CatDog and the Great Parent Mystery

CatDog and The Great Parent Mystery

Episode	Season 4, Episode 1
Airdate	November 25, 2000
Previous Episode	Back to School
Next Episode	Harasslin' Match

CatDog and the Great Parent Mystery is the three-part premiere episode of Season 4. In the episode, CatDog are on a quest to find their parents.

Characters[]

Plot[]

Part 1 It's the big Parents Day celebration in Nearburg, but Cat and Dog are left out because they don't have any parents, so they watch from a fence. Dog remembers the wonderful times they had with their Mom and Dad but Cat tells him that the only thing he can remember is that they've been on their own and always have been. Dog tells Cat that the day that they will reunite with their parents has finally come, but Cat tells him that they will never find them. Dog decides to use the wagon they arrived in as a sort of beacon. Many balloons and glowing signs are hung from it, and Dog yells into a megaphone in hopes that their parents will come forward. This does not work, and a parrot-related mishap with Lube causes the wagon to be destroyed.

After they go home, Dog tells Cat to not be upset because Parents' Day happens every year. Then, Dog plays some keys on a piano, which leads to his Parents' Theory Room, where he stores some balloons that he took from the Parents' Day celebrations. Dog tells Cat that their parents have likely tried looking for them but they encountered many theorized perils which stopped them from doing so. However, Cat says that Dog is forgetting a very important theory; their parents don't care about them anymore, and aren't looking for them. Dog is still adamant that they do care about them and that he and Cat should go looking for Mom and Dad. Later that night, Cat secretly enters a secret room under their bed containing his baby blankie and pacifier, the only mementos he has of their parents. Cat says to himself that they might be looking for them, but then he says he's kidding himself and goes back to sleep.

The next morning, there is a news bulletin saying that a powerful geyser, Old Uppenchuck, is due to erupt in the next 24 hours. Winslow remarks that the last time Old Uppenchuck erupted was when CatDog came to Nearburg. There is a flashback of the day when Winslow first met baby CatDog, who landed on the pavement in front of the mouse after being spat out by Old Uppenchuck. Winslow said that it was the best day of his life, since he knew he would always have an available victim. Cat asks Winslow why he never told them this story in the first place, then Winslow says that they never asked him. Cat ponders this and deduces that he and Dog were from Yonderland, a vast wasteland where Old Uppenchuck is. The minute he mentions that, Dog asks if they're going there to look for their parents. Cat agrees to go looking for their parents for his sake. As they are driving, Cat explains to Dog that they aren't stopping for anything until they get there. Meanwhile, Winslow has the house all to himself and when the Greaser Dogs show up, Winslow tells them that CatDog wasn't home and that they went to Yonderland to look for their parents. The Greasers decide to follow CatDog to Yonderland to beat the whole CatDog family up (though Shriek just wants to make a good impression).

Back with CatDog, Dog annoys Cat with sock puppet versions of their parents. After nearly crashing the car, Dog tells Cat he needs to use the bathroom and then they stop at a rest area. As they are trying to leave, a crowd of people is going in the opposite direction towards a plateau. One of the people explains that aliens will soon be arriving to return everyone they ever abducted. Dog says that alien abduction was one of his Parent Theories, and drags Cat towards the UFO landing site. CatDog enters the ship but get abducted themselves after the saucer flies away. Suddenly, aliens come to the hallway and CatDog were forced to hide in a hole in the wall. Dog sees what looks like another CatDog's shadow on the wall and races down the hallway, but the shadow was just some alien equipment that zaps Cat repeatedly. Unfortunately, CatDog gets caught by the aliens. Before they can be experimented on, Cat tells Dog, who is within reach of the ship's control panel, to do anything. Dog fools around with the ship's controls, which causes the ship to go out of control. The aliens get scared and head to the escape pods. As the aliens are evacuating, Winslow shows up, but doesn't let CatDog out of their restraints. The aliens grab Winslow and bring him with them into the escape pod. CatDog crash lands back to Earth, catching the Greaser Dogs' attention. The saucer smashes into a frozen lake, but CatDog are mostly unharmed. Dog then notices a little fish out of the window, and coos at it. The fish then opens its mouth, revealing an eye. The "fish" is actually the head of Bessie the Lake Monster, who is about to gobble up CatDog.

