Bouncing Ball

**Bouncing Ball** is the 15th episode of *Dora the Explorer* from Season 1. It aired on September 1, 2000.

## Characters

* Dora
* Boots
* Backpack
* Map
* Fiesta Trio
* Swiper
* Tico
* Val the Octopus
* Grumpy Old Troll
* Frogs

## Summary

When Boots got a super blue bouncy ball from the toy store, he bounces it too hard that it bounced down the hill. So, Dora and Boots have fun bouncing and jumping as they get it back.

## Plot

Dora and Boots were at the toy store and Boots was looking for a super blue bouncy ball. Once they found it, they went to the checkout counter to pay for it. Val the Octopus tells Boots to pay over 12 coins. Boots had 7 coins, and asks Dora is that enough. Dora tells him that the ball costs 12 coins. Boots is upset that he doesn't have any more coins to buy his super blue bouncy ball, but Dora calms him down and tells him not to worry, because she has some more coins in her backpack. Dora gets out 5 more coins from her backpack to total 12. Sure enough, they can buy the ball. After they paid up, they left the toy store with Boots' super blue bouncy ball. Boots loves it so much that he made up a song about it. After the song, he wanted to see how far the ball bounces. But the ball bounced so much and it vanished. Boots wanted to know where his bouncy ball went. So, they check the Map for assistance. Map says that the ball is bouncing to the volcano and he explains to the viewer that a volcano is a big mountain that explodes. But before Dora & Boots can get there, they have to go across the Mucky Mud and over the Troll Bridge. Dora & Boots got to the Mucky Mud and the mud was really mucky. They had to figure out how to get across it without getting all mucky. They see frogs jumping across the rocks to get to the other side. Dora & Boots jump like frogs on the rocks to get over the Mucky Mud. Next, they had to go to the Troll Bridge. Along the way, they hear Swiper the fox nearby. But they manage to stop him. Soon, Dora and Boots make it to the Troll Bridge. But just as they were about to cross, the Grumpy Old Troll comes out. They had to answer a riddle that went: "Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bounce. Only two of these things will bounce. Can you pick the things that bounce? Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bounce." There were four things in the air: an ice cream cone, a pogo stick, a towel, and a kangaroo. They had to pick two things that will bounce. The viewer picks the pogo stick and the kangaroo because those two things bounce. The ice cream cone and towel lie flat on the ground but the pogo stick and kangaroo bounce away. The troll got steaming angry and lets them go over his bridge. So far they went across the Mucky Mud and over the Troll Bridge. All they had to was go to the volcano. After Dora & Boots walked on foot for a long time, Boots noticed they were still too far away from the volcano and needed a faster way to get there. They decided that they should get a ride from Tico who drives a yellow car. Dora and Boots start chasing Tico and tell him to wait. The Spanish word for wait is "espera." So the viewer said it with Dora and Boots and that made Tico wait. They asked him if he can give them a ride to the volcano. Tico said he'd be glad to. Dora and Boots hopped in and put their seatbelts on. Tico drives super fast to the volcano. They thanked him for the ride. Once Dora & Boots got to the volcano, they can see Boots' super blue bouncy ball. But then Swiper swipes the ball and throws it into the volcano. Suddenly, the volcano started to shake which not only caused the ground to shake, but also caused Dora & Boots to shake. The volcano explodes and the super blue bouncy ball goes towards the screen and the viewer catches it. They threw the super blue bouncy ball back to Boots and he was happy. He sings the "I Love My Ball" song again. After that, the volcano started shaking again which caused the ground to shake. It also caused Dora, Boots and his ball to shake and when the volcano exploded, lots and lots of balls of different colors came out, but Boots was happy with his own new super blue bouncy ball.

## Places in this episode

1. Mucky Mud
2. Troll Bridge
3. Volcano

## Items in Backpack (clockwise starting from the top right)

* Binoculars
* Book
* Paintbrushes
* Balls
* Pair of socks
* 5 coins (correct items)

## Trivia

* Backpack's strap is fixed due to cartoon logic in this episode after it broke in the previous episode.
* This is the 15th episode of the show.
* This is the 1st episode where Swiper swipes something in the volcano. This will happen again in Roberto the Robot.
* Dora and Boots sing the Travel Song 3 times.
	+ It is a rare event where the Travel Song is sung on the way to the destination.
* This is Dora and Boots' 2nd time to go over the troll bridge.
* The end credits for this episode are in navy blue instead of light blue for the first time in this episode.
* Chembo Corniel does not appear in the song musician in the end credits.
* Benny and Isa do not appear in this episode. However, Benny did appear in the Character Find.
* This is the first episode to have the end credits in the center instead of center and right.
* When Dora and Boots get to the Volcano next to get Boots' ball back, they ask the viewer if he/she see the volcano then the Blue Cursor clicks on it before singing the Travel Song and after they sing it, they're at the exact same spot where they asked the viewer where the volcano is and Tico coming their way to help them get there.
* This episode features a fourth wall break. The ball bounces towards the screen making the viewer catch it, and then he/she was asked to throw it back to Boots (as hard as he/she can). Something similar happens in a later episode titled Lost Squeaky.
* This episode introduces the Blue Cursor in a new version. Starting with this episode, whenever it clicks on something, it will sharply glow for a whole second.
* Before Map's segment, Dora doesn’t say "Louder!", she instead says "I think you have to say it again!".

## Goofs/Errors

* After passing the Mucky Mud, the Fiesta Trio played their fanfare by jumping out of the mud, but they were not at all mucky.
* It is unknown what Swiper would swipe the first time he appeared. However, they stopped him anyway.
* When Dora and Boots sing the We Did It! song, the super blue bouncy bouncy ball bounces on its own.

## International premieres

* Friday, November 10, 2000 (Latin America)
* Friday, November 17, 2000 (Portugal)
* Friday, February 16, 2001 (Spain)
* Thursday, April 5, 2001 (Brazil)