Bud arrives at the firehouse to take Slimer to the beach, but reveals to his disappointment that dogs aren't allowed on the beach, so Fred can't come along. Slimer, however, sneaks Fred along in a picnic basket. When they arrive on the beach, Slimer notices that the lifeguards are Ms. Stone and Bruiser.
Stone sees Fred's tail poking out of the basket and has Bruiser point out the "no dogs allowed" sign to Slimer. He points out that Bruiser is also a dog, but Bruiser brushes him off and chases Slimer and Fred into Bud's car.
Slimer then has Fred hide in a pair of pants and walk on his hind legs while he flies above him, so that people would think the two of them were a single human. Stone sees Fred's still-exposed tail and paws and yells at Bruiser, "I told you to get that dog off the beach!". Bruiser stands on the pants so that Fred can't move, then goes to kick him, but luckily, Slimer replaces him with a watermelon, which lands on Stone's face. She again yells at Bruiser to get Fred off the beach, threatening to fire him, so he runs off while Slimer and Fred hide under a blanket.
Bud arrives, discovers Fred, and decides to take him surfing with him, reasoning that if Fred is surfing, he's technically not on the beach. They surf for a while, but then Fred sees a shark's fin. They run off in fear, but it turns out that it was just Bruiser wearing a fake shark's fin on his head. However, then, a real shark shows up and eats the oblivious Bruiser. It spits him back out, then chases him onto the beach, where he knocks Stone's lifeguard tower over, so she threatens to send him to the pound.
Slimer, Bud, and Fred continue to surf, then Bruiser gets into a hang glider and glues two jet engines to Slimer and Bruiser's surfboard. Slimer flies off, and the surfboard flies into the air with Fred on it. Slimer grabs Fred and the board crashes into Bruiser, who ends up on it. Then, he accidentally picks up Stone and the two fly off in the distance and are chased by the shark, to the satisfaction of Slimer, Bud, and Fred, who end up eating Stone's food that landed next to them.
This short provides examples of
- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: The shark puts on a bib when wanting to eat Stone and Bruiser.
- Alliterative Title: Beach Blanket Bruiser.
- Beach Episode: A non-adult example: the episode shows Slimer at the beach trying to sneak Fred past the "no dogs" rule.
- Big, Stupid Doodoo-Head: Stone calls Bruiser a "dodo brain".
- Dramatic Irony:
- The audience sees that the first "shark" is just Bruiser, but the characters don't.
- Bruiser never notices the real shark, until it tries to eat him.
- Episode Tagline: Stone keeps yelling, "Get that dog off the beach!" to Bruiser.
- Food End: The episode ends with Slimer, Bud, and Fred eating Stone's spilled food.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Bruiser wears swim trunks, while Fred at one point wears pants.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Bruiser ends up on the same rocket-powered surfboard he set up for Fred.
- Inevitably Broken Rule: Dogs aren't allowed on the beach, but Slimer sneaks Fred along in the basket anyway.
- Irony: Despite being a dog, Bruiser is enforcing the no-dogs policy. Lamsphaded when Slimer and Bruiser hold up signs that say, "Hey, isn't he a dog too?" and "That's none of your business!".
- Loophole Abuse: Bud decides that if Fred surfs, he wouldn't be breaking the rule, since the rule is no dogs on the beach, not in the ocean.
- Nearly Normal Animal: The shark mainly acts like a real one, but at one point, it puts on a bib.
- No Animals Allowed: Due to a "no dogs" policy, Fred isn't allowed on the beach, so Slimer sneaks him there in his basket.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Upon seeing Bruiser in his hang glider, Slimer says nervously, "Here comes Bruiser!", then when he glues the jets to the surfboard, Fred freezes up.
- Bruiser and Stone scream when they see the shark.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Fred hides in pants to disguise himself as Slimer's legs, but his tail and paws are still visible.
- Security Cling: Fred grabs hold of Slimer upon noticing the shark.
- Silent Whisper: Slimer whispers unintelligibly to Fred.
- Slapstick:
- Stone ends up getting hit in the face with a watermelon and later falling off her lifeguard tower.
- Slimer and Fred get tangled in a beach blanket.
- Talking with Signs: When Bruiser points at the "no dogs allowed" sign, Slimer holds up a sign that reads, "Hey, isn't he a dog, too?". Bruiser holds up one of his own, that reads, "That's none of your business!".
- Threatening Shark: Double subverted — Fred, Slimer, and Bud see a shark's fin and run off in fear, but it's just Bruiser wearing a fake fin on his head, but then a real shark shows up and tries to eat Bruiser.
