Episode 22- Season 3, Episodes 11-15

This week on the podcast, we're wrapping up the third week of Season 3 of The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, and the new cast is officially settling in. Marc, Jason, Ricky, Mylin, and Ilana are no longer just "the new kids"—they're becoming part of the fabric of the show as they pop up in more sketches, musical numbers, and hosting duties.

Across the week's episodes, we revisit fan-favorite recurring sketches like the Cave Girls, laugh through plenty of off-the-wall comedy, and spot more of the pop culture references that firmly plant MMC in the spring of 1990. From prehistoric gadgets and "New Kids on the Rock" to over-the-top characters, musical performances, and the show's trademark rapid-fire humor, this week is a great example of MMC finding its rhythm after the start of Season 3.

We'll also look at standout performances, memorable moments, behind-the-scenes observations, and all the little details that make revisiting these episodes so much fun more than 35 years later. Whether you're watching along for the first time or reliving your childhood one episode at a time, there's plenty of nostalgia—and a few laughs—to be had.

Join me as we break down Episodes 11 through 15 and see why this week perfectly captures the energy, humor, and growing confidence of the Season 3 cast.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Happy hi everybody. My name is Mandy, and welcome to Mouse the Cast with Mandy. A deep dive into the amazing show that was the all-new Mickey Mouse Club or the MMC from the 1990s. We will be breaking down all of the episodes, learning more about the individual cast members, and exploring their subsequent projects. So grab your Letterman's jacket and join me in the diner.

SPEAKER_05 0:22

Hey y'all, it's Tony. You're listening to Mouse a Cast with Mandy.

SPEAKER_01 0:26

Happy Heidi How everybody, and welcome back to another episode of Mouse a Cast with Mandy. I hope that you guys have all had a good start to July. And for those of you who ordered them, I hope that you have gotten your books since they are now in most of our presents. And I, for one, am quite pleased with what I've gotten so far. Not read too far into it just yet. I've kind of read as far as season three, since that's what I'm covering now. But I hope that if you ordered it, you've gotten it and you're enjoying it as much as I am. So without further ado, let's get on with this episode. For this week of episodes, we are going to be covering episodes 11 through episode 15 from April the 23rd through April the 27th. So welcome back everybody. This week we're celebrating Earth Day 1990. Because if there's one thing Disney loved more than giant mouse ears, it was teaching kids how not to destroy the planet. Seriously, almost every sketch this week somehow circles back to pollution, recycling, acid rain, endangered forest, styrofoam, or somebody dumping trash where they shouldn't be. It's basically a Captain Planet without Captain Planet actually being present. But don't worry, it's not five straight episodes of environmental PSAs, still got plenty of ridiculous comedy, another chapter in the ongoing Where in the World is Barney saga on Just Perfect, a brand new Mark character that instantly steals the show, and enough recycled jokes to make Earth Day proud. So let's just head into another week at the Mickey Mouse Club. Week episode 11 will call Earth Day at the movies, and the great Barney search begins. We kick things off with Ricky, my Lynn, and Kevin on what the show apparently called the Billboard, not the opener, as I've been calling it. Thanks a lot for that nugget of information, book. Our first stop is Video Grab Bag, again with Josh and Albert reprising their roles as Kip and Max. And honestly, this may be one of the more memorable editions that they ever did, but maybe that's just for me and Smithers. The first movie is set off way in the distant future of 2025. I know. Watching this in 2026 is kind of hilarious. Little Alana asks her mother what this strange red thing is in this picture book that she's looking at, and it's an apple. Her mother sadly explains that apples disappeared after pollution, smog, and acid rain wiped them out decades earlier. She hasn't seen one since the late 1990s. Alana is sad that she'll never get to taste one. Thankfully, right at that moment, a muscle-bound chase literally crashes through the door, throws what can only be described as an apple grenade across the floor, and suddenly there's an apple tree growing indoors. Move over, Rambo. Apparently we've got appleseed. Inside the movie, Fred plays an evil doctor trying to force little Alana to drink some mystery health concoction because of her poor diet.

SPEAKER_00 3:33

I'm sorry, my dear, but due to your inadequate diet, you'll have to drink this.

