The Mane Thing

The Mane Thing
 * Season #: 7
 * Season Ep#: 19
 * Overall Ep#: 125

Plot
Lollipop Pops is given a bad haircut and gets ridiculed by everyone in town.

Episode
(Opening shot: fade in to the city skyline, viewed from a distance. Pan across the suburbs to the Rainbow House. Inside, the twelve youngsters are asleep in their bedroom. Sunlight steals across the scene, illuminating them. Close-up of the top of Cotton Puffy's head, the rest covered by the blanket. He sits up, and we see that his hair is a total wreck. Cut to the other side of the bed, where a ragged patch of dark brown can be seen. Vanilla Cake wakes up yawning and patting his hair, which also looks a mess. Pull back to bring the whole bed into frame; the eleven CandyCakes look at each other with sleep-clouded eyes, then down at the top of Lollipop Pops' head between them.)

(Close-up of her as the covers slide away from her head and she slowly opens her eyes. Her brothers and sisters watch in disbelief as she sits up and loosens her hair, letting it fall free behind her. She swings her head from side to side, her hair looking quite presentable. The others exchange a knowing glance while Lollipop floats bove them, still swinging that curtain of hair.)

(Dissolve to the girls and boys, now clothed and cleaned up, at the end of the bed. The rest are brushing her hair.) (As she says this, cut to a close-up of the hair on her side and pan to the ends; they curl and shine when she brushes them. Cut to Lollipop.) (She produces a can of hairspray and applies it liberally, causing Lollipop to cough.) (He has constructed a figure-eight track on which several toy cars race around. Cinnamon Buns flies into view to look at it.) (Cut to a rabbit made of hair, with two flower clips for eyes and a heart barrette for a mouth.) (The end of the bed again. The other CandyCakes are enjoying their creations, but Lollipop looks quite annoyed. Quick zoom in on her.) (Each of the others is surprised by her reaction.) (He pulls harder and harder at a matted strand. Suddenly a flash of light fills the screen, and a loud ripping sound is heard. He finds himself staring at a large handful of dark violet hair. The others float into view next to him; both look very worried. Camera turns around, and we see the source of their anxiety: a large bald patch at the back of Lollipop's head. Zoom in on this briefly, then back to the other CandyCakes. Choco drops the hair.) (They look at each other. Camera turns around again.) (The eleven of them go to work; scraps of hair fly everywhere and collect on the floor by the bed. When they finish, close-up of them, hands to mouth in nervous thought. Long silence as they turn their eyes to each other. The buzzing of the hotline breaks their pensive mood. Close-up of it.) (She reaches into view to answer the call, and the camera turns up to her face. Her hairline is not visible above her eyes.) (Cut to the others standing at the foot of the bed, to the sound of the phone being hung up. Her shadow advances into view, her hair looking decidedly odd.) (Their cheeks turn bright red and swell up with laughter they are trying desperately to suppress. Extreme close-up of Lollipop; pull back to show all of her. Her hair has been randomly chopped short, there is nothing left on top but a single long tuft. Long silence.) (Cut to behind her; we see the others to either side. They shake their heads, still struggling not to laugh out loud.) (Cut to them again, zooming in slowly as bits of hair drift down from above. After a few more seconds of stifling their laughter, they finally let it go. Cut to Lollipop in flight.) (The others fall in behind Lollipop. In the city, Sir Metal Masher approaches slowly. Citizens watch, frozen with fear, as its shadow falls over them. The monster stops directly in front of the sun, blocking it out entirely. After a long silence, he stares down at the citizens; now everyone screams and runs. Sir Metal Masher fires a beam from his eyes and destroys a building. Several other structures receive the same treatment. Next a bridge is demolished, followed by a gasoline refinery. A tanker on the water is hit, as is the water itself; the tanker is wrecked, and the water evaporates to leave the ship in dry dock.)
 * [Lemon Drop] "Oh, Lollipop, you hair is soooo beautiful."
 * [Rainbow Flavor] (from o.s.) "Yeah. All you need are a couple of barrettes—" (Pan over to her; she snaps clips into place.) "—and some of this for hold."
 * [Vanilla Cake] "And there you have it. A racetrack with hairpin turns!"
 * [Cinnamon Buns] "That is not fashion proper."
 * [ Vanilla Cake ] ( from o.s. ) " Oh—"
 * [ Vanilla Cake ] ( from o.s. ) " —but a bunny is cool?" (Snicker Doodle flies into view.)
 * [Snicker Doodle] "Yes. Lollipop loves bunnies. Don't you, Lollipop?"
 * [Lollipop Pops] "CUT IT OUT!"
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] " And give me a real hairdo."
 * [Blueberry Jam] "Sure, sis. Just gotta comb out a few tangles."
 * [Choco Cream] (pulling, straining) "And get rid of a…couple of…knots!"
 * [Blueberry, Choco, Cinnamon, Sugar, Vanilla, Caramel, Snicker, Cotton, Rainbow, Lemon, Gelatin] (clapping hands to mouth) "Oh!"
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] " What’s going on back there?" (The rest appear with scissors.)
 * [Caramel Cider] "Oh—nothin', sugarcube."
 * [Gelatin Soft] "Uh—just gotta trim a few split ends, darling."
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] (from o.s.) "I got it!"
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] "Yes, Mayor Jupiter?... Whoa. No way!…Right. We’re on it!"
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] (from o.s.) "Candies! Trouble! Move out!"
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] "What?"
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] "Whatever." (Camera shifts to between the others.) " Sometimes you guys are so weird. Come on!" (She takes off.)
 * [Narrator] "Go, CandyCakes! Go!" (He too starts to laugh.)

