls during the Mighty Mountain Game[]
Francine walks into the school wearing dark sunglasses and a red coat. She hides behind a row of lockers where Arthur and Buster are getting their things. Then she runs past them.
Arthur: Hey, it's Flippity Francine!
Buster: Are you gonna do another flip? Is that why you're wearing the big coat?
Francine disappears around a corner where she bumps into Binky.
Binky: Nice moves, Flippity.
He tries to high-five her. Francine avoids him and bumps into Muffy. Both girls fall down.
Francine: Oof.
Binky: The one in the video was better, but that's still pretty funny. (laughs) Oh, you're hysterical.
He walks away.
Francine: Thanks a lot, Muffy!
She runs down a corridor, followed by Muffy.
Muffy: Francine, wait!
The girls leave the building.
Francine: Why? So you can film me and put it online?
Muffy: Oh! Are you going to do something funny? 'Cause I can go get my camera.
Francine: No! You've made me the laughing stock of the entire school!
Muffy: Not just the school Francine, the video is a hit all over the Internet!
A woman waves from the curb.
Woman: Flippity, you're hysterical! (laughs)
Muffy: See?
Francine: Oh, great! So I'm ruined in school and Elwood City?
Muffy: Ruined?? What are you talking about? You're a star! Meet me after school and I'll show you what I mean.
She goes back inside. Francine follows.
***
In her room, Muffy shows Francine the YouWhoTube video.
Muffy: You see? We have 574 hits. That's more than Tiny the xylophone playing cat, and that's a classic.
Francine: So?
Mr. Crosswire stands next to Muffy’s bed. He is wearing a duck costume and holding the duck’s head under his arm. He wiggles his tail.
Mr. Crosswire: Muffin? How do my tail-feathers look?
Francine: Uh, Mr. Crosswire. Why are you dressed like a duck?
Mr. Crosswire: We were just shooting a commercial for Crosswire Motors and I'm the spokesduck. He puts on the head. Our prices are so low, we must be quackers!
Muffy: (giggles) It still makes me laugh.
Mr. Crosswire: Well, it should. After all, you came up with it, Muffin.
He pats her with his wing.
Francine: This was your idea??
Mr. Crosswire takes off the head.
Mr. Crosswire: Yep, and since I’ve been doing these commercials, business has tripled.
Muffy: I told you, Daddy, people love to laugh.
Mr. Crosswire: But of course, you know all about that Francine. You're an internet celebrity.
Francine: Actually, I was thinking we should take it down.
Muffy: But you haven't even seen the comments people are leaving. Listen to this one: “My fish Finster recently swam away, and this video really brightened my day. Thank you, Flippity. You should have your own show. Best, Winnie from Winnipeg.” And there's hundreds of others. We have to do more videos, Francine.
Francine: I don't care how many hits it has. I don't like having people laugh at me.
She walks out.
***
That evening, Francine brushes her teeth. In her imagination, her reflection in the mirror takes on other people’s heads.
Binky's head: You're hysterical!
Mr. Crosswire's head: You're an internet celebrity.
Muffy's head: You're a star!
Francine’s head turns back to normal.
Francine walks across the hallway into the girls' bedroom where Catherine is reading in bed. Francine stumbles over a shoe, falls on her office chair and rolls to her bed into which she is catapulted with a somersault. The window curtains fall on her.
Francine: Whoaa...
Catherine: (laughs) You're such a goof. I can see why everyone loves your video.
Francine: Thanks.
Francine has a fantasy like the opening of a sitcom. Arthur, Buster, and Muffy sit on a couch in a studio, reading magazines and looking bored. Francine comes in, stumbles and falls on them.
Song: “How do you make a smile a frown? Who’s that girl who’s the goof of a town? She’s gonna turn your world upside down. It’s Flippity Francine.”
Muffy and her dad are in her dad’s office. Mr. Crosswire is wearing his duck costume. They are being sprayed by water guns from the Tibbles who are wearing cowboy costumes.
Muffy: Oh, Daddy, they're stealing seventeen percent of our net worth! Who will save us?
Francine: Aaah!
Francine falls through the door and lands on the Tibbles.
Mr. Crosswire: It's Flippity Francine!
Song: “She’s not just a clown, she’s the talk of the town. She’s Flippity Francine. Flippity Francine.”
The fantasy ends. Francine looks over and sees that Catherine is asleep. She goes to the phone in the kitchen and phones Muffy.
Muffy is lying in bed. She sleepily picks up her phone.
Muffy: Hello?
Francine: Did you, er, take the video down yet?
Muffy: No. Oh, but I promise I'll do it in the morning.
Francine: Well, don't. Goodnight.
Muffy gets up and opens her laptop to the YouWhoTube page. She starts typing.
***
The next morning, Mr. Ratburn writes math problems on the blackboard.
Mr. Ratburn: Now, who wants to solve this multiplication problem.
Francine: Me, me, Mr. Ratburn!
While walking to the blackboard, Francine drops a banana peel on the floor and slides into the blackboard on it.
Francine: Whoaaaa!
Mr. Ratburn: Francine? Did you hurt anything.
Francine: Just (coughs) my dignity.
Class: (laugh)
Binky: It's just like the video! Go, Flippity!
***
Francine walks into the cafeteria carrying a lunch tray. Arthur, Buster, Brain, and Muffy sit at a table and cheer her on.
Kids: Flippity! Flippity! Flippity!
Francine: Oh, please. You're all too generous. Whoaa!