SPEAKER_06 3:37

No, no, you can't make me! Drink, drink!

unknown 3:42

Oh!

SPEAKER_04 3:44

Now we're day keeps the doctor away. Oh, Johnny, you're my hero.

SPEAKER_01 3:49

So whether you could tell from that sound bite or not, Johnny busts in and tosses an apple across the room, which knocks the doctor out. Thus, he saves little Alana's existence. Back with our film critics, Kip absolutely loves this movie because it's a warning about taking care of the environment. Dude, really, I think that we currently have more species of apples than we've ever had before, so I think we're good on that front. Max, Max doesn't like it because he doesn't like apples. Kip's reaction is basically every older sibling who's ever wanted to throw a pillow across a room to s long distance smack their younger sibling. His reaction actually sounds exactly like something my brother would have said to me, and essentially has.

SPEAKER_05 4:34

I hope you get scurvy and your teeth fall out.

SPEAKER_01 4:37

Again, maybe a little hard to hear, but Kip says, I hope you get scurvy and your teeth fall out. Not the threat of scurvy. Story for another time. Next movie up is Ozone Busters, starring Ricky, Mylin, and Jason, which apparently led to the ban of aerosol sprays for destroying the ozone layer. As can be deducted from the name, it's a kind of a take on Ghostbusters. Kip calls this film a brilliant satire. Max, once again, isn't impressed for reasons only Max can understand.

SPEAKER_05 5:09

I didn't like it. Well, why not? It was just a bunch of guys shooting here on for two hours. And what's so funny about that?

SPEAKER_01 5:17

I have to say that I do agree with Max on that one. That doesn't really sound like an enjoyable movie, but I've seen worse. Then comes Save the Earth, which is basically a very 60s beach movie full of dancing on the beach.

SPEAKER_05 5:34

Will you talk it off today if you pick that too big case? It has absolutely nothing to do with each college. So what? It has really great dancing. How about those girls? Max. Come on, get down! Get your dears! We'll be back next week with four new video releases.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

So obviously, Max really liked that selection, and Kip is officially questioning every career decision that has brought him here. Max, meanwhile, just likes watching the girls. Something's never changed. The whole segment ends with Max singing everyone out while Kip silently questions whether or not he can get out of his contract. But this really just makes me think of this one clip of Chris, Kirkpatrick, and JC.

SPEAKER_02 6:17

Today we're interviewing JC from InSync. Here he is right now. JC from InSync. So what do you think about the comparisons between you and Take That? Okay, what about comparisons between you and the Backstreet Boys? What about the comparison between you and Worlds Apart? As you can see, we've made JC cry. It's not a difficult thing to do because he's a little I understand.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

You're probably sitting there saying context, Mandy. Okay, I should have built up the clip a little bit better. At one point during the skit, while Max is talking about not liking apples and the reason he likes Save the Earth video and why he doesn't like ozone busters, Kip starts fake crying much in the way that JC did. That was why that clip made me think of Kip fake crying on the show. But I will say that in the process of looking for that clip, I found that the other one I was looking for last week. So I'll just drop that in here right now.

SPEAKER_02 7:09

We got my boy Luke because he's gonna throw some bows. Because you know that's his game. He throws bows. And uh, see what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_01 7:16

