Lady Gaga Belted a Lullaby for a Tiny, Buff Mouse in SNL's "Pip" Sketch
What can't he do: Gaga even took little Pip to the SNL after party!
Move over, Beppo: A new Saturday Night Live digital short about an adorable, if slightly unsettling, humanoid animal just dropped. "Pip" stars March 8 Host Lady Gaga as the supportive friend of a tiny mouse with a big dream.
Like previous installments of the pretaped sketches introduced as a "Saturday Night Live Midnight Matinee" — including "Beppo" and "My Best Friend's House," starring October 12 Host Ariana Grande — "Pip" has an ending you definitely didn't expect. But it begins as the heartfelt story of an underestimated high school student (who just happens to be an itty-bitty rodent).
"As you all know, next week is the annual Atlas High weightlifting competition," a teacher (James Austin Johnson) tells his class. "I just want to say, it doesn't matter who you are, or what you look like — any one of you has a chance to win it."
"Yeah. Except Pip," a jock (Marcello Hernández) says, as the class bursts into laughter. Zoom in the adorably-rendered Pip sitting at his desk atop a stack of books, whose disappointment is obvious through just a few tiny movements. A sympathetic classmate (Gaga) soon sings him a motivating lullaby.
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Lady Gaga sings an uplifting (and gorgeous) song in SNL's "Pip": Lyrics
Pip, you can be anything you want / You can shine brighter than the biggest and brightest star," Gaga's character sings to the shy mouse as they sit in front of a twinkling sky. "The other kids may laugh at you and treat you like a fool / But I believe you can win the weightlifting contest at our school."
Gaga's voice reaches celestial heights as she belts with "Shallows"-esque fervor, "Pip! Don't cry. All you have to do is try!"
Nothing can prepare you for what follows: A workout montage that finds Pip bench pressing two slices of cheese (his tiny sneakers, eeee!) and running across globes and hamster wheels to build endurance.
"You gotta start out small, Pip, with just a little bit of weight / Push yourself to the limit, that's how you get from good to great," Gaga continues, soundtracking the sequence. "Hit a heavy bag that's just an old hot dog / Never use steroids cause that would be wrong!"
"Give a mouse a cookie and he'll get lazy / But give a mouse a challenge and he'll work like crazy!" Gaga ends by taking it up high with, "Pip, I believe in you. It's time to show the world what you can dooo!"
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One week later, it's time for the lifting competition, with cast members Devon Walker, Chloe Fineman, and Hernández lifting what feels like insanely heavy amounts of weight for high school students. And then it's Pip's turn, as he walks in wearing the world's smallest sweatpants.
Does he win? Well, let's just say the competition really brings the house down. Watch "Pip" from Season 50, Episode 14 above, and stream all 50 seasons of SNL on Peacock anytime.
Lady Gaga brought Pip to the SNL afterparty
Like "Beppo," the sketch is another short by Dan Bulla, an SNL writer whose collaborations with Adam Sandler include his "50 Years" song from SNL50: The Anniversary Special. Bulla tapped puppet makers Monkey Boys Productions to craft Beppo the monkey, and while there's no word yet on who made Pip, it seems a real model was involved.
Or at least it certainly seems that way, given that Gaga was spotted with little Pip in tow as she went to the SNL afterparty following her episode. In the photos, Gaga holds Pip encased in a protective clear glass box as she heads out on the town. He's a star!
