The Angry Beavers was one of my favorite shows growing up, as I found it one of the most consistently hilarious shows on air at the time (keep in mind it aired from 1997 to 2001, right as The Simpsons was beginning its lengthy plunge in quality). As a model railroader, my favorite episode of The Angry Beavers is Gift Hoarse, but if I was going to select a representative episode to show someone who's never seen The Angry Beavers, I'd choose the episode Fancy Prance, an episode which simultaneously parodies Rocky, Full Metal Jacket, and Babe.
Episode Synopsis:
An enraged poodle with mangled fur is seen running out of Norbert and Daggett's dam, pursued by Daggett who still has to apply the styling mousse. When he fails to catch up to the poodle, he tells Norb that he's giving up his lifelong dream of being a poodle groomer. Norb reveals that according to his computer calculations, that wasn't Dag's lifelong dream, it was his thousandth lifelong dream!
Dag tells Norb that while he might have a new lifelong dream every few, at least he has lifelong dreams, unlike Norb; Norb tells dag that he does have a lifelong dream, but he's never told anyone and he's not going to tell Dag what it is. Dag says he'll just wheedle the dream out of Norb, which he does by saying "wheedle" over and over again day and night until Norb gives in.
Norb eventually breaks down and tells Dag that his lifelong dream is to be a Lippizaner Stallion, but dismisses it as a silly idea; on the contrary, Dag thinks it's a great idea and encourages Norb to pursue it. Dag also accompanies Norb, telling him that his new lifelong dream is "to be the crusty but lovable trainer for the little guy who's going for his lifelong dream", so the two of them take a transatlantic bus to Vienna.
When they arrive, Norb finds out that Lippizaner tryouts are being held this week. At the training center, he meets "Horsery Sergeant Günther" (voiced by the late, great R. Lee Ermey), who turns the audition into the beginning of Full Metal Jacket. Although he's impressed with Norb's attitude and solo performance, Norb is a failure with a rider.
When Norb tells Dag he's giving up on his lifelong dream, Dag tells Norb "You ain't going nowhere" and proceeds to put Norb through a training regimen, in which Norb must dodge spitballs shot at him by the Vienna Boys' Choir, rhino-wrestle, and perform an interpretive dance while drinking soup without slurping, spilling or belching. It soon turns into a Rocky-esque montage (in which the show's theme song can be heard being played in the style of the Rocky theme), culminating in Norb running up the steps of a building and raising his arms.
The day of the test, Norb finds out that while his training may have made him able to handle a rider, he still doesn't manage to pull off "the leap of the goat". Dag tells him to give up, which Norb thinks is a case of Dag using reverse psychology. This makes Norb pass the test with flying colors, and he's accepted as a true Lippizaner by the other stallions. During the denouement, Günther narrates that Norbert went on to become one of the most beloved Lippizaners of all time (whose double leap has never been equaled), while Dagget went on to become "a target holder, a weasel polisher, a steeplejack, a rollerskate repair technician..."; while listing Dagget's accomplishments, the screen fades to black and the narration fades out, ending the episode.
What makes this a great episode:
Like many well-done episodes where the whole story parodies a film, this episode offers a bonus for people who have seen the work it's parodying (or works, in this case), while still being a hilarious episode to watch for those who haven't seen them*. Getting R. Lee Ermey to voice Günther really made this episode stand out; with one of the cast regulars (or even another guest voice) voicing Günther instead it wouldn't have been the same.
For those who have seen Rocky and Full Metal Jacket, there's a bonus to viewing this episode, as many shots from those films are recreated in this episode. In addition, much of Günther's dialogue is remarkably similar to R. Lee Ermey's dialogue in Full Metal Jacket (albeit profanity-free).
* For a good comparison between a good and bad whole-plot parody, watch the Simpsons episodes Cape Feare and The Debarted; while the former works well as a stand-alone work, that latter really requires the viewer to have watched The Departed for it to make any sense.
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