The third episode of the second season of Rugrats (1991).
The Big House:
Didi leaves Tommy at a daycare which turns out to be maximum-security, and he and the other babies there try to find a way out.
The Shot:
Tommy is afraid of getting his booster shot.
"The Big House" provides examples of:
- The Big Guy: Big Justin, who's twice the size of Tommy.
- Bookends: This episode begins and ends with a butterfly flying past the entrance to the Golden Apple Daycare center.
- Crocodile Tears: Morgan specializes in this trope to get the adults' attention, which is why everyone calls him "Crybaby."
- Cry into Chest: Wiseguy does this with Big Justin when he tells Tommy the story of a friend of his who got sent away when he tried to break out of Golden Apple Daycare.
- Daycare Nightmare: Tommy gets dropped off at Golden Apple Daycare, where the staff act like prison guards and proudly proclaim to the parents that there had never been an escape. Tommy and the other babies try to do just that until the parents just happen to show up at the moment they were about to break out.
- Didn't Think This Through: When Tommy tries to unlock the door with the Play-doh key, the key is too soft and bends out of shape.
- Even Evil Has Standards: When the woman in charge places Tommy in a five-minute time out for something he didn't do, both of her assistants feel that's too harsh.
- Fantastic Slurs: The toddlers at Golden Apple Daycare call the adults "Screws".
- First Day of School Episode: Tommy gets dropped off at Golden Apple Daycare, which nobody likes due to it being very strict. He meets a few toddlers who have been there before, all of whom have nicknames.
- Human Ladder: When even Big Justin is unable to reach the lock of the door, Tommy climbs on top of him to reach it.
- Improvised Lockpick: Doughboy makes a key out of Play-doh for Tommy to unlock the door with. Unfortunately, the key is too soft and bends out of shape when Tommy tries to unlock the door with it.
- Ironic Name: The high security daycare is called Golden Apple, a fruit linked with Eris, Greek goddess of strife and chaos.
- Mouth Cam: Shown whenever Crybaby cries.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Several of the toddlers at Golden Apple Daycare have nicknames, such as "Wiseguy", "Builder", "Doughboy", and "Crybaby". Of the toddlers who have nicknames, only Crybaby's real name is revealed; "Morgan".
- Prison Episode: Tommy goes to Golden Apple Daycare, a daycare center that looks and feels like a prison.
- Time Out: Tommy gets a five-minute time-out when he is wrongfully blamed for destroying Builder's block tower and Doughboy's Play-doh cat.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Crybaby can make himself cry even when nothing's bothering him. At one point, he uses it to distract the staff so Tommy and the other toddlers can break out.
"The Shot" provides examples of:
- Afraid of Needles: Chuckie is revealed to be afraid of needles, and he tells Tommy the story of his booster shot, which sends Tommy into a panic, leading him and Hector to try to escape from the hospital.
- An Aesop:
- Face your fears.
- Taunting and gloating is a form of bullying, and it may come back to bite you, especially if you're vulnerable to the same fears you're teasing someone else about.
- Daddy's Girl: Subverted; Drew takes Angelica to the doctor's office to get a booster shot, which is far from the first or last time he and Angelica are seen together without Charlotte. At the end of the episode, however, when Angelica bursts into tears after getting her shot, she cries for her mother, even as Drew tries his hardest to console her.note
- Hypocritical Humor: When Angelica tries to tell Didi that Tommy and Hector are trying to escape from the hospital, Drew is talking to Didi, and tells her that it's not polite to interrupt. When Angelica waits until he's finished, she tells him that Tommy and Hector are trying to escape, and Drew tells her that she should have told her right away.
- Injection Plot: Tommy and Angelica go to the doctor to get their booster shots.
- I Want My Mommy!: Angelica teases Tommy about how painful the booster shot will be. As it turns out, Angelica was in for a shot too, and she is carried out screaming for her mother, to the bemusement of Tommy and Hector.
- Laser-Guided Karma: While Tommy and Hector aren't bothered by their shots at all, Angelica — the one who was harping about how traumatic it would be for babies like them — leaves the office crying.
- Mondegreen Gag: Tommy mishears booster shot as "rooster shot" at one point. When he meets Hector, his new friend is also in for a "rooster shot."
- Not Now, Kiddo: Angelica tries to tell Didi that Tommy and Hector are trying to escape the hospital. Drew shushes her, then later tells her that she should have spoken up earlier, to Angelica's chagrin.Angelica: Aunt Didi, Aunt Didi...Drew: Now, honey, Daddy and Aunt Didi are talking.Angelica: I know, but...Drew: And when grown-ups are talking, little boys and girls are supposed to wait quietly.Angelica: I know, but...Drew: Then when the grown-ups say it's okay for you to talk, then you can say whatever you want.Angelica: I know, but... [Drew puts his finger over her lips]Drew: Now, honey, calmly, what was it you wanted to tell Aunt Didi?Angelica: The little kids have gotten away!Didi and Hector's Mom: OH, NO! [they run after the children]Drew: You know, honey, these are the kinds of things you should really tell the grown-ups right away.Angelica: RRRRGH!
- Post-Treatment Lollipop: Tommy is afraid of getting his booster shot due to both Chuckie and Angelica telling him it's the scariest thing in the world. He and his new friend Hector even try to escape from the hospital, to no avail. But when it's time for Tommy to see Dr. Schacter, he is handed a lollipop and is so entranced that he doesn't even notice the needle. He even gets a bandage to match his candy, as does Hector, who also made it through without a fuss. (It didn't seem to work on Angelica, though).
