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"Race Around the World" is an Athletic-themed episode of The Backyardigans from the first season. It is also the third episode of the series to be released exclusively on DVD in the United States. CharactersSummary"It's racing day, and Austin is prepared. Unlike his friends (and competitors) Uniqua, Pablo, and Tyrone, he has never won a gold medal. The referee (Tasha) starts the race, and Zydeco tunes spur them on as they dash around the globe. Who will be the first to break the tape at the finish line?" PlotAustin comes out of the fence, dividing his house from the other characters' houses, wearing a black belt, yelling, "On your mark, get set, go!" and begins to run. Austin stops running to greet the viewer. He explains how races start and pretends to begin a race. He then admits that he has never won a race, though he has yearned to for a long time, and thinks that he will win the upcoming "Race Around the World," even though the Race is the most difficult ever. Austin begins to sing the song "Racing Day." Tasha appears and tells Austin that the Race Around the World is going to begin. Tasha asks Austin about the race pack that he is wearing around his waist. Austin tells her that it is everything a racer needs to be prepared for inside. The backyard transforms into a forest while Austin is wearing a blue jogging suit, and Tasha is in a white and orange uniform. The starting line for the Race Around the World is shown. Tasha explains to Austin the 4 phases of the Race as indicated by the overhead banner: Run and jump through the forest. Snowboard through the mountains. Paddle across the ocean. Hike across the desert. From her referee podium, Tasha announces each of the racers, one at a time. Austin's fellow competitors are also wearing jogging suits. First, Tasha introduces Pablo and announces that Pablo has already won a gold medal in a running race. Second, she introduces Tyrone and announces that he has already won a gold medal for a snowboarding race. And third, she introduces Uniqua and announces that she has already won a gold medal for paddling in a kayak race. Austin notices that he's the only racer with no medal, so Tasha introduces Austin as a brand-new racer and points out that even though he's never won a medal, he is prepared. Austin joins the others at the starting line, and they all wish him good luck while a whistle is blown to mark the beginning of the Race. The characters sing a reprise of "Racing Day." Tasha yells, "On your mark, get set, go!" as the racers begin running. Pablo runs into the lead pretty quickly, while Uniqua and Tyrone are close behind him, and Austin is at the back. They sing, "Go, Go, Go!" Then they reached the hurdles. Pablo jumps over them pretty easily, while Tyrone gets over the first one okay, but slightly bumps the second one, and then almost knocks over the last one. Then Uniqua Keeps bumping the hurdles as she jumps over them, and on the last one, she falls and hurts her knee. Austin spots her and after jumping over the hurdles, takes a bandage out of the pack on his belt. He gives it to Uniqua and tells her that he is always prepared. Pablo arrives at the end of the forest and finds a snowy area. He walks over to a pile of snowboards and picks one up. He also puts on his snowboarding gear. Pablo sets off on the snowy slope, but wobbles a little. The camera moves to Uniqua, Tyrone, and Austin, who arrive in the snowy area. They put on their snowboarding gear and begin snowboarding. Tyrone gets ahead of Pablo and gets in the lead. He begins singing, "Snow is Cold, But I Am Cool." The other characters also sing as Uniqua also gets ahead of Pablo and gets in second place. Then there was trouble: Pablo accidentally snowboards over the edge of a cliff and holds on to the edge of a sign. Austin appears and spots Pablo. He takes a rope out of the pack on his belt and hands it to Pablo. Austin pulls Pablo up. Pablo thanks him. Austin tells Pablo that he is always prepared and the two begin snowboarding again. Now in the lead, Tyrone arrives at the end of the snowy area and reaches the ocean. He grabs a canoe and a paddle and sets off into the ocean. Uniqua, Pablo, and Austin do so as well. Tyrone is shown paddling wobbly. Uniqua and Pablo pass Tyrone. Tyrone tries to paddle harder to catch up, though there was trouble: it causes him to lose his grip on the paddle, and it flows away. Tyrone's canoe heads straight for some pointy rocks. Austin spots Tyrone's lost paddle and takes a metal hook out of his pack. He uses the hook to retrieve the paddle and gives it to Tyrone, saving him from hitting the rocks. Tyrone thanks Austin and takes the paddle. Austin tells him he is always prepared as the two paddle to land. Uniqua arrives at the desert and starts hiking, and Pablo arrives shortly after and starts hiking too. Tyrone also arrives and starts hiking, leaving Austin to be the last one to arrive at the desert. Now last again, Austin sings "Austin's Lament," feeling that he may not have a chance to win the Race, but he isn't going to give up and keeps on going. Feeling hot and thirsty, he takes a water bottle from his pack and drinks from it. Feeling reenergized, he keeps hiking and spots the other racers sitting and panting near a cactus, because the desert is so hot and dry, and they're so thirsty. He takes out the water bottle from his pack and gives it to the others for a drink. They thank Austin for helping them once again. Now, the competitors are ready to begin racing again. They cross the desert and spot the finish line in the forest up ahead. The four of them dash to the finish line, but the tape pushes them back. They try again, but they cannot get the tape to break as it is too strong. Austin takes a pair of scissors from his pack and cuts the tape with them. He has now won the Race, and is awarded a gold medal by Tasha. The other competitors cheer for Austin. Pablo's stomach growls. Tasha asks Austin if he has any snacks in his race pack, but he does not. Uniqua mentions that her mother baked chocolate chip cookies that day, and she invites the other characters over to her house to eat them. The forest transforms back into the backyard as they sing the end song and head to Uniqua's house for a snack. Austin opens the previously closed door and sings, "Dunt-da-dah!" before reclosing the door.Roles
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