[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
[FATHER SIGHS]
[EXCLAIMING IN ANNOYANCE]
[UTENSILS CLATTERING]
Honey, it's family hour,
there must be something on.
DAUGHTER: Oh, wow, Candied Critters!
[FATHER EXCLAIMS]
Oh, Great. It's Monsters, our favorite show!
[MONSTROUS LAUGH] [SHUSHING]
It's starting.
[MONSTROUS LAUGH]
[FATHER CHUCKLES]
Oh, of course, there's nothing to it.
It's... It's ridiculous,
but when we get a complaint like this,
we do have to investigate.
I understand.
Some people like to stick their noses in where they don't belong,
trying to make trouble.
They have no respect for family.
Have another. Oh, thank you.
Cindy, wipe your feet.
Come say hello.
I said, wipe you feet.
You remember Mrs. Rogers.
She's your case-worker, so try to be pleasant.
Hello, Mrs. Rogers.
Hello, Sandy.
Cindy.
Have you come to take me away?
Now, now.
It's natural for a foster child to fear rejection.
No, Candy, I'm not here to take you away so don't worry about that.
You're a lucky girl to have a home here with the Ellers.
It's a good, stable environment.
But I... Cindy.
Mrs. Rogers needs more coffee.
MRS. ROGERS: No, thank you, really, I don't.
Well, don't just stand there.
They said something about some bruises.
[CLICKS TONGUE]
The way she rides that bike.
We really should take it away from her. [CHUCKLES]
I apologize again, Mrs. Ellers, for taking up your time.
Since the gym teacher reported that she had bruises,
I had to inquire.
It's just a formality.
Like I say, the kid's clumsy.
It's really too bad because Ward is such an athlete.
But it's not as though she was a real daughter.
Oh, not that we don't love her.
Watch it.
[SIGHS] We do the best we can.
We give and give.
That's the kind of people we are.
So, I hear you like to ride your bike.
I can't.
Why can't you?
Well...
It's broken.
Cindy, why don't you show Mrs. Rogers your pet?
We even let her keep a rat.
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
Oh, isn't that thunder?
Rosie isn't a rat, she's a hamster.
Just show it to Mrs. Rogers.
I can't. You said she had to stay in for two days this time.
You said if I took her out, you would...
Forget what I said. Just go get it.
Rosie, it's okay.
Yeah, I'm here.
This is Rosie.
She's my only friend.
Ah! Yes, she's, uh... Mm.
Well, I must be going now.
[THUNDERCLAP]
Damn it! Ugh!
Ward, this is Cindy's social worker.
I'm just leaving. It's so nice to see you.
Thank you so much, Mrs. Ellers.
Bye, now. Bye.
The hell did she want?
What do you think?
One of the teachers complained. You and your bad temper.
What are you gonna do? You're gonna wag your finger all night long?
Great! Great! Great.
Don't you gotta get dinner ready before we lose the power completely!
Damn!
I don't suppose anybody around here heard the weather report. [SCOFFS]
[HAMSTER WHEEL CLANKING]
[TV BLARING]
What's the matter with this now?
Nothing right around here.
Nothing is ever right.
Nothing. Nothing!
Nothing!
[HAMSTER WHEEL CLANKING]
[BANGING]
Ugh! I can't even hear myself think!
[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
What the hell's the matter with everybody around here?
[HAMSTER WHEEL CLANKING]
Ow!
WARD: Stupid!
[HAMSTER WHEEL CLANKING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
You!
No!
[GROWLS] [CINDY SCREAMS]
Get the DustBuster.
I want this place cleaned up now!
But she's dead. You killed her.
For God's sake, if it's dead, toss it.
You can't keep a dead rat. That's final.
She's not a rat, she's a hamster.
You heard your mother.
She's not my mother.
What?
You're not my parents.
What did you say?
I hate you.
What did you say? No!
I hate you.
JUNE: Ward, no.
You know what kind of trouble we got into last time.
One of these days, you're gonna go too far.
Shut up.
Don't provoke your father.
I can't imagine what you expect to achieve in this world
with such a negative attitude.
Damn raccoons must be playing with the antenna again.
