| Hen and Bappy | Gallery | Transcript |
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"Hen and Bappy" (stylized as Hen & Bappy) is the thirty-second segment of the first season of The Mighty B! that aired on January 6, 2009.[1]
Synopsis[]
Ben and Happy visit The Hippie, who accidentally gives them Magic-itos instead of taquitos. After the boy and dog eat his tasty treat, they switch bodies, where Happy uses this to get vengeance on Ben. Ben has a miserable time at obedience school in Happy's body while Happy grows to love what Ben does.
Plot[]
Hilary is on the phone with her daughter, Bessie, who is visiting San Andreas Fault on a Honeybee field trip. However, Ben also wants his mother's attention, as he rehearses a line from a play he wants to be in. Hilary tells her son to wait, to no avail. During all this, unbeknownst to Hilary, Happy is storing steaks behind her refrigerator. Bessie discusses tectonic plates, with Ben urging his mother to tell Bessie about his audition at theater camp later in the day. Bessie hangs up after the B bus honks its horn.
Hilary notices Happy having trouble behind the fridge, and assumes he lost something. However, it's revealed there are five hundred steaks behind it, which he stole from Hilary's cafe. Angered, Hilary demands Ben drop Happy off at obedience school for what he did, with a leash on. Ben laughs at Happy's misfortune, but gasps upon Happy saying something disparaging.
Ben and Happy then arrive at The Hippie's magic/pawn shop, and he sympathizes with Happy's plight. He offers a taquito to Happy, with Ben saying he wants one as well. Obliging, Hippie puts two Magic-itos instead of regular taquitos by accident in the microwave. Once it turns on, Ben and Happy go through a series of transformations that ends with them being unconscious. Later, when the duo come to, they realize something is amiss: they look at each other and realize they have switched bodies.
A terrified Ben, still having his own voice, states "Gross! I... I'm stuck in your body!" After crying, Ben realizes him going to theater camp is now compromised, as is Happy going to obedience school. He asks what he and Happy will do, but a smart Happy knows: he drops Ben off at the obedience school. Although the instructor, Lola, states she doesn't believe in muzzling, she keeps Ben's leash on after he pleads to be let go.
All the while, Bessie is returning home on the B bus, with a bag of dirt for Happy. She quickly realizes something is wrong, as Happy doesn't answer her. She looks everywhere around the house (even the toilet), but can't find him. At theater camp, Happy tries to figure out how to open a lunch box, but since he now has opposable thumbs, he can do it with ease, much to his delight. Ben is having a miserable time at obedience school, with Lola giving him exercise-esque advice as he tries to keep up with the other dogs. After giving up, Lola calls for her dog Flossie to give Ben encouragement, and proceeds to lick him multiple times.
Bessie goes into Hilary's room, wondering why it's so quiet in the house. She asks where Happy is, and is shocked to hear he's at obedience school. Bessie is upset with her mother "stripping her dog over his civil liberties," and tells her mother she will take over from here. Hilary relents, but tells Bessie Happy must sleep outside tonight as punishment for taking her steaks. The kids at theater camp are having lunch, and Happy unintentionally creates a food fight when he eats almost everyone's food.
Bessie finds "Happy" at the obedience school, and gives him a hug and kisses. However, Ben tries to tell her he's her brother, "in this cheap dog body." Bessie believes Happy is impersonating Ben and encourages him to do her next, but Ben insists it's really him and explains how the body swap happened. Bessie takes a minute to process this news, with Ben pleading she must help him or he'll miss the audition. Bessie finally realizes Ben and Happy have switched bodies. As Ben cries, Bessie comforts him by stating she'll fix this.
Happy, practicing at the auditorium, is found there by Ben and Bessie. She tries to hug Happy but can't, since he "smells like Ben." After Bessie offers to switch them back, Happy refuses, wanting to follow Ben's dream. A disgusted Bessie insists Ben has wanted this longer than him, but Happy still refuses to fix the situation. Ben and Bessie try in vain to pull him off the bar, but this doesn't work. Bessie states she'll return after having a talk with The Hippie.
Bessie chastises Hippie for his mistake, who weeps over it. All the while, Ben and Happy are in line waiting to audition, fighting with each other over who will audition. Back to Bessie, The Hippie puts two more taquitos in the microwave for her and Bessie to have, but he makes the same mistake as before: Bessie and Hippie have switched bodies. Realizing they have no time to waste, Bessie and Hippie hurry to switch back Ben and Happy.
However, Bessie arrives seconds late, as Happy steps on the platform to audition. The judge praises Happy's performance as "brilliant" and "daring," stating he won the part. Ben, wagging his newfound tail, is happy to have won the part, but notices Hippie and Bessie have switched bodies. The Hippie states "all's well that ends well" and eats yet another package of taquitos, which causes the foursome to transform and fuse together.
Cast[]
| Voice actor | Roles |
|---|---|
| Amy Poehler | Bessie |
| Andy Richter | Ben |
| Dee Bradley Baker | Happy, Flossie & Male Voice |
| Megan Cavanagh | Hilary |
| Matt Besser | The Hippie |
| Grey DeLisle | Lola & Geoffrey |
Trivia[]
General[]
- This episode reveals Ben has an affinity for acting and the arts.
- The musical Ben (and later Happy) want to partake in seems to be titled Nigel - a lunchbox and poster each hint to this.
- One of the kids auditioning for theater camp is Ronnie.
- A lady pilgrim from "Thanksgiving Beenactment" is working as a lunch lady at theater camp.
- Per Bessie, Ben has been preparing for the audition since last year.
- Bessie says the episode title when she tells Hippie to go with her and his taquito.
- In spite of the fact The Hippie is human, he says he went to obedience school several times.
- Apparently The Hippie breathes differently than most because of his large, bushy beard, but how was interrupted by Bessie.
- Premiered as part of Happy New Week.
- First episode to have Ben on the title card.
- This episode is notable for being the first of only two times (the other being "Mr. Turtleton's Wild Ride") in the series where Bessie plays a supporting role as opposed to her usual status as a major character.
Cultural references[]
- The episode title refers to Ben and Happy themselves, with the first letter of their names switched.
- The play Ben is auditioning for is likely a parody of Oliver!, a modern adaptation of Oliver Twist. The mention of porridge by Ben would support this.
- The kids sing the nursery rhyme "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" as a warm up song. It was previously referenced in "Bee My Baby."
Production information[]
- Although not named in the episode, the credits state the obedience school instructor is named Lola while the blonde boy with a bread stick is Geoffrey.
- Integritone 2 was listed in the episode's voice credits, yet he does not appear in the episode. This indicates he was at one time in the episode but later removed.
- This episode re-aired on December 19, 2015 on Nicktoons.[2]
References[]
- ↑ The Mighty B!. Nickandmore. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
- ↑ Nicktoons USA And The Splat Wishes Viewers A Classic Nickmas. December 9, 2015. NickAlive! (BlogSpot.com). Retrieved May 27, 2021.