Cavis Appythart and the Red Baron

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## Plot

### Prologue of the Story

Charlie Brown and Sally Brown are leaving a movie theater and are cornered by a shady Scallion (Scallion #3, the "Milk Money Bandit") who asks them for a nickel. Charlie Brown refuses, but the Scallion then demands the money he is carrying for milk money. After stealing the money and escaping to the rooftops with his loot, Cavis Appythart (Bob the Tomato) confronts him and shakes the stolen money off of him before throwing him into Officer Scooter's patrol car. Soon afterwards, he begins reviewing his capture technique with his butler, Millward Phelps (Larry the Cucumber), but in the process, accidentally knocks an unfinished toy plane off the ledge. The plane 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 plane to life.

### Story

The next morning, Millward is speaking at a school and tells the teacher he needs to go home and "recharge his batteries" (meaning he needs to rest). Not knowing that it's a figure of speech, Linus van Pelt and Lucy van Pelt take it literally and jump to the false conclusion that Alfred is a robot. As they walk home, discussing what they had heard Millward say, they encounter a small Talking Toy Plane. Similar planes begin to appear throughout town, spreading the rumor. Cavis and Millward are tending to a garden when Millward heads inside to answer the phone. Talking Toy Plane appears and tries to spread the rumor, but Cavis doesn't listen. Millward then calls Cavis in. Mayor Blueberry (Madame Blueberry) informs him that strange planes are growing all over the city and saying that the story that Millward is a robot is a rumor. Cavis dives into action.

Cavis manages to find a plane and attempts to shred it with a weed whacker, which malfunctions. Back at the office, Millward discovers that all the planes are connected to a "Red Baron" underground. Cavis then gets on a small monoplane (as the redesigned from Wallace and Gromit short film, A Close Shave) while Millward tells him he needs to take down the Red Baron. Approaching to the trees, Millward gives instructions to Cavis; Cavis pushes the yellow button and the wheels release the plane, the wings and rocket pop out again. Flying the sky, Cavis then said worriedly, "But, um... I thought the plane was under the ground", Millward instructs Cavis to push the red button. Cavis pushes the red button, and the wings retract the monoplane plumments the ground. Horror-stricken, Cavis then yells, "Millward! ARE YOU INSANE?!?", Millward tells him that's all part of the plan. He then instructs Cavis to push the blue button. Cavis then pushes the blue button, and a thick shell comes out. Upon arriving in the sewer, Cavis meets the Red Baron and is quickly overpowered. Millward learns the citizens are afraid of him, saying that he is a "killer robot with laser eyes." Suddenly, the Red Baron breaks free out from underground and snatches Millward, but the citizens refuse to help.

Janice Emmons arrives and asks what is going on. The Red Baron says he heard the story from "very reliable sources." Linus and Lucy confess that they took Millward literally and started the rumor. Janice explains to them that "even if it's true, God doesn't want us to tell stories that can hurt. He want us to spread nice words." Janice's words cause flowers to grow on the Red Baron. Linus and Lucy decide that the best way to save Millward is to spread *good* words about him. They convince the citizens that Millward is not a robot. The Red Baron continues sprouting flowers until he transforms into a giant explosion of the plane. Millward forgives them for the misunderstanding just as a battered Cavis drags himself out of the sewer.

Unaware of the preceding events, he almost accidentally starts the rumor again by saying someone told him Alfred was a robot (obviously the toy plane), thus everyone gently shushes him, hoping the other London residents didn't hear what he just said. But he doesn't get it, and the story ends rather strangely with him asking if there was a flower show (having seen flowers on what was once the toy plane), and everyone laughs, thinking it's a joke as the story ends with a choral reminder, and a flower landing on the screen.

