"Mr. President" is the second episode of Season Two of Smiling Friends.
Synopsis[]
Pim and Charlie are appointed to help in bringing a smile to the United States President's face.
Adult Swim synopsis[]
Yes, You Do Need to Watch This Important Episode of Smiling Friends Where They Help the President Smile. Here's Why That's a Good Thing.[1]
Plot[]
The episode starts with a news broadcast from William and Wendy Worm, explaining that Squiggly Miggly has won the nomination and is up against the unpopular, incumbent President Jimble. In the office, Allan says that Jimble stands no chance, though Pim points out how unpopular presidents still sometimes win. Charlie tells Pim he doesn't vote as he believes that the people don't have any influence on the outcome of elections, and that he has no interest in getting involved in politics - only for Mr. Boss to tell them that they've been hired to help make the President smile.
After flying out to Washington, DC, Charlie and Pim walk in on President Jimble stuffing his face with barbecued lamb, a Kentucky staple, and he thinks they're bringing him napkins. The two correct him and tell him that they're here to make him smile. Jimble presses a button on his desk to get napkins, which actually launches a missile. He explains that he was once Vice President to President Pinhead, but took over when Pinhead died from eating bad shrimp.. Charlie suggests he should retire, but Jimble explains why he wants to win the election; he feels bad that he got the position without the population's support, and he wants to prove to himself that the people love him. Pim reassures him that he can win the election, and that he believes every president in history has been good at something. As Pim points out that victory shouldn't be difficult given that it's a two man race, Charlie shows him Mr. Frog's latest commercial announcing his run for president, complicating things.
The three of them first start by having Jimble campaign in Pennsylvania, though this goes awry as he soils himself live on stage after addressing the state as "Transylvania." Later, as the three are flying in Air Force One, Charlie remarks that Mr. Frog's proposed economical solutions are impressive, annoying Jimble who states he can do that too. Creating a national broadcast, he announces that to fix the economy, he will grant every American $1 billion. Pim immediately stops him and says that will crash the economy, to which Jimble overcorrects and says that he wants that money back. Charlie tells Pim to turn on the TV ("it doesn't matter what channel"), showing the other two the resulting national chaos.
Back in the White House, Pim tells Jimble that the only way he can get the public on his side is to solve a foreign policy issue. Going outside, Jimble, in a rushed speech, commends the leader of Blingostan, Mr. Blingo, and says that he is a great leader and and eternal ally to America. When he returns to Pim and Charlie to celebrate that he got through the speech, however, he finds out that Mr. Blingo is a genocidal war criminal dictator and that the conference was meant to condemn him. As Pim tries to suggest that this may not turn out too badly, Mr. Blingo's forces violently invade a peaceful village. In the war room, Pim tries to stay positive, and says that despite Mr. Frog being projected to win every seat in a historic landslide, there's still the debate - only for Jimble to say that 'debate' is a funny word. Seeing the hopelessness of the situation, Charlie bails, much to Pim's understanding. Jimble, however, agrees to go on with the debate.
Charlie wanders through the White House trying to find an exit, only to stumble upon a shadowy secret society of earthworms that are influencing people to vote for Mr. Frog. Charlie feels vindicated, and even agrees with them that Mr. Frog is the better candidate. The worms explain that Mr. Frog will sow chaos in the country, allowing them to gain even more power and influence. They ask Charlie to join them, but he explains he doesn't want to betray Pim, though he still loves Mr. Frog because of his show where he eats the bug. The council panic at the revelation that Mr. Frog eats bugs, including worms, so they switch their support to Jimble, before ejecting Charlie out of the White House fence.
William and Wendy - two of the worm cabal members - host the debate and explain that Squiggly Miggly has killed himself with a 3D-printed shotgun. They rig the debate by attacking Mr. Frog and giving him no time to respond, whilst also praising Jimble and giving him unlimited time, and ask him about why he's so amazing. Jimble begins to respond in his usual disjointed manner, but sees Pim in the crowd, exhausted and disappointed. Jimble then redirects his answer, and mentions that "a little pink guy" once told him every president was notable for something - and he's notable because he's "the president who shouldn't have been the president." He explains he isn't cut out to be President, and that he just wants to be honest rather than making people like him, then finishes the speech by swearing at his detractors. William and Wendy spin this as an absolute positive, and the crowd cheers for Jimble as both he and Pim smile.
