"Phone Home" is the second half of the 10th episode in the first season of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.
Plot[]
SPOILER: Plot details follow.
A Bone friend is being chased by a pack of stray dogs. Just as the dogs corner the bone in a dead-end alley, Wilt saves him and throws the hungry dogs a steak. When Wilt returns to Foster's, all the other friends are there to congratulate him on setting a new record for most friends rescued in one month. Wilt is the "Friend of the Month" for many months in a row.
Bloo hears all this, immediately gets jealous of Wilt, and vows to be crowned this month's Friend of the Month; Bloo, however, thinks it's a contest. Wilt calmly tells Bloo that it isn't a contest and he's only trying to do his duty to rescue imaginary friends that need help. Bloo, who is too stubborn to believe Wilt, sets off to rescue an imaginary friend to become the new Friend of the Month anyway.
Determined, Bloo tries various ways to bring home an imaginary friend, including talking a real fire hydrant into going home with him, but it just stays where it is and doesn't talk, and stealing a girl's imaginary friend only for her and her mother to take it back. Finally, he spots a tall cell phone standing outside a cell phone store, which is actually a man in a cell phone suit who can't get out because the zipper is stuck. Bloo thinks he's an imaginary friend, though, and drags him all the way back to Foster's.
When Bloo proudly enters the front door, no one is around, to his dismay. He pulls the fire alarm, forcing everyone to come downstairs and behold his freshly kidnapped man in a cell phone suit. Something else is amiss, though: Wilt is not in sight; apparently, Wilt is out with Frankie and Mr. Herriman rescuing more abandoned friends.
It doesn't matter; Bloo is too excited about his new find to wait for them to return. He decides to use his new cell phone to call them and starts jumping on the man, lying on his own back, to dial the number, but when he puts his ear over the phone, he hears the man gasping from the pain, but Bloo thinks the line is busy, so he sits and waits. Eventually, the man recovers and tries to escape but slams into the front door.
Later Wilt, Frankie, and Mr. Herriman return, and Bloo is finally able to tell them the great news. They inform him that his imaginary cell phone friend is really a man in a cell phone suit and (again) that the Friend of the Month deal is not a contest.
The man in the cell phone suit is now able to run away as he is overjoyed with insanity, when Mac joins the others. He shows them a green, palm-sized imaginary friend that he just rescued. Bloo, however, tells him not to get his hopes up anymore, because it's not a contest. The other three also get excited, though, and Mr. Herriman rewards Mac with a medal and says, "Let's go see your new car". The four of them exit the house, leaving Bloo looking stunned.
During the credits, Red is using the cell phone suit guy, saying "Bloo!" multiple times.
Running gags[]
- There are many puns about "cell phones" and "mobile phones", including Bloo standing on the cell phone guy while saying, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?".
- Bloo thinking that the search for an imaginary friend is a contest and Wilt trying to tell him it isn't.
Spoilers end here.
Characters present[]
Speaking:
Bloo, Bone, Cell phone suit guy, Eduardo, Fluffer Nutter, Frankie Foster, Mac, Mr. Herriman, Phineus B. Vurm, Pokey Toehair, The Unknown Friend, Wilt
Non-speaking:
Belly Bob Norton, Clambake, Dyno, George Mucus, Jackie Khones, Keystone Blop, Mabel Licorice, Madame Mustachio, Myron Giant, One-Eye Cat, Pinecone Cola, Ringo Rango, Sassyfrass, Spritz Coleman, Vic Trolla
Trivia[]
- Both this episode and "Bloo's the Boss" have very similar plots, as both involve Bloo trying to find a stray imaginary friend in order to gain attention.
- This episode reveals that Frankie's phone number (or at least part of it) is 555-6300.
- This episode marks the first appearance of The Unknown Friend, as well as his only first season appearance.
- This is the first episode where Mac only appears in the end; the second is "Everyone Knows It's Bendy" and the third is "The Bloo Superdude and the Great Creator of Everything's Awesome Ceremony of Fun That He's Not Invited To".
- This episode and "Seeing Red" aired on Cartoon Network's 12th anniversary.
Cultural references[]
- The episode title is a reference to E.T.'s catchphrase, "Phone home".
Goofs[]
- When Fluffer Nutter is seen on the foyer's staircase during Bloo's meeting, she has some thicker-than-usual outlines on her body.