Part 2 Cat panics about being trapped in the spaceship with Bessie outside. But, Dog says that this is another one of his theories on what happened to their parents, and opens the hatch on the saucer. He and Cat then get swallowed by Bessie, and begin searching her digestive system for their parents. After mistaking a pile of mushy food for their parents, the stomach acid around them starts to churn and bubble. Cat gets burned with stomach acid, and yells that they are being digested. Winslow then turns up in a submarine, giving a tour of Bessie's digestive system. Cat begs to be let into the sub, but Winslow says the vessel is full. He laughs that CatDog should leave through the "back door." After the sub gets flushed from Bessie's stomach, Cat comes up with a plan to escape by making a hairball. CatDog sheds and scratches off all their fur, forming it into a hairball big enough to ride in. They bump the walls of Bessie's stomach, agitating her. Eventually the lake monster hacks up the furball with such force, it breaks through the icy lake and into the sky. The Greaser Dogs attempt to pursue them but are gobbled up by the monster.

As CatDog heads towards the ground, the hairball breaks up, their fur returns, and they land on a very sharp rock. They realize they are in a dark forest. Dog sniffs around looking for signs that their mother and father may have been there, according to his "kidnapped by wood nymphs" theory. This just leads them into a tree full of Peruvian fire ants. Cat is now tired of Dog's theories and detours, and tells him that they are going straight to Yonderland. CatDog takes a few steps back onto the path until they come upon a sign for the town of Yokelburg, home of two happy hillbilly clans, the McDogs (a clan of dogs) and the Catfields (a clan of cats), who are celebrating 50 years of peace between each other. Dog tries steering them back onto the path to Yonderland, but he and Cat end up heading into Yokelburg anyway.

CatDog head into the town square, where the big celebration is starting. The dogs and cats are all friendly, giving each other their favorite treats. Someone even offers Cat some catnip moonshine. Cat drinks some and accidentally burps into a female dog's face. He apologizes, but she burps right back at him. Cat sheepishly leaves as the music starts. They see Hound Dog McDog and Pussycat Catfield singing a song together, being very close to each other. Cat thinks that the two Yokelburg leaders are their parents, which is supported by Dog's "amnesia" theory. CatDog rushes towards Hound Dog and Pussycat, who are overjoyed to see their son again. But, the cat and dog run past CatDog and up to Lube, who just arrived with the other Greasers after escaping the bowels of Bessie the Lake Monster. It turns out that Hound Dog and Pussycat are actually Lube's parents. Cat is upset, but also somewhat relieved that he isn't related to hillbillies. The dog girl from earlier pulls Hound Dog towards Cat, saying he was the one who burped in her face. Hound Dog is overjoyed at this news, and Pussycat explains that the custom in Yokelburg is when you burp in a lady's face, that means you want to marry her. Cat refuses to marry her, especially after seeing how ugly she is. But the wedding starts up anyway, and Cat is dragged to the altar. Winslow arrives to object the union, saying that they can't be married without wedding rings. Winslow then offers one to the bride, then leaves laughing. Dog is happy that Winslow "saved the wedding" but Cat angrily yells that he doesn't want to marry a "lousy dog." Dog gets offended, as does every dog in Yokelburg. Hound Dog insults Cat, as well as all felines, offending the Yokelburg cats. The Catfields and McDogs begin their feud again, destroying the bridge linking both sides of the town.

Part 3 The Catfields and McDogs begin their feud as the Greaser Dogs watch from the McDogs' side. Both sides of CatDog are stretched across the canyon and made to grab hold of the bone- and fish-shaped buildings' balconies. Everyone throws kitty litter and chewed tennis balls at each other while CatDog blame each other for the feud and all their misfortune so far. The fighting continues until both the Catfields and McDogs run out of ammo to use against each other, forcing both sides to engage in close combat atop CatDog's body. Hound Dog and Pussycat lead their respective sides toward the center of CatDog's back. But, the weight of all the cats and dogs causes CatDog's body to sag down toward the river, snag onto a log, then slingshot the mass of hillbillies into the Yokelburg buildings. The town is now a wreck and CatDog escapes on the log. Meanwhile, the Catfields and McDogs continue to blame each other for the destruction their town, but then Cliff emerges from the rubble and tells them that CatDog is to blame for their feuding. Hound Dog and Pussycat agree, and all the Yokelburg residents follow CatDog to beat them up.

Meanwhile, back with CatDog, they are on a raging river, and Cat half-heartedly apologizes for his behavior. Dog smugly forgives him, subtly blaming him for what happened to Yokelburg. Before Cat can argue more, they get sent over a waterfall and into a whirlpool. The whirlpool feeds into a geyser in Yonderland, and spits CatDog out. CatDog is happy to finally be in Yonderland, and Dog goes running looking for their parents. They enter a giant rock formation on the site of the Old Uppenchuck. Hearing nothing but his own echo, Dog becomes sad and disappointed. Dog says that looking for their parents was a stupid idea, and Cat agrees. Dog then says they should just give up and go home. Cat is surprised to hear this, and tries cheering Dog up, saying that there are probably a few of his theories that are worth following up on. Dog still wants to quit and that he wishes he was more like Cat, who always knows when to stop a terrible idea. But, Cat admits that he wishes he was more like Dog because Dog was determined to find their parents and never gave up hope looking for them. Cat assures Dog that someday they will find out where their parents are, and until that day comes, they have each other, and pulls his brother into a hug.

