The Money Tree

"The Money Tree"
Series	Back to the Future: The Animated Series
Season	2
Episode	7 (20 in series)
Writer(s)	Earl Kress
Airdate	November 7, 1992
Episode chronology
Previous episode	"Bravelord and the Demon Monstrux"
Next episode	"A Verne by Any Other Name"

[Source]

"The Money Tree" is the seventh episode of the second season of Back to the Future: The Animated Series, and the twentieth episode overall. It first aired on November 7, 1992.

Brief synopsis

Jules is tired of being considered a brainiac, unpopular kid. Verne plants the idea in Jules' head to grow a money tree, which makes Jules the popular rich kid at school. Unfortunately, greed takes root. Jules spends on-credit, buying gifts for his new friends and his family (like Doc and Clara), while the money leaves ripened. Jules teaches Marty how to not let the crooks steal the tree. The news media gets wind of the wonderkid with the money tree. The FBI hears the story and believes the tree to be a part of a counterfeiting operation. While Marty is asleep outside, Biff steals the tree in the middle of the night. When Marty and the Browns attempt to retrieve the tree, the boys almost get hurt. They all realize what money has done to their priorities and they decide to let the tree go. Biff and Biff, Jr. get their just rewards when the FBI arrests them for being in possession of the tree, whose leaves turn brown after being picked. While most of Jules's new friends shun him once more, he still "gets the girl"; Franny Philips has a crush on him regardless of whether he has money or not.

Behind the scenes

• The Money Tree is one of the few episodes that centers on Jules. Most of the episodes of the animated series were about his younger brother, Verne.
• This is the second episode to feature no time travel whatsoever.
• Franny Phillips had been referred to before by Jules, who had a crush on her, but had never been seen until this episode. As it turns out, she is a "little red-haired girl".
• The Brown family chases after Biff in the DeLorean, and tries to retrieve the money tree from the back of Biff's tow truck. Biff spots the boys in his rear view mirror, then drives into a tunnel to lose them. Doc pulls the DeLorean up at the last second, sparing his sons from injury. The scene is an homage to Part II, where Biff (in 1955) drove into the River Road Tunnel while Marty was trying to retrieve Grays Sports Almanac.
• Out of Verne's friends, Jackson was the meanest to Jules. At the end, Verne tells Jackson off for mocking Jules - and then changes his mind, after Jules decides that Verne cannot join him and Franny. Jackson reappears in Super Doc, where he is revealed to not be a very good friend to Verne.

Dramatis personae

• Clara Clayton Brown
• Emmett Brown
• Jules Brown
• Verne Brown
• Marty McFly
• Biff Tannen
• Biff Tannen, Jr.
• Jackson
• Dan Philips
• Franny Philips
• Officer Phelps