Episode 713: Whose Tale Is It, Anyway?

	Muppet Babies
Air Date	October 20, 1990
Written by	Sindy McKay; Larry Swerdlove

The Babies meet their new neighbor, Janice.

Plot[]

Underscored by Elmer Bernstein's music for The Magnificent Seven, the Babies are on a horse chase through the Old West (assisted by footage from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) hot on the tail of Baby Gonzo and Baby Animal. The race comes to an end inside a canyon blockaded by the Statue of Liberty wearing green striped socks.

Back in the Nursery, the Babies fall at the feet of Nanny who introduces the kids to their new neighbor, Janice. Janice says hello and greets Baby Bean Bunny as Bean-o (they met last week). From their previous encounter, Janice already has an impression of the Babies: Baby Kermit is the nice and boring one, Baby Piggy is not sweet or kind, and Baby Gonzo is easily identifiable as the weirdo.

Bean invites Janice to join the chase after Gonzo, but she opts to watch on the sidelines instead. The Babies imagine themselves on horses again, but quickly transition to a low-gravity planet where they pass Janice reading Peter Rabbit to Bean. Janice has to prove to Piggy that she can read, and the narrative switches to their imagination again.

Because she's reading the story, Janice replaces Piggy as Mrs Rabbit, remakes the home in a hipper image, and introduces characters from the book dressed as hippies: Baby Fozzie as Flopsy, Baby Kermit as Mopsy, Baby Bean as Peter Rabbit, and Baby Piggy as Cottontail. Unhappy with the way the story is going, Piggy convinces Bean to tell some of her version of the story. Back on horses in the Old West, the Babies find themselves back in the narrative in which they're chasing after Gonzo and Animal, but they're pulled out again after Janice keeps contesting elements of the story.

While Piggy and Janice argue over the details, Bean goes missing. To help find him, Baby Skeeter and Baby Scooter offer their services as The Bobbsey Twins, detective characters from the book Bipsy and Boopsy Bobbsey: Born to Bring Bad Baby Bunnies Back to the Barn Where They Were Born. Unbeknownst to them, Bean has taken off on a motorcycle with Gonzo and Animal, but quickly ditches them.

He comes across Baby Fozzie playing a farmer character with an Elmer Fudd speech impediment that inspires Bean to make a costume change into Bugs Bunny. When Kermit shows up as the speed-impaired character from The Tortoise and the Hare, he changes again, but soon overhears Baby Rowlf show up as Eddie Valiant riding Benny the Cab looking for Roger Rabbit.

After singing "I'm Only One Bunny", Bean explains his anxiety over everyone expecting him to be every lagomorphic character in whatever story is being told, and laments over being no one's favorite bunny. When Piggy and Janice assure him that he's the cutest and most adorable bunny ever, the babies celebrate the girls finding something to agree on.

Song[]

"I'm Only One Bunny"

Characters[]

Muppet Babies: Baby Kermit, Baby Piggy, Baby Fozzie, Baby Gonzo, Baby Rowlf, Baby Scooter, Baby Skeeter, Baby Animal

Supporting Characters: Nanny, Janice, Baby Bean Bunny

Notes[]

This episode was one of the handful of episodes that was not shown in US syndication after the initial run and reruns of the show on CBS. It was shown in syndication in the UK.