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"Box Turtled In!" is the 5th episode of Season 4 of the PBS Kids show, Wild Kratts. It is the 97th episode of the series overall. It premiered on April 25, 2016.
In this episode, the team accidentally miniaturizes themselves and the Tortuga in search for the lost miniaturizer. Whilst miniaturized, the crew observes a box-turtle and its iconic defense mechanism. However, when a coyote carries the miniaturized Tortuga away and damages it, the ship's shell is put to the ultimate test. Using the Creature Powers of box-turtles and box turtle predators, the gang must rescue the miniaturizer and restore the Tortuga to normal size.
Synopsis[]
When the Wild Kratts’ Tortuga is accidentally miniaturized and carried off by a coyote, the mothership’s shell defense is finally put to the test. The gang embarks on a box turtle-style mission to get back to the Miniaturizer and restore the Tortuga to normal size.
Plot[]
The episode begins with a live-action segment. The Kratt brothers are in eastern North America during springtime, and analyze the defense mechanisms of wildlife, including the eastern box turtle. The one they come across is a baby, whose shell is fortunate enough to have hardened, protecting itself against predators. They soon ask their "What if?" question, and the show transitions into the cartoon segment.
The Wild Kratts are looking for the miniaturizer, which they left behind in the eastern North American forest during a previous adventure of theirs. They land the Tortuga in a small clearing, unaware that they are on top of the miniaturizer. The brothers head near the door to find the miniaturizer, declaring they'll be right back to yelling "miniaturize!" However, the miniaturizer reacts accordingly, shrinking the Tortuga and the crew down to turtle-size. They come across a box turtle, and, despite Jimmy's protests, check out a box turtle. To avoid getting eaten by the box turtle, they offer her fruit, and name her "Caja," the Spanish word for "box", similarly to the Tortuga's name being the Spanish word for "turtle."
However, the adventure ends when a coyote arrives, setting its sights on the box turtle. Caja instinctively hides in her shell, unintentionally closing the hinge on Jimmy's hand. The crew is able to get Jimm out and hide behind mushrooms, where they observe the coyote trying and failing to eat Caja in her shell. Unfortunately, due to Jimmy being allergic to mushrooms, he sneezes, giving the team away. They run back to the Tortuga, which is then carried off by the coyote away from the miniaturizer.
Meanwhile, Wild Kratts Kids, Aidan and Nolan are exploring the forest and they encounter Caja. They identify her as a female box turtle due to the flat plastron, in contrast to a cupped castron that male box turtles sport. They follow her, suspecting that she may be on her way to a nest. Elsewhere, the coyote takes the miniaturized Tortuga to his den and attempts to eat it. Jimmy puts the ship into lockdown mode. Aviva and Koki are confident in the ship's abilities, showcasing the inspiration they took from a real turtle's ability to hide in its shell, as well as its durability. However, the Kratts explain that the coyote is one of the few predators to successfully prey on box turtles, putting them at great risk. This is proven true when the shell takes high damage from the coyote's jaws. Jimmy takes the Tortuga on lockdown and takes off, eluding the coyote.
The team, seemingly safe, begins their course to fly back to the miniaturizer and return to normal size. Unfortunately, because of the coyote's attack, the flight module loses power, and thus the ship loses altitude and crash lands on a road. Koki's diagnostics revealed that the only abilities of the Tortuga are its walking powers, not unlike a real turtle's, which is slow. A dragonfly then appears and lands on the roof, giving the brothers the opportunity activate their Creature Power Suits with Dragonfly Powers in order to fly across the forest to rescue the miniaturizer. As the bros search, the Tortuga is nearly run over by a car, prompting Jimmy to go into lockdown mode. Many cars pass the road, only barely hitting the Tortuga. The crew decides to take the risk and cross the road, using the Tortuga's Creature Powers of walking, narrowly avoiding the vehicles. They're finally able to make it to the other side. But they're put endanger once again as a bald eagle, another turtle predator, snatches the Tortuga and flies off. Meanwhile, Aidan and Nolan try to prevent Caja from going across the road, but she is very persistent. As an alternative, they cross the pedestrian overpass. As they do so, they spot the mini-Tortuga being carried away, but brush it off as they continue to follow Caja.
The brothers are able to find the miniaturizer where they left it. They deactivate their Creature Power Suits and return to normal size. They soon get a call from Aiden and Nolan about their sighting of the Tortuga, and realize the predicament that the ship and their friends are in. They spread the word to all of the local Wild Kratts Kids, whilst the brothers themselves resolve to use the Creature Powers of box-turtle predators: Chris finds Bandito, the racoon, and activates Racoon Power, while Martin finds a peregrine falcon near a cliff, and activates Peregrine Falcon Power.
