T'was the Night Before Bumpy[]
"'T'was the Night Before Bumpy" is a musical Christmas special of the stop motion animated series, Bump in the Night.
The film is 1 hour and 4 minutes long and aired on December 9, 1995.
Plot[]
Act 1:[]
The Opening credits begins with the title "Twas the Night before Bumpy", it opens up with the decorated Christmas tree and pans around the room showing the decorated living room. The writers names are shown on Christmas cards and the voice actors names are shown on Christmas stockings.
We then get a small glimpse of Mr. Bumpy, hiding a large missile inside the couch cushions, and he then sneakily disappears.
The episode begins at the Karaoke Cafe with the banner saying "Mr Bumpy's annual Holiday pageant", next we see all the toys, bugs and other creatures help with the Christmas decorations. Recurring characters are seen such as Little Robot, Destructo, the Yellow Bunny and the Cute Dolls.
Next, Molly Coddle is introduced putting up wreaths, Molly has the Christmas spirit and says that Christmas is the most "comforting day of the year". Mr Bumpy then appears, and says "it's also the time to get the most loot".
Molly reminds Bumpy that Squishington is the pageant director and is also looking for him. Bumpy says he was setting up his "Santa Claus traps", as a part of his plan to steal his bag of toys for himself. Molly tells Bumpy that Squish went looking for him downstairs, which is where Bumpy set up the dangerous traps.
The scene cuts to Squishington, searching for his best friend, Mr Bumpy. Squish accidentally activates one of the traps, a boxing glove in the fire place, he is then knocked onto the Christmas tree and lands on a mouse trap. Squishington then starts dodging falling anvils, and then activated the Missile inside the couch. Squishington is then riding the out of control Missile and crashes into the closet, where his is captured by the vicious Closet Monster.
Mr Bumpy is peeved that Squishington ruined his Santa Claus trap, Squish apologizes but then begs Bumpy to rescue him. Bumpy then offers a Christmas present to the Closet Monster as a peace offering. The Monster opens the present, revealed to be a neck tie, which he happily accepts, and he leaves the others alone.
Bumpy is confused, saying that present was meant to be full of "Nitroglycerin", Squish is shown holding the Nitroglycerin present, which then explodes. Squishington is unharmed from the explosion, but checks himself to see if he's in one piece. Squish then cries out that he has no feet, Molly and Bumpy point out that he never had feet in the first place.
Squishington then talks about that his life is limited because he doesn't have feet, such as he can't ride a bike, play football or run a race. He then mentions of his desire to be a tap dancer and begins to cry.
Molly comforts the sad Squishington, saying he's good at other dances, Squish says he can dance the tango and the lombata , but he can't tap dance without feet. Bumpy promises Squish that he'll get Squish feet from Santa, but he also wants to keep the rest of the presents for himself.
Molly says Bumpy has been trying to catch Santa for years, but his plans have never worked. Bumpy recalls all his other failed traps in the past but declares he wants all the presents for himself. Molly reminds Bumpy that Christmas is more than just presents, Bumpy feigns interest and says it is the best part, and shows a long list of the things he wants.
Mr Bumpy then sits at the piano and starts to sing his version of the "12 days of Christmas"(It's the night before Christmas), while Squish, Molly and Destructo add their own lines to the song (Do what I say/ Great big hugs/ One pair of feet/ I'm Mr Bumpy I get everything).
At the end of the song, Mr Bumpy plans to go to the North Pole himself and steals Santa's sack of toys. Bumpy say's that there will be an army of elves and killer snowmen, and wants Squish to come along with him. Squishington is unsure of this dangerous adventure, but Mr Bumpy tells Squish that Santa might have a pair of feet for him in his bag
This delights Squishington that he'll finally get to tap dance, Bumpy impatiently taps his foot, waiting for Squish to make up his mind. Squish agrees to go with Bumpy. Molly reminds Bumpy that Squishington is supposed to be directing the Christmas pageant, Bumpy then instantly put's Molly in charge as Pageant Director.
