Editing Phoning It In

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: BotBots (cartoon)|Transformers: BotBots]]'' ep 3a
|image=BotBots-PhoningItIn-Rage.jpg
|caption=The Lost Bots do their best impressions of the Langoliers.
|prev=I, Cheeseburger (episode)
|next=The Lost Bots and the Claw Crusade
|title="Phoning It In"
|airdate=[[March 25]], [[2022]]
|production company=[[Entertainment One]]
|writer=[[Taneka Stotts]] 
|animation studio=[[Boulder Media Studio]]
|directors=[[Paul O'Flanagan]]
|video=https://www.netflix.com/watch/81455905
|videosite=Netflix
}}

'''Crippling addiction and interpersonal discord? There's an app for that.'''

==Synopsis==
Hey you! Yes, ''[[you]]!'' You wanna be ''famous''?! Because the [[Mall (BotBots)|mall]] is looking to cast hip young trendsetters to appear in their video ads, probably because the average shopping mall has been in a downward tailspin since the mid-1990s, and they want people to submit their pics via their ''[[MallFace]]'' app, with the user who gets the most likes becoming their new star! And no one wants to be mall famous more than [[Dave (BotBots)|Dave]], who immediately starts taking some...questionable but well-intentioned selfies. When the first batch of pics fails to get any likes, he descides to try adding some action poses to the mix instead. Not far away, [[Clogstopper]] has purposefully gotten himself stuck to a wall as part of his "hobby", and the [[Lost Bots]] are standing on a railing and attempting to pull him free. [[Dimlit]] attempts to warn them of Dave's photography nearby, but is interrupted as Clogstopper finally comes loose and all five topple off the railing, getting caught in several of Dave's snapshots on their way down. Thankfully, before he can look at his photos, Dave is interrupted by an important notification...his midnight snack alarm! As he wanders off, the Lost Bots begin to panic, knowing that they will never be forgiven by the others if their secret is exposed, with [[Burgertron]] even assuming they will be sacrificed to "the fiery dumpster from which none return". With no time to waste, the five rush to Dave's office.

As they watch Dave play with his food, they attempt to use Clogstopper to launch [[Kikmee]] onto Dave's desk and knock away his phone, but only succeed in bouncing her back at themselves. Fortunately, [[Bonz-Eye]] remembers that Dave's snack breaks are always followed by a nap break and simply retrieves the phone from his desk while he sleeps. Unfortunately, the phone is password-protected, so they carry it back with them to the [[Lost and Found (BotBots)|Lost and Found]]. When they get back, Clogstopper's "hacking skills" unlock the phone with his first guess of...1111111. Once they're in, Burgertron quickly moves the offending photos to the trash. Before he can order the others to take it back, however, Dimlit finds a puzzle game app on the phone and becomes completely enamored, frantically matching cookies to make them disappear. Burgertron attempts to stop him, as they don't want Dave to start rampaging around the mall looking for his missing phone, but the poor flashlight is already too far gone. Kikmee similarly tries to drag him away from the screen, but he hooks her in with a sports game app, and Kikmee too becomes entranced as she begins to live out her gridiron fantasies in 8-bit. Eager to find something for himself, Clogstopper discovers the ''[[Mer-chants]]'' shopping app and begins swimming through a metaphorical ocean of great deals and low prices. Bonz-Eye attempts to assist Burgertron in taking the phone back, but discovers the ''[[Mindfulness]]'' mediation app and becomes lost in the alluring whale song of a calm mind.

Burgertron chastises them all, reminding them that Dave is going to want the phone back so he can submit his pics to ''MallFace'', but when he opens the app and actually sees Dave's pics, he realizes how terrible they all are and decides to do some...light touch-ups. One photo-editing montage later, Dave's pic has never looked better and Burgertron is consumed by the feeling of power and control the editing suite gives him. He decides that they could borrow the phone for a ''little'' longer...and they can hide it in ''his'' cubby-hole. This doesn't sit well with the other Lost Bots, who each believe it would be better suited staying with them. As they grapple for the phone, their fantasies begin to overlap in a chaotic hodge-podge, consumed by sheer discord. Before they can argue further, the phone runs out of power and the five bots see their reflections in its screen, twisted by their own rage. Horrified at what they have become, Burgertron acknowledges their selfishness but decides that it's clearly the phone's fault for corrupting them, something the others are quick to concur with.

