"Penny For Your Thoughts" is an episode of the stop motion animated series, Bump in the Night. (Aired on November 19, 1994)
Plot[]
The episode begins with Mr. Bumpy lifting up a heavy piggy bank, he mutters to himself that it is so close yet so far away, he peeks through the slot in the piggy bank and plans to open it.
First Bumpy picks up a silver meat mallet and tries to smash the piggy bank, but when he hits it the hammer head shatters. Bumpy tosses the mallet away and comes back pushing a dentist operating table. He picks up the drill and rides it like a jack hammer, but the piggy bank remains upbroken. Bumpy then appears riding a train and tries to run it over but the train crashes and he falls off the shelf.
Bumpy gets back on the shelf, he does a bow and tries to karate chop it but only hurts his hand. Bumpy becomes frustrated and pushes the piggy bank off the shelf, the piggy bank hits the floor then bounces up into the air and lands on top of Bumpy, while he is squashed under the heavy piggy bank.
Later, it shows Mr. Bumpy carrying the heavy piggybank and dropping it into a catapult. Bumpy tries to let go of the piggy bank but his hands are stuck under it, the catapult is then released and Bumpy screams as he is flung into the air. Bumpy crashes into the wall and lands on the floor, the piggy bank lands on top of him again and his eyes bulge in pain.
Eventually, Bumpy is sitting on the floor by himself trying to come up of a way to get some loot. Squishington enters and ask Mr. Bumpy "A penny for your thoughts", just then a penny drops out of the sky and hits Bumpy on the head. Bumpy then takes the old saying litterally and realizes that he will get a penny every time he has a thought.
Mr. Bumpy then puts his finger to his head and tries to think as hard as he can, but struggles to think of anything. Squishington looks up to see if anything is happening, Bumpy then says that it's funny because it worked the last time.
Squishington looks inside Bumpy's head with a doctor's ear tool, he shouts out "Hello" and the voice echoes around in Bumpy's head. Squish then comes with a diagnoisis that Bumpy doesn't have a thought in his head.
Bumpy then becomes melodramatic and begs Squishington to tell him how to think. Bumpy then tells Squish that he always has random thoughts in his head and begs him to tell him his secret. Squishington then tells Bumpy that he is a natual born thinker and ideas just come to him, he then stops to ponder and comes up with an idea.
Later, Mr Bumpy is shown wearing a mechanical thinking hat on his head, Squish then turns on the switch and the hat starts clinking and shaking. Bumpy doesn't feel any different and Squish says that maybe he should turn it up just a little. Squish then turns the dial on the helmet and cranks it up all the way.
The thinking hat goes berserk and Bumpy becomes overloaded and starts shaking out of control. The thinking helmet explodes and Bumpy is left in a daze, Squish ask if it worked and Bumpy mutters "hello, have we met?"
Mr Bumpy is then shown meditating and struggling to have a thought. Bumpy then believes it is hopeless and he isn't born to be a thinker. Squishington then enters with a food serving tray and says all he needs is a little "brain food", Squish then lifts up the tray revealing to be a pink fish with green lips, Squish then and tells Bumpy "bon appetite".
Just then, the Fish comes alive and tells Bumpy if he tries he will give him such a pinch, the angry fish then slaps Bumpy hard with his tail and Bumpy falls to the ground. Squishy watches the fish walk away, he mutters that maybe they should try smaller portions and the fish leaves in a huff.
Soon, Mr. Bumpy is shown with electrical wires attached to his head connected to a box of explosives, Squishington tells Bumpy that he has a metal block and does have thoughts in his head but have trouble coming through. Squishington concludes that it's like a log jam and they have to unclog his brain and the thoughts will come through.
Bumpy then ask how, and Squishington says with plastic explosives. Bumpy ask if this will hurt and Squish says according to the plastic sportsman magazines it will be as painless as taking off a band aid. The scene then cuts to a kid having a band aid pulled off and screams, Squishington then pushes down the trigger and it explodes. Bumpy is then shown burnt and blackened, he then coughs up a pile of logs and Squish says that he unclogged the jam.