Just then, the Closet Monster appears and all the toys run away in fear, Molly claims the Monster is searching for him and Bumpy said he didn't do anything to him (except bother him every single time.) Bumpy and Squish then leave to start their journey to the North Pole.
Molly talks to the Closet Monster and she complements his neck tie then dashes away, the Closet Monster leaves sadly and Molly tells the toys that it's safe now. Molly tells the toys that she is now the pageant director, the toys don't take her seriously and say that the show won't be the same and leave. Molly is worried and ask herself how is she going to get the pageant ready like this.
Meanwhile, Mr Bumpy and Squishington are shown camping in the jungle while Bumpy eats the map. Squish ask Bumpy if there should worry about creatures living in the jungle, but Bumpy dismisses the idea thinking there is nothing to worry about. Just then, they hear a large frighting noise, which turns out to be an Earthworm. The worm introduces himself, saying his name is "Juaquin Gusanito Sin Maños", and he is going to make Bumpy and Squish his prisoners.
Mr Bumpy and Squish try to run away from the Earthworm, but he is too fast and they can't escape. Bumpy and Squish thinks the Earthworm wants to torture them brutally, but he wants them to join him to concur his enemies. Bumpy and Squish agree to join him, but it turns out his enemy is only a spiky bush.
Bumpy tells the Earthworm about their scheme about going to the North Pole to find Santa's bag. The Earthworm says he always tries to write or send a message to Santa, but he doesn't have any arms.
Bumpy promises the Earthworm that if he helps them get to the North Pole, he might get a pair of Mechanical arms from Santa. Bumpy then tries to shake hands but he remembers the worm doesn't have any. The Earthworm agrees to help them and starts digging a tunnel in the earth, Bumpy jumps into the hole and he pulls Squish down with him.
While the Earthworm chews his way through the dirt, Bumpy and Squish follow him down the tunnel. Bumpy is excited about reaching the North Pole and says he can hear the presents calling out to him. Then both Squish and Bumpy start to sing a silly version of "Deck the Halls" with their own lyrics (Peanut butter's great with jelly/ under arms are good and smelly.)
At the end of the song, Squishington ask Bumpy if he will keep is promise to the Worm about getting him the mechanical arms. Bumpy says he had his "toes crossed" and he never intended to keep his word. Squish tells Bumpy it is wrong to break a promise, Bumpy tells him to get a grip and that he still wants to keep all the presents to himself. Squish then ask if he'll keep the feet Bumpy promised to him, Bumpy says they will actually belong to himself but says he wouldn't betray his friend. Squish then says that he wouldn't lose faith in Bumpy because he is "too cool".
Back in the bedroom, the toys are feeling bored and acting disgruntled because the Christmas pageant won't be the same, Molly tells them they have a show to put on, but the toys ignore her. Molly reminds them that she is the pageant director, the toys don't take her seriously and laugh. Molly then tries to become more assertive and not let others treat her like a door mat. She then becomes aggressive and starts yelling at everyone, the toys are shocked and immediately does what Molly says.
Molly then yells at Phil Silverfish and demands him to perform his act, Phil Silverfish then starts singing The Dreidle song and sings about "Hanukkah" with other Silverfish as backup dancers. At the end of the song, the bugs applaud the song, while Molly is unimpressed, she threatens the Silverfish with Bug Spray and yells at him to rehearse more.
Molly starts to enjoy being assertive and becomes addicted to the power. Destructo is witnessing this, and becomes concerned for Molly, seeing that she isn't acting like the sweet caring comfort doll he knows. Destructo see Molly acting cruel and mean and becomes deeply worried, ending Act 1.
Act 2:[]
Meanwhile, Bumpy and Squishington continue following the Earthworm through the tunnel, the Worm claims to have reach the North Pole and they all climb to the surface. Bumpy is excited to reach the North Pole, but is confused that the location doesn't look anything like the North Pole. It turns out they are at Stone Hedge in England, but the Earthworm thinks that Santa Claus is re-landscaping.
