Open, Close, Ring is the ninth episode of season 1 in the series A Little Curious, and is the ninth in total. It aired on March 29, 1999. It focuses on subjects of the words open, close, and ring.
Segments[]
Open Up, Nut (CGI)[]
Mr. String spots a walnut, so he tries to open it and can't. He tries to bang on it by using a foot, but he hurts himself. He starts to worry that if he can't open up a walnut, he won't be able to open a can of beans, which means without beans, there would be no hot dogs, and nothing to eat around a campfire.
He swings the walnut with a tennis racket, and then tickles it which causes the nut to come out. He comments that there's more than one way to open a nut.
A Little Reality[]
A boy opens a big red box, which contains a white box, which contains a yellow box. The yellow box contains a blue box, and then a white box which has a ring with a green jewel. He cleans everything up.
Open and Closed Case (Digital Cel)[]
Plush is sound asleep, when Mop comes in to tell him they're going to the beach. He runs into his closet to get a suitcase, then gets a bunch of things (including Bob) to put inside of it. He tries to jump on it to close, but he just can't get it to close. Eventually, Plush uses his tail to extend his mouth open, and he bites the case and gets it to close, then he locks it. While leaving the room, the suitcase opens up and everything flies out of it, but Plush is unaware.
A Little Reality[]
In this segment, a girl is packing things in a suitcase.
Three Ring Circus (Stop Motion/Cardboard Cutouts)[]
This short takes place at a shoe themed circus. Mary Jane asked Mrs. Shoe to buy her a glow ring, but she tells her later on and to watch the circus. The crowd watches the "Flying Slipperinis" flip to ring to ring in the air. Mary Jane then asks her father to buy her the glow ring, but he also tells her in a minute. Next, the hurdling horseshoes jump through rings of fire, but Mary Jane still wants a glow ring. Next, a pair of shoes shoots out of a cannon and flies in the air. The camera cuts to the Shoe Family with their circus rings, and Lacey says she doesn't know what to look at first. Mr. Shoe says that's why they call it the "Greatest Shoe on Earth".
Song: The Shoe Family (CGI)[]
The Shoe Family song is played.
My Life is an Open Book (Digital Cel)[]
Pad explains that her life is an open book and has no mysteries. She tells how she grew up as a little pad, and when she finished school, she worked for the local paper, and she met Pencil, who eventually gave her a ring. Pad ends the story by saying she's always open to new adventures. Just then, Pencil comes from behind her.
Ring-a-Ding (Stop Motion)[]
Plush walks up a hill and sees a bell. He pulls the rope and it starts to move and ring loudly, which causes Plush to shake and vibrate.
A Little Reality[]
The segment shows a bell ringing inside someplace.
Ring, Ring, Go Away (CGI)[]
Mr. String is sleeping, when the alarm clock beside him starts to ring, and it falls into the chest below and it closes. Mr. String begs for the ringing to stop, as he is getting rings in his eyes. Suddenly, Bob and Undercover Cup come into the room on the trail to find the ring. Undercover Cup finds a ring, but it's a ring of water, then they find a ring in the bathtub. Eventually, they find the alarm clock ring inside the chest and turn it off. Mr. String thanks them, but then he worries that he'll oversleep for days and everyone will look for him, and ring his doorbell and the phone. Cup and Bob walk off the scene.
A Little Reality[]
In this segment, we see a cuckoo clock on the wall, and the cuckoo bird itself comes out at the end.
Ring Around the Rosie (CGI)[]
In this quick segment, Bob, Mary Jane and Lacey, and Little Cup sing Ring Around the Rosie and fall down at the end.
Closed for Monkey Business (Digital Cel)[]
Mr. String takes Bob and Little Cup to the zoo before it closes. On the way, Mr. String tells them the animals they will see and performs their actions, such as a monkey, an elephant, etc. When they get there, the gates were closed, so Mr. String rings the doorbell but the zoo is definitely closed. He’s disappointed that they wouldn't be able to see the animals, but Bob says they already did, and Cup asks to do the monkey impression again. Mr. String turns into a monkey and hops around, making the two laugh.
Song: Mop (CGI)[]
Mop's song is played.
Ring Toss (CGI)[]
Mary Jane and Lacey are playing ring toss and throw rings at Plush's nose. Lacey lands her ring on his nose, but Mary Jane rings all of his legs, and even his tail. Mary Jane shouts that she's the winner, while Lacey comments that her line "has a familiar ring to it". Plush throws the rings on his legs into the air and lands them all on his nose.
A Ring's Not a Ring (Digital Cel)[]
Mr. String spots a ring on a pillow on a drawer, so he decides to be one too. But he struggles and hurts himself trying to close himself into a circle as a female sings. He finally turns himself into a closed circle, but he rolls in a circle and falls flat on the floor, stating that he definitely put himself in the wringer that time.
A Little Reality[]
In this segment, girls are putting on many colorful rings found on a table.
Letter Opener (Digital Cel)[]
Pencil is seen writing a letter to Pad and wants to send it right away, so he closes the envelope up and then realizes he forgot to put the letter in the envelope. Pencil gets it to open and sticks it in the envelope, but now the letter won't close. So he uses glue and rolls himself inside the envelope, and cries for help.
Opening Remarks (CGI)[]
Mop hops on stage to give a speech. She opens it up by saying "Hello!", and closes it by saying "Goodbye!". The audience claps as she exits the stage.
Trivia[]
- Only one short was animated in Canada by WildBrain.
- The word ring would be focused again along with the words step (from First, Last, Step) and twist (from Thick, Thin, Twist) in Step, Twist, Ring.