Squash & Stretch

"Squash & Stretch" is the 19th episode of the third season of Teen Titans Go!, and the 123rd overall episode of the series.

Summary
The Titans learn about old cartoon-style violence in order to get revenge on a snack-stealing squirrel.

Plot
The episode begins with The Titans, who are outside in their bathing suits, sunbathing in a lawn chair. Cyborg enjoys the weather, and Beast Boy agrees with him. Robin then eats the bowl of nuts. Cyborg expresses his love for nuts, because he is a nut mixologist. The peanut mix contained peanuts, almonds, and cashews (as pointed out by Raven, who then ate some nuts when Cyborg passed the bowl to her). Raven then passes the bowl of nuts to Beast Boy. As he was about to give it to Starfire, a pair of hands above grab it instead. As she was trying to get the bowl of nuts, she panics because the nuts are gone. They then see the Squirrel, laughing and eating the nuts.

The Titans get angry and try to chase the squirrel. The squirrel wins with ease, leaving the Titans mad and frustrated.

The Titans are now back in their tower, grumbling in anger. The squirrel teases them and makes them really mad. The Titans share some of their revenge fantasies. They realize that they are living in a world where violence is not the answer. Cyborg protests, saying that violence is acceptable as long as it was funny. He then shows the other Titans a cartoon, and the Titans laugh at it. Cyborg states that they laughed at the humor of the cartoon. Cyborg punches Robin, hoping that it will support Raven's claim that violence isn't funny. Raven and Starfire also beat Robin up, only to make him cry more and scream in pain. The Titans then realize that violence is only funny in silly cartoons. In hopes of taking revenge at the squirrel, they turn into the "Toon Titans," acting funnier and wearing different uniforms, with slightly different modifications. After some motivation from Cyborg, a panel appears with the Toon Titans heads, similar in appearance to the opening sequence of Looney Tunes, followed by a succeeding panel that reads, "Toon Titans in Going Nuts!"

The Squirrel, leaning on a tree, is snacking on the bowl of nuts, while the Titans stare at him. The Titans grab a huge axe and chop the tree, only to make the tree fall on their heads. The squirrel is seen again, eating the nuts on another tree's branch. Cyborg uses his chainsaw to cut the tree, only to make them fall along with the ground. The Titans attempt to insert dynamite on another tree. They manage to make the dynamite explode, but the tree lands on them and injures them in the process. The squirrel pops up from the hole, swallows some more nuts and winks, ending the short comedic segment. Cyborg states that in silly cartoons, the hunter never catches the prey. For them to take revenge through another acceptable form of cartoon violence, they should turn into an action/anime-like cartoon. Cyborg initiates the "action toon" dynamite, and the Titans transform into the "Teen Titronz."

The Titans are all in separate ships, tracking down the squirrel. They locate the squirrel and attempt to shoot it with quad lasers, but the squirrel manages to escape. The Titans form Zolton and energize the interlocks on the ships. They formed an infernal sphere and launched it on the squirrel. Alas, they finally managed to grab the nut mix. The Titans land on the field in celebration, since they finally get to eat the nuts. However, they saw the dead squirrel, and they began to cry. They wished that they hadn't been so rough, because the poor squirrel didn't do anything that bad. The squirrel's head falls off, revealing that the squirrel is a fake. Inside of the squirrel costume, a dynamite stick was inside, and it blew up. The Titans appear in their normal forms as they all land on the ground, defeated. The squirrel then gloats by saying "Gee, ain't I a stinker!". Then, the squirrel shouts "Woo Hoo!", as he pops up everywhere with the bowl of nuts in his hands as the episode comes to an end.

Characters

 * Starfire
 * Robin
 * Beast Boy
 * Cyborg
 * Raven
 * Squirrel (debut)

Trivia

 * This episode aired 10 years after the original series episode, "Calling All Titans."
 * This episode was advertised as "Squash and Stretch," but the actual title was "Squash & Stretch."
 * This is the sixth episode to have the title be different from when it was advertised. ("Cat's Fancy", "Dignity of Teeth", "Croissant", "Spice Game" and "Hey You, Don't Forget about Me in Your Memory.")
 * When the Teen Titans are turned into an action/anime style cartoon, Cyborg leads the Titans instead of Robin.
 * "Squash and Stretch" is a joke on the 12 basic principles of animation, which is also called by the same name. This is described in The Illusion of Life by Frank Thomas.
 * This is the first episode to be aired in 2016.
 * The summaries of both this episode and "A Farce" have switched on channel guides of certain cable providers.

Continuity

 * This is the second time the Titans' art style shifted to an old cartoon art style, the first being "The Fourth Wall".
 * Raven is seen unhooded for the thirty-second time.


 * The Titans are all seen in their swimsuits for the second time. The first time was in "Two Parter."
 * Cyborg's Shablamo 3000 from "Accept the Next Proposition You Hear" makes a cameo in this episode.
 * This is the second time Cyborg imitates Popeye's short signature laugh. The first was "Vegetables."
 * This is the second time the Titans were defeated in the same position, the first being "Truth, Justice, and What?".

Errors

 * While this may have been a homage to classic theatrical cartoons, there was one important thing the episode was missing: The Ending Sendoff Sequence. (For example: When Porky Pig bursts through the drum and says, "That's all, Folks!")

Running Gags

 * The Teen Titans' plans are getting backfired.
 * The Squirrel keeps stealing the Titans' snack.
 * The Titans change animation to defeat the Squirrel.

Transcript
The transcript for "Squash & Stretch" may be found here.