(The CandyCakes fly in over their heads—Lollipop in the lead, the other CandyCakes behind her, smiling.) (The screen is briefly filled with images of her—the world from the monster’s point of view.) (Normal perspective and sound again: extreme close-up of Lollipop, moving about to see various parts of her head.) (On each of these last four words, cut to an extreme close-up of a different part of her head. Pull back to show all twelve CandyCakes.) (A pause, after which Sir Metal Masher begins to laugh— softly at first, then louder. Close-up of Lollipop.) (The crowd down below also breaks into laughter.) (Her brothers and sisters are laughing again.) (She cuts herself off, gasping in shock. Pan left slightly to show a building’s window, in which she sees her reflection. She screams and flees the scene.) (The crowd continues to laugh along with them and the monster, which floats slowly down until it is behind the eleven heroes. Suddenly, he glares down at the citizens, who took a moment to notice this. The eleven heroes around to face it just in time to get blasted into the pavement. They quickly climb out of their craters to attack again as the monster floats along, firing beams in all directions. It turns to face them and shoots them down again.)
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] " I’m gonna teach you a lesson—" (They stop before Metal Masher.) " —Sir Metal Masher! So, you think you can just walk into town and start vaporizing everything in sight?! Well, look here, buddy, you can’t!"
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] (echoing) " This is a happy and peaceful place—"
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] " —and folks here don’t take kindly to this type of behavior." (Shift to behind her.) "Now —" (Her perspective of Sir Metal Masher.) " —I’m gonna give you a chance to stop this senseless destruction, once and for all."
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] " So, champ—" (Behind her; pull back.) "—what’s it gonna be?"
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] (surprised) "What?"
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] "What?"
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] " What’s so funny?"
 * [ Blueberry, Choco, Cinnamon, Sugar, Vanilla, Caramel, Snicker, Cotton, Rainbow, Lemon, Gelatin ] (pointing) "You!"
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] " Me? But what’s so funny about—?"
 * [Cotton Puffy] "Lolly, wait! It’s not that bad!" (He starts laughing, and the others join him.)

(Overhead view of the street, with eleven holes side by side. The following three lines are delivered from inside them.) (They take off in opposite directions. Cotton removes the wrecking ball from a crane and takes cover among a group of buildings, waiting for the right moment to strike. He swings the ball on the end of its chain and prepares to heave it, only to have it blasted out of his hands. Vanilla flies to a water tank and tears it loose to use as a spear. As he closes in, Sir Metal Masher retreats behind a building and fires a beam, destroying the tank and spilling the water all over him.)
 * [ Caramel Cider ] "This isn't workin', y'all. We need to—"
 * [Blueberry Jam] "Try a sneak attack?"
 * [Rainbow Flavor] "Let's do it!"

