"Some men are such dogs!"
Production Code: 114
Fu Dog must go undercover as a woman in a beauty pageant run by evil wizard Eli Pandarus for the purposes of an evil plot.
Tropes
- Aesop Amnesia: Fu Dog learns that women aren't just pretty creatures to drool over; they have value and worth that goes beyond their appearance. According to Fu, he learned his lesson… Of course, as indicated when he gropes a female hunchback, he sheepishly admits he didn't learn his lesson with flying colors.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: "Fu-Ella" points out the contestants' talents. There's a mermaid who helped build the pyramids, an elf who has a degree in science, and Bertha the giant who... well she's not bright, but she's a good baker.
- As Himself: Monty Hall plays a villainous version of himself attempting to become the most powerful game show host in the world, with him making reference to Alex Trebek.
- Becoming the Mask: Downplayed. While Fu Dog doesn't entirely believe he's a woman, he does start taking the pageant too seriously by wanting to diet, get some beauty sleep, and worries about winning the same as the other contestants. Reconstructed when his time as "Fu-Ella" teaches him to be more empathetic towards women and their feelings.
- Black Comedy: Sara has a vision about a beauty pageant contestant on TV.Sara: Ooh, look at those heels! She's going to have a tough time running for her life in those!
- Call-Back: Played for Laughs. When Fu Dog reintroduces Veronica to Jake, her face doesn't ring a bell for him. ...Until he sees her spidery lower half. Unnerved by the sight, Jake recalls all too well that indeed, he's met Veronica before.
- Casanova Wannabe: Fu spends several minutes upon first arriving at Pandarus Island failing to woo any of the contestants.
- Everybody Has Standards: Even for a teenage boy, Jake is disgusted with Fu gawking the beauty pageant contestants on TV.
- Exact Words: Pandaras points out that he needs to marry the fairest creature for his ritual to be completed, meaning that gender does not matter. See entry on Loophole Abuse.
- Expy: Miss Hades is pretty clearly just a Rule 63 version of James Woods' Hades from Hercules, which considering the show is a Disney property is to be expected.
- Hidden Depths: A great deal of the women at the magical pageant are very talented. Even Bertha the giant, who isn't very bright, is very good at baking pies.
- Ironic Echo: At the beginning of the episode, Fu Dog brushes off a pixie as a "ditzy dame". Later, disguised as "Fu-Ella", Fu Dog is called the same thing by an unsuspecting Pandarus.
- Kick the Dog: ...Emotionally. Believing Fu Dog to be a contestant in the pageant, he demeans "her" as just another ditzy dame when "Fu-Ella" stutters nervously. This cuts Fu very deeply.
- Loophole Abuse: Zigzagged. Fu Dog and Pandarus each have a go at exploiting the loophole. When Pandaras reveals he means to marry off "The Fairest of them all" in order to become the most powerful wizard, Fu Dog invokes a loophole by pointing out that since the shar pei is a male, his chances of marrying the fairest woman are ruined. However, Pandaras invokes a loophole of his own when he points out that Fu Dog was crowned "Fairest Creature", therefore making his plans anything but void.
- Power Nullifier: Lao-Shi and Jake get trapped in a net made of Sphinx Hair, the only substance that makes a dragon powerless. After contact, they change to human form and are unable to transform back until they are freed.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: The women in the magical pageant tell off Pandarus for how he runs the pageant, treating his contestants like they're pieces of meat to put on the display and pick from, not to mention how he excluded a Talent Round for showing off their intellects.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Sara and Kara show up for a couple of minutes in the prologue to warn Jake that they envisioned Pandarus scheming something evil for the Pageantthen are absent for the rest of the episode save them helping the mermaid contestant walk off the yacht.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Or at least, in sincerity. While disguised as Fu-Ella, Fu-Dog notices Iris the cyclops is crying and listens to her insecurities about her appearance. In contrast to his earlier treatment of her, Fu Dog is more than comforting towards her and assures the poor cyclops that she's a beautiful person and is going to be just fine in the pageant.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Pandarus isn't the least bit putoff by finding out Fu-Ella is actually Fu Dog, so long he's recognized the "fairest."
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: "Fu-Ella" gives a heartfelt speech about how special and beautiful each of the contestants is in their own way, that their worth goes beyond whether or not they fit someone's idea of beauty.
