| "Francine and the Feline" | |
| Season/Series: | 3 |
|---|---|
| Number in season: | 13B |
| Original airdate: |  December 30, 1998 April 26, 1999 March 11, 2002[1] |
| Credits | |
| Written by: | Sandra Willard |
| Storyboard by: | Robert Yap |
| Episodes | |
| Previous "Arthur's Dummy Disaster" |
Next "Mom and Dad Have a Great Big Fight" |
| Read transcript |
"Francine and the Feline" is the second half of the thirteenth episode in the third season of Arthur.
Summary[]
Francine falls for a cute little kitten, only for Arthur to overreact and claim that cats are evil, threatening to cost their friendship.
Plot[]
Francine starts the intro by trying to choose which pet she would like: either a Komodo dragon, or a Narwhal. Next, Buster goes on to say that he wants a Pterodactyl. Then, Arthur claims the only pet to have is a dog before he's interrupted by Binky, who claims to want an Ameoba. Arthur tries again, but Brain wants to talk about virtual hamsters. Both of them are interrupted by Francine, who claims it's her intro and how Arthur keeps selfishly hogging it.
Francine and the Feline
At the junkyard where he works, Francine's dad finds a creature hissing at him during lunch. He comes home later to reveal his surprise: a kitten. Francine goes to pet the kitten, but Catherine interrupts and grabs him, nuzzling him and hugging him and so forth.
Both girls go on to argue about the cat and later Francine tells her friends about her new cat. Arthur claims cats are smelly and mean and that he heard of a cat that bit a kid's ear off (which Francine doesn't believe), Brain thinks they're too cute, and Arthur tries to convince Francine that Pal, a dog, is a perfect pet and that Pal wouldn't bite anyone's ear off. Pal then proceeds to steal D.W.'s cookie and wrecks her tea party. Arthur, however, makes silly nonsense, claiming that Pal was teaching D.W. not to leave her food lying on the ground.
Later, Francine comes home to see Catherine has dressed up the kitten, who doesn't particularly seem to like it very much. Catherine then reveals the kitten's name: "Rose Petal". The following morning, Catherine sees Rose Petal lying with Francine, and accuses her of trying to steal Rose Petal's affection.
The cat is a bit wound up, and Catherine does not understand why as she tries to feed him. Francine, however, seems to be enjoying this behavior as she tries to catch up and play with him.
Later, Francine plays cards with the guys, and Brain compliments the intelligence of the kitty, while Arthur manages to upset and frustrate Francine to the point of leaving. Arthur does not plan on changing his mind anytime soon, though, and keeps calling cats stupid while beginning to worry that Francine may end up getting a lot more cats.
Eventually, he imagines cats all over Francine's apartment, and the cats licking his ears until seeing Francine suddenly turn "cat-like", with a cat nose and whiskers.
Later, Francine comes over and has Pal and the kitten (whose name she has changed to "Nemo") meet. Arthur tries to convince her that Pal doesn't need a cat for a friend, and when it seems like Pal and Nemo are playing together, he yells at Francine because he thinks Nemo is trying to kill Pal. After Francine leaves, Arthur suddenly notices Pal is behaving weirdly.
Later, he goes over the story with Buster. Buster claims Pal looks fine to him, but Arthur insists that Pal is "scared and upset". The next morning, Francine shows Nemo to their friends at school. Arthur is even more spiteful of Nemo, who eats the sandwich that was in his lunch bag. Francine turns the tables on Arthur with what he said about D.W. having a tea party and Pal eating her food, by saying that Nemo is teaching him not to leave his food lying around.
After school, Arthur still notices that Pal is behaving weirdly when the doorbell suddenly rings. Francine has arrived to study, and lets Nemo go play with Pal before asking Arthur what they should study for first. It's then that Francine and Arthur begin to argue and fight.
The pets watch the kids argue before Francine angrily storms out and slams the door. Arthur tries to figure out why Pal is so upset and he tells his dad what had happened. His parents reveal that the animals were playing, not trying to fight. And so Arthur, who refuses to listen, then goes to take Pal on a walk when he sees Nemo and Francine.
Nemo and Pal then proceed to unhook themselves from their leashes and run around, making Francine and Arthur chase them. Suddenly Arthur gets knocked over!
He begins to laugh as Nemo licks his ear and the two animals continue playing. Arthur starts to not mind Nemo, and says he's "almost" as intelligent as Pal. Francine disagrees, saying Nemo is "smarter than any dog". Francine and Arthur resume arguing about which species of pet is better as both pets smile and simply watch their owners.
Characters[]
- Francine Frensky
- Arthur Read
- Nemo (debut)
- Pal
- Buster Baxter
- Brain
- Oliver Frensky
- Laverne Frensky
- Catherine Frensky
- David Read
- Jane Read
- D.W. Read
- Binky Barnes
Trivia[]
- Nemo's appearance and relationship with Pal are noticeably different in this episode than in later ones.
- On the front cover of Arthur's Pet Follies, Nemo's original design from this episode was used.
- This is the first episode for Nemo to appear in an episode that has the title card, Francine Hits a Gong.
- Arthur says Pal wouldn't bite anyones ear off because he's a dog although there truly are dogs who have viciously attacked humans for no reason.
Cultural references[]
- Arthur calls Nemo an Edgar Allan Poe cat, referencing the story The Black Cat.
Episode connections[]
- Francine's room still has its lacy decorations from "Francine Redecorates."
- The tea set D.W. uses is the same one Francine gives Catherine in "Francine Redecorates."
Home Video[]
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Gallery[]
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