First, Last, Step

**First, Last, Step** is the twelfth episode of the first season in the series *A Little Curious,* and the twelfth episode in total. It aired on April 19, 1999. It focuses on the subjects of the words first, last, and step.

## Segments

### First Thing (CGI/Watercolor)

After we see a watercolor-style animation of the sun rising, we see Doris in a hallway, yawning and asking where Little Cup is going first thing in the morning, who is walking out of a room. He tells her he's going to the bathroom and enters the room at the other end.

### Get There First (CGI)

Bob, Little Cup, Mr. String, and Plush race to the sandbox, and whoever gets there last is a rotten egg. This worries Mr. String and he hurries, but everybody passes him and he loses and becomes a smelly rotten egg, that he states will last a long time.

### A Little Reality

In this segment, kids race to the finish line.

### First Star (CGI)

The entire cast is looking up in the sky and they see the first star, and sing "Star Light, Star Bright". As the star passes, Doris says she wishes for a burger and tells them all to go.

### A Little Reality

The segment takes place at the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center, and kids skate to a line, each new person being the last in line. The four kids ski while holding a rope that pulls them along.

### Giant Step (CGI)

Mop is going to play a game of "Mop May I?" with Bob, Little Cup, Mr. String, and Plush. Mr. String explains the rules to Plush, who still doesn't understand them. Bob goes first and asks if he can take two bouncing steps, and Mop says yes. After Bob, goes Little Cup, who asks to take three baby steps, and counts "1, 5, 3". Next is Plush's turn, but he takes steps before asking. Mr. String asks for him, and Plush knocks him over and walks over to Mop. Mr. String groans about letting everyone step all over him.

### A Little Reality

On a basketball court, kids are playing the game "Mother May I?".

### Stepping Out (Cel)

Plush spots a dance mat, so he puts on a record and makes a top hat with his ears and uses his tail as a cane while the record plays, and attempts to dance, but he dances clumsily all around.

### A Little Reality

Kids in a costume room try on different hats and wardrobes and dance.

### Step by Step Cooking (Cel)

Pad teaches Bob, Mary Jane, and Lacey to cook French rolls. For the first step, she makes the dough by mixing flour and water with a spoon, then for the second step, she asks Pencil to make sure the dough isn't too thick or too thin, so he comes sliding to the bowl but falls in the dough. For step three, Pad kneads the dough. Mary Jane wonders where Pencil is, and Pad finds him in the dough. Pencil claims he needed to be "kneaded" by her, and she kisses him. Next for step four, Pad rolls the dough with Pencil, and for the final step, the dough is rolled into little balls.

Pad then unveils the final cooked product, with Pencil being baked into one of the rolls. He cracks himself out of one and laughs, knowing that someday he'd be rolling in dough.

### A Little Reality

In this segment, a boy makes a weird shape out of black dominoes, with last blue domino. The boy's black dog knocks over the dominoes, making it all fall down.

### Same Steps (CGI)

It's Mary Jane's bedtime, so Mr. Shoe tries to lead her upstairs, but she's not tired. Mr. Shoe shows her a fun way to go upstairs, and that's tap-dancing up. She follows his moves as they go up and down when Mrs. Shoe comes in telling them it's their bedtime.

### First, Last, and Always (Stop Motion)

Pad and Pencil are at a restaurant table. Pad asks if this date brings back memories of their first date, which features them on a boat. Then they sing about their relationship and that they'll love each other first, last, and always. They begin to point out their foibles, which leads to an argument and them not talking. Feeling bad, the two apologize and say they'll love each other first, last, and always, regardless of their flaws.

### First Aid (Stop Motion)

Bob is hurt, so Mop dresses up as a nurse to give him first aid. Mop kisses him and gives him a bandage, but it still doesn't make him feel better. So she gives him another kiss and a bandage, but it still doesn't work, so Mop kisses him all around and covers him with bandages, which makes Bob laugh and feel better again.

### Song: Bob (2D Collage)

The Bob song "Bob Bounces Back" is played.

### One Small Step (Stop Motion/CGI Hybrid)

Mrs. Shoe calls everyone in the living room, and the other three pairs of shoes hurry to the couch to see the first moon landing on TV. The moon boots on the television walk out of the rocket and say "One small step for mankind, one giant step for shoes!"

### Last Thing (CGI/Watercolor)

A sequel to the beginning short, after the watercolor animation of the sun setting and the sky getting dark, Little Cup exits the room and tells Doris he's going to the bathroom again. Doris says the kid sure knows where he's going.

## Trivia

* In *Get There First*, a brief clip of Bob bouncing is reused from the Slippery, Sticky, Mirror and Bubble, Picture, Mirror segment *Mop's Mirror*, although the clip was "mirrored".
* "Mop May I?" is a parody of the real game Mother May I? which is played by the children in the following live-action segment.
* In *Same Steps*, when Mary Jane says "But I'm not tired!", there is a little light blue piece in the background, which could be part of the skybox that was not covered. It could also be a hidden window in the house.
* The *One Small Step* short is an allusion to the real 1969 moon landing by *Neil Armstrong.* The narrator at the beginning says "The Eagle has landed" which was one of his actual lines, but the quote done by the astronaut boots is a parody of Armstrong's actual famous quote.
	+ On a side note, even though the short is done in stop motion, the footage of the boots on TV is actually animated in CGI.
* Portions of the live-action segment about kids dancing would be seen in "New, Old, Dance".
* The live-action segment about the children playing Mother May I? was later featured in “Work, Play, Skip”, as part of the song, “Games We Like To Play”.
* The live action segment about kids racing would be repeated in "Lead, Follow, Act", but this time being narrated by Bob the Ball and features new music.