The Earworm

**"The Earworm"** is the second segment of the twelfth episode of the first season of *Hamster & Gretel*, and the twenty-third episode overall. It is paired with "Friday Night Fight" and will premiere on Disney Channel on November 19, 2022.

After hearing a very catchy jingle on television, Hamster and Gretel appear to be stealing things at night while under trance. Kevin starts getting suspicious and is worried that Hamster and Gretel have become criminals.

## Plot

While watching TV late one night, the Grant-Gomez family comes across a commercial for the breakfast cereal Taco Crunchies. The cereal's jingle gets stuck in Hamster and Gretel's heads and hypnotizes them into stealing from various stores night after night. This raises Kevin and later Fred's suspicions. They follow them one night to the lair of The Earworm, a TV hair stylist who used the DNA of Hamster and Gretel to hypnotize them into executing his plan to become rich and famous. He orders the hypnotized superhero duo to drop Kevin and Fred off the window of his lair, but they retaliate when they are told by a police officer that they can counter the effects of The Earworm's jingle with another catchy song. This works, allowing Hamster and Gretel to defeat The Earworm.

Meanwhile, Dave and Carolina get into a days-long argument about the correct lyrics to their favorite romantic song. This feud leads to them "agreeing to disagree," which ultimately drives a minor wedge in their relationship. However, Kevin informs them that they can simply look the lyrics up on the internet, which they do, restoring their love for each other.

## Cast and characters

* Meli Povenmire as Gretel Grant-Gomez
* Michael Cimino as Kevin Grant-Gomez
* Beck Bennett as Hamster
* Matt Jones as Dave Grant
* Carolina Ravassa as Carolina Grant-Gomez
* Joey King as Fred Grant
* Liza Koshy as Veronica Hill
* Adam Rose as The Earworm

### Additional voices

* Brock Powell as Taco Crunchies Announcer, Police Captain
* Carolina Ravassa as Laundromat Owner, Female Police Officer
* Isaac Robinson-Smith as TV Police Captain, Male Police Officer
* James Adomian as Winky, TV Announcer
* Valerie Breiman as Inga

## Songs

* Taco Crunchies (jingle)
* It's a Big Big World
* Earworm Jingle

## Running gags

### Image scene transitions

Hamster and Gretel, in trance
(used to transition to the second night of Hamster and Gretel being hypnotized)

## Transcript

*Click here to read the full transcript of **"The Earworm"**.*

## Background information

### Trivia

* The scene transition is similar to the one from "Oakey Dokey", but there are a few differences:
	+ Gretel and Hamster are hypnotized instead of looking sad.
	+ The music has some effects.
* Hamster and Gretel are the third and fourth characters (background characters aside) to be hypnotized by a villain, the first two were Kevin and Hiromi, who were hypnotized by Coach Haggerty. ("Cheer Cheer Bang Bang")
* The episode Sleepover with the Enemy was mentioned in this episode.

### Allusions

* ***It's a Small World*** - The song It's a Big Big World is a parody of this song from the ride of the same name at Disneyland (which Giddyland itself is a parody of). Just like It's a Big Big World, *It's a Small World* is said to be one of the catchiest songs ever written.

### Errors

* While Kevin is driving Gretel to school after the first Taco Crunchies mantra, the whites of his eyes are shown to be uncolored for a split second.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.dgepress.com/disneybrandedtelevision/shows/hamster-gretel/episodes/friday-night-fight-the-earworm/