Bumpy then believes that it worked, he then stops to think and a penny drops onto his head. Bumpy is successful and announces that he can think. Bumpy becomes overwhelmed with knowledge, he then concludes that two plus two is four, he comes up with an answer to a name of a capital and then realizes what Scotsmen wear under their kilts and a few more pennies fall onto his head.
Later that night, the entire bedroom is filled with mountains of pennies, covering the floors, windows and shelves all in gigantic piles. Molly Coddle has accompanied the group and looks at the endless piles of pennies. Squishington complements Bumpy on his thinking skills and Bumpy says that thinking is what he can do best, (also collecting belly button lint). Bumpy pauses to think and another penny falls on him.
Bumpy then says he wonders how many pennies the bank can hold, he puts the penny into the piggy bank and it starts shaking and rumbling. Mr Bumpy, Squishington and Molly Coddle then run away from the piggy bank and it explodes while pennies flying though the air. A broken piece of the piggy bank lands on Bumpy's head, Molly becomes concerned about this and tell Bumpy that maybe he should let his brain rest tonight.
At Mr. Bumpy's Nest, Bumpy slowly walks to his bed feeling tired and slightly disgruntled as more pennies hit him on the head. Bumpy picks up an ice pack and applies it to his aching head. A few more pennies hit him and he becomes more annoyed.
Meanwhile, Molly Coddle is trying to sleep in her bed but can hear the repeating clinking of the pennies. Molly starts tossing and turning, she gets out of bed and looks at her alarm clock. Molly becomes annoyed that Bumpy is thinking in his sleep and goes up to see him.
Molly and Squishington enter Mr. Bumpy's Nest, Squishy calls out to Bumpy, and Molly walks towards a small pile of pennies. Molly says that she recognizes that clinking anywhere and brushes off the pennies that Bumpy was buried under. Mr. Bumpy wakes up and stretches, he tells his friends that they cannot believe the dream he just had, Molly picks up a penny and Bumpy is disappointed that it wasn't a dream and that it is stil happening to him.
Squishy tells Bumpy that the constant clinking is keeping them all awake, Squish then ask Bumpy if he can "think of a way to stop it". Just then a big rumble is heard, Molly cries out "NO" and hundreds of more pennies fall onto them. Bumpy, Molly and Squishy stick their heads up from the pile of pennies, Molly looks at Squishy angrily for suggesting the idea and Squishy mutters "a penny for your thoughts."
Later that night, Squishington sets up a cardboard cut out of Mr. Bumpy, he pretend to talk to the cardboard cut out, he then winks to the real Mr. Bumpy, who is wearing a cowboy disguise to trick the pennies. A penny falls onto the cardboard decoy and Bumpy is relieved, he then says that he is finally rid of those pennies for good. Just then, Bumpy then sneezes and his big black mustache falls off his nose, foiling his disguise.
The penny then stops in mid air, the penny with a life of it's own then taps the cardboard decoy, looks at the real Bumpy and back at the decoy. The penny then face Bumpy and comes charging at him in full speed, Bumpy then screams in terror and the penny hits him in the head.
Bumpy comes out from under the bed and another penny lands on his head. Bumpy then snaps and starts screaming, he runs thoughout the bedroom trying to escape his penny curse. Squishington is then hiding in a cardboard box, he gestures Bumpy to hide inside and Bumpy jumps into the box for safety.
Squishington whispers "I wonder where the pennies are", Bumpy then says "let me think", he eye stalks peek though the box lid and says "only one more". Squish becomes worried and ask "only one more" and a giant size penny comes crashing down and crushes the box with the two monsters inside it.
Eventually, Bumpy decides there is no choice but to leave, Bumpy is shown carrying a suitcase and sadly says farewell to his best friend Squishington. More pennies drop onto Bumpy as he tells his friend he can visit him anytime, Squishington is upset and ask his friend where is he going and how will he find him.
Bumpy sadly accepts his horrible curse and says he doesn't know where he will end up but just to follow the trail of pennies, saying he is sure he won't be hard to find. Squishy is heartbroken and says he has one last question before they part, Squish then ask Bumpy "why did he want all the pennies for?"
