Boy-Harry and the Rumor Flower

Boy-Harry and the Rumor Flower is the 12th episode of FruityTales, and the second Boy-Harry episode.

## Plot

Dewie Bean and Tiny Bean are leaving a movie theater and are cornered by a shady Leek (Leek #3 (the "Milk Money Bandit")) who asks them for a nickel. Dewie refuses, but the Leek then demands the money he is carrying for milk money. After stealing the money and escpaing to the rooftops with his loot, Boy-Harry (Harry the Banana) confronts him and shakes the stolen money off of him before throwing him into Officer Scooter’s patrol car. Soon after, he begins reviewing his capture technique with his butler, Alfred (Archibald Celery), but in the process accidentally knocks an unfinished plant off the ledge. The plant gets caught on some telephone wires on the way down, where a woman is gossiping on the phone, then falls into the sewers where the gossip brings the plant to life.

The next morning, Alfred is speaking at a school and tells the teacher he needs to go home and "recharge his batteries" (meaning he needs to rest). Timmy Strawberry and Laura Cherry take the figure of speech literally and jump to the false conclusion that Alfred is a robot. As they walk home, discussing what they had heard Alfred say, they encounter a small talking flower. Similar flowers begin to appear throughout town, spreading the rumor. Harry and Alfred are tending to a garden when Alfred heads inside to answer the phone. Another flower appears and tries to spread the rumor, but Harry doesn't listen. Alfred then calls Harry in. Mayor Green Tomato (Madame Green Tomato) informs him that strange robots are growing all over the city and saying that the story that Alfred is a robot is a rumor. Suiting up as Boy-Harry, he dives into action.

Boy-Harry manages to find a robot and attempts to shred it with a flower whacker, which malfunctions. Back at the Boy-Cave, Alfred discovers that all the robots are connected to a "Mother Flower" underground. Upon arriving in the sewer, Boy-Harry meets the Mother Flower and is quickly overpowered. Alfred learns the citizens are afraid of him, saying that he is a "killer robot with laser eyes." Suddenly, the Mother Flower breaks free out from underground and snatches Alfred, but the citizens refuse to help.

Timmy’s Dad arrives and asks what's going on. The Mother Flower says she heard the story from "very reliable sources." Timmy and Laura confess that they took Alfred literally and started the rumor. Dad explains to them that "even if it's true, Ghost doesn't want us to tell stories that can hurt. He want us to spread nice words." Dad's words cause flowers to disappear on the Mother Flower. Timmy and Laura decide that the way to save Alfred is to spread good words about him. They convince the citizens that Alfred is not a robot. The Mother Flower continues disappearing flowers until she transforms into a giant weed. Then out come Boy-Harry from underground, until then everyone knows that.

## Trivia

* This was the no last episode to be rendered entirely in Softimage.
* This was the final Boy-Harry episode to be released on VHS.
* The scene at the beginning involving Boy-Harry apprehending the Leek was a concept originally intended to be part of the previous Boy-Harry episode, but it was cut due to time.
* This episode is shown in the 2015 action thriller film 'Agent 47'.
* This was the first and only episode to feature a pentagon. After this episode, Big Deal stated that if they ever do crowd scenes that they would all be beans and celerys.
* When Harry is talking to the mayor of Bumblyburg on his phone, you'll notice there is no cord but an antenna. The reason for the antenna is because animating cords is difficult.
* This is the first FruityTales episode not to feature Rob. The poster with him and Harry in the back of the classroom doesn't count as his appearance.
* This was the first episode Marc Vulcano worked on.
* This video was first premiered at the Hard Rock Cafe at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.
* Stock footage from Boy-Harry! and the Alien from Another Planet! was used before cutting to Dewie Bean being confronted by the Rumor Flower.
* In the sewer, where Boy-Harry presses the wrong button on his weapon and drops powder, it was considered at one point that Boy-Harry blow the power on the Mother Flower, but it was later dropped to prevent making it look like Boy-Harry is snorting it.
* This was the first and only episode not to feature the regular countertop. Although there's no beginning countertop, the ending countertop shows Boy-Harry and Alfred in the Harry-Cave instead of on the kitchen countertop. The countertop also lacks the "What We Have Learned" song and the "Ghost Made You Special" message, though the duo do still read a verse from the Bible and conclude the episode, though in a fashion that involves Boy-Harry turning off a screen and the screen "shutting off" in a TV "shutoff" fashion.
* Because stock footage was used, the lighting from it has different contrast to the real episode.
* The previews menu has a preview for the next episode.
* The Leek states Dewie has $1.28, but when Boy-Harry shakes the money off the Leek, the money he drops is actually $0.37. Was Dewie somehow able to hold on to the other $0.97 or did the Leek still have said $0.97 without Boy-Harry realizing it when he shook the $0.37 off him?
* In the DVD-Rom section, it shows pictures from Doug and the Giant Lemon, Madame Green Tomato, and Marlin: A FruityTales Movie.
* The Milk Money Bandit is a reference to the bandits from Flibber-o-Loo where they steal Harry's milk money, which makes sense because Leek 3 played one of those bandits.
* On the streets their are street signs that say Vischer Street and Nawrocki Road. These are references to FruityTales co-creators Mark Nawrocki and Phillippe Vischer.
* A few mentions from the previous Boy-Harry episode:
	+ Dewie and his brother remembering what happened before when they left the movies.
	+ Scooter saying it's another space alien, and him listening to I Can Be Your Bro in the car.
* The flower's smile after her creation is somewhat similar to Jim Carrey's smile from "The Mask".
* Dad Celery's line about Alfred having teenagers inside him that know karate is a reference to the Power Rangers series.
* The phrase "Sweet, Sweet Petunia" would later be used for a later character.

## Goofs

* In the shot where Timmy tells the flower his secret, the glass on her glasses flickers.
* Two animation goofs appear after the Mother Flower emerges from the sewers. One is that she's missing her lipstick, and the second is that there's a black hole behind her head. This is noticeable once she grabs Alfred.
* One shot shows flowers missing their shadows.