CatDog are suddenly caught in a small earthquake. Thinking the geyser is about to blow, they run for cover. But are stopped by a large, teal, four-eyed monster, who takes them into a cave in a cliffside. Cat panics and tells Dog to attack the monster. But, the monster happily says "Hi-ho diggety!" Dog immediately recognizes her as their long-lost mother, but Cat yells out she has four eyes. The middle pair of eyes reveals itself to be a small, green frog with a very large nose who was inside of the sasquatch's face. Dog hugs the frog, calling him "Dad." Cat points out that they are not a CatDog, but this was because they are actually their adopted parents. Mom and Dad explain that CatDog just appeared one day on the ledge of the cliff.

Then, they flash back to the wonderful times they had together, rocking them to sleep on top of Dad's nose, and trying to put a diaper on them before giving up. Mom then explains the horrific day when they got separated. Old Uppenchuck erupted, forming a powerful water vortex. Baby CatDog got sucked inside, and despite Mom and Dad hanging on for dear life, the babies are carried away into the sky.

455455 — Cat and Dog reunite with their Sasquatch mother and frog father.

Then CatDog's mother explains that they were looking for them ever since then, and then CatDog's father explains several mishaps they experienced along the way, proving that most of the theories that Dog had mentioned in the previous episodes were true. Cat finally accepts that the frog and sasquatch are his parents. Cat shows he kept half of his and Dog's pacifier, while Mom produces the other half. Cat starts to cry, then he and Dog embrace their mother. Winslow shows up inside the cave and gets startled by CatDog's parents. Mom gets startled by Winslow and accidentally squishes Dad after she jumps in fright. Dog introduces Winslow to their mother and father. Winslow becomes sad because CatDog won't be around to bother anymore. Dog offers to let Winslow stay with them, but he refuses and tells him that the Greaser Dogs, the McDogs and the Catfields have come to pound them before leaving the cave. Sure enough, the Greasers and the Yokelburgers arrive at the cave. The mob manages to back the CatDog, Mom, and Dad outside and toward the cliff. CatDog's Dad is ready to fight the Greaser Dogs, Catfields and McDogs until Cat tells Dog to scare them. Dog growls angrily at them, making the group back away. At that moment, Old Uppenchuck erupts, forming another giant vortex. Cat ties himself and Dog to their parents. Cat has no choice but to overcome his fear of water, and dives into the vortex. The family is pulled away by the vortex and end up back in Nearburg. Afterwards, the Greaser Dogs, Catfields and McDogs are swallowed by Bessie, who leapt out of the water hole left by Old Uppenchuck.

The episode ends with CatDog and their parents celebrating their own Parents' Day and their new lives in Nearburg.

Trivia[]

The Catfields and McDogs are a reference to the Hatfields and McCoys, two real-life hillbilly clans that feuded in the 19th century.
Old Uppenchuck is a reference to Old Faithful, a geyser in Wyoming.
The episode features two guest stars: Jane Krakowski and Billy Bob Thornton as CatDog's parents.
It’s also known as The Great Foster Parent Mystery by developers.^[1]
This movie's based on National Parents Day, which honors all parents on the fourth Sunday in July.
The episode changed a lot during its development and is the longest CatDog project produced.
During the Parents Day celebration, the Butt Buster rollercoaster from "Remain Seated" is seen.
While many people consider this episode the show's finale, it actually isn't as ten more episodes aired after this before the series ended, including an episode where CatDog's parents come to visit.
Error: When CatDog finally meet their parents and Dog reaches up to his dad to hug him, Dog's arms are the same colors as their mom's.
This is probably the Greasers's last appearance alongside their well-deserved defeat in the scene when Bessie the Lake Monster gobbled them up alongside Lube's parents and everyone else, if you count this together with "Vexed of Kin". Their last appearance in a episode is "Cone Dog".
In many other countries, this movie was broadcasted in three parts and contained narrated segments during the movie. The narrator to voice on these was Jim Cummings. Another children's tv movie to have narrated segments would later happen on The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy: Wrath of the Spider Queen on Cartoon Network, which was voiced by Billy's voice actor Richard Horvitz and the movie was split in two parts.

Transcript[]

For a full transcript of CatDog and The Great Parent Mystery, click here.

Gallery[]

↑ http://catdog1st.tripod.com/StevenBanks.html

[1] ttp://catdog1st.tripod.com/StevenBanks.html

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