As the search goes on, the eagle carries the Tortuga near the river, with the shell potentially defenseless against the impact of a fall, or a further attack from the raptor. In his Falcon Power Suit, Martin is able to find the bald eagle with the Tortuga and tries convincing her to drop it. He mobs the eagle until she finally drops the ship.. Jimmy re-activates the lockdown as the ship falls into the forest, too fast for Martin to catch. Luckily, Chris is able to catch the Tortuga, but loses it to a hungry racoon, that mistakes it for a real turtle. Chris drops the Tortuga on an anthill, where predatory fire ants slip through the hinges of the shell. The ant colony corners the crew on the roof of the ship, and are noticed by Aidan and Nolan. After being tipped off by the kids, Chris safely secures the crew, while Martin shakes all of the fire-ants out of the Tortuga.
Soon, the crew and the Tortuga are returned to normal size, just in time to see Caja making a nest to lay her eggs in. 3 months later, in the fall, Caja's first litter of box turtles hatch.
The show transitions into the concluding live action segment. The Kratt brothers describe the many threats to a box turtle, in spite of its defense mechanism, such as coyotes, fire-ants, many species of bears, and cars. Despite this, they concur the effectiveness and durability of a box turtle's shell. They go over the two different parts of the shell; the carapace and the plastron, that help form the box turtle's defense. Besides the shell, the brothers observe the omnivorious feeding behaviors of the turtle, and experiments with which fruit their turtle friend likes the best. Much to their chagrin, the box turtle goes after a worm. Afterward, the Kratt brothers conclude the episode by saying "Keep on creature adventuring; we’ll see you on the creature trail!"
Characters[]
- Chris Kratt
- Martin Kratt
- Aviva Corcovado
- Koki
- Jimmy Z
- Aidan
- Nolan
- Gavin
- Ronan
- Katie
- Sani
- Unnamed boy
Animals[]
Animation[]
Note: Featured animals are in bold.
- Box Turtle: Caja
- Raccoon: Bandito
- European Honey Bee
- Coyote
- Bald Eagle
- Globe Skimmer (called Dragonfly)
- Peregrine Falcon
- Red Imported Fire Ant (called Fire ant)
Mentioned[]
Note: Mentioned animals are linked to Wikipedia.
Live Action[]
Note: Live action animals are linked to Wikipedia.
- Gila monster
- Groundhog
- Pronghorn
- North American porcupine
- Hooded skunk
- American black bear (called Bear)
- Earthworm (called Worm)
Trivia[]
- It is revealed that Jimmy is allergic to mushrooms.
- This is the first episode where the Tortuga is miniaturized.
- The Tortuga got its name from the Spanish word for the turtle.
- This is the first time the Tortuga's walking mode has ever been used, although it was briefly seen walking on its own in "Rattlesnake Crystal".
- When the Kratt Brothers insert their Dragonfly Power Discs, they vocally narrate their action for the first time in the series. This is carried over from the live-show (released in between Seasons 3 and 4) where the brothers narrate their insertion of the Creature Power Discs (as well as their touching of the creature and activation of their suit).
- This is the first appearance of Bandito, the raccoon that was previously mentioned in the Season 3 episode, "Bandito: The Black-Footed Ferret."
- Prior to this episode, Bandito made an appearance in the mobile game Creature Math, marking this the second episode to feature an animal that previously debuted in that game, followed by the Season 2 episode, "Journey to the Subnivean Zone."
- This is the first and, so far, only appearance of Bandito in the series proper.
- Prior to this episode, Bandito made an appearance in the mobile game Creature Math, marking this the second episode to feature an animal that previously debuted in that game, followed by the Season 2 episode, "Journey to the Subnivean Zone."
- This is the second episode where a character sneezes and gives them away by an animal following "Journey to the Subnivean Zone."
- There is an animation error during the activation sequence of the Dragonfly Power Suits: Chris' leg flashes blue, before it transforms into a dragonfly leg, which is green.
Key Facts and Creature Moments[]
- Box turtles are omnivores.
- Box turtles have a shell hinge that closes shut to protect their heads and front legs.
- Box turtles use their shells for protection against predators. Even though it's a great defense, there are still some animals that can kill or eat box turtles.
- Coyotes and raccoons will often attempt to pry open box turtle shells when they're in hiding inside. They aren't successful most of the time.
- The biggest threat to box turtles are cars. Their shells aren't strong enough to withstand such high amounts of pressure, and their slow maneuverability makes them even more vulnerable.
- Golden eagles in some parts of the world are known to carry turtles into the air and drop them onto hard rocks to crack their shells open.
- Fire ants can kill box turtles by going into small spaces to enter their shells.
- Turtles have a hard time getting back up when they are flipped onto their backs. Those that aren't able to fixate themselves will often die.
- A box turtle laying eggs in the ground.
- Box turtle hatchlings emerging from their underground nest.
- Aviva, Koki, and Jimmy learn the hard way that a Box Turtle's defensive shell isn't always 100% predator-proof.
Gallery[]