Back at the office, the Smiling Friends members are waiting for the election results at their headquarters, where Mr. Boss, in patriotic clothing, explains, holding a sniper rifle, that he will "take matters into his own hands" if Jimble loses based on a large bet he placed. The results show that Mr. Frog and Jimble are at a tie, with each of them having 50% of the popular vote. However, Mr Frog wins the election, with Glep casting the deciding vote. William and Wendy subsequently dox Glep, showing all of his personal information on television. Mr. Boss then cheerfully announces that "whatever happens now is on Glep", then stalks out of the building with his rifle. Pim, Charlie and Allan ask Glep why he voted for Mr. Frog, and Glep's answer is seen as entirely valid by the others.
A post-credits scene shows a now retired Jimble relaxing on the beach; something Charlie suggested he should've done instead of run for re-election.
Characters[]
- Pim
- Charlie
- President Jimble
- Mr. Frog
- William and Wendy Worm
- Other worms
- Allan
- Glep
- Mr. Boss
- Squiggly Miggly
- Mr. Blingo
- Bug (mentioned)
- Mr. Frog fan
- Blue cop
- Secret Service Agents
- Angry Protestors
Title in other languages[]
| Language | Title | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Czech | Pan prezident | Mr. President |
| French | Monsieur le Président | |
| German | Mr. President | |
| Polish | Pan Żaba na prezydenta | Mr. Frog for president |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | Senhor Presidente | Mr. President |
| Spanish | Señor Presidente |
Transcript[]
- To view this episode's transcript, click here.
Gallery[]
- To view this episode's gallery, click here.
Trivia[]
General[]
- This episode made its premiere alongside the official release of "Gwimbly: Definitive Remastered Enhanced Extended Edition DX 4K (Anniversary Director’s Cut)."
- This episode marks the second physical appearance of Mr. Frog since his debut episode.
- As of this episode, Mr. Frog has been elected President of the United States.
- Due to the timeline of events, it is implied that in the show's universe Presidential elections take place before early November, which has been the case in America since its first Congress. Since "Erm, the Boss Finds Love?" is a Halloween episode but takes place following President Frog's victory, it could place the Presidential election some time during the late summer. Alternatively, this episode may have taken place nearly a year before Mr. Boss' wedding, making "A Allan Adventure" the only representative of the year between the two events.
- This episode marks the directing debut of Tina Tomar, previously an animator on the series.
- This is the only episode in which the captions reads "OK", albeit only once when Charlie said it.
- This episode confirms that Glep (and by extension the rest of the cast) reside in Pennsylvania. This was previously alluded to in "Charlie Dies and Doesn't Come Back," when God is shown throwing Charlie to someplace on the East Coast of the United States.
- This was also mentioned at SDCC 2022 during the Smiling Friends panel [2].
- It is unknown what county of Pennsylvania they live in.
Cultural references[]
- One of Pim's many political factoids during the episode is about the election victory of Texas oil magnate Ross Perot in 1996. This confirms that Smiling Friends takes place in an alternate universe. Perot ran as an Independent and third-party candidate in 1992 and 1996 respectively and failing to win on both occasions. This likely means that in this timeline, Perot was successful in his first bid for the Presidency, defeating Bill Clinton (who is also pictured with Mr.Frog in his debut episode, likely meaning Clinton would become President in 2000 or beyond) and George H.W Bush.
- President Pinhead is a reference to the Spongebob character Patrick Star, specifically his moment in the episode "Survival of the Idiots" where he says "who you callin' pinhead?"
- When Charlie shows Pim and President Jimble Mr. Frog's proposed economic policies, the headline for the article reads "Industrial Society and Its Future," which is the title of the Unabomber's (Ted Kaczynski) manifesto.
- When Charlie tells Pim to turn on the news when the economy crashes, he says "Turn the news on, doesn't matter what channel". This is a reference to an OneyPlays clip where Zach tells Lyle to "Turn on the TV, it doesn't matter what channel" when he exclaims that The Pentagon has been hit during 9/11.
- Mr. Frog blowing up a few innocent people references the Green Goblin blowing up the Boardman with a pumpkin bomb in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man.
- The presidential race being between a vice-president and a media celebrity, with the latter being victorious, oddly mirrors the 2024 election cycle.
- One of William Worm's lines - "We want to remind the audience to please not talk out loud. To not applaud. You're just wasting time." - is taken almost directly from a comment by moderator Anderson Cooper during the second 2016 U.S. presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.[3]
Videos[]
