Todd Builds a Fort is the first episode of Todd World that was written by Todd Parr. Original release February 13, 2004
Plot[]
Todd gets his friends together to build the fort he came up with. But he gets angry after they start changing things.
Summary[]
One day, Todd is finalizing the designs of his fort and explains them to the viewer. When he realizes the time, he calls out to his pet dog and best friend, Benny, and heads outside to get him. Benny wants to find his favorite bone before they go, but he finds a "cream doodle" instead, so Todd promises to help him find it after they finish building the fort. Benny agrees, and once Todd throws away the cream doodle they take off to grab Todd's best friend, Pickle.
Inside of the colorful circus tent, Pickle is playing with his pets, the Worminis when Todd shows up to compliment their show. Pickle prepares to go, only to stop after realizing he forgot them and runs back to the desk, picking them up and heading out with Todd. Next they head to an apartment building to grab Sophie- who is currently dancing the tango with Mitzi, her pet cat. They dance over to the door and together leave to find their last friend, Stella, in the middle of deciding which hair barrette to wear.
Ready to get started, the group head to the empty location Todd wants to put the fort at. He suggests they start with the slide but Pickle brings up that they should build a skateboard ramp, followed by Stella bringing up her desire to make star-shaped windows, along with Benny suggesting they make a swimming pool. Todd quickly silences them to point out that they should build the fort to match his envisions of it, considering it was his idea. However, his friends hardly take note of this, causing Todd to angrily storm off and leaving them confused. Sophie suggests they just get started in the mean time.
Frustrated over the belief his friends are "ruining" the fort, Todd stops by Hector's for a Popsicle when he spots a small squirrel gathering sticks to make a nest. But because she's so small and only has a tiny purse, it's taking her a long time, so he offers to lend her a hand. She refuses and takes off to grab more sticks, leaving Todd to start feeling down as he finishes the Popsicle and goes to throw it away. However, he sees the recycle bin is full of Popsicle sticks and asks to take them. Hector allows it, so with the bundle in his hands Todd finds the squirrel putting her nest together and offers them to her. She initially refuses until he convinces her to look at them and puts together a design on his drawing pad, showing her that she could make a real house with the sticks. Seeing as this is much better than a small nest, she happily reconsiders.
After putting the house together, she is complimented by a passing giraffe, who offers the ribbon on her neck for decoration. Todd isn't really sure but the squirrel considers it and enjoys the improvement, along with Todd. A passing alien and baby monkey also contribute, using a dome for a roof and a pair of monkey underpants for curtains. Todd admits that while this doesn't resemble his idea, he likes what they came up with and admits that he wouldn't have been able to come up with all these ideas on his own.
Returning to the fort Todd sees that it has been built and he admires their ideas, now realizing that star-shaped window can look pretty cool, and he likes the ramp Pickle came up with. He goes on to admit that the swimming pool would be nice during the summer, and he can ice skate on it during winter as well. He is rejoined by his concerned friends, and right away Todd apologizes for his earlier behavior, while they apologize for not listening to him. He then goes on to reveal he does have something to contribute for the fort and takes out a pair of monkey underpants. He admits that while he isn't sure what they would be good for, he is sure one of them will get an idea, and he expresses the importance of listening to everyone's ideas.
Lesson[]
Todd learns that output from others can be beneficial, and that everyone should have an opinion when it comes to group activity. After helping a squirrel who initially didn't want his help, he realized that the opinions and ideas he and others came up with made her home even better than the small nest she was intent on making.
Quotes[]
Benny: I found this though, A Cream Doodle from the year 1979. Still fresh.
Todd: Ew! No, it's not, It's gross.
Todd: A ramp? Star-shaped windows? A swimming pool? No. That's not how I drew it.
Pickle: Back up! Can't forget the Worminis!
Trivia[]
- Benny Gag: Benny is shown wearing sunglasses and waves to the viewers.
- The way Todd orders the Popsicle from Hector is reminisent of people ordering a drink from somewhere.
- The cream doodle Benny found was most-likely based on the Twinkie, a pastry that is said to last for years if left in packaging.
Gallery[]
/ Stella's Different Ears ---->