Sorry for that little tangent. I just had to kind of go off on that. I appreciate your sticking with me through all of that. Next up is Mousemail with Maweva and Damon, and they keep the environmental theme rolling, sort of. One viewer wants to know how Brandy, Tiffany, and Didi became tiny during last season's triplet sketch. The answer, simple enough, it's a trick of the eye. Didi comes out pretending to be a baby until everyone realizes she's simply walking around on her knees with shoes attached to them, wearing long black socks. Think back to the skit, they're dancing on black carpet, so their feet just blend in. Once Didi is caught, she immediately gets embarrassed and asks if she's been crawling around pretending to be an infant again, but Sfor deciding she probably just needs more sleep. Read anything in the book, then you would understand how true that statement truly is. Another letter wonders why Donald Squawk Box never visits small towns. Naturally, that leads to a giant Donald Squawk Box crushing one town in a very dog that got real big-esque segment. Problem solved. Over on Just Perfect, in an episode called Doggone, things get surprisingly serious. Barney is still missing. Trent and Jinx realize that he's probably been gone for about two hours already. And while Jinx is convinced that Barney is probably starving by now, Jinx is very upset by the whole situation, as he should be. Meanwhile, Barney is doing exactly what every runaway TV dog does: stealing a construction worker's lunch. So he's not starving, Jinx. Oh, and an upgrade to this next character, his name is Dion. It's still not Dan, and it's also not Dane. Dion and his buddies are playing football, and Trent stops the car by the field to ask if they've seen Barney. Dion gives him a smart ass answer, then pesters Trent for missing practice. And how if he's not careful, Dion's gonna start in his place. Meanwhile, Barney is wandering through a neighborhood, digging up someone's flower beds, who then gets sprayed away with a hose. He crashes a cooking contest while chasing a cat and causes mass chaos, terrifies everyone, and later spends a night narrowly escaping a couple of Dobermans that were separated from him by a fence. Back at home, Trent feels awful. They had hoped that Barney would have come back to the house. Jinx blames himself for leaving the back door open. Trent insists it isn't really Jinx's fault. Barney just refuses to behave. Later that night, Trent heads back outside searching again because he just can't sleep. Barney actually hears Trent calling his name, but Trent doesn't hear nor see Barney. Probably the saddest ending this storyline has had so far. So close yet so far away. Next up, we get an ad for Mike Slicks Recycled Bikes. At first, it sounds like an environmental commercial until Mike starts trying to sell bikes that are quote unquote recycled. There's the solar-powered bike, a rusty bike that it's marketed as customized oxidation, and one that's missing the wheel and handlebars entirely. Perfect for people who like walking. But the good news is it's half off.

SPEAKER_04 10:29

I'll take your old dirty morn out cash and recycle it to a brand new bike account.

SPEAKER_01 10:34

Mike! Mike even gives us the briefest moment of sincerity.

SPEAKER_04 10:39

How can be responsible for destroying the planet with all the pollution they create, making that new bike?

SPEAKER_01 10:46

But in true Mike's like form, this is just a very brief moment. He even offers a biodegradable stick-on mustache and proudly announcing, wear it for a day and see just how degrading it really is. That's such a wonderfully dumb joke. Music Day for this week belongs to Seduction, performing It Takes Two. And one of them is even appearing as though she's trying to be Madonna. And afterwards, Tiffany and Chase ask them to explain voguing to them. The demonstration is, let's just say, very basic. For the closing, both the C and the Y are by seduction, even though my notes say expose. And I am finding myself paying more attention to the names in the closing credits since I have started reading the book. They do quote a lot of crew members through from throughout the years, and it's nice seeing their names pop up. And no, I have not finished it yet. I am taking my time, as I mentioned before. So there is your Monday episode.

SPEAKER_04 12:24

How do you know your dreams coming true?

SPEAKER_01 12:28

Now on with Tuesday. This one we're gonna call Cavemen, Mermaids SOS, and Mount Rushmore has opinions. Tuesday opens with Jason Moueva and Albert. And since it's still Earth Day week, environmental messages are everywhere. But in true MMC fashion, they're wrapped inside some wonderfully ridiculous comedy. The Cave Girls, Tiffany Brandy and Ditsy Dee Dee, return from Moving Day, and Tiffany is absolutely devastated because she is moving away. While she is trying to get sentimental about all the memories she's made, Dee Dee and Brandy come charging in, completely oblivious, and excited to show off their brand new shell man, basically a prehistoric walkman with headphones made out of shells, while Billy Ocean is somehow still the soundtrack of choice. They also have tickets to see New Kids on the Rock, which immediately sends Tiffany into an emotional spiral because she announces to them that she is moving.

SPEAKER_06 13:24

Oh, get me with a stalapti!