She stumbles over a bench and falls down. Her bowl of spaghetti lands on her head.
Kids: Yeah! (laugh)
Buster: She's great. I'll never get tired of this. (laughs)
***
Before a soccer match, Arthur and Buster sit on a bench beside the field and look bored.
Buster: I'm tired of this.
Arthur: Me too.
Francine is hopping around with a towel on her head and one foot in a bucket while Muffy films her.
Muffy: 15,000 page views worldwide can't be wrong.
Mr. Crosswire blows a whistle. The team gathers around him.
Mr. Crosswire: Okay, team. Gather round. Today, we’re facing Mighty Mountain. We can climb that mountain, knock it over, and come down the other side, if we play as a team. Brain points to the towel on Francine’s head. She takes it off and grins sheepishly. Now go out there and give it all you've got!
The team runs on the field.
***
Near the end of the game, a Mighty Mountain player scores, making the score 5:5. Brain gets the ball.
Francine: I'm open!
She runs with the ball.
Tommy: Don't flub it, Flippity!
Francine: Huh? Oof.
She falls over the ball and a Mighty Mountain player gets it.
Arthur: (gasps)
The Mighty Mountain player scores.
MM Player: Haha!
The game ends. The Mighty Mountain players cheer.
Arthur: We would have won if you weren't such an attention hog!
Francine: I didn't do it on purpose. I just got distracted and...
Arthur: Talk to your 10,000 fans!
He walks off in a huff.
Muffy: It's 15,000 fans! And counting!
Francine: Muffy, we’ve gotta stop this!
Muffy watches a replay on the camera’s monitor.
Muffy: Why? This may be your best fall yet. Your fans are gonna love it!
Francine: I don't care! I don't want fans anymore! I want this all to stop!
Muffy: Okay, but it wasn't just me filming out there. Lots of people were.
The woman who stood in front of the school walks by with a video camera.
Woman: Flippity, you're hysterical! (laughs)
Francine: Aw...
She covers her face.
***
That night, Francine and Catherine are asleep.
Francine has a dream like a documentary.
Announcer: Francine Frensky: athlete, popular girl. Then, an accidental encounter with a soccer ball, a video camera, and the internet would rip all of that away.
The first fall is shown.
Muffy stands in an operating room wearing surgeon’s clothes.
Muffy: Gentlemen, we can remake her... sillier, goofier, totally ridiculous.
She adds a red nose, oversize shoes, and a horn. Francine lies on the operating table dressed as a clown.
Francine runs over a soccer field full of banana peels. A group of preschoolers watch.
Announcer: Haunted by the memory of the life she once had, Francine Frensky now does flips for small children.
Francine flips.
Preschoolers: (cheer)
D.W.: Again!
Francine flips again.
Preschoolers: (cheer)
Announcer: The flipping failure.
The dream ends. Francine wakes with a start.
Francine: (gasps)
***
Francine sits at her computer. Below the “Flippity Francine” video is now a “Flippity Frank” video.
Francine: "Flippity Frank"? Great, now I even have copycats.
The computer beeps. Francine clicks a button and Buster’s face appears in a window.
Francine: Hey, Buster. Yes, I know we could have won the game if it wasn't for me.
Buster: Oh, I wasn't calling about that. I had an idea. Have you thought about using a trampoline? It could spice up your act.
Francine: No, thanks. I just want to be plain old Francine again. I'd give anything for that.
Buster: Yeah, I know how you feel.
Francine: You do?
Buster: Remember when I saved that cat from a tree? He takes an old newspaper out of his desk. I was a celebrity for... well, at least a week. I hated it. Everyone thought I was really stuck up.
Francine: How'd you get people to like you again?
Buster: Hmm... I don't remember. Hold on. He looks into the paper. Oh, I saved my friends from a runaway piano. Do you see any runaway pianos?
Francine: Uh, no.
Buster: Ah, too bad. The only way I know of not being famous for one thing is to be famous for something else. Hopefully, something you're proud of.
Francine: Buster, that's it! You're a genius!
Buster: That's what I keep saying!
Francine runs out of the room.
***
Francine juggles a ball on the soccer field when the rest of the team arrives.
Buster: Francine, the game doesn't start for an hour. How long have you been here?
Francine: I’ve been putting in some extra practice.
Arthur: Practicing your flips? Maybe you should just be the team mascot.
***
During the soccer game, Arthur gets the ball and passes to Muffy, who passes back. A Mighty Mountain player runs at Arthur.
Francine: I'm open!
Arthur: (gasps)
Arthur hesitates, but then passes to Francine. She looks at the scoreboard. There are seven seconds left and the score is 7:7. Francine runs towards a defense player, kicks up the ball, and does a pinwheel kick into the goal. The whistle blows.
Arthur: Yes! We won!
***
In the Frenskys' living room, Buster, Arthur, Francine, and Muffy watch Francine’s kick on Sports News while eating pizza.
Muffy: You were right, Francine. The pinwheel kick would have been a great video for the Muffington Post. I can't believe I didn't film it!
Arthur: I can't believe the five o’clock news did.
Buster: My mom got the footage. She tapes all our games.
Arthur: Can we watch it again?
Francine: Okay, just one more time. But we have to back it up to my favorite part.
Francine winds back the tape to the Crosswire Motors commercial in which Mr. Crosswire dances in his parking lot dressed as a duck.
Mr. Crosswire (on video): Wing it on over to Crosswire Motors. Our prices are so low, we must be quackers! (quacks)