Enchanted Forest

"Enchanted Forest" is the sixth episode of the first season of Smiling Friends.

Synopsis
Pim and Charlie are beckoned into the mysterious Enchanted Forest by a princess and encounter all sorts of insane toon characters along their journey.

Plot
Alan and Glep are playing a loud video game, which Charlie finds irritating as construction workers outside his house ruined his sleep and gave him a headache. However, he is interrupted by two fairy messengers who state that the princess of the Enchanted Forest is unable to smile for a royal portrait and that she needs their help. Pim enthusiastically agrees to help, as he had always wanted to visit the forest, whilst Charlie wants to finish the job with as little distractions as possible, refusing to give their help from a centaur, a goblin, an elf from an endangered tribe, and an alien - which Charlie points out isn't even fantasy. Pim then tells Charlie that they need to do at least one quest, saying that he had always wanted to visit the forest but his father forbade him since only heroes were allowed to enter, before Pim kisses him on the mouth. Charlie's hat is then stolen by a witch, which Pim exclaims means they can go on a WitchQuest and get some WitchGems. The witch then asks Pim which hand the hat is in, but obviously switches the hand the hat is in before knocking the two out with magic dust.

When the two wake up, they discover that they're much futher away from the princess' castle now and that the witch is about to eat them. As the two compliment the witch's knife skills, a forest folkman called Mip appears and wards the witch off with a wooden crucifix before rescuing Charlie and Pim and saying that "everyone knows you should never do a witch quest." When Pim tells Mip they're there to visit the princess, Mip reveals he shares the same goal and he leads the two towards the castle. On the journey, he reveals his quest is to find a hero worthy of delivering a handcrafted package to the princess, but can't find someone and is uninspired to play his lute. Charlie recoils in pain from the lute as Mip offers a cure to his headache in the form of the potion, which seems to cure the headache and leads to Mip earning Charlie's trust. The trio then run into a tree with a giant thorn in its body, and whilst Pim assumes it's meant to be a riddle, Charlie suggests they remove the thorn, which works and fixes the tree's pain.

Mip then breaks into a song, with a montage showcasing all of Charlie's adventuring feats, as Pim becomes more and more jealous and neglected by Charlie and Mip, culminating in Charlie actually helping out the aliens from earlier by negotiating peace with the spiders. The trio then decide to settle down for camp right at the base of the castle, much to Pim's annoyance. Mip runs away at Pim's outburst, and when Charlie goes to check on him, reveals that Charlie was the hero destined to deliver the package. The two almost share an intimate moment before separating for the night. Pim's form shifts into something akin to Gollum as he now believes that Charlie was intentionally making him jealous ever since Mip joined them. He then tries to snatch the wooden box off Mip so he can finish the quest himself, but Charlie wakes up and tries to get Pim to stop. The resulting scuffle knocks the box into the newly awoken Mip, pushing him onto a nearby spear. Pim immediately reverts back to normal, feeling guilty for causing Mip's death, but the forest folkman apologises for neglecting Pim and grants him the role of the box deliverer. However, as he passes away, Mip turns into a monstrous puddle. Pim and Charlie both apologise for getting carried away, but agree to finish the quest.

Arriving at the castle, the two introduce themselves to the princess, before Pim reveals the box, saying it was from Mip and that he died on the way to give it to her. The princess pauses, and explains that Mip was the entire reason why she hasn't been smiling; Mip was her stalker, with his obsession growing to the point that she had to move twice. Cautiously opening the box, it's revealed that it's actually a time bomb, causing her to throw it out the castle window. However, remembering that Pim said that Mip died along the journey, she is finally able to smile again.

A post-credits scene shows that Charlie is sick, having become green and covered in infested, grotty lumps. Alan suggests getting help, and Pim believes it was likely the effect of the potion Charlie drank to cure his headache, but he dismisses the two and says it's just due to allergies.

Cast

 * Zach Hadel as Charlie, Glep, Mip
 * Michael Cusack as Pim, Alan, The Witch, Fairies, Steven

Additional Voices

 * Erica Lindbeck as The Princess
 * Mick Lauer as Elf
 * Rodrigo Huerta as Jacob
 * Joshua Tomar as Centaur
 * David Dore as Alien

Trivia

 * This episode was used as a sneak peek as part of the 2021 Adult Swim Festival. The sneak peek was uploaded onto YouTube on November 13, 2021.
 * Mip's design is an homage to the hobbits featured in Rankin/Bass' Return of the King
 * The story of Mip stalking the princess and trying to deliver a bomb to her is a reference to the real life case of Ricardo López's obsession and attempted attack on Björk.
 * The goblin encountered by the group appeared in Mr. Frog at the audition for the titular role, even being stated to have come from the Enchanted Forest.