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The Thing About the Ring
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The Thing About the Ring is the 17th (94th in the 4Kids broadcast) episode of theKirby: Right Back at Ya! series. In this episode,Sir Ebrum has obtained a very late wedding ring to give toLady Like for their anniversary, butKirby carelessly causes the ring to become lost, prompting a search for the ring involving nearly everyone inCappy Town. As a guilt-ridden Kirby heads the search, the ring changes hands many times, being stolen twice byDoron and again by themonsterHonker Stomper who is on orders fromKing Dedede, believing the ring to be a relic and therefore his. After a lengthy series of unfortunate events, the ring is seemingly lost to a carp in the river as the failed Honker Stomper is booted out by Dedede, but at the anniversary dinner, Chef Kawasaki happens to recover the carp which ate it, ending a years-long streak of bad luck and allowing Sir Ebrum to finally place a wedding ring on Lady Like's finger.
This episode marks the first time that bothSir Ebrum andDoron have been crucial to the plot.
Characters[edit]
The following characters appear in this episode:
| Cast of "The Thing About the Ring" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character | Selected quote | |
| Primary characters | ||
| (counting)"Poo-yo. Poi-yo. Poi-ah. Poo-yoo!" | ||
| "Uh-huh." | ||
| "Well, what do you think? Ain't that the most jaw-droppin' eye-poppin' rock you ever seen?" | ||
| "Quiet! It is my royal duty to hog every treasure in this here kingdom!" | ||
| "Though we've been married for years, I've never given your mother a ring!" | ||
| Secondary characters | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
| "Hey! You got any fresh fish today, I got a dinner planned!" | ||
| "And then you lost the ring when Kirby crashed into ya! Is that your story?" | ||
| (Falala)"Oh, I wonder if that could be the ring Escargoon just found?" | ||
| "Hey! That's my stuff!" | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
| "Oh my goodness, that ring's been in my family for generations!" | ||
| "Oh, yeah!" | ||
| "Daddy's a little nervous. He's always that way on our anniversary." | ||
| "You can't fool me! This is not a real emerald. This is glass!" | ||
| "Apparently a very valuable piece of jewelry has been stolen!" | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
| "Just what the doctor ordered, eh, D-Man?" | ||
| "Artifacts such as these cannot be bought and sold!" | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
| "Look, it's Kirby!" | ||
| "How come you always act so weird on your anniversary? I don't get it! It's the same thing every time!" | ||
| "Is this what you were lookin' for? Looks like I got it first!" | ||
| "Want some pepper?!" | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
Locations[edit]
Plot synopsis[edit]
The episode begins at Castle Dedede, where Kirby, Tuff, and Fololo & Falala are playing a game of hide-and-seek on the castle walls. As Kirby begins counting, Tiff approaches and breaks up the game, reminding everyone of what day it is without explicitly mentioning it. As the kids leave, King Dedede and Escargoon look on, as the King becomes strangely curious about what the kids might be referring to. Later on, Tiff shows Kirby a photo of Sir Ebrum and Lady Like's wedding, explaining that it is their anniversary. When Lady Like mentions to the kids that they'll likely be eating atKawasaki's, they raise a fit, and try to get Sir Ebrum's opinion in the other room, but he does not respond. Sir Ebrum is busy rehearsing with a new emerald ring he has obtained for the occasion while Kirby slips in unnoticed. After running out to tend to his wife, Kirby is left alone with the ring. Thinking it to be food, he tries to eat it, but - finding it unpalatable - he spits it out of the window.
The ring lands on a passing Waddle Dee who picks it up, but Escargoon sees this and quickly confiscates the ring for himself. Later on, Sir Ebrum is searching frantically for the lost ring as the kids ask him about it. He reveals that despite being married for years, he had never given Lady Like an engagement ring, due to repeated strokes of bad luck combined with Sir Ebrum's extreme nervousness. Hearing this, Kirby tries to explain what he did with the ring by miming and then throwing himself out of the window. The group follows him out, where Fololo & Falala reveal that Escargoon had made off with a ring just a moment ago. Meanwhile, Escargoon is having the ring appraised at Mabel's fortune parlor. Mabel falsely declares the ring to be a fake to Escargoon's chagrin, causing him to give it up, and she later takes the ring to Curio for further appraisal. He falsely declares it to be a relic from an ancient Cappy civilization, thus exempting him from having to buy it from Mabel, while Doron looks on from the window.
As Escargoon sulks away, Sir Ebrum and company catch up to him to get the ring back, who points them toward Mabel. She in turn points them to Curio, but as she explains this, Doron runs through town with the ring in hand as Chief Bookem and the town make chase. Seeing this, Kirby runs right into Doron and tackles him, allowing the rest to catch up, but the ring is lost in the process. As the search continues, Escargoon returns to the castle and pulls out a collection of rings he's been hoarding for years. King Dedede barges in, giving his snail assistant little time to hide his stash. Escargoon then explains to the King that the ring is an ancient Cappy artifact and that all of town is looking for it. King Dedede then declares the ring to be his by right. Back in town, the search continues, as Kirby frantically runs across town checking every building. Lady Like wanders into town and is nearly told the surprise when Sir Ebrum steps in to distract her. Kirby eventually finds the ring embedded in the horn of one of the sheep. As he goes to collect it, Tokkori nabs the ring and taunts him with it, unaware of the situation.