Just then, they are attacked by a mysterious flying swooping creature, the Worm panics and hides in the Earth. The unknown creature is revealed to be a lady Hummingbird, the bird has her beak stuck and accidentally knocks down one of the stone slabs. The Earthworm comes up to check what is happening and the Stone comes falling down on top of him, where he is assumed squashed.
Bumpy thinks the Worm is "shoe custard" now, and says he might as well keep the mechanical arms for himself. The Hummingbird introduces herself as "Doris D. Bird", she lost her food and says she has to eat all the time because she has to flap her wings 200 times per second, or she will starve.
Bumpy ask the bird if she knows where to find the North Pole, she tells them to follow the North Star, but it is very far away. Bumpy then decide to takes advantage of the bird's ability to fly fast, Bumpy promises the bird that if she helps them get to the North Pole, they will get her a jet pack from Santa.
Doris agrees to do so, but makes along list of food she needs to bring. Bumpy then paints Squishington to look like a cheeseburger, and uses him as a steer while he rides on the hummingbird. While flying, Doris starts pecking and biting Squish and he starts screaming. Both Bumpy and Squish fall off, while Doris is disappointed that she didn't get the jet pack or the cheeseburger.
Bumpy and Squish land in the snow below, Squish then says he's having a horrible time and burst into song while explaining all the bad things that happened to him. Bumpy and Squish sing "Jingle Bells" together with their own silly lyrics Jingle Bells (Bumpy Smells).
At the end of their song they slip into a hole and fall down a hill, where they finally discover the North Pole. It is revealed that Santa's Workshop is a high security military zone, armed with tough army Elves and Snowmen soldiers. The Lead Elf and the snowmen start singing a military-like version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentle Men" (We're providing security for toys.)
After some military protocol, Snowmen army continue to sing "We're Providing Security for Toys". After the song is finished, Bumpy tries to come up with a plan to sneak into Santa's Workshop without getting caught by the Snowmen soldiers. Bumpy and Squish then disguise themselves as a snowman with Bumpy being the top half with eyes while Squish is the bottom half, because he doesn't have feet the snowman disguise works.
Bumpy and Squish in their disguise bump into the snowmen, the Lead Elf stops them, and Bumpy makes up an excuse saying one of the snowmen pushed him. The other snowman is rolled into a ball and taken away, the Lead Elf says he doesn't like "squealers". Bumpy knows that they are about to be tortured, so he breaks their disguise and runs off. The Elf realizes that they are intruders and start shooting at Bumpy and Squish. They both escape leaving giant snowballs behind and the elves then try to pursue them.
The two Monsters are being chased down the hallway, where they are surrounded by Snowmen and mean Elves. The Snowmen start shooting at Bumpy and Squish, they jump out of the way and the snowmen keep missing them. Bumpy and Squish then duck while the snowballs fly through the air, Bumpy then pushes a secret button with his toe and activates a hidden door inside the wall.
Bumpy and Squish then escape and hide in the secret room and the door closes behind them. The Snowmen begin shooting at one another, there are two Snowmen left and they end up shooting each other, they are assumed to be knocked out instead of dead. The Elf then says to the other elf that "good snowmen are so hard to make these days."
Bumpy and Squishington then walk through the tunnel and find a sign telling them where to find the bag. They reach the other end of the tunnel and enter a room. The door closes shut behind them and they are inside an elevator. They are flattened and squashed by the impact and are dizzy from the ride. The elevator door opens and they finally find the room with signs leading to Santa's bag. The Elves appear to stop them, Squish then decides to let the elves chase him while Bumpy goes to find Santa's bag.
Meanwhile, Bumpy finds the room with Santa's bag, which is surrounded by booby traps. First, Bumpy dodges carrot darts being shot at from large snowmen figures, and then Bumpy escapes from being chomped up by a Nutcracker head.