### Closing Segment (Back at the office)

In the final scene, Cavis and Millward enact their own What Have We Learned segment with the verse:

> "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing,"
>
> Proverbs 12:18

## Characters

* Bob the Tomato/Cavis Appythart
* Larry the Cucumber/Millward Phelps
* Charlie Brown
* Sally Brown
* Milk Money Bandit
* Mr. Nezzer
* Madame Blueberry
* Toy Plane
* Pa Grape/Seymour Schwenk
* Mr. Lunt
* Linus van Pelt
* Lucy van Pelt
* Janice Emmons
* Mimi (*picture cameo*)
* Little Red-Haired Girl (*mentioned*)
* Peppermint Patty (*picture cameo*)
* Marcie (*picture cameo*)
* Schroeder

## Songs

* First Big Break
* The Red Baron Song
* I'm Afraid of the Sewer

## Home media

It was first released on July 30th, 2002 by Word Entertainment and Everland Entertainment for the Christian market. On December 28th, 2002, HiT Entertainment released it on VHS for the mass market. In 2003, Warner Home Video reprinted it on VHS & DVD as part of the VeggieTales Classics. On June 25th, 2005, Sony Wonder reprinted it for the release of the show's episode "Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Samson's Hairbrush".

## Fun Facts

### Moral

* Be careful with what you're going to say.
* Do not tell stories that can hurt. Only spread nice words.

### Trivia

* This episode was the first for several things:
	+ The first appearance of the Red Baron.
	+ The first episode both Joe Spadaford and Chuck Vollmer worked on.
	+ The first episode where Esther does not make an appearance.
	+ The first episode to be distributed by HiT Entertainment.
	+ The first time Cavis plays the main antagonist in the episode. He turns nice in the middle of the story.
		- Speaking of which, some fans wrote letters saying they didn't like Cavis being mean.
	+ The first episode to use the 1998 logo, and not the logo from 1993 to 1997.
		- However, a prototype VHS cover for the episode as sketched by Joseph Sapulich shows the 1993 logo.
* This episode was the last for several things:
	+ The last episode to use original VeggieTales logo and theme song from the prototype box cover.
	+ The last episode Robert Ellis worked on.
	+ This is also the last episode to use the original Everland Entertainment design for the VeggieTales VHS cover style.
* This is the second episode where Cavis and Millward are the main characters, but in the previous episode, they are the secondary characters.
* There are a few differences between the pre-production and the final version:
	+ The script made a reference from both King George and the Ducky and Lyle the Kindly Viking, which both Cavis and Millward stated no one else will take over from those stressful events and promised there'll be no conflicts.
	+ In the concept art, it shows Millward wearing glasses.
	+ Charlie Brown was originally going to have a tire instead of a barrel.
	+ The concept art shows Millward in the car.
	+ Tim Hodge stated that there was going to be a scene after Cavis fights over the Red Baron, but was cut due to time constraints. That scene is later in storyboard is later storyboarded as an Easter Egg for the Trivia Questions.
	+ The cover to the 2003 re-release VHS front cover was originally going to look similar to the original one but never came to be.
	+ Cavis was originally going to be pushed by the joystick instead of backing up.
* The episode was originally going to be released on November 18, 2001, but was rescheduled back to July 30, 2002.

* + Funny enough, in the prototype VHS cover for the episode, as this was finished around the same month in the end of November 2001 (shortly after "Classics from the Crisper"), as usual, there's no Big Idea logo (same for VeggieTunes 1 soundtrack which came around the time, both of them had no sign of a Big Idea logo anywhere on the packaging), and not even at the end of the episode, due to the company not having a logo at the time until the final print of this episode was released sometime in July 2002. Also, the front cover is missing the night sky background, the shading of the characters and positioning of the title text was done in a different session.

