Animo Crackers

Animo Crackers is the forty-fifth episode of Ben 10: Omniverse.

Plot
At Plumber Headquarters in the cells, Dr. Animo is talking to himself (though, mainly to his stuffed mutant animals) about being locked up again for trying to rule over the world. Dr. Animo continues talking until one of his stuffed animals that has a human head suddenly starts talking. Dr. Animo jumps back in shock and wants to know if the toy is really talking. The toy simply replies "obviously" and reveals a device that shocks and says that they are leaving.

At a higher area of Plumber HQ, Ben is drinking soda and eating chili fries and Magister Patelliday walks up to him, saying that others are trying to work. Ben messes around with the controls and accidentally presses one, with Patelliday telling him that monitor duty is important. Rook suddenly appears, saying that he has been watching Ben's movies, but finds them confusing. Ben and Rook then leave from the monitor room and they talk about the movie Rook watched. Back down in the cells, Dr. Animo remarks that he doesn't remember building the toy and the toy says that he will. After the toy unlocks the cell, he and Dr. Animo both leave from it. Dr. Animo accidentally sets off the alarms, which soon catches attention of the Plumbers. Patelliday informs Ben that Dr. Animo has escaped. Ben thought they fixed the cells so that Dr. Animo cannot escape again and Patelliday says that Blukic and Driba supervised the renovation. Dr. Animo and the toy continue running, dodging blasts from a turret and get cut off near a bridge. Dr. Animo picks up the toy and it fires eye lasers at the turret, destroying it. Suddenly, the toy tells Dr. Animo to stop and hide in a corner and Plumbers can be seen running by. The toy tells Dr. Animo to run and the Plumbers spot them. Dr. Animo runs to the elevator and uses the toy to fire lasers and destroy the bridge, stopping the Plumbers from getting to them. They head down the elevator and the toy starts counting, confusing Dr. Animo. At that time, Ben, Rook, and Magister Patelliday are seen on the far other side. Dr. Animo puts his hands up and the toy says it's right on schedule. The toy says that Ben will try to transform into Humungousaur but, instead, will get Upgrade. Ben transforms into Upgrade, which was exactly what the toy had predicted. The toy gives Dr. Animo a device and he throws it at Upgrade, which shocks him with an electromagnetic pulse (which is dangerous to Galvanic Mechamorphs as seen in Outbreak) and it reverts him back into Ben. Dr. Animo escapes into the elevator and notices that the toy has stayed behind. The toy says that it will see him later and the toy lifts up the elevator, flying out of Plumber HQ. Ben and Rook board the Proto-TRUK and Rook is still focused on the movie he has watched.

In a forest, Dr. Animo exits from the crashed elevator and notices that the toy is not moving. However, Dr. Animo hears a voice nearby and it is revealed to be himself from the future. Dr. Animo is shocked to hear this and notices that his future self is in a gorilla body. Dr. Animo asks his future self if he knows everything that is going to happen, to which Future Dr. Animo replies "mostly". Dr. Animo then wants to know why his future self came back to the past and Future Dr. Animo says that the government of his time has been working on the ARC Project (Archival Renominate Codex). He then explains that it is a collection of DNA samples from all of Earth's species in the event of a mass extinction. Dr. Animo is excited to hear this and plans that he and his future self will finally rule the world. Suddenly,  Chrono Spanner  appears and flies toward the Dr. Animos. Ben and Rook arrive at the forest and they both hear a grunt. Spanner has taken out the present Dr. Animo and intends to go after the future one. Future Dr. Animo grabs Spanner's leg, but Spanner fires an lazer at his head. Dr. Animo gets back to his feet and he and his future self prepare to attack Spanner. Rook recognizes the present Dr. Animo, but not the future one. Ben remembers Future Dr. Animo from back then, but he and Rook don't recognize Spanner. However, Spanner notices Ben while the Dr. Animos attempt to split up. Spanner goes after the future Dr. Animo, with Ben doing the same while Rook goes after the present Dr. Animo. Future Dr. Animo continues running from Spanner and Ben transforms into an alien. Spanner loses Future Dr. Animo and Ben, as Ditto, watches Spanner from the trees. The Dittos think that Spanner is an enemy and Spanner points out Future Dr. Animo to them. Future Dr. Animo attacks all of the Dittos and Spanner while the present Dr. Animo continues to run from Rook. Rook uses his Proto-Tool to catch Dr. Animo by his legs, but Dr. Animo uses his helmet to gather a pack of squirrels together, transforming them into Mutant Squirrels. The Mutant Squirrels chase after Rook and Future Dr. Animo frees his past self. Spanner walks up to Ben and helps him back to his feet. Rook arrives after escaping from the Mutant Squirrels and Ben wants to know why Spanner is helping Future Dr. Animo. Spanner informs Ben that he is not working with Future Dr. Animo and tells Ben to contact  Lieutenant Steel  right away. Ben, confused on how Spanner knows Lt. Steel, but contacts him anyway. Lieutenant Steel tells Ben that he is under attack and Ben tells Spanner to go with him and Rook. On a roadway, Dr. Animo is seen riding his Mutant Frog, fighting off Lieutenant Steel's group. Future Dr. Animo is seen riding a Mutant Snail, where it has covered the road in slime prompting Lieutenant Steel's group to stop. The Dr. Animos tell them to hand over the ARC Project, but Ben arrives just in time. Ben transforms into a new alien and is confused at the new transformation.

