| "Kiss and Tell" | |
| Season/Series: | 8 |
|---|---|
| Number in season: | 9b |
| Production code: | 115A[1] |
| Original airdate: |  December 25, 2003[2] March 17, 2004[3] December 27, 2007[4] |
| Credits | |
| Written by: | Jacqui Deegan |
| Storyboard by: | Jeremy O'Neill Julian Harris |
| Episodes | |
| Previous "Flea to Be You and Me" |
Next "Big Horns George" |
| Read transcript |
"Kiss and Tell" is the second half of the ninth episode in the eighth season of Arthur.
Summary[]
After Emily brags about being turned into a princess because of a boy's kiss, D.W. tries to make James kiss her.
Plot[]
The introduction parodies the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet with D.W. as Juliet, waiting for Romeo while speaking in Middle English. When her nurse, Nadine, comes to check on her, D.W. gets impatient over waiting for Romeo. A young man climbs up the ivy, only to realize this tower belongs to Juliet and not Rapunzel, causing him to try and leave by climbing down the ivy; he loses his grip on it, however, and falls to the ground. D.W. shouts in frustration about where her own Prince Charming is.
Emily has returned from a trip to Paris and tries on a new hat in favor of her old beret, which she gives to D.W. Emily shows off her souvenirs from France and recalls the time she spent hanging out with a French boy named Pierre. D.W. attempts to tell Emily a story of her and Tommy Tibble doing cannonballs at the pool, but Emily interrupts and reveals that Pierre kissed her hand. She happily reflects how the kiss turned her into a princess in a fairy tale. Surprised and jealous, D.W. wants to experience this, and amidst Emily's explanation about amour (love), decides to find a prince of her own.
At home, D.W. talks about it with Nadine. She has kissed her family, but only kissing a boy her own age will turn her into a princess. The Tibble twins overhear D.W. talk about wanting to kiss a boy. They can't decide whether this is because of a dare or if D.W. wants to get rid of her cooties, but when she approaches them and asks what they're doing, they become horrified and run off.
At preschool, Ms. Morgan asks what music the kids want to listen to during nap time. D.W. suggests "Sweet Dreams with Mary Moo Cow" while Emily offers a CD of "Alouette". The kids vote in a tie, which is broken by James, who votes for D.W.'s choice, much to her delight. At nap time, D.W. tells Emily she has decided to kiss James. However, Emily warns D.W. that the boy has to kiss her, otherwise “something terrible might happen.” D.W. has a fantasy of kissing James and turning first him, then herself, into frogs.
D.W. tries talking to her brother about kissing, but Arthur initially refuses and tells her to go ask their parents. When D.W. finds Arthur's copy of Romeo and Juliet (the cover of which shows a picture of the titular characters kissing), Arthur (after making his sister promise to leave him alone so he can finish his homework) gives her a rough summary story: a pair of teenagers named Romeo and Juliet fall madly in love with each other even though their families hate each other (and have been feuding for a very long time) -- the couple makes a plan to run away together, but then there's a misunderstanding and it all turns out badly. DW asks when Romeo and Juliet kiss during the play, and Arthur claims that the first time they kiss during the play is shortly after they first meet, during a masquerade ball. This gives DW an idea.
The next day at Elwood Community Preschool, D.W. puts on a disguise and introduces herself to James as "Nora". However, James thinks it is show and tell day.
While shopping with her mother, D.W. and Nadine talk about her failure. D.W. sees a western movie in which a hero rescues a damsel from getting run over by a train; she then kisses him out of thanks.
On the preschool playground, D.W. tries to spin the merry-go-round and asks the Tibbles for help, but they run off. D.W. then waves a handkerchief, calling James for help. James stops the merry-go-round so abruptly that D.W. falls off. He then awkwardly returns her handkerchief.
D.W. watches Mrs. Read come home from a long day of shopping at the supermarket with a crying, exhausted Kate. Mr. Read takes Kate and kisses his wife.