### Remarks

* On the DVD and Netflix versions, the audio is only in mono. If you compare this with the original VHS, there's some sound effects that were missing in the DVD (eg. a rooster crowing in the beginning).
* The lighting has changed from what was from the previous episodes, despite the fact that Larry-Boy! and the Fib from Outer Space! was the first episode with a lighting department. Phil stated this because they had a new lighting technician after the previous episode.
	+ This is also the first time the characters had a different color look, which results them not as shiny. This was done by their lighting director at the time, Jon Gadsby.
* Cavis was injured after fighting over the Red Baron, but when he shows up in the sewer, his injury was vanished.
	+ However, that's why how Cavis got injured into the sewer after the rocket car got crashed.
* On the VHS cover, in some international releases, the shading of the characters and positioning of the title text change positions between the axis.
* It's unknown how Cavis used the rope to lasso the stump before tying himself up and after Charlie Brown was given by the pen pal project.
* Although not a goof, there are some shots where Cavis is seen without his top hat.
	+ However, during the office scene, Cavis is seen without his top hat. He later regains it when he dives into action, though he might be possible that he just work.
* After the Red Baron got exploded, Janice fills her former position, which apparently, the Homecoming Queen for the royalty Little Red-Haired Girl is in love with Charlie Brown (while doing the pen pal with him), during the last day of school. Shouldn't the Little Red-Haired Girl would love Charlie Brown before he kisses her, unless that's no longer how royalty works?

### Fixed Goofs/Errors

* When Cavis turns around, part of his top hat clips through the billboard.
* Millward is clipping into his seat in several occasions.
* In the shot where Linus tells the plane his secret, the wing and his propeller disappear as he leans back to the window.
	+ The original version also features all the glass on the windows changing colors as the plane is talking to Linus. This doesn't happen in the 2003 version, likely due to the windows now revealing the outside of the house.
* Mr. Nezzer's suit clips into his body between shots.
* In the original version, when Millward says "Nothing lifts the spirit more than an afternoon dabbling in the horticultural arts", his tie is seen clipping into his shirt. Though this was fixed in the 2003 version, in both version Cavis twitches as Millward is talking.
* In the original version, the interior of the office changes colors between shots. This doesn't happen in the 2003 version.
* In the original version, as Cavis is heading down the house with his rocket car, his top hat turns black before returning to its grey color upon his arrival. Though this was fixed in the 2003 version, a goof was introduced which sees Cavis clipping into his seat during the shot.
* When Cavis uses the weed whacker to shred the plane, he's placed towards the wings due to not affected to the plane being shredded, but he's in the further away of the plane when he starts using the shears to cut it.
	+ The weed whacker also disappears.
* In the original version, as Millward says "Remember, London is counting on you! You can do it!", the blue metal on the rocket car where Cavis is sitting flickers as the platform is rotating. This doesn't happen in the 2003 version, likely due to the redesigned monoplane.
* As Cavis pushes the yellow button and when the monoplane's wheels pop out and the wings come out, a small spot of his top hat flickers before flying through the sky.
* In the original version, when Cavis moans "Hey! My rockets! I need those!", the sky flickers white as the rocket car plummets the ground. This doesn't happen in the 2003 version.
* The drill that is on the rocket car that it crashes through the ground suddenly vanishes after it breaks through the tunnel wall.
* In the original version, Millward is missing his mustache in the scene where he approaches to Scooter's police car in the closeup. He regains it in the 2003 version.
	+ On a similar note, Millward's hat flickers as he stops his motorcycle. This doesn't happen in the 2003 version, likely due to the redesigned motorcycle.
* In the original version, when Cavis is about to say "Hasta la vista, planey!", his mouth doesn't move. This doesn't happen in the 2003 version.
* When the rope is first seen, there are knots on the rope, but when the rope is thrown, there are no knots.
* In the original version, there are two animation errors appear after the Red Baron emerges from the sewers. One is that he is missing his propeller, and the second is that there is a black hole behind his wing. This was corrected in later versions of the episode.
* When the flowers are popping out of the plane before it explodes, Millward's shirt is clipping into his body.
* In the original version, when Cavis uses the rope to lasso the stump, his white shirt disappears when he's pulling. This doesn't happen in the 2003 version.
* In the first few copies of the original 2002 VHS release (with a slower framerates), during the end credits, the audio waves of the saxophone instrument in the reprise for The Red Baron Song were accidentally inverted, meaning it is heard lower in volume when you switch the VHS audio settings to MONO. This was corrected in later re-issues of the episode.