| Madeline and the Can Can Cliques | |
|---|---|
| Vital Statistics | |
| Season | 3 |
| Writer(s) | Diane Fresco |
| Original Release | September 22, 2000 |
| Previous Episode | Madeline and the Spider Lady |
| Next Episode | Madeline in Cannes |
Madeline and the Can Can Cliques is the third episode of the third season of Madeline animated series.
Summary[]
While she and the other girls learn to dance the Can Can, eleven little girls form two cliques based on accessories worn by tradition Can Can dancers, and Madeline is caught in the middle, much to her dismay.
Plot[]
On a windy day two artists are working on separate paintings by the Seine. Each depicts a Can Can dancer. A gust of wind blows the paintings together, and the artists like the outcome. The wind then blows the painting across Paris to the Boarding School. Madeline chases it.
For their daily walk, Ms. Clavel takes the girls to Montmarte, a section of Paris that once had many windmills. They visit the Moulin Rouge, a famous dancehall known for the Can Can dance. The Director of the Moulin Rouge announces that there is an upcoming competition. The Girls decide to enter the competition and start learning the Can Can.
Ms. Clavel takes the girls home to learn the basic Can Can dance and get acquainted to the music. The Girls find it difficult to dance in their school uniforms, so they make homemade dresses and petticoats that are up to Can Can standards. Yvette and Danielle are chosen to lead the dance, and both make a creative addition to their costumes based on what they saw from other dancers. Yvette wears black gloves shipped from the United States while Danielle fashions herself a feathered hat that gains her a lot of attention. She finds her feelings hurt when the jealous Yvette says Danielle's hat is silly, but Madeline tells her to not think anything of it.
At the dancehall for their first performance, the girls do well at first, but the dance proves to be difficult and tiring. Danielle is blinded when her hat blocks her vision, causing her to step on Yvette's foot. Danielle's hat falls off and as she's trying to retrieve her hat, Danielle and Yvette collide and they fall off the stage. The director mocks the failure, but encourages the Girls to work together. Madeline then recognizes the next group of Can Can dancers to be a famous experienced duo who perform perfectly. The Girls become inspired to try again, but Danielle and Yvette are now angry with each other.
The next morning during breakfast and while Ms. Clavel is out of the room, Yvette announces that she is starting a club of fellow dancers who can only wear long black gloves and whose names don’t start with D (obviously to exclude Danielle). Lulu and Nicole express interest in joining the club. Danielle is understandably hurt by her exclusion, so Madeline says she should find friends who won't ostracize her. Unfortunately, Danielle misinterprets Madeline's advice and starts her own club, exclusively for dancers with homemade hats and whose names don’t start with Y (obviously a ban on Yvette's membership). This angers Yvette and concerns Madeline.
Later the Girls conclude another practice and have significantly improved their dancing. Yvette goes to Madeline and expresses disappointment that she's still friendly with Danielle. She then announces they can't be friends. Hearing this, Lulu defects from the Long Black Gloves Club and joins Ellie in joining the Homemade Hat Club. Danielle admits them, on the condition that the duo end their friendship with Yvette. They agree on the condition that they can still be friends with Madeline and can have their dessert. Ms. Clavel observes this and becomes very concerned about the rise of the two cliques. Madeline fears the division will impact their performance.
As the Girls set off for the Dancehall, the two cliques have taken shape. Danielle leads the Homemade Hat Club with Chloe, Lulu, Monique, Nona and Ellie. Yvette leads the Long Black Gloves Club with Sylvie, Anne, Nicole and Janine. Madeline is the only unaffiliated dancer. Ms. Clavel says that their self-imposed isolation from each other won't be healthy, but the Girls use their mutual friendship with Madeline as cover, much to her chagrin.
The girls fight the whole way to the Dancehall, even over who will open the door. During the performance, Yvette and Danielle lead their cliques in opposition of each other which causes disarray. Everyone collides with each other during the cartwheeling segment, much to the Director's amusement and Ms. Clavel's distress.
Later that night, the Girls refuse to say grace together in harmony. Ms. Clavel wishes them to wake up the next morning friends again. Once she leaves, the Girls decide they can't sleep in their assigned positions anymore. They begin moving the beds around the bedroom, feuding with each other the whole time. Yvette and Danielle attempt to pressure Madeline into joining their respective clubs, but Madeline asserts she does not want to join either, and she expresses frustration with being caught in the middle of the argument.
The next day the Group can't get a taxi so they decide to walk to the Moulin Rouge. In another argument over which clique can pickup Madeline, the Girls bump into Ms. Clavel who drops the map she is using into the gutter, ruining it. Yvette and Danielle start another argument about who is at fault for the destroyed map. This prompts Ms. Clavel to strongly tell them to hush.
The Group becomes lost in a bleak neighborhood of Paris. The Girls once again argue about who is at fault for them being lost. Ms. Clavel finally puts her foot down and demands that the Girls cease their cliques. Madeline agrees with her and uses the example of the experienced duo dancers that they saw who supported each other. It becomes very cold in the alley, and the Girls huddle to stay warm. Yvette apologizes to Danielle for excluding her and Danielle apologizes to Yvette in turn for doing the same. The Girls apologize to each other for their animosity and especially to Madeline for putting her in the middle.
The Group is then approached by the very Can Can dancers they had seen earlier. They offer to guide the Group to the Moulin Rouge, if the Girls can dance as a team and have fun. The Group arrives at the Dancehall in time for their respective performances. The Girls begin their dance by casting away their gloves and hats, signaling the end of the cliques. They then give a stellar performance which is cheered on by the audience and the Director. The two Can Can dancers are very happy to see that the Girls have repaired their friendship and have mastered the Can Can.
The prize for winning the competition is a set of brand new Can Can dresses. But Madeline feels the dresses the Girls made together will suit them far better. Instead, the Girls sew the twelve child-sized dresses into three adult sized for the lady dancers and Ms. Clavel. The lady dancers then agree to help the Girls practice for next year's competition.
Song[]
Errors[]
- When she and the other girls break their bread the first time in this episode, Yvette's eyebrows disappear for a few seconds.
- When Danielle, Nona, Monique, Lulu, Ellie, and Chloe take their hats off, Anne, Yvette, Nicole, Janine, and Sylvie’s purple bows switch back to their normal yellow bows.
Trivia[]
- This is the first mention of Can Can Dancing in the series since Lost in Paris, in which former Can Can dancer Madame LaCroque was the central villain. Interestingly, no mention is made of her in the episode and Madeline has no trouble performing the dance.
- Moulin Rouge is a real cabaret in Paris that was founded in 1889. It's considered the birthplace of modern Can Can dancing.
- Can Can music was crafted by German-French musician Jacques Offenbach in the mid to late 1800s. He had a close relationship with French Emperor Napoleon III.
- It's revealed that Ms. Clavel has a great interest in dancing and considers it as an activity to be saved for her eventual retirement from teaching.
- This is one of a number of times when the iconic, "We love our bread, we love our butter, but most of all, we love each other," line is altered as the girls become less communal with each other.