Bumpy finally reaches the bag of toys, but is unsure what to do with it. At first, Bumpy thinks about sharing the toys, but his shoulder devil appears and tells him that the bag has his named written all over it. Bumpy's greed starts to rise, but he then remembers his promise to Squishington and he can't betray his best friend.
A second shoulder devil appears and tells Bumpy that sharing is for everyone else and not him. Bumpy becomes overwhelmed with greed and wants all the presents for himself. Bumpy grabs the bag but activates the "Giant Rolling Santa of Doom", Bumpy then tries to escape the giant rolling Santa chasing him.
Back in the Bedroom, Molly opens up the Christmas Pageant and the Cute Dolls sing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas", the song is being played while Squish is being chased by the elves and Bumpy is trying to escape with the bag. Squish then creates a hole in the floor and the elves run into each other, knocking themselves out.
In the Bedroom, the characters applaud for the song, while Molly didn't like the performance at all. Molly tells the Cute Doll's she didn't like the performance and she is getting impatient waiting from Bumpy, she looks at a watch on her wrist and says if Bumpy doesn't show up soon he won't have a next year.
Meanwhile, Squishington comes out from the floor and sees he knocked out the elves, Bumpy runs by Squish in the hallway and Squish is happy that Bumpy took the bag. Squish then realizes that there is a giant rolling Santa about to run him over and Squish and the Elves are flattened like clay.
Bumpy then starts swinging the bag around and starts spinning around, he is then lifted into the air and escapes the Giant Rolling Santa of Doom. Bumpy then smashes a hole in the ceiling, he then comes flying through the air and lands in front of Santa's sleigh and the reindeer.
Mr Bumpy then hijacks Santa's sleigh, he see's the key is still in the sleigh and starts up the engine. Squish comes hurrying, telling Bumpy to wait for him and he grabs on to the back of the sleigh. The Elves then try to stop Bumpy from getting away and start firing giant heat seeking Candy Cane Missiles.
Bumpy doesn't know how to control the reindeer's and can't stop the run away sled. Just then, the gifts begin to fall out of the sack and hit Squish on the head and he realizes Bumpy is losing all the presents. Bumpy smashes into a giant billboard for Greenland, and two children see him, thinking that he is Santa with a lot of warts.
Meanwhile, the presents begin to drop in other people's chimneys and the children thank Santa for the presents. At Stone hedge, Doris is eating Chinese food when a large presents lands in front of her and scares her. The present is revealed to be the "Jet-pack" she was promised, which she happily uses.
In the Jungle, it shows the Earthworm is still alive, a presents lands in front of him and it is revealed to be the "Mechanical arms" he wanted. He is happy of his new gift, despite being crushed by a giant stone slab earlier. He puts on his new robotic arms and decides to start quilting.
Meanwhile, Bumpy still can't control the reindeer's, the rein's snaps off and the reindeer's fly away while Bumpy and the sleigh fall and crash.
Act 3:[]
Back in the bedroom, the Christmas pageant is nearly over and Molly is getting impatient waiting for Bumpy to come back and do the finale. Just then, Bumpy and the sleigh crashes into the bedroom and the rest of Bumpy's presents fall out and land under the tree.
All the characters see the presents and excitedly rushes to get them, while Bumpy miserably watching his presents disappear before his eyes. The Cute Dolls open up their presents and they all get the same thing, matching purple mascara.
Destructo sees his present and is surprised how Santa knew what he wanted. He opens up his gift and it is revealed to be a beautiful female counterpart named Destructette. She introduces herself and shows her "rules manual" to Destructo, and he is dazzled.
Molly then starts yelling at Bumpy reminding that he must finish the pageant. Bumpy however is disgruntled that he didn't get to keep the presents and there is only one left. Squishington appears from under the sleigh and asks Mr Bumpy if he can finally get the feet he asked for. Bumpy lies to Squishington and says he must have lost it over "Madagascar" but he at lease got to keep one present.
