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"Masked Bandits" is the 29th episode of Season 1 of the PBS Kids show Wild Kratts. It is the 29th episode of the series overall. It premiered on October 25, 2011.
In this episode, while the Kratt brothers think about a Creature Power Suit they want to use as a costume for a costume party they and the other Wild Kratts are planning, the rest of the crew notices unusual things going on in the Tortuga. When the Kratt brothers come back and hear about this, they get excited, thinking that this was caused by a creature. After gathering some useful and not-so-useful evidence, they discover a family of raccoons and their mother, who was enlarged by the Miniaturizer.
Plot[]
The episode begins with a live-action segment. At night, some things mess up the Kratt brothers's camp as they talk about spooky animals. Afterward, they ask their "What if?" question, and the show transitions into the cartoon segment.
The Kratt brothers are deciding what creature they want to power up as for a costume party their teammates are preparing when they hear wolves in the distance. They approach the wolf pack, but they have to leave after the wolves smell them out. Aviva orders Jimmy to grab a screwdriver down in the Tortuga's garage. Inside the garage, Jimmy hears and sees an eight-eyed monster. After he runs out of the garage screaming, the eight-eyed monster reveals itself as a mother raccoon and her three kits. After hearing what Jimmy has to say, the Kratt brothers, now extremely interested, drag their teammates into the garage. Unbeknownst to them, the family of raccoons plays with the Miniaturizer, which causes the mother to enlarge.
The Kratt brothers find out that the eight-eyed monster is an omnivore, and they drag the crew upstairs after hearing rustling from above. Upstairs, they find out that tracks left by the creature lead to the outside. The crew splits off: Chris and Koki stay in the Tortuga, Martin and Aviva exit the Tortuga, and Jimmy places his controller in a safe. While he was not looking, the raccoons open Jimmy's safe. Then, Chris and Koki hear a sound from the garage. Once inside the garage, they sneak up on their Createrra. Inside, they find three raccoons.
Meanwhile, Martin and Aviva are able to track down the mother raccoon. To lure the enlarged mother back to the Miniaturizer, Martin puts on a hat covered in food. Jimmy turns on the Miniaturizer, and the mother returns to normal size. The Kratt brothers activate Raccoon Powers and bring the raccoon family to a vacant raccoon den in a tree. In the end, the Wild Kratts celebrate their costume party.
The show transitions into the ending live action segment. The Kratt brothers continue hearing messed-up sounds, so they decide to follow a trail of food, which leads them to some raccoons. Afterward, the Kratt brothers conclude the episode by saying "Keep on creature adventuring; we'll see you on the creature trail!"
Characters[]
Animals[]
Animation[]
Note: Featured animals are in bold.
- Raccoon: Momma Raccoon
- Gray Wolf
- Blue Yabby (called crayfish)
Live Action Images and Videos[]
Note: Live action animals are linked to Wikipedia.
- American mink (called mink)
- North American river otter (called otter)
- Greyish jumping spider (called spider)
- Burst horned baboon tarantula
Live Action[]
Note: Live action animals are linked to Wikipedia.
- Chilean rose tarantula (called Chilean rose hair tarantula)
- Great horned owl
Trivia[]
- This episode reveals that the Miniaturizer does not only work on humans but on objects and animals too.
- At the beginning of this episode, Martin mentions dressing up as a sloth for the costume party. Later on in Season 2, Aviva would invent a Sloth Disc for the Creature Power Suit.
- Even though the word Halloween is never said, this is meant to be a Halloween episode.
Key Facts and Creature Moments[]
- Raccoons are nocturnal, are omnivores, have paws that resemble hands, are smart, have sensitive hearing, are good swimmers and climbers, and can get into tight places.
- Raccoons have hands with a strong sense of touch they use to navigate surroundings and for inspecting food, they can even wash their hands and food in water too.
- Some animals, like raccoons, tend to move towards areas settled by humans because they are guaranteed protection, abundant food, and other resources.
- Raccoons can survive well in urban areas thanks to their intelligence, adaptability, omnivorous diet and their ability to climb fast and squeeze into tight spaces, as well as stealing food from from human garbage.
- Raccoons sometimes forage for food in small family groups.