Thomas' Snowsuit

**Thomas' Snowsuit** is the first episode of the animated series, *A Bunch of Munsch.* It was originally aired on CTV in Canada on December 7, 1991, and then it was aired on Showtime in the United States on December 17, 1991, this was based on the 1985 Robert Munsch's book of the same name. It was followed by *50 Below Zero*.

## Plot

A young little boy named Thomas is trying to get home, feeling self-conscious about his worn-out brown snowsuit with patches all over it, and all the other kids wearing nicer ones. When he tries to sneak away without being seen in it, the other kids notice him, tease him, and throw snowballs at him. He then loudly declares that he will never wear the snowsuit again, and he throws it away very shortly afterwards when he gets home, only for his mom to treat him to a brand new version of the same one, which he sternly does not agree to wear.

This leads to a chain reaction of events involving him running from his mom who is trying to make him put it on. The first time she catches him, puts it on him, and then he goes back to school. But on the way there, he imagines himself as an astronaut on a space mission to his mind off of it. The kids continue to make fun of him even more. After a long day of school, the bell rings, and Thomas is the only one that does not want to go out in his snowsuit. The teacher, in the same way as his mom, tries to get him to wear the snowsuit to no avail. She then activates the alarm, gets the janitor in to assist, and then he continues to run and cause destruction from them still refusing.

The Teacher then catches him running in the halls from them, and she sends him to the principal's office with his snowsuit. He then imagines himself as a prisoner on his way to the principal's office acting as if he was going to the Warden's office. Once he gets there, the principal is in then in the middle of changing the light bulbs due to the destruction he has caused, but then goes on to tell him that he has to wear his snowsuit, and does not even the slightest understand what "no" means after Thomas tries defending himself in every way he can. The children however are seen outside cheering him on for refusing to wear the ugly-looking snowsuit. Then the principal chases after him, and Thomas is really hiding this time in all of the places in yet another chase sequence. At one point, he gets cornered in the gymnasium by the adults who once again, fail.

But then very shortly the kids come in to ask Thomas if he wants to play with them, and Thomas happily agrees, and puts on the snowsuit he had refused to wear the whole time, making the adults argue back and fourth about what they just went through.

As soon as Thomas gets home, his mother bought him a new one that looks more colorful, but then Thomas refuses the new one and wears his brown one instead. He then goes back to the school, and sees that all the students are now wearing his snowsuit, and it has become a trend to wear it now. He then has a snowball fight with them.

Meanwhile the Principal is then seen to have moved to Arizona in the United States of America, where nobody ever has to wear a snowsuit. He then puts on the radio as he is watering a cactus in the sun, only for the choir version of the "No" song to be played, causing the principal to go crazy and to run off into the distance ironically yelling, "Noooo!"

## Trivia

* Thomas makes a reference to Tarzan by doing his famous yell when he swings on the lamps to get away from the Janitor and his Math teacher. Ironically, this was released 9 years before the release of the Disney film adaption.
* The plot of this episode seems rather pointless due to the fact that Thomas does not want to wear his snowsuit, and sternly goes out of his way to not wear it, but yet he puts it on right after all the fits he throws, and acts as if he liked it the whole time. He could have been possibly trying to use the snowsuit as an example to the adults that he can suit himself if he chooses to. This theory is unproven though.
* So many references to the Peanuts comic book strips and specials are made throughout the episode.
* This episode, along with 50 Below Zero, were the only 2 episodes to be aired in 1991 in Canada and in the United States. While the rest of the episodes from the show were all aired in 1992 in the United States, and then later aired in Canada from 1992 to 1998.

## Goofs

* It is unknown if he was just at recess or if it was the next day already when he goes back to school with the new snowsuit on. A school day does not last that long.
* Most schools in the USA/Canada do not have a snowsuit dress code.
* Thomas would have been injured from everything that he did during the chase sequences.
* Thomas calls the metric system "miles" during his daydream sequence of being a prisoner, even though this is set in Ontario, Canada where the metric system for miles is "meters" instead.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/474147518/
2. ↑ https://www.ebay.com/itm/275773615187