In preschool, D.W. stages a similar scene with her Princess Sneeze-and-Wet doll, returning to her table from the cookies and milk line. James pays no attention to her until she stumbles and falls. Fed up, D.W. tells him that she just wanted a kiss, but she chose the one kid who didn't even notice her. James kisses her on the cheek, then goes to get his cookies off the radiator. Stunned, D.W. realizes she is still herself.
After school, Emily congratulates D.W. on being kissed by James on the cheek. She offers D.W. her new hat, but D.W. doesn't feel much different. In the meantime, she would rather do cannonballs with the Tibbles. However, when D.W. asks if they're going to the pool, the twins run away in terror again. A confused D.W. chases after the Tibbles, wondering what's wrong with them.
Characters[]
Major[]
Minor[]
Cameo[]
Mentioned[]
Trivia[]
- Moral: You can't fully appreciate grown-up things like kissing until you're older.
- This is the first episode in which the title card has sound effects playing while the title is read.
- This is the first episode where Sally Taylor Isherwood voices Emily.
Cultural references[]
- The introduction parodies the balcony scene from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet with D.W. as Juliet and Nadine as the nurse.
- "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" is an actual line from the play but is used incorrectly. It's Middle English for "Why are you Romeo?". Juliet says it after discovering that the boy she fell in love with is the son of her family's archenemy.
- Rapunzel is a character from the Brothers Grimm's fairy tales. Prince Charming is a name given to several fairy tale heroes who have no names in the original tales.
- Emily mentions several Paris tourist attractions (the Seine River, the Louvre, Luxembourg Gardens) and uses several French words (trés charmant - very charming, La Tours de Vaches - The Tower of Cows, amour - love).
- Alouette (lark) is a popular French-Canadian folk song.
- Arthur's recap of Romeo and Juliet is correct but leaves out a lot. Romeo and Juliet first meet (and kiss) at a masquerade ball, because Romeo wasn't welcome at Juliet's house due to their parents' feud.
Episode connections[]
- Thunderdance (from "D.W., Dancing Queen") is mentioned.
- This is also the second time one of the main characters was kissed by one of their friends (the first being "Buster and the Daredevils").
- In "Arthur Makes Waves," James references this episode when he asks D.W., "You don’t need me to kiss you again, do you?"
- D.W. imagines herself and James being turned into frogs when kissing. This is similar to the dream sequence Muffy had in "Muffy Gets Mature" where she kisses Buster and turns into a toad.
- In this episode, D.W. thinks of James as her "Prince Charming." In "D.W., Bossy Boots," a flashback shows that D.W. once had James play the part of a prince while playing make-believe with him.
- In "Never, Never, Never," D.W. hosts a puppet show about different types of love. When she demonstrates romantic love by having two of her dolls kiss, she finds it gross and is glad that romantic love is only for grown-ups, possibly recalling the lesson she learned in this episode.
Errors[]
- When James sits down with the other preschoolers, there is a duplicate of Lisa. When the preschoolers are napping a moment later, the duplicate is nowhere to be seen.
- When James stops the merry-go-round, his left (viewers' right) ear is clipped out at the bottom.
- Near the end of the episode, when D.W. spots the Tibbles while talking with Emily, there is a teddy bear atop the shelf behind her that wasn't there in previous shots showing the top of said self a few seconds earlier.
Gallery[]
- Main article: Kiss and Tell/Gallery
References[]
- ↑ MS148.001, Arthur print material, 1994 -- 2007, bulk: 1994 -- 2000. Marc Brown Papers, MS148. Tufts Archival Research Center. https://archives.tufts.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/31977 Accessed March 23, 2025.
- ↑ http://www.ket.org/episode/ARUR%20%20000809
- ↑ Arthur. TVO. Archived from the original on July 19, 2013.
- ↑ https://www.fernsehserien.de/erdferkel-arthur-und-seine-freunde/episodenguide/staffel-8/3906