Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe

"Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe" is part two of the ninth episode of Season 1 of the animated children's series Arthur. Together with "Arthur Babysits," it first aired on November 4th, 1996.

Summary
Arthur's family is hosting their annual family reunion! But Arthur is too busy avoiding his cousin, Monique, who humiliated him as a child, to enjoy the activities. He eventually discovers that she has changed a lot since he last saw her, and maybe she isn't as bad as he thought she was.

Plot
Arthur's family was getting ready to host their annual family reunion, known as the "ANNUAL READ FAMILY REUNION". Just then, Arthur's Aunt Loretta (his father David's sister), Uncle Bud, and three cousins: Monique (who usually goes by the name of "Mo"), Ricky, and Loretta's daughter form the family arrive at the front door. Bud takes a picture of Arthur with his Supernova Solar Flash (a camera that X-rays people during the flash), and then Arthur politely welcomes them in. Loretta says that Mo has a surprise for Arthur and then Arthur remembers back in time for the past reunions: When Arthur was 5 years old, Mo started the trouble by putting him on a lawn sprinkler; when Arthur was 6 years old, Mo was doing judo on him; and when Arthur was 7 years old, Mo dressed him up as a baby by putting a bonnet on his head, a pacifier in his mouth, and a cloth diaper with a pin over his pants, and placing him in a pram, and everyone started laughing in front of him. Arthur then screams and starts to run away from Mo, but Loretta states that Arthur has grown into an excitable boy.

Outside, David starts the grill, but he doesn't have the burgers and hot dogs, but Jane does, and she walks over to the grill with the burgers and hot dogs and then takes over. Arthur was hiding up in the tree to get away from Mo, whom he claimed was ruining his life. As Arthur gets down from the tree, Cousin George was about to show Arthur a comic book called SPIDERKIY, but Arthur starts running away as Mo is about to go near him, so George shows the comic book to Mo instead. As Jane is grilling, Loretta walks to the grill and shows Jane the three-bladed spatula with a button, known as the Flip'omatic. As Loretta is demonstrating the Flip'omatic to Jane, she puts the three blades underneath the hamburgers, and then presses the button, but the hamburgers start flying way up high in the air, and Loretta admits she set it too high. Meanwhile, outside at Mr. Haney's house, Mr. Haney starts going outside the front door for a wonderful day, but three hamburgers start landing on his head, and he brushes them off with his bare hand and runs back into the house.

While Jane and Loretta are still grilling, David announces a sack race. During the sack race, Arthur takes the lead and wins the race, but Ricky throws a fit for losing by throwing his cap off of his head and stomping on it while still in the sack. Jane and Loretta continue lowering the notch of the Flip'omatic to get the hamburgers done. Then everyone starts eating dinner. Grandma Thora and her brother (Arthur's great uncle) are having a conversation with their mother (Arthur, D.W., and Kate's great-grandmother).

Then they start having an egg race, and Arthur's great-grandmother wins the race, while some others lose the egg before they reach the goal. Then Arthur's great uncle plays charades, but fails. Then David dresses as a clown and tells everyone it is time to play a game of musical shoes, but everyone was tired while it starts to rain very hard, and everyone gets back inside.

Later at night, Mo starts playing the piano, and then Arthur joins along with Mo at the piano. They start playing the piano, and then all their relatives come into the living room and dance along, and then David and Jane kiss each other.

Trivia

 * The actress who provides the voice of Mo is none other than Holly Gauthier Frankel, who also voices Fern.

Goofs

 * In the flashback when Mo dressed up Arthur as a baby, he was wearing glasses; although he didn't get glasses until in the time of Arthur's Eyes which took place in the first few weeks of his second grade year, and the reunions took place in July and Arthur is eight years old in the most recent reunion. The glasses could have been otherwise used as a disguise in that timeline.
 * Also, during the flashback, Arthur was wearing the diaper over his pants at the start of that scene when Mo dressed him up as a baby, but the diaper disappeared in the later shot before the flashback ends.
 * Kate was briefly seen in one of the early scenes, but was forgotten in the later scenes.
 * The dormer window to the master bedroom is missing as shown in the top perspective shot when Loretta flips the hamburgers at too high of a notch.
 * When Arthur and Mo play the piano together, some of Arthur's fingers go through the keys (this is clearly an animation mistake).