Long in the Teeth

**"*Long in the Teeth*"** is an episode of *The Angry Beavers* from Season 1. It is the second segment of Episode 2, and is the fourth episode overall.

## Plot

Norbert accidentally grows his front teeth to be long, clearly unaware of the danger of his teeth eventually impaling his brain. A fate all beavers suffer by growing their teeth, and a fate that Daggett tries to prevent Norbert from dealing with. However, Norbert ends up being praised for taking such a risk that he ends up being declared "The New Boss Rodent" by all the animals in the forest. Daggett tries ignoring his brother's popularity, but gets pushed to the edge after seeing Norbert getting lots of love and attention by his girlfriend named Treeflower, as Daggett tries to out-cool his brother by growing his teeth as well.

## Characters

### Major

* Norbert Beaver
* Daggett Beaver

### Suppourting

* Treeflower (debut)
* Big Rabbit (debut)
* Muskrat (debut)
* Squirrel (debut)

### minor

* Telethon Host
* Bill Licking
* Barry Bear (debut)
* Capybara (mentioned)
* Fish (debut)
* Lobster (debut)
* Ducks (debut)
* Opossum (debut)
* Gopher (debut)
* Raccoon (debut)
* Porcupine (debut)
* Horses (debut)
* Oxnard Montalvo (novelization)
* Toluca Lake (novelization)
* The Crawling Spleen (novelization)
* Rooster Bear (debut)
* Snake (debut)
* Leonard Beaver (mentioned)
* Rose Beaver (mentioned)

## Production

### Development

* According to Mitch Schauer, the idea of this episode was developed from the fact that since beaver teeth never stop growing, they have to constantly chew otherwise their teeth will grow through their brains, killing them.
* According to Mario D'Anna, this was the second episode of the series in production order after "Born to Be Beavers".
	+ This episode started production a few weeks after "Born to Be Beavers".
* Norbert's girlfriend named Treeflower is seen in this episode admiring Norb's teeth. However, they technically do not meet until the second to last episode of the first season titled "Bummer of Love." This episode takes place after "Bummer of Love", because Treeflower knows who Norbert is and even addresses him as "Norby."
* Treeflower's voice is slightly higher in this episode than it is in all her other appearances.

### Release

* This episode is available on The Angry Beavers: Seasons 1 & 2, The Angry Beavers: The Complete Series, Keepin' It Nick, Best of Angry Beavers Season 1, Season 1 (Australian), The Essential Episodes: Seasons 1-4, Born to Be Beavers (DVD), The Angry Beavers: Collector's Edition, and The Angry Beavers: The Collector's Set DVD's
* This episode is also available on Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime, Roku, and other streaming services.

### Reception

* "Long in the Teeth" was rated 7.1/10 on IMDB.

## Background Information

* This episode introduces Barry Bear and Big Rabbit. An early version of Treeflower also makes her debut.
* A fanfiction that takes place during the events of this episode was published on November 6, 2022 (twenty five years after it first aired).
* This episode contains many firsts:
	+ The first episode where the word "Spoot" is not used.
	+ The first time Norbert and Daggett have an "Am not/Are too!" argument.
	+ The first episode to premiere on a Sunday, along with "A Dam Too Far."
	+ The first episode where Norbert and Treeflower are shown to have a romantic relationship.
	+ The first episode where a character other than Daggett calls Norbert "Norby."
		- Two other characters beside Daggett call him this, those two being the Squirrel and Treeflower.
	+ The first episode where the beavers swim.
* When Daggett is looking at Norb's teeth as the Tooth Inspector, he says "Ach du lieber!" This translates to "Oh my god!" in English.
* The opening shot of Norb and Dag's dam was reused in both "You Promised!" and "Kandid Kreatures."
* **Innuendo:** Treeflower gets aroused when rubbing Norb's teeth.
* This is the first episode that aired that takes place in September, when according to the Timeline "Mission to the Big, Hot, Thingy" is the first episode to take place in September.
* Despite this being the second segment in the second episode pairing of Season 1, this takes place before it's sister episode "A Dam Too Far."
* Norbert and Daggett would later grow their teeth to be long again in the Season 3 episode "Up All Night II: Up All Day. The Reckoning."
	+ However, that time it was accidental due to them sleeping in for a thousand years.
	+ Furthermore, that episode takes place months before this episode. So technically, this episode is the second time Norbert and Daggett have grown their front teeth to be long.

## Cultural References

* The episode's title is a reference to the saying "long in the tooth", which is a euphemism for aging.
* ***Forrest Gump*** - The snake in this episode is based on the titular character.
* ***Dexter's Laboratory*** - Daggett's costume as the Free Tooth Inspector is modeled after the titular character.

## Errors

* During the documentary video, the narrator said that rabbits are rodents like beavers, squirrels, and capybara. Rabbits and hares are actually lagomorphs, not rodents.
* When Norbert and Daggett are walking past the deer laying on the ground, Norbert has sharp teeth like Daggett.
	+ This also happens earlier in the episode when he wipes his forehead with his arm in relief after Big Rabbit compliments his teeth.
	+ This also happens later in the episode for three frames when Big Rabbit criticizes them for still having long teeth.
* For one frame after Daggett chews himself out from being wrapped in seaweed, his nose is brown instead of red.
* When Daggett says the line "What a bunch of weirdos," he has separate eyebrows like Norbert instead of his monobrow.
	+ This also happens when his eyes pop out of the foam made by the plant food on his tooth brush.
* When Daggett turns on his belt sander before diving into the water, his pajamas sleeve is white instead of orange.
* When Norbert says to Daggett, "I'm going to take a swim," his eyebrows are unusually thick.
* During the scene at sunset where Daggett tells Norbert about how their parents told them all that stuff about their teeth, Norb and Dag's mouths don't move at all.
* When Norbert snaps his fingers to the squirrel, the light part of his nose is outlined in black.
* When Treeflower is flirting with Norbert, a portion of the outline of her hair is missing for a few scenes.
* In the close up of Daggett with the rope tied around his teeth right before the rope snaps, a section of the rope is not colored in for a few frames.
* When Norbert and Daggett stop as a large shadow looms over them, Daggett's sharp teeth aren't visible while they're closed.
	+ This also happens when he spits out log on a cob.
	+ This also happens when he and Norbert are walking in the forest just before the transition of them in their fancy outfits.
* During the scene where Daggett tells Norbert that growing their teeth long was his idea, it's just reused looping animation of the same scene as they're rolling towards the hole in their floor that leads to the pond.
* When Daggett is chewing the wood on a cob very fast, his front teeth are missing in a few frames.