Ben asks Future Dr. Animo who the alien he has transformed into is and Future Dr. Animo says that Ben calls it Gutrot. Future Dr. Animo continues on, saying that Gutrot has the ability to combine various chemicals and expel them as gas. Gutrot informs Lieutenant Steel's group to back up and Gutrot releases a gas that causes the Dr. Animos to cringe from the smell, with their mutant creatures running away from the smell. Rook wants to know what that is and Gutrot replies that it is sulfur dioxide. Gutrot then sends out nitrous oxide, which is laughing gas. Dr. Animo starts laughing uncontrollably, though, Future Dr. Animo is unaffected by it. Future Dr. Animo grabs his past self and starts to run away. Meanwhile, the Mutant Frog reappears, but it grabs onto a van and falls back down. Future Dr. Animo remembers that the ARC Project didn't make it due to his past self not controlling his frog. The Dr. Animos begin arguing and a tube of the ARC Project appears near them. Dr. Animo picks it up and it contains poodle DNA, but the Future Dr. Animo is annoyed by this and the two begin fighting. Rook notices that if they just defeat Future Dr. Animo, he'll just come back from the future. Spanner suggests something that could make him forget all that is happened and Gutrot sprays dark green gas at the Dr. Animos, causing them to pass out. Rook asks Gutrot about the gas he used, and Gutrot replies that the material was  fluoromethol-hexafluoro-isopropyl-ether, which induces short term memory loss. Gutrot transforms back into Ben and Spanner takes Future Dr. Animo back to the future. Ben and Rook prepare to take Dr. Animo back to Plumber HQ and Ben still wonders who the person was that left with the future Dr. Animo. In the future, Spanner simply says "that would be telling".

Major Events

 * Gutrot makes his debut.
 * Ben and Rook meet Chrono Spanner for the first time.
 * The SACT and Lieutenant Steel make their Omniverse debuts.
 * Mutant Frog and Mutant Snail make their first present day and non-cameo appearances in Omniverse.
 * Mutant Squirrels make their debut.
 * Future Dr. Animo makes his Omniverse debut.

Debuts

 * Future Dr. Animo (Omniverse debut)
 * Mutant Squirrels

Omnitrix Debuts

 * Gutrot

Characters

 * Ben Tennyson
 * Rook Blonko
 * Chrono Spanner
 * Plumbers
 * Magister Patelliday
 * Molly Gunther (cameo)
 * SECT (first re-appearance)
 * Lieutenant Steel (first re-appearance)

Villains

 * Dr. Animo
 * Dr. Animo (Future) (first re-appearance)
 * Mutant Frog
 * Mutant Snail
 * Mutant Squirrels (first appearance; cameo)

Aliens Used

 * Upgrade (accidental transformation; selected alien was Humungousaur)
 * Ditto
 * Gutrot (first appearance)

Allusions

 * One of the voices Animo pretends his stuffed animals to say is said in a voice similar to Arnold Schwarzenegger.
 * The title seems to be a play on these two items, a movie and a food.
 * The episode's title is a play on the comedy movie, Animal Crackers.
 * The episode's title is a play on the food, Animal Crackers.

Errors

 * After Ben transforms into Gutrot, the slime that was on the ground disappears.

Trivia

 * In real life, nitrous oxide is normally used by dentists as a kind of anesthetic. A small amount will allow patients to relax. A much larger dose will cause euphoria, loss of reality, and lower mental inhibitions, thereby making the subject easily susceptible to humorous stimulants, hence the name of laughing gas.
 * In this episode, SACT is known as SECT.
 * The stuffed gorilla Animo's future self gives to his present self (a human head on a gorilla body) references his own body in that time period.
 * This is the only episode where Blukic and Driba were mentioned, not seen.