SPEAKER_01 13:27

Tiffany says that the reason that they're moving is because her father quit his job with the hunters to work for the gatherers. Career advancement, Stone Age style. Once Dee Dee finally notices that the other girls are crying, she offers to share her music, but then realizes that she should be crying too. Tiffany starts to give away her prized possessions because they're moving to a tree house that has less space, to which the other two girls respond, Ooh, high rise. The things she's getting rid of are her class ring, which is actually just a gigantic nose ring, her first books, the very first rock her boyfriend Bonk ever threw at her, a tar pit souvenir t-shirt that her parents got for her instead of something better or taking her with them. How Neanderthal! And of course, her beloved Mickey Mammoth ears. Then Bonk, played by Chase, arrives. Tiffany tries to break the heartbreaking news to his mindless silly heart, and for one brief second, it looks like Bonk understands the gravity of the situation. Instead, he becomes fascinated with her Mickey Mammoth ears and starts playing with them while she's basically quoting, right here waiting. Then comes the twist. Brandy and Dee Dee run back in and announce that nobody's actually staying. The polluted water has forced everyone to move. It's a surprisingly effective environmental message hidden inside one of the show's goofy reoccurring skits. Brandy then trades her cave woman persona for a mermaid as Ariel, here to deliver a PSA from the bottom of the ocean. While she keeps trying to explain why humans should stop polluting the seas, trash is literally falling on her head. She asks if we would appreciate it if she showed up at our houses and started tossing kelp and barnacles everywhere. Fair point. Things only get worse when an oil spill rains down on top of her long, beautiful red wig, leaving her completely covered before she pleads with everyone to take better care of the oceans. The segment ends with the fictional organization of Mess, Mermaids Ending, Sloppy C's. Guest Day gives us a very, very meta moment. Kate Van Cleef gets to spend the day with Christopher Daniel Barnes on the set of Just Perfect. Considering Christopher was also the voice of Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid, the timing couldn't have been better after that aerial sketch. Kate watches filming in between take and gets even placed in a scene as an extra as a cheerleader, which she says is, quote, a lot of time and effort. End quote. Uh usually the hair and makeup part is done by you and just approved by the staff, but I guess this is a special circumstance. Later, she surprises Christopher with his favorite dessert for lunch, or during lunch, rather, I'd eat it for lunch. It was cheesecake. And he shares a genuinely nice message about how every role teaches him something new and how important it is to believe in your dreams. Sometimes guest day could feel like a giant commercial. This one actually feels pretty sincere. And in looking for a segment for Just Perfect, on YouTube, I saw an image of what Mr. Barnes looks like now. He's looking a little bit more like a member of Sam Crow and a little less like Prince Eric. Next, we head out to Mount Rushmore, where apparently even national monuments have environmental concerns. Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Jefferson come to life to discuss pollution, played by Albert, Chase, Damon, and Fred. Roosevelt sneezes, which causes a landslide that cresses a Winnebago. Lincoln suggests that maybe people should just go back to covered wagons and horses, but those went away with the buffalo. Then Jefferson points one out.

SPEAKER_06 17:00

Hey, there's no buffalo around.

SPEAKER_01 17:02

Look, there's one over there by the tree. However, the thing by the tree, as he says, is actually just a tourist. So yeah. Washington isn't too thrilled when Lincoln suggests adding a fifth face, because the fifth face he wants to add is Paula Abdul. According to Washington, the mountain is crowded enough already. His comments cause him to get into a little bit of an argument with Mr. Lincoln. Make it a shave, you hippie! That one was for you, Smithers. This, of course, leads into an argument about acid rain and pollution. And conveniently enough, it starts to rain. Right at that moment, President Roosevelt decides he wants to start being a goofball.

SPEAKER_06 17:53

Oh, don't knock it on, Kenny.

SPEAKER_01 17:56

Really, who can fault the guy for trying to have fun? The whole thing gets increasingly sillier until they remind everyone that a planet is a terrible thing to waste. Mylin and Fred then host Spelling Scramble. Basically, decrease your word power with human letters. Teams of kids are wearing giant alphabet shirts, race to spell words, while Mylin's Oklahoma accent somehow steals the entire segment. The boys take home the win in a shocking development. The episode wraps up with Tiffany performing Congo. She gets an assist from Fred, Ricky, Kevin, Mylyn, Albert, and Maweva. Fred plays an overly strict dance instructor, criticizing every move she makes before leaving the room. Second he's gone, Tiffany changes the music and turns the routine into a full-on Caribbean dance party. And by the time Fred returns, even he has to admit that she's on to something. For the closing, C is delivered by Tiffany and Y is delivered by Fred.

