03x19 - Give Ants a Chance

[bunniefuu]

[mellow music playing]

[girl] It's not funny, so stop smiling!

No. Really, Kathy, I wasn't smiling.

I was cracking up.

Kathy may be older, but she isn't braver.

It was so funny.
We were cleaning out the garage

and a little fuzzy spider ran out
from behind a box.

You've never seen anyone jump so high.

-[meows]
-No, Dinah, not the spider. My sister.

I can't believe
she was afraid of a tiny bug.

Even after I picked it up on a piece
of paper and let it go in the yard

Kathy wouldn't go back in the garage.

Mom said we could finish the job later.

So in the meantime,
I'll find something else to do.

[theme music playing]

♪ Hold on to your seat
Let's go for a ride ♪

♪ Now that we're here on the other side ♪

♪ Use your imagination
And you'll understand ♪

♪ It's an adventure in Wonderland ♪

♪ Every day is something new ♪

♪ With music, rhyme and a dance or two ♪

♪ It's a curious place
With a wonderful crew ♪

♪ And you're never quite sure
What they will do ♪

♪ Use your imagination
You'll understand ♪

♪ It's an adventure in Wonderland ♪

♪ Adventure in Wonderland ♪

♪ Adventure in Wonderland ♪

Hello? Is anyone here?

-What's this?
-[Rabbit] Stop!

Yes. Didn't your parents teach you

that it's impolite to touch other people's
picnic-host-of-the-month wheels?

Sorry. I didn't know.

It's all right. In future, please remember

that only the queen's dainty fingers
may spin this wheel-- Uh, wheel.

Not that I blame you for touching it.

How often I, too, have ached

for the chance to spin the wheel.

To be the one
to determine which lucky subject

will host the special once-a-month picnic.

But I digress.

So the person the wheel stops on gets
to throw a picnic for everybody else?

That's right.
In fact, last month, I hosted the picnic.

People are still talking about
my carrot burgers.

All right,
let's get this show on the road!

Oh, hi, Alice. Are you here
to watch me spin the picnic wheel?

Yes. Looks fun.

Oh, it is. If you'd like,
next month you can be on the wheel too.

Trust me, it's quite exciting.

After all, once the wheel starts spinning,

who knows whose nose
the arrow will point to?

[pop music playing]

♪ When the arrow spins, the fun begins ♪

♪ Well, it could land on anyone ♪

♪ The Rabbit or Tweedle Dum ♪

♪ It's a queenly occupation ♪

♪ I keep my eyes and nose
On the spin situation ♪

♪ For our picnic recreation ♪

♪ Round and round ♪

♪ And round and round ♪

♪ The wheel goes ♪

♪ Who knows whose nose ♪

♪ The wheel chose? ♪

♪ The picnic-of-the-month host
Is at my command ♪

♪ Just one spin of the wheel ♪

♪ And the choice is at hand ♪

♪ Oh, it blows ♪

♪ Round and round ♪

♪ And round and round ♪

♪ The wheel goes ♪

♪ Who knows whose nose ♪

♪ The wheel chose? ♪

Ah! Now we'll see what happens
when I spin the wheel.

You know, something just occurred to me.

I don't think
I've let anyone else do this.

Isn't that interesting?

You mean you might actually let
someone besides yourself have a turn?

No. I just thought it was interesting.

The walrus!

Good spin, Your Majesty.

It's all in the wrist.
But it was a good spin, wasn't it?

I don't think the walrus has ever
hosted one of these picnics.

Actually, I don't think he's ever been
to one of these picnics before.

Then I'll bet he'll be happy
when he hears it's his turn.

Rabbit, summon him to the throne room,

so I may give him the picnic instructions.

He'll be thrilled.

To be honest, Your Majesty,
we're not exactly thrilled.

What?! Hosting the once-a-month picnic
is a great honor.

We realize that,

but I'm afraid we're simply too busy.

I have to floss my tusks

and, as you can see,
Pinniped really needs a haircut.

Tough! I don't want to hear any excuses

from you or that invisible friend
of yours. It's your turn, and that's that.

But we walruses are particularly
poor picnic throwers.

You don't have to be
a rocket scientist to put on a picnic.

Besides, you never come to our picnics.

And it's time
you started being more social.

But I'm only thinking of Pinniped.

If he's out of doors too long,
he gets sunburned.

What? How can an invisible friend
get sunburned?

Are you kidding? Just look at him.

He was on the beach yesterday
for one hour and he's red as a beet.

If I didn't know better, I'd say you were
trying to avoid putting on this picnic.

Avoid? As in do anything to get out of it?

Not true.

Oh, then stop whining.