(Choco flies to a building and tears the spire from its roof; it is blown away before she can use it. Pull back slightly to show this scene framed on a TV screen. Roller Dash is at an anchor desk, with a graphic of the monster and the words 'Metal Masher Mashes' displayed next to him.) (Side view of Lollipop, sitting by herself in a darkened bedroom at home and watching the broadcast. She has a blanket pulled up around herself to hide her hair.) (Camera shifts to point at the open door. Grim Reaper walks by and sees Lollipop.) (The end of the bed.) (She glares at him and removes the blanket, exposing her hair. He recoils in shock.) (Camera shifts to behind the two; we see the other CandyCakes being blasted on TV.) (She thinks for a moment, and her face suddenly brightens.) (After she is gone, he starts to snicker and snort, and finally dissolves into a gale of laughter.)
 * [Roller Dash] "Here's Channel 10 Fun For Us All, with your newfound host, me, Roller Dash. This has been the scene all afternoon."
 * [ Roller Dash ] " It seems SIr Metal Masher’s ability to predict all attacks has virtually eliminated any chance of attack by the CandyCake Guppies." (Close-up of Lollipop, looking very despondent; the TV is still heard.) "At this time, all we can do is wait for our tragic, inevitable doom."
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] "Oh..." (She pulls the blanket tighter around herself.)
 * [ Roller Dash ] (on TV) " But as we do, let’s remember the things that brought us joy, like…Lollipop's hair!" (Her eyes pop open.) "What’s the matter, Lollipop? Did you get in a fight with a pair of scissors and lose?" (He laughs; she pulls the blanket tighter and hangs her head.)
 * [ Roller Dash ] (on TV) " Boy, did she look stupid!"
 * [Grim Reaper] (leaning in) "Lolly?"
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] "Go away!"
 * [ Grim Reaper ] (from o.s.) "What's troubling you, Lolly?" (walking into view) " Why are you sitting here alone in the dark?"
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] (voice quivering) "I'm fine!"
 * [ Grim Reaper ] " You don’t sound fine to me. Now come out from under there and show me a smile."
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] "No!"
 * [ Grim Reaper ] "Lolly, I bet it can't be that bad."
 * [ Grim Reaper ] "WOAH!" (She pulls the blanket back in place.) " I mean, uh…oh! You’ve…cut your hair?"
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] "No, my idiot brothers and sisters butchered it. And they and Jupiter Town and even Sir Metal Masher all laughed at me. I’m never going outside again."
 * [ Grim Reaper ] "But, Lolly, they need your help." (Head-on view of him and Lollipop.)
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] " But everyone’ll laugh at me."
 * [ Grim Reaper ] " And that’s a bad thing? Lolly, you need to turn this hair-don’t—" (uncovering her head) "—into a hair-do. Understand?"
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] "Yes!" (zipping out through the door) "Thank you!"

(In the city, Sir Metal Masher is again wiping out one building after another. The other CandyCakes hide behind one only to have it destroyed a moment later. They take cover behind a school bus, then a pile of concrete blocks, then a STOP sign; each piece of cover is blown away. Finally they perch side by side on a pair of girders sticking out from a building under construction. A completed structure is next to them.) (The building is vaporized, and the monster looms up over them and prepares to finish them off.) (Sir 'Minty Moocher' is surprised and turns to the voice. Pan over to show Lollipop hovering near it in all her ragged glory.) (The monster now roars with laughter, his eyes squeezed shut; pan back to the eleven heroes on the girders. Cotton is also laughing, but the others is watching the whole situation intently.) (They see that the monster is off guard and nod to one another. Caramel fires her eye lasers overhead, cutting a girder loose. Vanilla catches this, pulls it back over his shoulder, and swings with all his might. He connects, and Sir Metal Masher—still laughing—sails into outer space.)
 * [Cinnamon Buns] (panting) "It’s no use! We can’t hide!"
 * [Sugar Pie] "Oh, no! Look!"
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] (from o.s.) "Hey, Sir Minty Moocher!"
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] " What do you think? Toupée or not toupée?" (Sir Metal Masher laughs; she swings her head back and forth, throwing bits of hair about.) "All these dreaded locks. I can’t do anything with ’em!" (The monster laughs harder.) "So, I went to the doctor to get some medicine. He said, 'What’s the problem?' And I said, 'Doc, I have this terrible coif!' "
 * [ Cinnamon Buns ] (softly, pointing) "Darlings! Look!"

(On the ground, the eleven kids join the laughing crowd. A moment later, Lollipop lands next to them, looking quite tired of the whole situation.) (Lollipop thinks for a moment; a wicked grin comes over her face. She fires her eye lasers at her brothers and sisters; close-up of them, their hair fried and mangled and their eyes wide open in shock.) (She laughs at an angry flock of eleven CandyCakes.)
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] " Okay, okay, I know. My hair looks stupid."
 * [Gelatin Soft] (laughing) "No, Lolly. We’re laughing because we’re happy."
 * [Rainbow Flavor] ( laughing ) " Yeah. We thought we were goners!"
 * [Caramel Cider] "But we're all a might sorry for laughin' at ya, sugarcube."
 * [Choco Cream] "Really sorry."
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] "You are?" (laughing) " ut still, I do look really stupid!"
 * [Vanilla Cake] "I’ll say!" (laughing) "Stupid."
 * [Cinnamon Buns] (laughing) "So we’re even?"
 * [ Lollipop Pops ] "Yeah. We're even."

(Fade to black.)

End of episode.