Squishington then stops Bumpy, telling him he was promised feet if he helped Bumpy and reminds him of everything he did, including pretending to be a snowman and running away from the army elves. Bumpy points out that if Squish can do so many things, then why does he need feet anyway.
Squish pauses to think about it and he realizes he isn't limited by the lack of feet. Squish says he doesn't really need feet, except for his dream to tap dance. Squish then finally had enough of Mr Bumpy and he loses his trust in him. Squish then tells Bumpy off and says that his behavior is "UNCOOL."
Bumpy is immediately crushed by Squishington's words, that he called him the "u word". Bumpy is ashamed of himself and is deeply upset, he gives Squish the last Christmas present, hoping that someday Squish would forgive him.
Squishington opens the gift which is revealed to be "Noise Maker tap shoes", Squish begins clinking the noise making shoes and starts dancing to the music. The toys gather around Squish and watch his performance, he finishes dancing and the toys all applaud him. Squishington is happy that he finally fulfilled his dream to tap dance and forgives Mr Bumpy, becoming friends again.
Molly keeps screaming at Mr Bumpy, telling him he is suppose to be singing. Bumpy is confused that all his friends got what they want, but he didn't get anything. Just then, the Earthworm and Doris both appear in the bedroom, Bumpy is surprised to see that the worm is alive. The Earthworm thanks Bumpy for the mechanical arms, saying he has done plenty of quilting. Doris also thanks Bumpy for the jet-pack, saying that she is eating less now.
Bumpy sees that all his friends are happy with their gifts, he realizes that because of him now all of his friends are happy. Bumpy realizes that sharing gifts to your friends is more important than getting everything. Molly is still angry at Bumpy and demands him to sing for the pageant finale. Bumpy then sits down at the piano, and sings a reprise of the "Twelve Days of Christmas", this time he sings about the lesson he has learned. Bumpy sings that he doesn't need gifts and "giving away gifts uplifts the people that you love and on Christmas that's good enough for me."
All of the characters are moved by Bumpy's song and start clapping, Molly is also touched and then realizes her mistakes. Molly says that she lost sight of everything and made her friends feel uncomfortable by acting cruel and mean. She ask her friends if they could forgive her, the toys are still mad at Molly and they don't accept her apology.
Molly is upset, she runs away in tears and says she will never be pageant director again. The Cute Dolls then stop to reconsider; Molly did say she was sorry and that she won't direct the pageant anymore. Destructo looks over to Destructette and smiles, then they decide to forgive her. The Toys then surprise Molly with a group hug and she is happy, that what she wanted for Christmas was hugs from everyone.
Mr Bumpy sees that everyone one is happy, he then stops to think that if anyone can give presents, they why does Santa have to do it, he then thinks that he could have got a gift from Squishington or Molly. Just then, the Closet Monster grabs Mr Bumpy, he begs the monster not to eat him and ask him to put him down.
The Closet Monster puts Bumpy down and tries to talk to him by growling. It is revealed the Monster wanted to thank Bumpy for the neck tie he gave him. The Closet Monster then unzips his neck and a Christmas present comes out. The Monster gives Bumpy the present, he opens the gift which is revealed to be a perfect left foot sock.
Bumpy loves the present and is overwhelmed with joy, saying he will keep it "forever and ever and always and always." Bumpy then pauses for a short while and immediately devours the sock. Bumpy then belches and is satisfied, he turns to the viewers and says "somethings were just ain't meant to last," ending the special.
Trivia[]
- In the episode, Mr Bumpy parallels to the Grinch. Both are green creatures that try to steal Christmas, but both their attempts are unsuccessful. The Grinch wants to stop Christmas, while Mr Bumpy wants to keep the presents for himself because he's greedy.
- The special also use themes from the Wizard of Oz, Mr Bumpy promises the Earthworm mechanical arms and the Hummingbird a jet pack. However, unlike Dorothy, Mr Bumpy didn't intend to keep his word.
- Goof: After Molly says she is pageant director, Yellow Bunny's little pink nose is missing.