JUNE: Wait!
Take this out to the barn with the rest of the junk.
[SLITHERING]
All right, you little...
[FEET PATTERING]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
Help...
[GROWLING] [YELPS IN FRIGHT]
Put it in the trash.
Wrap it good so the garbage man won't notice.
They don't take dead animals in the landfill.
I remember when I tried to give him that stupid cat Fluffy
after Ward ran over it in the Land Rover. [LAUGHS]
I swear, Ward told me that when we were getting a foster kid,
it would be like having a live-in maid.
WARD: June, come out to the barn.
[VACUUM CLEANER WHIRRING] My blood pressure rised...
Ward?
What does he want?
Sittin' right out.
WARD: June.
Come on here.
Well, what do you want?
June!
JUNE: You, wash the broccoli.
When I get back, I want food on this table.
If the dinner's cold,
it's not gonna be my fault.
Oh, Rosie.
Please don't die. [DOOR SHUTS]
I'll protect you from them next time.
I promise.
Please don't leave me alone.
They're so mean.
[THUNDERCLAP]
What are you doing?
Rosie!
Any brain damage?
A natural genetic deficiency, I would say.
A peculiar evolution on this planet... [SNIFFS]
[BOTH SNIFFING]
Food!
I thought she was dead.
Yes. Only temporary.
Where can I put her? You threw her cage away.
She was caged?
Why?
You should let her run around free.
Okay, Rosie, go, hide. Quick.
I know the food's cold, and I'm really sorry.
I saw something outside before.
Some kind of weird lights.
What was out there?
What do you mean?
I mean, outside.
JUNE: There are peculiar meteorological patterns here,
much like those in Apodemus.
Wouldn't you say so, Ward?
[CHUCKLING] You talk too much.
[GRUNTING]
Are you guys feeling okay?
Mmm. Terrific.
Terrific!
What?
[CHUCKLING]
Mmm. Look at this.
Mmm. But I washed it really well.
Are there any more?
Uh, I don't know. I'll check the garden.
Mmm.
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[EERIE MUSIC PLAYING]
[SCREAMS]
You think she noticed?
I behaved normally.
WARD: Yeah. [CHUCKLES]
You always have to talk, don't you, huh?
[CHUCKLES]
Always say nothing.
That's the safest way.
Like you, huh?
You acted like a... a robot.
A zombie.
This could be it.
[GASPS] A sound-image synthesizer.
WARD: Sure. This is their inter-nest communicator.
Well, go ahead. You like to play with that thing. Nullify it.
[BUZZING]
[EXPLOSION]
[DOOR OPENS]
Aliens in the barn!
Gross!
I... Like giant rats!
I saw them. I saw their spaceship!
We know.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
WARD: Stop her.
[BUZZING]
We, uh...
[STAMMERS] We can't let you go.
[DOOR LOCKS]
[DIAL TONE]
[PUNCHING NUMBERS]
CINDY: Help me, please! It's my parents.
They're not my parents!
They're... they're...
JUNE: Feeling better?
I was dreaming.
Was it a good dream?
Yes, it was the time we were at the mus...
Hey. Wait a minute. What happened?
There, there. You found out about us and you fainted.
We're very sorry. We didn't mean to upset you.
In the barn, I saw creatures like...
That's... That's us!
Those are us.
Our bodies.
We parked our bodies in the barn,
and borrowed these so we could blend in.
We didn't want you to know we were here.
You borrowed their bodies?
Yes.
And I'm sorry, Cindy, you can't tell anyone.
It's against the rules.
You're really not her, are you?
Your mother?
No.
But please, don't get upset again.
She's safe.
Her essence of...
I think you call it her "mind,"
is stored in my body out in the barn.
She's sleeping.
You mean she's dead.
No!
She's sleeping.
Your father, too.
They're fine, really.
Believe me.
But how can you do that?
Changing bodies.
That's easy.
A bio-mix.
What's this red button?
No, mustn't touch that.
That's the nixer.
The nixer?
The disntegrator.
Poof!
I don't really like it and I don't think that you need it.