SPEAKER_04 19:06

Anything can happen on anything.

SPEAKER_01 19:16

Wednesday starts before the show even officially starts. Dee Dee and Chase are hanging out backstage with superheroes Sponge Head and Mopgirl, the environmentally conscious superheroes, whose mission is keeping America spotless and stain-free. Spongehead immediately scolds Chase for using a styrofoam cup, which is interrupted when Chase spills his coffee. Perfect teaching moment, but the superheroes then clean everything up before spotting one tiny smudge on a nearby mirror. Off they go. Then we get the actual opening with Mark, Didi, and Fred. But backstage, Jason and Brandy are excited to get to meet Sponge Head and Mopgirl on the show. Unfortunately, the superheroes keep getting emergency calls to clean up various things. In this case, it's an oil spill. Great globs of Granny Gil. And once the signal strikes, much like the bat signal in the sky, they're off. But this time in the spray of a fire extinguisher to hide their escape. To which Jason wishes he could do the same. You can, dude. It's not that hard. Then it switches back to the actual opening where they have been talking about saving the environment. Then we switch to Jennifer and Kevin as they lead into the performance of Small World, a bright production number featuring Chase, Albert, Tiffany, and Mylyn, all dressed as different everyday folks, like a jogger, construction worker, student, etc., around a bustling city. It's another reminder that Earth Day Week wasn't just about lectures, it still had plenty of music. Mark then hosts a Man on the Street segment asking kids which foods make them the sickest. We barely hear one answer. It's someone's grandmother's fruitcake gets the blame. Before the segment becomes another excuse to cut backstage. Jason and Brandy are still waiting. Sponge Head and Mobgirl finally return looking absolutely filthy after cleaning up another environmental disaster. They blame it on man's carelessness. Before they can explain much, they're called away again. Meanwhile, Just Perfect continues with dog pound blues. Barney is still missing and Trent is falling apart. He is exhausted, distracted, and convinced he's losing control of everything and should just go join the circus. Jinx approves of this idea, not exactly practical advice. At school, Trent finds himself falling asleep in class as the teacher calls on him, to which he promises to never do it again. But another classmate shows concern because Trent had previously said that he would slag off a bit, but he didn't promise to blow his whole grade. At football practice, his Performance slips badly enough that the coach threatens to replace him with Dion. Crystal is somehow less concerned about Barney being missing than she is about Trent ignoring her all day. Apparently, everybody noticed. She even refers to Barney as that stupid dog, which understandably doesn't help her case. Trent tells her that she doesn't have any real problems. Elsewhere, Barney continues wandering all over town, through shipping yards, restaurant dumpsters, and nearly into the hands of someone trying to collect some money for the sale of Barney. Trent finds Shelly at Obedience School, not like she was there with the dog, not she was at Obedience School. And she offers to help search. Then Jink busts in with fantastic news. They found Barney. Except it turns out to be a female Saint Bernard at the animal shelter. So the search continues. Backstage, Jason is now using what might be the largest cordless phone ever manufactured at this point in the world while desperately trying to locate Sponge Head and Mopgirl. Brandy finally tracks them down. They're nastier than ever. Then they're immediately called away again, this time to an unspecified mess in the Midwest, which turns out to be Kevin wanting them to clean his room. After watching Kevin casually throw an apple core onto the floor, the superheroes basically tell him to clean it himself. That's very fair. Brandy is attempting to introduce the superheroes on the show. They finally make it onto the show long enough to debut their music video, It's a Messy World, reminding everyone that cleaning up the planet shouldn't fall entirely on the superheroes. It's a catchy little environmental anthem that somehow gets stuck in your head far more easily than you'd expect. It will especially get stuck in your head during the World Cup when there is a star player with a similar name.

unknown 24:01

It's a messy world. It's messy.

