The Return of Bad Dog Bart!

“The Return of Bad Dog Bart!”
Season {{{season}}}, Episode 1

Information
Air Date	July 16, 2018
Writer(s)	Jill Cozza-Turner
Director	Dave MacDougall
Episode Guide
Next	“A Nature Carol”

The Return of Bad Dog Bart! is the second special of Nature Cat. it premiered on July 16, 2018.

Cast[]

Taran Killam as Nature Cat
Bobby Moynihan as Hal
Kate McKinnon as Squeeks
Kate Micucci as Daisy
Chris Knowings as Ronald
Chris Parnell as Houston
Emily Lynne as Gwendolyn/One-Eared Winnie
David Rudman as Bad Dog Bart (uncredited)

Plot[]

Nature Cat and the gang will stop at nothing to get to Bad Dog Bart's loot of cat toys first, reuniting with Nature Cat's long lost sister Gwendolyn!

Synopsis[]

On a dark and spooky night, a pirate cat was roaming around the woods, digging holes looking for something. It goes up to a hill, digs it up a bit, and cries out at the sight of the moon. The next morning, Nature Cat, Squeeks, Daisy, and Hal arrive at the hill, playing Hal’s Hole Hootenanny (“Hal’s Treasure”). Hal digs up a bone that looks like a key and a second map of Bad Dog Bart, leading to a loot of cat toys. Nature Cat tells the gang that he had saw him in the past, leading to a flashback that reveals that he and his sister Gwendolyn like to play together. Their grandpa cat had made toy inventions through the years. One day, Grandpa Cat gave the two kittens a special cat toy that is very important and they promised to keep it. That is until one dark day, a bad dog came and took all the cat toys, even the special ones Grandpa Cat made. The flashback ends when Gwendolyn vowed to get the toys back and left Nature Cat alone outside. Without hesitation, Nature Cat and the gang vowed to find the treasure as Ronald saw this and wanted to get the toys also.

After an 80’s-like musical number (“Onward and Yonward!”), the gang started reading the map saying first to start at an apple tree. They went there and the map said to head east to a boulder. Nature Cat is about to continue when Squeeks stopped him and said that they have to use 100 feet to get there, by using a 10 feet branch (the extra wood is cut by a beaver and Nature Cat found it, being called a genius) to get there. While doing that, Hal and Nature Cat thought there is something suspicious about Bad Dog Bart because he was trying to come and trick them. Ronald sees this and is being sneaky as Nature Cat looked and there was a flock of geese instead. Just as they reached the rock, the map says to get to something east between the two tallest trees, which turns out to be a tree stump with moss on top. Suddenly a gust of wind blows, and Ronald gets the map. They have an epic chase, but Ronald escapes with the map. However, Daisy has a picture of the map on her phone that she took earlier (being called a genius) and the gang continued to go to the stump. Meanwhile, Ronald gets taken by the pirate cat (who appeared in the beginning earlier) mistaking it as Bad Dog Bart and tries to recall the past times when he tripped over Nature Cat for the animal book of world records and when he got too sick after eating too many berries off the grape bush. But the pirate cat introduced herself as One Eared Winnie and angrily snatched the map. So Ronald tells One Eared Winnie about the treasure hunt and agrees to go with her and stop Nature Cat and the gang from reaching the treasure.

Back with Nature Cat and the gang, they stopped at the stump and failed to find the next clue. Just then, Houston arrives spotting a great crested flycatcher, sitting on a branch. When he found out that the gang are on a treasure hunt for a loot of cat toys, Houston joins in the gang. Squeeks takes off the moss, revealing another clue, saying to use the key to open a staircase. After Hal discovers that the bone is the key, Houston uses it to open the tree stump, revealing a big staircase, leading to a cave. Houston activates a device, becoming a flashlight and puts it on his head while he and the rest of the gang descend down upon it. Ronald and One Eared Winnie saw this and went down the staircase also.

In the cave, Nature Cat and the gang put on hard hats and ignored a strange noise, heading to two doors. Above them, a clue says to go to a door that is incorrect. Houston discovers that the door is left and Daisy called him a genius. Hal complained about this because he really wanted to be a genius in the movie. But then, One Eared Winnie stopped them along with Ronald and she wanted Nature Cat to give her the key so she can get the treasure. When he declines, they all have an epic brawl, while Nature Cat finds the second key, a compass, on the left door. He and the gang managed to go through the left door leaving One Eared Winnie and Ronald stranded, but ended up realizing they can’t hold the door much longer. So Nature Cat used a rope to hold the door closed as an attempt. While walking through a dark corridor, the lights in their hard hats go out and Houston disappeared as the gang struggled to find him. However, most of them vanished one by one, leaving Nature Cat alone and scared. He calms down and walks a bit, only to plummet through a trap, which leads to a wild cavern water slide right back on the ground, reuniting with the others.