The Lost Bots decide to hurl the phone into "the fiery dumpster from which none return" to purge the world of its evil...only for the phone to transform back into [[Ring-A-Ling]] at the last moment, much to everyone's shock. Terrified and infuriated, Ring-A-Ling chews them out for not realizing the truth, pointing out that she has done nothing but help them all night, including setting off Dave's alarm to distract him, unlocking herself, and faking her power loss so they would snap out of their obsession. Reminding them that they should set their own boundaries and deciding they are beyond help, Ring-A-Ling runs off and returns to Dave's pocket, waking him from his nap. To his surprise, a notification informs him that his ''MallFace'' likes have risen significantly. Back in the Lost and Found, the Lost Bots feel guilty for letting themselves get so obsessed, acknowledging their fault in doing so...all except Burgertron, who has refused to learn anything and instead decided it's Dave's fault for owning the phone in the first place. As they transform back to their [[alternate mode]]s before the mall opens, the last bot crosses the finish line as Clogstopper declares his suspicion that ''the phone was a bot the whole time''. The next morning, Dave is attempting to film ads for the mall, but ends up constantly tripping over both his words and a nearby cable. As a microphone falls on him, the production crew calls "cut" and wonder to themselves how the man could have ''possibly'' gotten so many likes, noting he doesn't even resemble his photo...

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=BotBots|c1=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
* [[Burgertron]] (2)
* [[Kikmee]] (3)
* [[Bonz-Eye]] (4)
* [[Dimlit]] (5)
* [[Clogstopper]] (6)
* [[Spud Muffin]] (7)
* [[Fomo]] (8)
* [[Ulf the Orange]] (9)
* [[Dinger]] (10)
* [[Ring-A-Ling]] (11)
{{!}}}

|c3=
* [[Dave (BotBots)|Dave]] (1)
* Director (12)
* Crew member (13)
}}

==Quotes==
"You're one pic away from being the best kind of famous: '''MALL FAMOUS!'''"<br>
"Oh man, ''MALL FAMOUS?!'' It does ''not'' get better than that!"
:—A very convincing '''''MallFace''''' video ad gets its hooks into '''Dave'''.


"All my best ideas are bad ideas!"
:—'''Clogstopper''' in a nutshell.


"I believe his mantra is 'it's almost nap-o'clock somewhere.'"
:—'''Bonz-Eye''' knows Dave all too well.


"But the cookies must find their twins! '''THEIR ONLY PURPOSE!'''" [laughs maniacally]
:—'''Dimlit''' gets into the game.


"How can they afford to sell a used case of creamed corn that cheap?"
:—'''Clogstopper''' has an eye for bargains.


"With every deep breath, focus your unending rage. [...] Only sweat the big things, and they are all big things."
:—The '''''Mindfulness''''' app becomes slightly less calming.


"We have moral centers and solid attention spans! It's ''obviously'' the phone's fault!"
:—'''Burgertron''' deflects harder than the [[Skyboom (Armada)|Skyboom Shield]].

==Notes==
===Real-world references===
* Dave acts out a tragic romance scene with his snacks that bears remarkable resemblance to the ending of ''{{w|Titanic (1998 film)|Titanic}}''.
* Dimlit's matching game is based on the countless matching puzzle games clogging up app stores everywhere, most prominently ''{{w|Candy Crush}}''.
* ''Mer-chants'' is based on bargain-buy apps like {{w|Wish (company)|Wish}}, which have a reputation for selling... ''questionable'' merchandise.
* ''Mindfulness'' is based on the ''{{w|Calm (company)|Calm}}'' meditation app, which previously released the "[[History of the Transformers]]" sleep story.
* The Lost Bots attempting to throw the phone into the incinerator may be a reference to Frodo and Samwise attempting to throw the One Ring into Mount Doom in ''{{w|The Return of the King}}''; Burgertron even refers to it as "my precious" at one point, a la Gollum.

===Animation and technical errors===
* In the French dub, after Burgertron presents Dave's edited photo, Bonz-Eye's line is missing despite her mouth visibly moving.
* The Descriptive Audio identifies the mascot of the Mer-chants app as a djinni instead of a merman.

===Trivia===

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Le téléphone volé'''" ("The stolen telephone")

'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Ligados no telefone'''" ("Addicted to the phone")

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:BotBots episodes]]