- When Bumpy and Squish ride down the elevator, there is a sign that says "Capacity 100 elves, or 4 snowmen".
- When Mr Bumpy is about to steal the bag, some parts are a homage to Indiana Jones. Such as, when Bumpy is dodging the carrot nose darts, escaping the chomping nutcracker and running away from the "Giant Rolling Santa of Doom."
- The Giant Rolling Santa of Doom resembles the character Santa Claus (Sandy Claws) from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
- The General Earthworm is voiced by actor and comedian Cheech Marin. In Disney's "The Lion King", Cheech voiced one of the hyena's, Banzai, while Jim Cummings (Mr Bumpy's voice actor) also voiced Ed the hyena.
- While Squishington is performing, one of the Cute Dolls cheers out “Dance Bojangles Dance”. She is referring to Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, an American tap dancer and actor, the best known and most highly paid African American entertainer in the first half of the twentieth century
- After this special, there was going to be a third season of Bump in the night. But due to being cancelled right after Disney bought ABC in 1996 this special ended up being the last episode of the series.
- Most of the recurring characters from the series make an appearance in the special, including Yellow Bunny, Little Robot, Mama Snail, Baby Snail, Sleemoth, Albert Eistein and Odiferous J. Stench.
- Several Christmas songs are parodied in this special
- the title is a reference to t'was the night before Christmas
Quotes[]
Squish: Oh Mr Bumpy! Where are you? It's time to start the pageant. Are you there, my bosomest of buddies!
Squish: Feet? I AIN'T GOT NO FEET MR BUMPY!!
Molly: But, Squish, you never did have any feet.
Bumpy: Let alone ones as pretty as mine! (smells his own foot)
Bumpy: I won't settle for anything less than the bag, the whole bag, and nothing but the bag, or so help me I'm greedy!
Squish: A compass would be nice about now.
Bumpy: Compass, Bumpass! Look, if I'm wrong about this, I'll eat the map. (later shows them camping and Bumpy eating the map). Not bad. Although it's a little spicy in Thailand!
Bumpy and Squish: (singing) Jingle Bells Bumpy smells, Squishy's made of clay, Santa's beard looks awful weird he might wear a toupee!!
Squish: Oh Mr Bumpy. May I have my feet now? Pleeease?
Bumpy: Uh, Sorry Squish. No can do. They must've fallen out over Madagascar, or something. But if it's any consolation, at least I got one present out of it!
Squish: Wait. Just a moment. You promised me feet if I helped you. And I did. All that running away and jumping and gliding and pretending to be an evil snowman. I almost lost my ooze holding off those short people.
Bumpy: Gee, Squish. If you can do all that, what do you need feet for anyway?
Squish: ah- hmmm. (pauses to think) Good point. It seems that I'm hardly impeded by my lack of tooties. (laughs) I don't really need feet at all... (becomes angered) Except to tap dance. And I trusted you!... Mr Bumpy, I never thought I had to say this.... But. Your conduct has been sooo... UN-COOL!
Bumpy: (gasp in horror and cries) NOT the "U" word, Squish! (becomes upset) But it's true! It's true! Ohhh the SHAME! THE SORROW! THE UNMITIGATED TRAGEDY! How can a monster get so LOW?! (starts crawling on the floor to Squish) My last present. I couldn't take it now if you paid me... Well maybe I could... But, It's yours Squish. It's all yours. Hopefully, someday, not too far away... Not just yet either cause I need to blow my nose in a second... (sniff) You could forgive me! (blows nose loudly.)
Mr Bumpy: (gasp) A special collectors edition dirty left foot sock! (gasp) WITH A HOLE IN THE TOE! (gasp with joy) Just the way I love ‘em! I’ll cherish it forever and ever and always and always! Oh, it will be the pride of my home! The joy in my life! The very caller and meaning of my existence, FOR ALL ETERNITY! (pauses. Then gobbles up the sock and belches) Ah. Cause, you know. Some things were just ain't meant to last…
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