SPEAKER_01 24:04

Try going into the game this weekend without having that little song stuck in your head because basically it is Messi's world at this point. Anything can happen day is next, and this guest is, of course, Bill Nye, the science guy, here to teach us about recycling. He demonstrates a machine, the molecular resynthesizer, that magically turns discarded aluminum into new metal products before showing how aluminum cans are melted down and reused. One inch wide strip of aluminum can be melted down and pressed into a sheet to create three additional cans. Then he walks everyone through recycling newspapers from scratch by blending it into pulp and spreading it on a window screen and then creating fresh paper. If you want it white rather than kind of muddy looking, just use some bleach. The water works as a solvent that breaks down the wood fibers for it to be reconstituted. It's surprisingly fascinating science. I think it's something I did in fifth grade as well. Naturally, Fred and Dee Dee finish things off by recycling their safety glasses, which they didn't want to wear to begin with because they weren't very cool looking, and Bill gets to wear his regular glasses. So Dee Dee pops hers in and ends up with some very stylish-looking sunglasses. Fred pops his in and somehow ends up looking exactly like the male version of Lurlene, just much skinnier. Bill gets the C and Jennifer and Kevin get the Y for the ending. Fred spends the closing credits tossing Mark into the air for absolutely no apparent reason. It's a good way, as any to end the anything can happen day for Earth Day week. Next up for Thursday, the episode is gonna be called Five Star Reviews and Fairy Tale Gossip. Thursday's episode gives us another debut, and honestly, this one sticks around for quite a while. Or at least for I think only this season, but we see him a couple times. After Damon, Alana, and Lindsay introduce what is to come on the show. He strolls up and attempts to walk in, but the door is locked, which seems to annoy him. So he knocks on the door and continues to look annoyed. Bobby's dad answers, looking completely confused because, well, they weren't expecting any company. Peter immediately starts critiquing the establishment anyway. Reservations are suggested for this establishment, he tells the camera. He asks for a table and is shown to the coffee table. He has to clean the area to sit down, homey atmosphere reminiscent of a country style inn, and sits on a knitting needle, tips the homeowner for absolutely no reason, and begins narrating the whole experience like he's hosting a Food Network show 20 years before Food Network really became a thing.

SPEAKER_05 27:06

Bobby, the same friend is here.

SPEAKER_01 27:08

Bobby comes out looking thrilled as always to see Peter sitting on his couch talking to a fake audience. Bobby tries explaining to his dad that his friend is a little different, especially in the cafeteria. More to come on that later in the season. Peter is not pleased with, quote, the management, unquote, and hopes that the food is better than the service. When Peter asks for a menu, Maweva wanders in, wearing a shower cap, a face mask, and a bathrobe, looking like she just got interrupted halfway through a spa day, not realizing Peter is there. Peter isn't impressed. Apparently, there's no dress code at Shaymanelli. He orders the house special only to discover that the house special literally means help yourself to cold chicken in the fridge.

SPEAKER_05 27:54

Some service has no place in a classy restaurant.

SPEAKER_01 27:57

Apparently, self-service is a little too far for Peter and he shows his dissatisfaction with it. Needless to say, things go downhill from here. He is served against the collective Minelli family's will. He samples the food, immediately regrets every life decision that brought him there.

SPEAKER_05 28:16

Oh my, this is quite unacceptable.

SPEAKER_01 28:18

I can't even needless to say, this additional outburst gets him kicked out of the establishment, but he does not go out without screaming how much power he has in the town. He then awards Bobby Minelli's family restaurant, Shea Manelli, a whopping one and a half stars.

SPEAKER_05 28:34

Out of a possible four stars, I'd have to give Shay Manelli only one and a half stars. The atmosphere is a poly.

