Somehow, in the same episode, they also pack in a reference to The African Queen, with Duggee wearing an identical outfit to Humphrey Bogart, complete with stubble.
Cagney and Lacey (The Detective Badge)
In The Detective Badge, the Squirrels have to help Duggee find out who stole his apple pie. The montage of them interviewing witnesses, using police tape to secure the scene and searching for clues plays out with a theme tune that fans of a certain 1980s crime-fighting duo might find familiar…
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (The Shape Badge)
In The Shape Badge, the Squirrels are playing a shape game, but then have to put their newfound shape knowledge to good use and find places to protect differently-shaped animals from the rain. Roly has to choose where to put a ladybird and, in a tense scene with a very Indiana Jones-esque soundtrack, he makes his choice. Like the knight at the end of The Last Crusade, the ladybird tells Roly, ‘You have chosen wisely.’
Scooby Doo (The Spooky Badge)
Series 2 episode The Spooky Badge is essentially one giant homage to Scooby Doo – the Squirrels are wearing the characters’ costumes, right down to Velma’s glasses and Fred’s neckerchief, and hunt down a comically ‘spooky’ ghost:
They eventually realise it’s not a ghost after all and pull off the white sheet to reveal a sheep underneath, and clever Velma explains with flashbacks how the sheep pulled off its ghostly trickery. Genuinely a joy to watch.
Lord of the Rings (The Dressing Up Badge)
In The Dressing Up Badge, it’s Enid the cat’s birthday, so the Squirrels all decide to dress up to celebrate. In one of the more understated movie references, Tino the Artistic Mouse is dressed as a wizard, complete with Gandalf staff, which he stamps firmly into the ground as he tells the squirrels ‘You shall not pass… until you have solved my riddle!’
