"Bad to the Bone" is the first segment of the fifth episode of 101 Dalmatians: The Series. It aired on October 18, 1997.
Plot[]
The episode starts with Rolly digging up a bone, he's been saving for weeks, but Mooch snatches it away from him, as soon as he finds it. When Rolly asks Mooch to give it back, Mooch says he's got to fight for it and jumps at Rolly. Lucky, Cadpig and Spot intervene, but Mooch points out that Rolly not fighting shows that he's spineless.
Rolly is enraged by this and says he'll do anything to prove that he's tough. Mooch puts this to the test by daring him to sneak into Cydne's place.
Later at the snake pit, Rolly reluctantly enters while Spot is concerned that they should have talked Rolly out of it. In Cydne's den, Rolly thinks he saw the snake and cowers in fear; however, he soon discovers that Cydne had shed his skin and he's talking to an empty lair. Rolly then realizes that if he thought that this was the real Cydne, it would fool the others.
Outside, the pups then see Rolly tackling the snakeskin ruthlessly, thinking it's really Cydne.
While Mooch and his gang are impressed by this, Lucky, Cadpig and Spot are disgusted by the unprovoked violence Rolly made on Cydne. Mooch then welcomes Rolly into the gang and gives him the nickname: "Snake Stomper."
The word soon spreads between Cornelia to Lucy and Lucy to Dumpling. The next morning, Mooch's gang arrives with "Snake Stomper" and the other pups all run in fear.
Lucky confronts Rolly, saying this isn't the real Rolly, but Rolly comments that he is now tough and cool. Cadpig analyzes that he's become a text book bully, giving an attitude to cover up for low self-esteem, She is shooed away by Mooch. Spot warns Rolly that he knows what happens to bullies and Mooch answers by saying, "They get all the good stuff."
Meanwhile at the swamp, Dumpling is busy collecting mushrooms for "Snake Stomper's" supper. Cydne then arrives, wondering what she's doing there and then asks for more information when Dumpling tells him about what Rolly supposedly did.
Later at Mooch's hangout, Rolly is bored and asks Mooch what to do. Cydne then arrives, suggesting how he got his nickname. Rolly (thinking it was Mooch who asked) comments how they all saw it, before Cydne reveals himself, commenting how he missed it.
The gang is shocked and Mooch tells "Snake Stomper" to start stomping. Rolly, however, runs off with Cydne in pursuit.
During the pursuit, Cydne chases Rolly through the hen house (where Cydne eats some eggs inside and complains about his cholesterol) and the barn (where they are both kicked into the air by the Captain). Cydne soon catches and restrains Rolly at the Chow Tower. The snake then rings the dinner bell to summon all the pups.
When the pups arrive, Cydne tells them "Snake Stomper" has a confession. Rolly asks for help from Mooch and his gang, but they are too scared to help. Rolly soon confesses that he didn't fight Cydne, but really an empty snakeskin, much to the pups' anger.
Cydne then drops Rolly after the confession and shoos the other pups away, before suggesting to Rolly that the earring is not his style.
After Cydne slithers away, Lucky, Cadpig and Spot look over Rolly, and the former "Snake Stomper" figures that they've come to say his "cool" friends dropped him whilst he needed help and since he ditched his original friends, he's lost their friendship too.
Lucky comforts Rolly by saying that they'll take him back eventually. Cadpig then states that they'll ring every last drop of guilt out of him, since that's what friends are for.
Trivia[]
- The episode title is most likely based on the song of the same name by George Thorogood and the Destroyers.
- Linda Miller was nominated for the 1998 Annie Award for "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production" for this episode.
- Mooch refers to Rolly as "Rolly Poly", a possible homage to what Rolly's name is in the Dodie Smith novel.
- This is supposedly set before "Love 'Em and Flea 'Em", since Two-Tone is still in Mooch's gang.
- This episode marks Cydne's first appearance in 101 Dalmatians: The Series.
- This episode also marks Cornelia and Lucy's first speaking roles, though they do appear as silent cameos in "Home is Where the Bark Is".
- This episode shows what the inside of Cydne's den looks like.
- Apparently, Cydne's empty snakeskin still has eyes.
- A majority of pups who snarl at Rolly's confession have very a close resemblance to Rolly in appearance.
Gallery[]