Bumpy then stops the ponder the question, he then admits that he doesn't have a clue and he never thought about it. Squishington then stops to listen, hearing that everything has gone quiet. Squishington then ask Bumpy "do you think," Bumpy then freaks out and shouts out "don't say that word".
Squish then stops and looks up, seeing that the pennies has stopped falling because Bumpy doesn't have anymore thoughts. Bumpy is now relieved, he shouts out "I'm cured" and throws away his suitcase. Bumpy is filled with joy now he doesn't have a thought in his head anymore.
Squishington then laughs and says that he is glad it's over, Bumpy agrees with him and now everything can go back to normal abnormality around here. Squishy laughs again and says that it's funny that he didn't offer a "gold brick" for his thoughts. Bumpy then laughs out loud and says it was a good think Squish didn't say it, Bumpy then stops and looks up, realizing the big mistake they just made.
Just then a 14 kilo gold brick comes falling out of the sky and heading towards the two little monsters. Squishington and Mr. Bumpy both scream in terror as the huge gold brick is about to land on them. The screen fades to black assuming that the falling brick hit them, ending the episode.
Quotes[]
Mr. Bumpy: Squisher! You gotta tell me how you do it. You're always thinking radom thoughs! What is your secret, Man?!
Mr. Bumpy: Nuts! I guess I wasn't meant to be a great thinker...
Squishington: What you need is a little "brain food" Mr. Bumpy. Bon Appetite!
Fish: If you try, I'll give you such a pinch... (slaps Bumpy hard with his tail)
Squishington: Hmmm, maybe we should start eating at smaller portions...
Squishington: Perhaps you are having a metal block, Mr. Bumpy. You undoubtedly have thoughts but they cannot get through. It is like a log jam, all we need to do is unclog your brain and the thoughts will flow....
Mr. Bumpy: But how?...
Squishington: With Plastic explosives of course.
Mr. Bumpy: Is this gonna hurt?
Squishington: Not according to the latest Plastic Sportsmen magazine, it shouldn't be worse than pulling off a bandage.
Mr. Bumpy: I think it worked too... YES! I can think! I can THIIIINK!
Mr. Bumpy: Wow. So that's what they wear under their kilts.
Squishington: Gee Mr. Bumpy, you're quite the thinker...
Mr. Bumpy: Thinking is what I do best.... Next to cleaning lint out of belly buttons, that is.
Mr. Bumpy: (upset) And don’t worry, you are always welcome to visit anytime my best friend, Squish.
Squishington: But where are you going? How will I find you?
Mr. Bumpy: Oh, I don’t know were I’ll end up so… Just follow the trail of pennies. I’m sure I won’t be hard to find.
Squishington: I have one last question before we part… What did you want all the pennies for, Mr. Bumpy?
Mr. Bumpy: You know I don’t have a clue… I never thought of that I guess.
Trivia[]
- The name of this episode is an idiom that means "What are you thinking?".
- Mr. Bumpy uses a dentist drill to break into the piggy bank, the drill also appeared in the episode Hocus Dopus when Bumpy says the solution to cure Squish is to operate on him.
- Goof: In the scene when Mr. Bumpy is about to be flung into the air by the catapult, the wires attached to the Bumpy puppet are visible for a few frames.
- Goof: When Mr Bumpy sneezes the mustache off his face, a rod is shown holding the mustache.
- Goof: In the scene where Mr Bumpy tosses the suitcase into the air, the suitcase completely disappears in the final frames.
- The line that the Fish says is from a classic Looney Tunes cartoon, when Bugs Bunny tells Elmer Fudd to go hunt elephants, an angry elephant tells him "if you try, I'll give you such a pinch" and whacks him into the ground.
- Mr. Bumpy says "Thinking is what I do best", this is similar to Tigger's catch praise, "Bouncing is what Tiggers do best". Jim Cummings is the voice of both Mr. Bumpy and Tigger from Winnie the Pooh.
- The plot to the episode is similar to the Greek Myth of the Midas touch. Everything King Midas touched turn to gold, similar to Mr. Bumpy whenever he had a thought a penny would appear. Just like King Midas, Bumpy learned that having too much of a good thing is bad.
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