"Balancing Act" is the thirty-eighth episode of 101 Dalmatian Street. It premiered on Disney Channel UK on February 6, 2020 and premiered on Disney XD in the United States on July 12, 2021[1].
Summary
Dolly gets trapped on top of a crate suspended by a crane.
Plot
It is a rainy day outside and Dolly is entertaining not just herself, but also the other pups, by skateboarding around the house. However, she shreds Doug's face off of the family portrait with her skateboard. Dylan is cleaning around the house when he almost accidentally vacuums the remains of paper showing Doug's face. When Delilah enters the room, she thinks Dylan purposely vacuumed Doug's face off the picture. Dylan is frustrated at Dolly for carelessly ripping a piece of the portrait and Delilah blames him for that. The rain stops, and the pups go outside to play. While Dolly jumps on her trampoline, a crane carrying a large metal box suddenly hovers over the neighborhood. All the pups stare at the thing in awe. Dolly sees the box as the "ultimate climbing challenge." Reasonably, Dylan knows Dolly's idea is not going to go well. Dolly makes leaps and bounds on objects of the Dalmatians' property until she runs on the surface of the crane. Dolly lands on the box and the pups applaud for her. Suddenly, the construction worker inside the machine pulls a lever, causing the box moves higher and higher.
Dolly takes no notice of the danger and risk she is getting into until there is a clang from the machine. The construction worker takes a break from his duty. The box moves back and forth and Dolly dangerously slips on the edges. The motion of the box even breaks into houses and neighborhood property. Dylan and Dawkins call Doug for help using the World Wide Woof. However, Doug is listening to a video with headphones in the fire station, blocking out the World Wide Woof. The box is still swinging back and forth. Dylan encourages Dolly so stay still to reduce the risk of damage.
Dolly gets bored to sleep as Dylan reads space facts to her. She slips to the edge of the box when she falls asleep. Dylan tries other things to keep Dolly collected, such as reviewing next week's cleaning schedule and trying to speak "skate." Dolly then laughs at him, which causes her to again slip to the edge of the crate. Then Dolly is hungry, and it doesn't help when Clarissa tantalizes her when she receives a big, juicy steak from her owner. She throws the steak at Dolly, causing her to run on the crate. Dolly misses the piece of steak, unfortunately, and the crate crashes into Clarissa's window.
Dylan decides to use D.J. for backup. The music is calming, but too calming because it is lulling Dolly to sleep. She slips on the edge of the crate. D.J. switches the music to energizing techno, waking Dolly up. Dolly and Dylan are screaming in panic because of her dangling right off the edge of the crate. Meanwhile, Constantin has called officer Pearl to witness the damage the swinging crate has done to his property. Then it starts to rain. The rain makes the surface of the crate more slippery, making climbing on top harder for Dolly. Using a trampoline and wearing an astronaut helmet, Dylan sets himself onto the opposite edge of the crate.
Dolly finally confesses that she ripped Doug's face off of the family portrait. Meanwhile, the construction worker returns and goes back to work on the machine. Dolly makes other confessions to Dylan while the crate is being lowered in the rain. Dylan soon forgives Dolly for letting him take the blame of those situations. They finally hold paws just as the crate touches the ground. Doug arrives home and wonders what happened to his face in the portrait. Dolly jokes about who would do such a thing before giggling and running away mischievously.
Cast
- Josh Brener as Dylan
- Michaela Dietz as Dolly
- Rhashan Stone as Doug
- Ella Kenion as Delilah
- Nefeli Karakosta as Dizzy
- Florrie Wilkinson as Dee Dee
- Rhys Isaac-Jones as Dawkins
- Rocco Wright as Dimitri Trio
- Kyle Soller as Dante
- Harriet Carmichael as Clarissa
- Tameka Empson as Pearl
- Rufus Jones as Constantin
Trivia
- This is the second episode where Dolly tunes out Dylan's "nerdspeak" with "blah blah blah". The first time being in "Poodlewolf".
- So far, this is the only episode in which Dawkins refers to Doug as "Dad" rather than by name.
References