SPEAKER_01 28:41

The food is abysmal, and Bobby Minelli is a f- But then Peter smells something delicious coming from next door. So he wonders what the neighbors are having for dinner. And he ends the skit the same way he begins it. Let's find out, shall we? The visual for this last little bit of this scene is Mark slowly moving his body out of frame, but the last thing that moves out of frame is his head. Something about that I like. And this skit always makes me want to eat cold fried chicken. I guess keeping in theme with Earth Day, what they're recycling in this segment would have been leftover food. Lindsay and Jason pop in afterwards with one of those wonderfully relatable what would you do segments. Today's dilemma? You're eating dinner at a friend's house and the food is terrible. Wonder where they got that idea from. The kids interviewed at MGM have plenty of suggestions. Hide it under your plate, feed it to the dog, chew it and discreetly spit it into a napkin, pretend you're suddenly full. Or, you know, just suck it up and eat it. Honestly, that's probably the safest option. Or, here's one nobody mentioned, say you're allergic. Vic Slick is next and he is recycling more than just aluminum. He's decided to recycle his old jokes. He opens Vic Slick's House of Jokes, where he proudly announces that used jokes deserve a second life, taking a page out of his brother Mike's book. My wife says she's a light eater. Sure, whenever it's light, she's eating. And then he does a few sight gags on poor little Ricky, including a pie to the face, which he is about to do, before Jennifer comes on to complain about a defective joke that he sold her. She's quickly returning it because apparently hers wasn't funny. Vic tells her she doesn't know what's funny. Her refund? A pie directly into Vic's face, because that's funny. Customer satisfaction is achieved. This week's What I Wanna Be sends Kristen from Ohio to spend the day as a marine biologist, something my child would love to do. She heads out to Sandy Hook Laboratory in New Jersey, where she helps collect samples from New York Harbor, looking for signs of pollution. It's actually a surprisingly interesting segment because they explain how scientists monitor water quality and examine the fish populations and determine whether the harbor is becoming healthier or not based on the water samples and the state of the fish. Considering the entire week has revolved around Earth Day, this fits perfectly. Then we get one completely random rebuttal. Buddy Oliver from the Luncheon Meat Institute of America has arrived to defend it. Olive loaf. Yes, olive loaf. Apparently, it's an underappreciated masterpiece that takes real craftsmanship to create. The creators have to actually managely push the olives into the loaf, which is really hard work and bad on the arms. But it could be worse. Could be eating asparagus loaf, sardine loaf, or even lug nut loaf. And if you refuse to eat it, you're basically threatening jobs across America because if you don't eat it, then the factories are gonna go out of business, people are gonna be out of jobs. That's certainly a stance. Party Day becomes a fairy tale gossip day with a fairy tale party that starts off with Hedda Hair and her delivering the latest celebrity news. Hansel and Gretel are suing their evil stepmother. The IRS is investigating Cinderella's fairy godmother. Goldilocks has apparently been arrested again. Prince Charming is taken to selling shoes out of the back of his carriage because business wasn't great. It's basically TMZ if TMZ covered storybooks. She then interviews The Brothers Grimm, played by Albert and Chase, who immediately start arguing over which fairy tale is their best work. It's Rumpel Stiltskin versus The Frog Prince. They're also being accused of recycling their stories. And they instantly say this is so ridiculous. And they start sputtering off a couple brand new stories they've come up with. But the one they really lean on is pitching a story that's suspiciously similar to Little Red Riding Hood. Only now it's Big Yellow Rainslicker. Subtle. Heda actually introduces the song for the episode by accident by calling it Big Yellow Rainslicker. But the episode actually wraps up with Josh performing Little Red Riding Hood, surrounded by Mark, Jason, and Ricky, all dressed up like wolves, and Alana has Little Red Riding Hood in a fairy tale setup that perfectly matches everything else we've seen throughout this party segment. Alana looks so teeny tiny in this particular dance. If you want to see it, I think it's what I posted for Josh's birthday, so go to March 23rd on my social media. It's goofy, colorful, exactly what you'd expect from the early 90s Disney. As we come to the closing, the C is given by Josh and the Y is given by Tiffany. And we are one day closer to the end of Earth Week.

SPEAKER_06 33:38

The Mickey Mouse Club Hall of Fame!