Ronald and One Eared Winnie landed at the same time as the gang proceed to escape, finding a pirate ship (much to their shock) but One Eared Winnie stopped them, wanting to get the compass herself. She and Nature Cat had another epic brawl, but Daisy stopped them as they kept brawling, knowing a misunderstanding. The two cats look at each other and realize they knew each other earlier in the previous years. As everyone took off their hard hats, Houston states that One Eared Winnie is none other than Nature Cat’s long lost sister Gwendolyn. She explains to the gang in another flashback after leaving Nature Cat, she went after Bad Dog Bart but failed. So she joined a group of pirates and went searching for the treasure for years, but did not find it, ending the flashback. Nature Cat cried with joy and hugged Gwendolyn knowing they missed each other. They and the others proceed to sing another musical number as Ronald sneaked off, knowing they’re going to sing (“Together Again”).

After the song finishes, the gang proceeds to continue the quest as Nature Cat used the compass to target for north, which is a tree with a fork stuck to it. The gang rode in the pirate ship, with Ronald going with them. At one point, Hal imitates the flying scene from Titanic. Once back on land, the gang reads the map, saying to look for the big log. Everyone looked and Nature Cat found one after rolling on another. Under the big log is another clue, saying to look for a thing that carries its home. While Ronald dashes across the woods in the background, Hal sits on a snail shaped rock as Daisy called him a genius (at last!). Under it is a dog’s collar which is the last of the three keys.

All of a sudden, a distant howl is heard and the gang looked to see Bad Dog Bart himself in front of them. He desired to get the map and keys to prevent them from stopping him. They have yet another epic chase. But they ended up getting caught in a rope trap, leaving Ronald to escape with the keys. The rope trap broke however, sending the map flying in the wind. Everyone tried to catch it, but Bad Dog Bart ended up stealing the map and Ronald gives the keys to him. After the bad dog leaves, Daisy has no choice but to follow the picture of the map on her phone. It says to go to the highest peak in Mount McKinnson. Houston gets out another device, transforming it into a hot air balloon and the rest of the others flew on it. Squeeks stopped Nature Cat saying that "nothing could stop them now" by telling him to not say that anymore just as Ronald yells at Nature Cat that he’s never giving up.

Once landing on the summit, Daisy reads another part of the map, saying to take a path with two rocks along the way. Nature Cat leads the others through the path but they discovered that there were three rocks blocking the path. Suddenly there was a rock stampede as they all escaped unharmed. After that, Squeeks leads everyone on the real path (that had two rocks) stopping at two trees. The last thing on the map says is to go 25 feet to the treasure. Gwendolyn uses her bandanna that is five feet long and they all managed to get to the treasure. But then, the treasure chest is lost to Bad Dog Bart who has returned. They once more have an epic chase. Meanwhile, a nearly tired Ronald gets run over by Bad Dog Bart, sending them tied up in vines on a tree. Nature Cat finally manages to get the treasure chest, but is about to fall off a cliff. So Gwendolyn and the others narrowly rescued him at the very last second. After it's all over, Hal takes the three keys as he and the gang leave while the two bad guys fell from the vines (because they broke) as Bad Dog Bart refused to give Ronald a lift back home as he began walking.

Returning home, the gang used the keys to open the treasure chest. Inside there are a lot of cat toys, including Grandpa Cat’s two toy parts. Ronald arrives telling them that he stopped Bad Dog Bart first. Knowing that someone had helped during the quest, Gwendolyn gives him one of the toys which is a ball called “the Chaser” as he chases after it. She and Nature Cat unite the two toy parts together, forming a big whistle. Finally, they used it to bring back their cat family, consisting of cousins, aunts, and uncles. With the entire family complete, everyone proceeded to celebrate with a grand musical finale (“Together Again (reprise)”), ending the movie.

Trivia[]

The scene where Ronald and Nature Cat, Daisy and Squeeks taking the map, is a reference to There's Gold in Them Thar Hills.
It is unknown what happened to Grandpa Cat after the movie.
This is the first time we see that Nature Cat has a sibling but a long-lost-one.
This is the first special that Ronald is voiced by Chris Knowings.
This is the first special to not air on international TV channels. It is currently unknown if this show will return to international TV channels for this season onwards.
Unlike the previous special Ocean Commotion (which lasts for 44 minutes), the special lasts for 56 minutes.
The climax where Nature Cat finally retrieves the treasure chest but is about to fall off a cliff, only to be narrowly saved by Gwendolyn and the others references the climax of 2003 Warner Bros. movie Kangaroo Jack.
Despite the second song being titled “Onward and Yonward!”, the title isn’t sung at all.
When the gang are sailing in the pirate ship, Hal references the 1997 film Titanic when he says “I’m king of the world, baby!”