Contagi-Anne
The plots of these cartoons may be majorly self-contained, but that doesn’t stop the material from leaving big impacts. So far, most of these cartoons have been very funny, endearing character-driven escapades, or creative adventures. In this case, this cartoon should be appreciated that they’re featured in a story big on their family dynamic that also isn’t afraid to venture into dark territory.
This story is a result of Anne pulling an innocent stretch of the truth for her own benefit and how it escalates from there. The Plantars have a lot of chores to do during a violent rainstorm, but Anne doesn’t want to go out and work. Without arguing, she decides to get out of work by pretending to be sick, and how the Plantars come to the conclusion from her human terms is pretty hilarious. At first, as dishonest as this act is, there really doesn’t seem to be anything totally wrong with what Anne’s done. She gets the house to herself and goes all out with pampering while the others work in the harsh weather. It seems fairly innocent when all is said and done and doesn’t seem worth writing off as reckless.
The only drawback is something almost completely by chance when the Plantars return from work feeling actually sick with their own creative ailments. Hop Pop is all sticky, Polly is delirious with very dry eyes and violent sneezing, and Sprig’s tongue involuntarily shoots out frequently. It’s here when Anne honorably shows what’s important by stopping everything to take care of the Plantars, though still under the guise that she’s sick. That said, I honestly don’t get why she’s considered uncharacteristically generous for this; loyalty to those close to her has always been a main trait of hers. This is certainly true here for all the efforts she puts into taking care of the sick frogs.
After giving them a soup though, the dark sides of their conditions becomes realized. They start developing a symptom where a red rash appears on their legs and will continue to grow up to their heads. They’re not even subtle when they say that this will kill them. Also, Hop Pop frequently saying he’s ready for the end ventures into a dark territory you wouldn’t expect a show like this to explore. Now that things have gotten so intense, Anne feels the guilt of her ruse which makes her all the more determined to save everyone. Once again, it helps that this dark occurrence is all out of her control.
The only way to cure the Plantars’ ailments is to take them to a special mineral pond, and Anne pulls out all stops to get them there. The journey proves difficult as modes of transport get compromised and obstacles seem almost impossible for humans, but Anne’s determination and guilt gets through them all. It’s also telling of how meaningful this new family really is to her. On that note, it becomes heartbreaking when even after reaching the pond, the Plantars still aren’t cured, and no emotional stops are pulled from Anne preparing for their funerals. They even seem to get a good exeunt by not being mad with Anne when she reveals she was faking being sick herself. Then it turns out that the Plantars do not get an exeunt, for cleverly tying back to an earlier small scene, their redness comes from a mushroom Anne put in their soup. At that relief, the cartoon ends with solid humor from Anne’s overemotional sobbing that the Plantars will live, as well as heartfelt relief over the circumstances.
The emotional lengths this story is willing to go while still keeping
with the show’s good spirits are what make this cartoon as strong as it is.
A+
Family
Shrub
Sometimes, simple stories of characters doing a down-to-Earth activity can lead to very interesting reveals. Some of the most noteworthy things to reveal are backgrounds of certain characters or families. That’s a big thing that makes this cartoon very appealing and insightful.
It starts with the Plantars putting together a diorama highlighting the family lineage which, in frog terms, is called a family shrub, but the kids don’t seem impressed with it. Sprig and Polly are disappointed to hear that all their ancestors were nothing more than farmers, while Anne, who isn’t actually a Plantar, doesn’t see why she has to help. It’s only after Hop Pop leaves to get more glue and the kids have the place to themselves when the cartoon really gets interesting, teaching them the truth of their family. Sprig inadvertently discovers a secret passage to an underground part of the house, and when he, Anne, and Polly enter, they’re locked in. The only way out is to venture through the passage, and the journey is what makes the experience. It nicely ties into a very meaningful philosophy of Hop Pop’s that people can be far more interesting than they seem on the surface. It’s all a matter of uncovering the layers of a family, and the Plantars turn out to have a lot of them.
The secret passage itself has interesting areas to it for the kids to explore that also feature ways of viewing the Plantar ancestors in a whole new light. They first enter a science lab that holds a gourd creature that they have to beat back, though only Sprig can get through to it not by aggression, but parental coddling. It should be noted that this is all caused by him naively pulling a lever, and that starts up a bit of a routine. This course of action is repeated when they find an armory of weapons, and Sprig’s fascination with levers once again causes trouble when it enacts a very violent training area. Apparently, this is in line with the combative nature of one Plantar fascinated with weapons, not unlike Polly who can be described as a little tadpole of destruction. It’s her aggressive ways with a mace that get through the training area that leaves Anne and Sprig’s meticulous calculations in the dust.
So far, these Plantar family reveals have been fairly interesting, but arguably the most interesting reveal belongs to Anne. She claims to not really be part of the family, but a room of games and puzzles, right up her alley, give her an enlightening perspective on the idea of familial belonging. One Plantar ancestor was a traveling newt who ventured all over the world and eventually settled with the Plantars. That’s enough to see some sense of belonging with this frog family without actually being a frog, let alone a Plantar, which is really what Anne wants. As for the puzzles, they turn out to put Anne’s hobbies and interests to good use as they’re used to open the last door and help her finally beat the sudden death round. Then after humorously stopping Sprig’s fascination with levers before they cause trouble again, the kids return to the family shrub with better appreciation for their background.
In fact, what’s learned from these family
layers is so insightful, I wish there was more, mainly information on Sprig and
Polly’s parents and why they aren’t around. At least Season 2 gives an endearing reveal about the state of their mother, but that's another story. Also, it’s disappointing that this secret lair under the Plantars’ house
is only brought up here and nowhere else when it could have been a great
regular location. Still, as far as
standalone cartoons go, I give in credit for the insight it already has.
A
The Ranking
1. Anne vs
Wild
2. The Domino
Effect
3. Contagi-Anne
4. Best Fronds
5. Family
Shrub
6. Dating
Season
7. Anne or
Beast?
8. Stakeout
9. Taking
Charge
10. Flood,
Sweat, and Tears
11. Anne Theft
Auto
12. Hop Luck
13. Girl Time
14. Breakout
Star
15. Cane Crazy
16. Sprig vs
Hop Pop
The next Amphibia review brings Anne's Thai herritage into focus as she uses it to save a restaurant, and Hop Pop tries new marketing tactics to save his stand.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews "Let's Get Shadowy" with OK K.O.
If you would like to check out other Amphibia reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
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