SPEAKER_01 33:41

And now let's close out Earth Day Week with episode 15 called Escapades and Earth Days Grand Finale. Friday closes out Earth Day Week, although unfortunately, this is another episode where pieces have been lost over time, as in the entire episode has been lost over time. Thankfully, between surviving footage and the trusty book, I could still piece together most of it. The show kicks off with Didi performing Escapade, and this might be one of her signature performances. She later performed it during Walt Disney World's Easter Parade in 1990 and again at MMC30 decades later. If you've seen either performance, you know why it's remembered. Meanwhile, every single backup dancer, Tiffany, Brandy, Damon, Chase, and Albert, look mildly annoyed to be there. Maybe they had an early call time. And again, sadly, the just perfect episode from today also remains missing. So Barney's great escape is left hanging for another week. The search continues. Hopefully, when we come back to it on Monday, he has we're at least one step closer to finding him. Instead, we will head over to another round of bizarre but delicious, where apparently healthy is a very flexible term. Dee Dee introduces Clint's calamity. It's bread, mustard, turkey, and cottage cheese. The second Fred hears the words cottage cheese, he dramatically collapses to the floor. For reasons I still can't explain. He just finds it disgusting. But this visual of him falling to the floor has lived rent-free in my brain for over 30 years. Fred then counters with Beth's shake. Fruit punch, orange juice, a twist of lemon, and hot chocolate mix. Blend that all up. The audience member that volunteers doesn't care much for the sandwich, but surprisingly gives the drink a thumbs up. She was probably just grateful to wash that mixture down. Fred insists that Dee Dee try the shake, and she agrees, as long as Fred eats the sandwich, which is a fair trade. He probably takes the teeny tiniest little bite like Didi did out of the hot dog in the former bizarre but delicious segment. Hall of Fame continues the environmental theme by first introducing Tanya Boyt, or Voigt. Sorry, I'm not sure which way it's pronounced. She is a teenage activist who convinced her school to replace styrofoam lunch trays with recyclable plastic ones and later plastic reusable trays. A little Google search, which is my friend now that I can spell these people's names, pointed out that a book was later written by John Saylor about her story and could be found on Amazon and other places. She comes on to share a message about the three R's and other ways to take care of the environment. Today that sounds pretty normal, but back in 1990, that generally was pretty groundbreaking. Later, she even helped to encourage McDonald's to reduce its use of styrofoam packaging in their stores. It's another reminder that this entire Earth Day week wasn't just sketches and songs. Disney was actually trying to get kids thinking about recycling long before it became second nature. The second Hall of Fame guests are Todd and Chantelle Sawwish, a brother and sister artistic roller skating team fresh off a national championship. Think ice dancing just with roller skates. Lindsay and Kevin come out on roller skates to try out a few things, and Lindsay immediately collides with Chantelle. So perhaps competitive roller skating isn't in her future, or wasn't in her future. Either one. Kevin and Lindsay decide they'd like to learn. Lindsay looks like she immediately regrets agreeing to the example. I'm not sure how the closing went, but I'm sure that both were given by the Hall of Fame honorees. And with that, birthday week comes to an end. This week really felt different from the normal MMC week. Sure, we still got plenty of comedy. Mark officially established Peter Brandon Bear, and we had recycled bikes, recycled jokes, and even recycled fairy tales. But underneath all of that, Disney was quietly teaching environmental responsibility in a very way that felt surprisingly natural rather than preachy. And honestly, for a group of kids entertaining us after school, that's not a bad legacy to leave. Next week, well, let's just say Earth Day is behind us, and things will probably get a whole lot weirder. Now it's time to say goodbye. Thank you for joining me on another episode of Mouse Cast with Mandy, a special one if I do say so myself. I do have a couple of announcements before I end the podcast, which popped up in the last couple of days. First announcement is that they are actually doing it. They have pulled the trigger and they are doing the Mickey Mouse Club again, this time with 11 new cast members, and it's going to be on Disney Plus. So let's hope that this is kind of just mimicking the Mickey Mouse Club from the 90s, where they will perform more recent songs rather than making up their own. No offense to the other group that did that. The second announcement I have is that I am pleased to say that I will be on an upcoming episode of the Space Cowboy podcast, the 50th birthday celebration for JC, where I came on the podcast and I spoke about his time on Mickey Mouse Club. So once I get a date for that, I will let you know. I'm sure it'll be right around August 8th. You can always follow along with me and my doings on Instagram and TikTok at MouseKecast and on Facebook at MouseKecast with Mandy. And if you're liking these episodes, like, subscribe, leave me a review. I would love to see it. I'm always here for your recommendations, your comments, anything you'd love to hear me talk about or love for me to post. I am all ears, if you will. So with that, I will leave you by saying, as always, Miska Mouska Mousketeer, Mouska Mandy's out of here. See you real soon.

SPEAKER_03 39:31

Hey everybody, this is Smithers. I do exist. Thanks for listening to Mouska Cast with Mandy.