Summary
Highlights
Johnny's family is constantly annoyed by his lack of table manners. After another chaotic dinner, his dad bets Johnny that he can't sit through one dinner without causing a mess or making a gross comment, and eating whatever's put in front of him. If Johnny wins, he gets new video games and no homework; if he loses, he cleans his room for a year and praises his dad's meatloaf. Johnny's sisters invent the 'Manners Maker 2000' to help him, but their parents forbid them to interfere. Johnny then seeks help from Mr. Mittens, a rival, who gives him a special napkin and sleeve to discreetly dispose of food.
Dinner begins with Johnny acting impeccably, surprising his family. His dad, determined to win, serves increasingly disgusting meals: Japanese meatloaf with octopus and sea urchin, liver soup, and frog leg ice cream, but Johnny cleverly uses Mr. Mittens' inventions to 'eat' everything. The devices eventually overload, causing a big mess and revealing the trick. His mom intervenes, telling both dad and Johnny to lighten up and suggesting more palatable meals. The dinner ends peacefully with everyone enjoying normal food.
Johnny, bored with the sameness of Porkbelly, visits his sisters in the lab. They've accidentally opened a vortex portal to another dimension. Despite warnings not to touch it, Johnny, seeking adventure, looks into the unstable vortex and is pulled through, causing the portal to close.
Johnny and Duke find themselves in a parallel dimension's version of Porkbelly called Leadbelly. They encounter alternate versions of their friends and rivals, including "Joanie" and "Dookie," who are very similar to themselves. They join them in a water balloon fight against "Crumper," an alternate version of Mr. Black and Mr. White, who are now "Madam Mittens" and "Alberta."
Johnny and Dookie are captured by Madam Mittens and Alberta. It's revealed that Joanie and Dookie are rivals in the alternate universe, with Joanie having a crush on Johnny and Dookie on Joanie. In a strange turn of events, Madam Mittens attempts to turn Johnny and his group into cats. Eventually, Johnny is returned to his own dimension, reflecting on the bizarre experience of being in love in the alternate reality.