Flicker Joins The Band
Flicker wants to join in with the other tools as they make music, but can’t seem to work any of their homemade instruments. But, when the tools clean out Abuelito’s closet, he finds an instrument all his own- empty bottles!
Tropes in “Flicker Joins The Band” include:
- Bizarre Taste in Food: Mr. Lopart believes that honey-coated mangoes (his answer to candy apples, apparently) will be a big hit with his customers.
- Blatant Lies: Abuelito says he only has “a few things” in his closet. Cue Exploding Closet when Manny manages to get the door open.
- Call-Back: The tools’ homemade instruments return from “Shing Bright”, and the tools are shown playing them at home for fun like they did in “Squeeze’s Day Off”.
- Character Action Title: Describes Flicker wanting to join in with the other tools’ Everything Is an Instrument antics, and eventually finding the perfect thing for him to play- empty bottles.
- "Everybody Laughs" Ending: At the end of the episode, when Fixit barks while the tools play music:Manny: Looks like Fixit wants to join the band too.
- Everything Is an Instrument: The tools are once again shown to enjoy making music this way- most of the instruments are recycled from “Shine Bright” or “Squeeze’s Day Off”, but Felipe and Turner have replaced their fire alarm bell with a cowbell (which is still debatably an example of this), and Dusty has swapped her blackboard for a vent cover. At the end of the episode, Flicker also joins in on this, as he discovers that he can produce a musical tone by blowing across the tops of bottles.
- Exploding Closet: This happens when Manny manages to get Abuelito’s closet open.Rusty: Avalanche!
- Hyper-Destructive Bouncing Ball: A downplayed version ensures when Flicker overstretches a band on Stretch’s rubber-band guitar and causes it to shoot off- the band ricochets like crazy around Manny’s workshop, but it doesn’t actually damage much.
- Instantly Proven Wrong:Felipe: There’s no way to make a bell- la campana- sound bad.
(Flicker hits Felipe’s bell)
Felipe: Wow, I guess there is a way to make a bell sound bad. - Offscreen Crash: This happens when a stuck candy mango (It Makes Sense in Context) Mr. Lopart is pulling on suddenly gives way, sending Mr. Lopart falling backwards; the audience then sees that, somehow, the candy mango has become stuck to the top of Mr. Lopart’s head.
- Variations on a Theme Song: When “We Work Together” is performed while replacing the hinges on Abuelito’s closet, one of the four-note stings is replaced by Flicker blowing across the tops of four bottles.
Paulette’s Pizza Palace
Manny and the tools go to Paulette’s Pizza Palace to fix her dough-rolling machine- and, while Manny goes to Kelly’s for a replacement part, the tools stay and help Paulette make pizza. Pat struggles to make anything but a mess at first, but his… unorthodox way of thinking ends up saving the day- and making some very good (and unique) pizza.
“Paulette’s Pizza Palace” provides examples of:
- Alliterative Title: Paulette’s Pizza Palace.
- Character Catchphrase: This is gently spoofed, as, while helping Paulette, Squeeze accidentally answers her phone with “Paulette’s Pizza Palace, you break it we fix it”.
- Continuity Nod:
- Paulette has a container of Spiffy Soap by her sink.
- Her shelves also contain the same kind of bottles of (presumably) olive oil that Flicker used as musical instruments in this episode’s first segment.
- Covered in Gunge: Pat ends up covered in marinara sauce after he trips and falls into a bowl of the stuff, setting up the episode’s "Everybody Laughs" Ending.
- Crisis Makes Perfect: This is, quite unexpectedly, averted with Pat- at the beginning of the episode, he struggles to throw a frisbee in a controlled manner, and since the tools throw dough in the same way they throw frisbees one would expect that this would ensue when he tries to help Paulette with her pizzas. However, that’s not what happens- he fails at throwing dough, too, and ends up coming up with another way to flatten it.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Pat has one where he realizes that he can flatten pizza dough by hammering it.
- "Everybody Laughs" Ending: When Pat reacts to Paulette’s suggestion for the Pizza Palace to have a special day with Pat-made pizza.Pat: “Pat’s Super-Duper Thin-Crust Hand-Hammered Pizza-Palooza”. I like it! Yippee! Yippee! Yip-
(Trips and falls into a bowl of sauce)
Pat (emerges from bowl, covered in sauce): Marinara. I'm Okay!!
(Manny, the tools, and Paulette laugh) - Hyper-Destructive Bouncing Ball: At the beginning of the episode, Pat nearly turns a frisbee into one when he sends it ricocheting around the street, although fortunately Manny catches it before it can cause too much damage.
- I'm Okay!: Pat says this once when he falls into Paulette’s sink, and then again at the end of the episode when he falls into a bowl of sauce.
- Location Title: Named after Paulette’s pizza restaurant.
- Object Ceiling Cling: When Pat tries to toss pizza dough, he ends up getting it stuck to the ceiling. And the walls. And the cabinets.
- Pineapple Ruins Pizza: This is done subtly- when the tools volunteer to help Paulette make pizza, Pat (who is occasionally shown to have very… odd tastes in food) mentions adding slices of pineapple to pizzas.
- Remember the New Guy?: Paulette is yet another entry for the list of Handy Manny characters who everyone inexplicably knows despite them having never been seen in an episode before.
- Stock Costume Traits: Paulette wears an incredibly stereotypical chef outfit, complete with the hat.
- Your Favorite: Somehow, Squeeze just knows offhandedly how Kelly likes her pizza- with jalapeños, onions, and extra cheese.
