well as the imaginary friends of Foster's. However, as grateful he is for Mac's key role in averting disaster, he still cannot allow Bloo to stay indefinitely and not be adopted. Frankie, as well as all the other friends present, argue in protest of this. The conflict ceases upon hearing footsteps. There, Mac and Bloo are surprised by the arrival of its founder, Madame Foster herself. She announces that Bloo can live there permanently and never be put up for adoption, as long as Mac visits him every day after school, although Mr. Herriman is not happy with this as it defies the house rules, but Foster dismisses this. As for Duchess, her punishment is to be forced to stay at Foster's, the place she hates so much, while Terrence finds himself at the mercy of a herd of annoyed unicorns, whom he had taunted earlier during the junkyard fight. Production Craig McCracken created the series and the episode, serving as writer and director. McCracken conceived the series upon adopting two dogs from an animal shelter with his then-fiancée Lauren Faust; he wondered what their life was like before adoption and applied the concept to that of imaginary friends. Animation for the show was done on Adobe Flash after hand-drawn artwork was processed on Illustrator. Character composition was done on After Effects. Reception Anita Gates of The New York Times praised the episode and stated that the series would promise to be an "admirable tale of loyalty and adventure-based learning with a contagious sense of fun". Awards McCracken and Mike Moon won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Animation in 2005 for their work in the episode. The show also received an Annie Award nomination for Best Character Design in an Animated Television Production. References External links 2004 television films 2004 films Cartoon Network television films Films directed by Craig McCracken Films with screenplays by Lauren Faust Films with screenplays by Craig McCracken Films with screenplays by Amy Keating Rogers Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends films 2004 American television episodes American television series premieres American flash animated films American children's animated comedy films American children's animated fantasy films Animated films about birds Animated films about rabbits and hares Animated films about children Animated films about friendship Television films as pilots 2000s American films