Some brilliant cinematic parodies and one of the most outlandish villains we’ve seen yet dominate the latest episode of Hamster & Gretel on Disney Channel
The Silence of the Tchotchkes
For this episode, gosh I hope you remember the first season. It might come in handy and you might be one step ahead of the episode.
From the jump, we see Fred in a series of nightmares, most notably one where she has snakes for fingers. While she is explaining this to Kevin and Anthony, we see a POV from a mystery assailant who is targeting the trio.
Kevin gets blasted and is shrunk down to a tiny size, and is rescued by Fred who takes him home. But who would have a weapon that shrinks people?
Devotees may recall a villain from the first season, Tchotchke Jones (who sounds an awful lot like Richard Kind), who has a particular taste for shrinking things, and whose shrinking ray ended up in Fred’s possession before she left it behind in the battle with Professor Exclamation in the season finale.
Considering that Tchotchke is now in jail, it seems like the shrinking ray has fallen into the hands of someone else. But who? To figure out who else might have a shrink ray, she should probably go back to the source – Tchotchke himself.
What follows is a delight for adult fans and juvenile cinephiles, as it is almost a beat-by-beat parody of Silence of the Lambs, as Fred now has to work with the enemy and discover who else would have a shrink ray. This parody also leads to Tchotchke psycho-analyzing Fred and her nightmares, realizing that she is ridden with guilt from the whole Professor Exclamation incident.
Meanwhile, Kevin is now taking up residence with Hamster in his carrier so that nothing bad can happen to him while he is in his pint-sized state. This is also where our musical number resides for this episode, as Hamster explains to him all the wonders of being small. Alas, Kevin still wants to return to normal size.
Back with Fred, she is back in Tchotchke’s shop with him trying to figure out where another shrink ray could have come from, especially since he didn’t build it in the first place. It was given to him by someone who had a shrink-related accident. Fans may recall (thanks to a flashback scene) this particular individual as Joe, the manager of Short Burger from another season one episode. The Micromanager’s plans of destroying a rival burger shop were thwarted by Kevin and Anthony back then, and that must be why they are being targeted by him once again.
Fred realizes that Anthony is next and sets out to find him before it’s too late. However, she just can’t leave an imprisoned criminal alone, so she handcuffs Tchotchke to a shelf in the store to ensure he doesn’t get away.
Alas, it is too late for Anthony and he is shrunk down to be part of the Micromanager’s new scheme, which involves shrinking the boys and turning them into Burger-mascots. Unlike Kevin though, Anthony didn’t get away in time.
Fortunately, Fred and the team show up to help, with a battle ensuing in the middle of the mini-golf, arcade, animatronic, and pizza establishment.
This time however, Fred saves the day, and restores the boys to normal size and the Micromanager is defeated. But, more guilt might be on the docket for Fred, as when she gets back to Tchotchke’s shop, she finds he has escaped and left only a note.
Another homage to The Silence of the Lambs. Please note, I didn’t spoil all of the references, as there is a fantastic G-rated interpretation of one of the greatest moments in cinema history embedded in there somewhere. Enjoy.
A Car is Born
Kevin and the family are enjoying their breakfast together when Kevin reveals that the minivan is acting up again. This van has been there for Kevin, Hamster, and Gretel through everything and has come out of it scathed (but eventually fixed), holding up through all the memories. However, it might be time for a new car.
So Kevin’s Dad decides to take him to Slickman’s Car & Auto Mall (abbreviate that, please) and shop around for some new wheels. Kevin immediately sets his sights on a newer sporty car that will surely not only help save the day, but impress some of his peers as well.
Kevin, remarkably savvy for a teenager though, knows that he has to trade in his van, and to get the best value for something that has been beaten and battered, he needs to sell his car to the salesman.
But wait! There’s a villain on the loose again that Hamster and Gretel are entangled with, and this one has a particular penchant for stealing vintage car parts. It’s not long before we learn about CarL!, a man who’s father collected cars and never gave him any attention as a kid because he was, in fact, NOT a car. So, to get the attention and admiration of his dad, Carl has turned himself (Transformers-style) into a car. Real-world physics of that notwithstanding, this human head on a car’s body is stealing all these vintage car parts so that he can turn into any kind of automobile to catch his dad’s eye. BUT, there’s still one part he’s missing – a vintage radio antenna (The actual description is more jargony and funny in the context of this episode, just work with me here).
Kevin negotiates with Sam the salesman and is attempting to build a lot of value with the van so that he can trade it in for the new car. Sam seems to know what’s going on but is humoring him. However, Carl is out there wreaking havoc and spots Kevin and Sam in the van – which has the exact vintage radio antenna he is looking for.
This leads to a high speed chase (and the song for this episode) as Carl tries to get the antenna from Kevin’s van. Oh, did I mention the salesman is still in the car? No? As such, he is seeing the maneuvering capability and durability of the van.
After a bit of thinking, the team decides the best way to defeat Carl is to lead him to the car wash. Sure a real car could go through all the machinery and water of a car wash no problem, but a human-car hybrid would probably have some trouble. And they were right! This leads to the defeat and capture of Carl – right as his dad is driving by.
In the van though, Sam says he’ll give him top dollar for the car, and when he thinks Kevin is playing hard to get with the car, he offers even more. Kevin isn’t playing though. Thinking about it, this Van has gotten him through a lot of jams and been there for him when he needed it most. Reminder: This is still a van we’re talking about. As such, Kevin decides not to sell the van – so yes, this whole exercise was a waste of Sam’s time.
Back where Carl was getting arrested, he finally caught the attention of his father and his father couldn’t be more proud – except, maybe, if he had that vintage radio antenna. Sorry, Carl.
This episode of Hamster & Gretel is now available on Disney Channel and the DisneyNOW website. You can also catch up with earlier episodes (like all those in the first season referenced in that Tchotchke episode) streaming now on Disney+.
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