Toddler Titans…Yay!

"Toddler Titans... Yay!" is the 34th episode of the sixth season of Teen Titans Go!, and the 295th overall episode of the series.

Summary

When Control Freak thinks the Titans' humor is too juvenile for their time-slot, he decided to age them down to a preschool show.

Plot

At the Tower, the Titans are sitting on the couch, feeling bored and wanting to pick a channel. They pick a show about Batgirl being trapped by the Joker, but just as they are enjoying it, Control Freak interrupts the program which annoys them. Control Freak then reveals that he is tired of their humor, so he teleports them from TV TEEN to TV BABY, and they are now trapped in a baby show, and appear as "Dora the Explorer" styled characters. Robin notices his hair is different and Cyborg is a bag, Starfire is a kitten with mittens, Raven is a book, and Beast Boy is "Greenie the Clue Dog"(Blues Clues). Cyborg mentions that Greenie is from a different show, though Beast Boy can care less about that.

Robin wants to know how to get out of here, so the gang use Raven to find a way out. Raven shows they need to pass the River, then the stanky swamp, and eventually the Ratings Monster, but when they are at the swamp; they need to watch out for Taker the Beaver. Robin doesn't believe that and thinks things will be easy, but the children at home shouts out that they have to "Sing the Song!". Starfire tells Robin that they need to do what they say and talk to the viewers, which Robin considers it ridiculous, but they all sing "De De Do Do Do" anyway.

The Titans make it to the river, and to cross it they need to make a raft. Cyborg has something to build it among the items he has, which are a spoon, a banana, some boots, and some logs. Robin wants to choose, but Starfire tells him that it is the kids at home who must make the choice rather than themselves. Even though Robin doesn't care, Starfire still tells the kids to choose which item will they use to build the raft. Robin gets impatient, though the kids correctly choose the logs. The Titans start counting the logs with the kids but Robin interrupts by counting the rest of the logs, causing the kids to cry. The Titans get mad at Robin for upsetting the children, and Raven tells him that without the kids’ help, they won’t be able to complete their journey and they’ll be stuck in this preschool show forever. Although reluctant, Robin cheers the kids up by singing the song that they just sang. They sing the travel song while they are travelling on the raft, and they make it to the swamp. Unfortunately, Robin starts to get sick and vomits on Cyborg, causing the rest to vomit as well, much to the kids' disgust.

The raft however stops due to the mud which is too shallow, stanky and muddy to get across. Luckily, the children remind them that they need the boots, but after checking, Cyborg notices the boots are gone. They realize that Taker the Beaver has taken them. While the rest of the Titans focus on the kids, Robin is annoyed and yells. After the kids notice that Taker is on the tree, Starfire tells them they need to teach him a lesson by saying “Taker, Don't be Taking" three times. Pressurized by the shaming, Taker gives in and returns the boots back, but Robin suddenly kicks him, making the kids shocked. His friends get angry at Robin for doing so, who disapprove his inappropriate behavior.

After singing the travel song again, they reach the location where the Rating Monster is. Robin is annoyed by the fact that Raven has constantly reminded the gang of the locations several times, when Beast Boy informs them that he has found a clue. The kids tell them to use a stick, yet it is useless. Robin then suggests resorting to using moderate violence. At first, his friends disagree with him, until he convinces them that they can instruct the kids to close their eyes. The kids oblige, but when they decide to peep, they realize the Titans are brutally beating up the Ratings Monster and Robin scolds them. They close their eyes and once again open their eyes to find that the fight is over. With the monster defeated, the Titans teach the kids what booty is, and they return to their world.

Upon returning home, the Titans find out that Control Freak has been watching the programme while he is eating popcorn. Control Freak is surprised that they have made it out, and to his terror the Titans are planning on how to dispose him. It turns out that the kids have followed the Titans to their world and tells them to hit and kick Control Freak in the booty. The Titans realize it is their fault for making these kids lost their innocence, though Robin blames them for disobeying his order of not keeping their eyes closed. Starfire then asks the kids to help them punish Control Freak. Among Cyborg's rotten eggs, smelly butt and spiders, the kids choose the third option. Although Control Freak jumps out of the window in horror of having crawling spiders on his body and that Robin is initially proud that the kids have aged up, Cyborg reminds him that the five of them have scarred these kids for life, and Robin takes back his words when the kids start using the word "booty". The kids end the episode with happily saying "Toddler Titans Yay!".

Characters

Robin
Cyborg
Starfire
Raven
Beast Boy
Control Freak
Batgirl (cameo)
Joker (cameo)
The Children at Home (debut, offscreen, only appearance.)
Purple snake (debut, cameo, only appearance.)
Taker the Beaver (debut, only appearance.)
Ratings Monster (debut, only appearance.)

Song

De De Do Do Do

Trivia

This was the first episode to air in the New-vember event in November 2020 on Cartoon Network.
For the majority of this episode, the Titans broke the fourth wall by interacting with the unseen children who are watching the program.

Continuity

This is the seventh "hater" episode. The others are "Let's Get Serious", "The Return of Slade", "Wally T", "The Fourth Wall", "The Chaff" and "Teen Titans Roar!".
Starfire being a cat may refer to her love of cats.
A clip from the World War II style fight showing Raven's thumb from "Thumb War" (the previous episode) briefly plays on the TV. It is unknown how the clip showed up on the screen, but is might have been possible that it was recorded off-screen during the battle.
On TV, The Joker is seen lowering Batgirl into acid like how the Legion of Doom did in "Snuggle Time".

References

This episode mainly parodies the Nick Jr. show, Dora the Explorer as well as it's spin-off Go, Diego, Go!.
- The Titans parody various characters from the series:
  - Robin - Dora
  - Raven/Book - Map
  - Cyborg/Bag - Backpack
  - Starfire/Mittens - Boots
- Taker the Beaver is a parody of Swiper the Fox. Taker is also stopped the same way Swiper is stopped, for Taker he is stopped by saying "Taker, don't be taking" three times while Swiper is stopped by saying "Swiper, no swiping" three times
- The "De De Do Do Do" song is a parody of the Travel Song.
Beast Boy, as Greenie the Clue Dog, is a parody of the main character from a different Nick Jr. series, Blue's Clues & the reboot Blue's Clues and You.
- Apparently, there was no live-action host of Greenie the Clue Dog for some reason. This is probably due to Greenie finding the clues in the episode.
Robin telling the kids to say "booty" before going back to their world is a clear reference to how there's adult references in many kids shows.
The TV ratings in Teen Titans GO! parody these TV ratings in real life:
- TV BABY - TV-Y
- TV KIDS - TV-Y7
- TV TEEN - TV-G, TV-PG, and TV-14
  - There would likely be a TV ADULT, which parodies TV-MA.
The title of this episode is a nod to the lyrics of the "Animal End Song" in Go, Diego, Go!.

Errors

When the Titans first see the Ratings Monster, the stick is not visible. But in the next scene, the stick is highlighted and the kids say "Use the stick!"

Running Gags

The children at home helping the Titans.
Robin being annoyed at the program's slow pacing.
Beast Boy (Greenie) finding clues (referencing Blue's Clues and Blue's Clues and You)
Raven (The Book) saying “River, Swamp, Ratings Monster”.
The children repeating after the Titans.
The Titans, parodying the source material, singing the Travel Song parody De De Do Do Do every time they travel.