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Near, Far, Swing is the third episode of the first season in the series A Little Curious. It was intended to be the second episode, even being produced as such, but was aired as the third. It aired on February 15, 1999. It focuses on subjects of the words near, far, and swing.

Segments[]

Don't Come too Near (CGI)[]

Mr. String believes he's caught a cold, so he warns a visiting Little Cup to stand far back so he won't catch his cold when he sneezes. Little Cup does not move far back enough and is blown away by Mr. String's sneeze.

A Game Too Far (Stop Motion/Cardboard Cutouts)[]

The Shoe Family parks at a baseball stadium for a game. While walking, Mary Jane and Lacey are tired of walking, and complain that the stadium is too far. Mrs. Shoe tries to motivate them, but it doesn't help them that much. They finally make it to the stadium where the game starts, but now they have to walk up the stairs to the blue section, the highest of the seating chart. Up there, they complain that the game is too far, so Mrs. Shoe hands binoculars that gets passed over to Mary Jane. The baseball hitter misses the ball, and the announcer states the game is far from over.

The Swing (Watercolor)[]

Pad recites the poem The Swing by Robert Louis Stevenson, as Pencil doodles visuals to go along with it. Pad tells him that was beautiful, but Pencil says it wasn't as beautiful as her, and the two kiss.

A Little Reality[]

A group of kids are swinging on a set of park swings shaped like horses.

Swing on a Swing (CGI)[]

Bob, Plush, Pad and Pencil, Little Cup, and Mr. String, who hates swings, are swinging on a swing set with a couple of singers singing in the background. The scene cuts to Doris who "swings" by swinging her door around. She closes it and laughs.

Stand Far, Far Back (CGI)[]

Mr. String's cold has gotten even worse, so Little Cup has brought him some Orange juice. Mr. String warns him again to not come too near, as he ends up sneezing and blowing Little Cup back, again.

Near, but yet so Far (Digital Cel)[]

Pencil's point has dulled, so Pad tells him to sharpen his point. Pencil is distraught by this, and soon Pad regrets sending him off. Turns out, the pencil sharpener is only a shorts distance away from them both. Pencil quickly dashes off, to be near to Pad yet again.

A Little Reality[]

A girl uses a magnifying glass to see things, such as a dog's face, a caterpillar, or a rose, from a far distance look near.

Don't Keep Me Swinging (Digital; Unmoving Plaid)[]

Doris is upset with how she's forced to swing open and out again, especially when Plush does it for fun. She does relent and let Plush walk out of her one last time.

Far Out (Stop Motion/Cardboard Cutouts)[]

In the second part, the pitcher throws the ball and the swinger misses again. Lacey is looking through the binoculars at the action, when Mary Jane swipes it from her. The swinger misses again. Mary Jane and Lace begin to argue over the binoculars, until Mrs. Shoe takes it from them. Lacey complains how they always sit so far, when the hitter hits the ball which comes nearer and nearer to the family, then flies out of the stadium.

Song: Little Cup (CGI)[]

Little Cup's Song is played.

Near Red (CGI)[]

A song plays about how you perceive things from when you're near against how you can see them clearer from afar. Bob the Ball, and Mrs. Shoe are shown close up, before zooming out to reveal who they really are.

A Little Reality[]

A line of balls is shown in a park, as Bob explains how some are near, and others are far.

Swing on a Star (CGI)[]

Mrs. Shoe sings a cover of the song "Swing on a Star" in a club, as a crowd of shoes dances along. Mary Jane and Lacey literally swing on a star prop, as pig and mule shoes walk in to the bar.

Stand Really Far Back (CGI)[]

Mr. String finally starts to feel better, after a rest in his bed. Little Cup, on the other hand, has gotten Mr. String's cold. Little Cup asks him to not come too near as he feels a sneeze, but Mr. String doesn't hear him, so he instead comes closer. Little Cup, does indeed sneeze, and Mr. String is launched to the other side of the wall.

Song: Pad and Pencil (CGI)[]

The Pad and Pencil song "A Little Romance" is played.

A Little Reality[]

In this segment, kids are hitting a pinata high in a tree. After many tries, the kids crowd around to get the piles of candy.

Swinging with Mr. String (Stop Motion)[]

Mr. String is above a wall as a yo-yo string, and he rolls down to the sidewalk, and swings some more.

Moonlight Near to Me (Stop Motion)[]

Doris sings a song in the nighttime sky while Bob is shown sleeping.

Trivia[]

  • As confirmed through the Library of Congress, this episode was intended to be the second episode.
  • This episode would be removed from circulation in 2004 due to the cover of "Swing on a Star".
  • Don't Keep Me Swinging would be later reused as a character song for Doris.
  • The songs featured in the shorts "Swing on a Swing" and "Don't Keep Me Swinging" are named "Swingers" and "In or Out", according to the credits.
  • The scene with The Shoe Family cheering in the second part of A Game Too Far, the clip of Doris the door swinging from Swing on a Swing, as well as clips from Little Cup and Pad and Pencil's songs are used in the "starring" segment of the opening theme, these are the only clips that appears in the segment that originates from an episode not commercially available.
  • This is one of the rare times where A Little Reality Segment comes after a song. This instance would happen again in Balance, Skip, Rock.
  • The word swing would be focused again along with the words cover (from Above, Below, Cover), and shake (from Loud, Soft, Shake) in Swing, Cover, Shake.

Transcript[]

Near, Far, Swing/Transcript

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