Good grief, you're acting worse
than the Rabbit does

when I ask him
to take out the royal trash.

And as for your invisible friend's
sensitive skin,

tell him to put on
some invisible sunblock.

[Dee laughs]

[all] Ooh.

Wow. Feast your eyes on all that.

You feast your eyes.
I plan on filling my stomach.

Actually, before anyone gets started,
you need to know that the food isn't--

Isn't going to last long? That's for sure.

In fact, I'm going for those
delicious-looking carrot canapes now.

-Wait, everyone!
-Now, now, Walrus.

You don't need to thank me

for making you throw
this fine, fancy feast.

You deserve at least half the credit.

Dig in, everyone. Dig in.

Almost looks too good to eat.

You know, it's funny you would say that.
Because the food is...

[all crunching]

Plastic!

This food is all plastic!

Not all of it.
The egg salad is made of rubber.

[Rabbit] Uh...

Bad day in the kitchen, Walrus?

I don't get it.

What's the point of serving fake food?

Plastic food does have its advantages.

For one thing, cleanup is a snap.

How true that is.

Yes. And with plastic food,
you never get any ants.

And what could be worse
than ants at a picnic?

Going away hungry?

But if I had served real food,
this place would be crawling with ants.

They'd be everywhere. Millions of them!

Scurrying on their little ant legs,

wiggling their little ant feelers,

smacking their little ant lips.

[pop music playing]

♪ There are a hundred million ants
Living all around ♪

♪ Six times as many tiny feet ♪

♪ Upon the ground ♪

♪ At just the merest thought of them
My flippers fill with fright ♪

♪ Crawling on my face
And eating everything in sight ♪

♪ Ants are scary ♪

♪ Ants are creepy ♪

♪ These picnic beetle hexapods ♪

♪ Give me the heebie-jeebies ♪

♪ You'll always find them sneaking out ♪

♪ Of every nook and cranny ♪

♪ Sometimes they hide on ice cream
Disguised as chocolate candy ♪

♪ Their slightest pitter-patter
Makes my skin begin to crawl ♪

♪ Marching towards the ceiling
Climbing up and down the walls ♪

♪ Ants are scary ♪

♪ Ants are creepy ♪

♪ These picnic beetle hexapods ♪

♪ Give me the heebie-jeebies ♪

♪ Ants are scary ♪

♪ Ants are creepy ♪

♪ A hundred zillion thousand of them
But only one of me! ♪

Oh!

Mr. Walrus, it sounds like
you're afraid of ants.

Mr. Walrus, it sounds like
you're afraid of ants.

Of course I am. So is Pinniped.

In fact, who isn't afraid of them?

Oh, stop joking, Walrus.

No way a big guy like you
can be afraid of a bunch of tiny bugs.

I'll say,
that's the silliest thing I've ever heard.

Oh, really? Have you heard this?

[laughing over speaker]

Fine. Go ahead and laugh.

Call me a coward.

A walrus who won't face up
to his fears. I don't care.

As Pinniped is my witness,

I'll never go picnicking again!

He sure left in a hurry.

You'd think he had ants
in his pants or something.

Bugs must bug him more than we thought.

You sit here. Mr. Pinniped sits there.

We appreciate this,
but what's the occasion?

We felt terrible after the picnic.

We didn't want you to think
we all thought you were a coward.

You can't spend the rest of your life
avoiding picnics

because ants scare the pants off you.

Therefore, we've arranged for you
and your invisible friend Pinniped

to have a simple meeting over a cup of tea

with an ant.

An ant?! Where?
Is it crawling on me? Get it off!

Calm down. He's not crawling on you.

-He's on the other side of the table.
-This table?!

Oh, stop that!

We invited one
and only one teeny, tiny, itsy-bitsy ant

to have tea with you.

Please, Mr. Walrus, give it a try.

-Besides, the tarts are really good.
-Oh, that's the spirit.

Now, I'll handle the introductions.

[clears throat] Ant, meet Walrus
and Pinniped.

Walrus, Pinniped, meet Ant.

[squeaking]

Don't just sit there.
Make a little polite conversation.

So have you read
any good ant books lately?

[ants squeaking]

Wait a minute!

That didn't sound like just one ant.

Of course it was just one.

Wait, you're right.

There seems to be more of them.

I knew it! The ant brought all of his ant
brothers and sisters and his ant cousins

and his ant uncles and his ant aunts.

Ants have aunts?

Can't you chuckleheaded bugs
read an invitation?

I only invited him.

Or was it him? Him? Or him?

Oh. Sorry, Your Majesty,
but Pinniped and I have to be going.

Oh!

Oh, harrumph! See if I ever invite
you party crashers to the palace again.