Back at the castle, King Dedede dials upNight Mare Enterprises to order a new monster to help him find the treasure. N.M.E. sends forth the unsightlyHonker Stomper who, upon arriving through the teleporter, immediately sniffs out Escargoon's hidden stash of rings. After proving himself by uncovering this hoard, King Dedede orders Honker Stomper to head out and collect as much treasure as he can. Back in town, Kirby manages to catch Tokkori, causing him to drop the ring on Gangu's hat. After he gets knocked over by Kirby, Doron appears and snatches the ring again, prompting Chief Bookem to give chase. Honker Stomper then arrives in town and uses his inhale to grab Doron and the ring, then gets away after stealing all the jewelry and artifacts from town. Out in the country, Chef Kawasaki asks the fishermen about their latest catch, but ends up trampled by Honker Stomper and his pursuers, while Sir Ebrum continues to stall for time.
Back at the castle, Honker Stomper returns with his haul, but King Dedede is upset because he can't tell which of the rings is the one he's after. At that moment, Tiff, Tuff, and Kirby arrive and try to get the ring using Kirby's inhale to compete with Honker Stomper's. In the process, Doron emerges from the treasure pile, still holding the ring for dear life. Tuff then interrupts Kirby to throw a full pepper shaker into Honker Stomper's nose, causing him to sneeze everything violently out of the castle, blowing Kirby out with Doron. As the two fall, Kirby notices the ring in Doron's hand, and moves to collect it, threatening to inhale Doron if he doesn't oblige, but the two hit the river and the ring is eaten by the same carp that ate Sir Ebrum's first wedding ring. Back at the castle, King Dedede disposes of Honker Stomper with his hammer for failing him. That night at Kawasaki's, Sir Ebrum admits to Lady Like that he had lost the ring once again, but Lady Like reassures him, saying she doesn't care about it. Chef Kawasaki then comes in with a fresh catch - the carp that swallowed the ring. Kirby jumps on the carp, causing it to cough up the ring, and Sir Ebrum finally places it on Lady Like's finger. From there, after a careless invitation from Chef Kawasaki, Kirby inhales all the food in the restaurant as the episode ends.
Differences between versions[edit]
- In the Japanese version, an additional flashback scene occurs whereSir Ebrum accidentally loses an engagement ring by flushing it down the toilet.
Dialogue differences[edit]
- In the Japanese version,Tiff tells Kirby in the first scene that he is welcome to eat what he pleases that day, instead of telling him he had forgotten what day it was. Kirby's reaction is more understandable in the Japanese context.
- In the Japanese version,Honker Stomper repeats the words "I'm Noseman!" (Honker Stomper's Japanese name) in English numerous times instead of being silent.
Trivia[edit]
- This episode marks the largest ordering difference between the Japanese version and the 4Kids dub, at 17th versus 94th.
- The carp which eats Sir Ebrum's wedding ring has cartoon hearts along its flank.
- During the scene when Kirby gets blown out of the castle byHonker Stomper, he lets out a cry which was later used as one of his pain cries inKirby Battle Royale.
- During the shot when Kirby tackles the carp in the restaurant, his feet are the same color as his body. This can be considered an error on part of the animators.
- Oddly, despite having committed theft twice in the episode, Doron is present at Kawasaki's alongside Chief Bookem instead of being locked up.
Gallery[edit]
Tiff collects the kids for the anniversary.
Tiff shows Kirby a photo of Sir Ebrum and Lady Like at their wedding.
Sir Ebrum stumbles with his ring.
Escargoon nabs the discarded ring from a Waddle Dee.
Sir Ebrum explains his predicament to the kids.
Sir Ebrum loses his first ring in a flashback.
Escargoon takes the ring to Mabel for appraisal.
Mabel buys Curio's lie about the ring being an artifact.
Doron makes off with the ring.
Escargoon quickly hides his stash of jewelry.
Kirby searches the town for the ring.
Tokkori taunts Kirby by keeping him from the ring.
Honker Stomper is called through the teleporter.
Honker Stomper finds Escargoon's stash.
Kirby catches Tokkori unaware.
Chef Kawasaki inquires about the daily catch.
Honker Stomper brings back a hoard of treasure.
Honker Stomper prepares to defend the treasure.
Kirby reaches for the ring from Doron as the two fall.
The carp eats the ring.
Honker Stomper is knocked out of the castle by King Dedede.
Sir Ebrum receives the latest bad news from the kids.
Kirby tackles the carp to obtain the ring (along with revealing a coloring mistake).
The final shot of the episode
Removed scenes[edit]
Removed scene whereSir Ebrum flushes his engagement ring down the toilet by mistake.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | パームとメームの指輪物語 Pāmu to Mēmu no Yubiwa Monogatari | The Ring Story ofPāmu andMēmu |
| English | The Thing About the Ring | |
| Chinese | 巴姆和梅兒的戒指物語 Bāmǔ hé Méiér de Jièzhi Wùyǔ | The Epic Narrative ofBamu andMeier |
| French | Un anniversaire mouvementé | An eventful anniversary |
| German | Die Sache mit dem Ring | The Thing with the Ring |
| Italian | L'anello scomparso | The missing ring |
| Brazilian Portuguese | Em Busca do Anel | In Search of the Ring |
