When the carnival comes to Townsville, everyone is as happy as humanly possible. All except for Lou Gubrious, a miserable man, who spends all his time crying, and wants to make everyone feel sad all the time.
Synopsis[]
A carnival has arrived in Townsville, and everyone is happy until the tearful Lou Gubrious uses his machine called the Miser-Ray to switch everyone's happiness with his depression and misery. Later on, everyone is affected by the effects of the Miser-Ray.
Lou Gubrious
At the happy competition, The Mayor announced that the happiest citizen in Townsville is Bubbles. Then the Miser-Ray affects the entire audience, breaking them down into tears. Blossom asks "What's goin' on, Professor?" and Utonium immediately knows what the exact cause of everyone's depression and misery is. The talking dog is puzzled at how he knows that. Buttercup provides the explanation "He's the Professor! He knows everything!". Blossom cries, "I don't like it!". Then Lou Gubrious, now known as Hal Larious, comes in and swipes Bubbles' trophy. Bubbles then breaks down into tears as well.
Hal Larious
The Professor surmises that they must make someone laugh, or all of Townsville will drown in a sea of tears. After a backfired attempt at stand-up comedy on the part of the Girls due to them being too sad to perform any funny punchlines onstage, at the end, the tables are turned on Larious when he slips back into Gubrious on a peel from Bubbles' banana as he is walking away from the "City of Frownsville", as he calls it, causing everyone to laugh at his misfortune and the happiness to be restored. In the end, Bubbles is awarded the Happiest Citizen In Townsville award for the 6th consecutive year, while Gubrious was sentenced to community service at the carnival as punishment for his crimes.
It's revealed in this episode that Bubbles has won the title of happiest citizen of Townsville six years running, which is likely a reference to the series running for six seasons.
This also implies that the girls are six years old, which makes sense given that they're in kindergarten, and kindergarteners tend to be six.
This is one of three episodes to have a pun on "the city of Townsville," the other two being City of Clipsville and City of Nutsville, this one and City of Nutsville having something bad happening to the entire city (an unaired clip of Professor Utonium accidentally turning the whole Townsville population into babies, though not himself, was shown in City of Clipsville, though).
Bubbles' hat.
Bubbles wears a large hat piled with fruits and flowers, with a broad sash tied under her chin while holding it in place for the majority of the episode.
This is one of two episodes where food or any other inanimate object is additionally credited for saving the day (a banana straight) along with the Powerpuff Girls, the other being "Octi Gone" (a contaminated banana cream pie).
A pigeon crying with Bubbles holding a banana peel is a reference to a song by Prince titled "When Doves Cry".
Professor Utonium says "Crying is easy, comedy is hard" which is a reference to Edmund Kean's quote "Dying is easy, comedy is hard".
Lou Gubrious mentions the episode title in one scene, where he decides to rename Townsville to Frownsville ("You know, Townsville is such a silly name. From now one, I think I'll call it The City of Frownsville!").
This is one of several episodes where the Narrator says his ending catchphrase differently:
"And so once again, the happy day was happily saved, by the very happy Powerpuff Girls! And a banana."
Errors[]
When Lou Gubrious/Hal Larious slips on the banana peel, his eye gets sore but when he is at the carnival, it is cured.
The Professor raises his hand saying that they have five minutes left, but he only has four fingers.