Wasn't their fault. The queen
and Alice were just trying to help you.

But they pushed you too quickly.

You weren't ready to meet an ant
out in the open like that.

And that's why we made this for you.

An ant ranch.

-A what?
-An ant ranch.

An escape-proof container
for ant watching.

Escape-proof.
You mean there's no way they can get out?

Right. While ants do
their little ant-ranch chores,

have little ant rodeos,

and live their little ant lives
in air-conditioned comfort,

you can watch them in complete safety.

-Here, look.
-That's okay. Don't get so close.

Nothing to worry about.
They can't get out.

Except when you open the lid
to give them food and water.

Oh, please don't do that!

Don't worry. The lid goes back on.

Or at least it should.

-Hold it while I make it fit again.
-You hold it.

-Just for a second.
-They'll get out.

No, they're too busy playing
their little ant square dance. Hold still!

-[ants squeaking]
-Oh, no!

They're everywhere! They're everywhere!

Sorry, guys.

Looks like you survived the earthquake.

But I'm afraid you'll have
to cancel your square dance.

Please, Pinniped and I don't need
any more help today.

Walrus, admitting you need help

is the first step
toward curing your problem.

Uh... I thought the first step
toward curing his problem

was paying our ridiculously high bill.

-We really don't want to--
-I know what it is.

You want proof that our method works.

Dormouse!

You called?

Before Hare and I helped him,

the dormouse was terribly afraid
of loud noises.

But now...

[shouting]

See? Before we helped him,
the dormouse would have disappeared

into the teapot more quickly than that.

[upbeat music playing]

-♪ Put your worries behind you ♪
-♪ Put your mind at ease ♪

-♪ You're in good hands with us ♪
-♪ We're guaranteed to please ♪

♪ We're going to help you
Conquer your fear ♪

♪ You're one lucky walrus
To have us here ♪

♪ Don't you fret
Don't shed a single tear ♪

♪ Soon we will teach you to have no fear ♪

♪ Have no fear, have no fear ♪

♪ Whatever is bugging you ♪

♪ We have a cure ♪

♪ If you're feeling antsy ♪

♪ Or a little unsure ♪

♪ We're going to help you
Conquer your fear ♪

♪ You're one lucky walrus
To have us here ♪

♪ Don't you fret
Don't shed a single tear ♪

♪ Soon we will teach you to have no fear ♪

♪ Have no fear ♪

♪ Have no ♪

♪ No fear ♪

Now, to help us help you,
we'd like to introduce a friend of ours.

Walrus, meet Arthur the Wonder Ant.

Oh! Ants! Get it away from us!

Oh, don't worry.
Arthur the Wonder Ant isn't real.

He's a harmless fake.

But don't say anything to him.

-He's very sensitive.
-Yeah.

Now, Hare will place Arthur
on the table far away from you.

But ever so slowly,
he will move Arthur closer.

And closer.

And closer.

Until sitting next to him seems natural.

As natural as it can seem
to have tea with a two-foot plastic bug.

Do you think it will really work?

Of course. Especially if you watch
this interesting ant film,

which proves that, far from being
frightening, creepy, terrifying or scary,

ants are our friends.

Crystal!

[ants squeaking]

[in high-pitched voice]
See? I'm not so scary.

-This isn't too bad.
-Nah.

[dramatic music playing]

That's not right.

Stop the film.

Phew! That was close.

We almost scared you away, eh-- Walrus?

[in normal voice] I should've left
that last part off the film.

Arthur liked it.

-Did he?
-Oh, yes, I did.

-You did?
-A little scary but I liked it.

Ooh.

So is it all insects that give you
and Pinniped the heebie-jeebies,

or is it just ants you avoid?

Just ants.

We're unflustered, unafraid and unworried

when it comes to beetles, moths,
flies and, of course, caterpillars.

Well, then there's some hope for you.

It's nice of you to say so.

Especially since we're sure
all of Wonderland thinks

we're nothing but a couple of cowards.

Oh, everyone's afraid of something.

You shouldn't let fears keep you
from doing things you wanna do.

I think it's time you started thinking
about ants in a new way.

Listen to this story.

"Once there was an ant named Greta
who lived in an ant hill

with several thousand
of her closest friends.

Like most ants, Greta and her friends
did everything together.

They worked together...

they ate together...

they even played together.

The other ants liked this sort
of togetherness but not Greta.

She longed for privacy.

Unfortunately, around an ant hill,
privacy is hard to find.

'I can't take this anymore,'
Greta said finally.

'I want to be alone.'

And so she left,

as fast as her six little legs
could carry her.

When Greta's friends realized
what had happened, they felt terrible."

[all] Greta! Greta! Greta!