But sometimes, when you end up in a, mm,
funny little out-of-the-way town like this
and you find yourself stranded...
You're stranded?
Oh, no.
Oh... No, no, no. We're just fine.
It's only a little timer problem.
My mate will fix it.
[BUZZING]
There he is now.
I've got to go.
Goodbye, Cindy.
Wait! I wanna come with you.
So that's where you came from.
Yes. See that little point of...
[SNAPS FINGER] Wait. That's not it.
I'm not... Oh. I'm turned around.
Well, anyway,
we're a long way from home.
But we'll be on our way soon,
and then you'll have your own parents back,
and everything will be just the way it was.
I promise you, Cindy, this will all seem like a... Just a bad dream.
As soon as we get that ship started...
No way.
Time override.
It's shot.
You mean...
That's right.
We're not gonna be going any place.
I'm afraid this is it, old girl.
Oh, no.
Oh, my dearest.
I guess we'll never see home again.
No more green twilights of the Matio park. Remember?
Burrowing for slugs in the leaf mold,
while we watched the moons come up.
JUNE: And the grandchildren.
I'll never get to smooth their little whiskers again.
I don't understand.
You're stuck?
Well, you can stay here with me.
I can help you.
Oh, thank you very much, Cindy, but that's impossible.
We can't go anywhere, we can't stay here...
We're gonna have to discorporate.
You mean, die?
JUNE: Yes, dear, I'm afraid so.
You see, our real bodies can't survive long in this atmosphere.
It's too dry.
But you could find other bodies.
Well, we could, but... it'll be wrong.
Cindy, you've probably never even left home,
let alone been off of your own planet,
so this might be hard for you to understand,
but, tourism has its rules,
and as tourists, we respect life
even in its strangest forms.
Now, Principle 12 of the Universal Code
states it clearly.
We may not steal bodies
of other intelligent lifeforms.
But what about a stupid lifeform?
[LAUGHS]
That's a kind thought, Cindy, but...
I'm a little too old to start thinking about
beginning life all over as a guppy.
It's not so tragic, Cindy.
We are old.
Our last litter left the nest years ago.
We've had full and happy lives.
And we wish the same for you
and your parents.
Cindy, uh...
Would you mind if we had a moment alone?
I don't know. I don't know...
My parents?
Would you nix us, please?
We'd like to go out together.
No, but I don't want you guys to go.
You saved Rosie.
Well, I mean, I know you're really giant rats from outer space,
and some people might think that's so gross,
but they don't know you and I think you're really nice.
Would you please do this for us?
It would mean so much to us if we could die together.
All right, Cindy.
This button will wake up your parents.
It's inconvenient, I know, but they must be awake to make the transfer.
This button will switch all of us back into our own bodies.
Now...
This red button...
This is the nix button.
After we're all into our own bodies,
you point the machine at us, and press it.
You got that?
Got it.
Good. Bye, Cindy.
[BUZZING]
[SCREECHING]
[BUZZING]
[EXPLOSION]
Oh, dear!
Wrong button.
Oh, Cindy.
Your parents...
[GROANS] Oh, what tragic accident.
Cindy, that...
That's it. I...
I... I can't fix them.
It's okay.
I better get the DustBuster and clean up this mess.
[DOORBELL RINGS]
MRS. ROGERS: Good morning, Candy.
Thank you. Are your parents at home?
CINDY: Mmm-hmm. Come in.
Mom, Dad, Mrs. Rogers is here.
Oh, Mrs. Rogers. Come in.
Have a nibble, Mrs. Rogers.
Cheddar, Swiss, Tilsit? Oh... [SNAPS FINGER]
Have a donut.
No, thank you, Mrs. Ellers, I can't stay.
I came by to drop off the papers.
I don't know...
What's wrong?
Dad, it's your turn. Well...
You've changed the rug.
I knew there was something different.
I always notice these things.
Perhaps just a donut.
Oh, by the way,
congratulations. The way for the adoption is cleared.
Oh, you know, Mrs. Ellers and Mr. Ellers,
it's moments like these that make my job so satisfying.
And you, Corky,
how does it feel to be a part of a real family?
[PLAYFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]