"Greta's friends found her alone
on an ant farm

and promised that if she came back,

they would respect her privacy.

From then on, when one of the other ants
saw that Greta wanted to be alone,

they were careful not to bug her."

The ant in the story wasn't so scary.

She was a lot like us,
wouldn't you say, Pinniped?

Of course.

Ants want what we all want.

Some time alone,

some time with friends,

and of course, some time at picnics.

Picnics. Hmm.

That's food for thought.

[sighs]

Oh! Here's the ant ranch, Pinniped.

Or what's left of it.

Of course all the ants have gone away.
I don't blame them.

After all the hard work they did.

If you ask me, it's time
those ants took some time off.

All they do is work, work, work
all day long.

Who needs it?

Well, they do say
that ants are busy as bees.

Ah, give me a break.

Compared to ants, bees are slugs.

Yes. Well, ants have always given
Pinniped and me the willies.

We never spent much time watching them.

Hey, I don't blame you for avoiding them.

Are you afraid of ants too?

No way. I avoid them
because they whistle while they work.

[groans] Nothing worse than whistling bugs

when a poor kitty's trying
to take a catnap.

Oh. I agree, Pinniped.

Despite what the cat says about ants,
their hard work is to be admired.

In fact, perhaps it's time
we stopped avoiding them

and gave the ants a chance.

Thanks for taking over, Tweedle Dum.

No problem. Is the food okay?

Anything's better than what we had before.

My mouth still hurts
from biting that plastic potato chip.

Hello, everyone.

I hope we're not too late to join you.

Mr. Walrus and Mr. Pinniped,
what are you doing here?

I didn't think
we'd ever see you at a picnic.

I'm not sure you should be here.
It's not safe.

He's right. Get back, Walrus.
I see an ant on Rabbit's sandwich.

We don't mind.

The ant can stay.

Easy for you to say.
He isn't eating your sandwich.

What's going on here, Walrus?

Why aren't you screaming
and fleeing this picnic

as if you were being chased
by a big, hairy monster

instead of a measly, little insect?

Because, Your Majesty, Pinniped and I
have a new attitude about ants.

Instead of avoiding them,
we now welcome them.

See?

Hey, it's the ant ranch.

You fixed it.

Actually, Pinniped did most of the work.

I've never been very handy with tools.

So you're not afraid of ants anymore?

That's right.

Pinniped and I realized

that we couldn't let fear keep us
from doing what we wanted.

That's great. Why are you opening the lid?

Yes, the ants will get out.

Naturally.

What's a picnic without ants?

In fact, these ants are now our friends.

Pinniped and I intend to invite them
to all picnics from now on.

Come, everybody.

We'd like you to meet

-Bob and Doris...
-Hello.

Larry and Jane...

-Oh, hey.
-Melvin and Bernice,

-Norman--
-There we go.

-Wait, wait.
-You could--

It's great that you're not afraid anymore.

Did you have to make friends
with so many of them?

Oh, come now. You know what they say,
you can never have too many friends.

[country music playing]

♪ Friends are where it's at, my friend
In times of need you can depend ♪

♪ To help a broken heart to mend
You'll never have too many friends ♪

♪ In times of need when things look bleak
A friend can get you on your feet ♪

♪ A friend can make you feel complete ♪

♪ Having friends is really neat ♪

♪ A lucky guy has friends galore ♪

♪ Ten or 20 or even more ♪

♪ A helping hand a friend would lend
You'll never have too many friends ♪

♪ In all sizes and shapes they come ♪

♪ To double your pleasure
And double your fun ♪

♪ On a rainy day, they'll bring the sun ♪

♪ Try to make friends with everyone ♪

♪ An ant can be your pal, it's true
Even though he is miniscule ♪

♪ You can make friends with the ants
If you only give them half a chance ♪

♪ Friends are where it's at, my friend
In times of need you can depend ♪

♪ To help a broken heart to mend
You'll never have too many friends ♪

♪ You'll never have too many friends ♪

Dinah, I've been thinking about
my sister's fear of spiders.

Though it seems silly
that a big person could be afraid

of something so small,
I shouldn't have laughed.

Everyone's afraid of something.

Okay, Dinah, everyone but you.

You're no cowardly kitty-cat.

Except maybe when it comes
to that poodle across the street.

[theme music playing]

♪ That's all for now
But we'll see you again ♪

♪ Come back real soon
Now that we're all friends ♪

♪ Where every day is something new ♪

♪ With music, rhyme and a dance or two ♪

♪ Use your imagination
And you'll understand ♪

♪ It's an adventure in Wonderland ♪

♪ Adventure in Wonderland ♪

♪ Adventures in Wonderland ♪