Civil Wart
A big benefit to shows with a light-hearted tone is that they can put amusing spins on just about anything with the right execution. This includes elements of life that aren’t usually pleasing like sibling rivalries, as is the case with this cartoon. To its credit, the basis for the rivalry is a believable one.
Sprig is frustrated with how he constantly has to give up things he wants for Polly just because she’s the younger sibling. From his point of view, such a rule with only a basic seemingly weightless reason to back it up, it legitimately doesn’t seem fair. It doesn’t help that he doesn’t have anyone to really understand how he feels, particularly with Anne being an only child and getting all her parent’s attention back home. Speaking of Anne, her human customs once again make for an interesting center for a story when a monthly entertainment gig inspires her to step in. She introduces Wartwood to the concept of movies, as she selects a typical blockbuster film of action and love triangles. The film itself is standard fare for these genres and I find it hard to agree with Anne's claim of it being a 'timeless classic', but the Wartwood populace is completely won over. When it ends on a cliffhanger, they’re desperate to know who the leading female chooses for her lover.
This in turn leads to Sprig and Polly really escalating things when they both don’t agree on the endgame ship. Along with Sprig wanting to have something all to himself for once, they ultimately declare war on each other over potential love interests, and the town takes sides too. It isn’t long before Wartwood becomes a war zone over something so minor. However, everything feels over-the-top enough to see it as funny and not take it too seriously, especially since it seems like that’s what the show wants you to feel.
It’s also balanced by Anne and Hop Pop playing the sane neutral parties as they know how ridiculous this all is and try to stop it. When talking Sprig and Polly into making up doesn’t work, they have a smart strategy of taking the other team’s flags. However, that causes a major uproar between the sides as they go full-on savage, though it too is humorously staged with the attacks being throwing vegetables. That said, it brings things to a heartfelt end where Sprig, who only plans on intimidating Polly, realizes that his side legitimately wants to harm her with the vegetables. When they’re hurled, his love for his sister wins out as he jumps into the blow, and it’s treated like a heroic sacrifice afterwards. It’s emotionally staged, but comedy wins out as the tone suddenly shifts to everyone wrapping things up as if nothing happened. There’s even a self-aware comment from Anne explaining how this makes no sense as Hop Pop simply explains that it’s just the way frogs in this town work. Plus, as funny as this whole take on shipping wars was, it’s good that Sprig and Polly are on good terms as the cartoon closes.
Overall, this is simply a fun
romp centering on simple conflicts and how frogs react to human customs, but
with good humor and heart, it’s well-executed.
A
Hop-Popular
You easily know past events have major weight to them when they drive events of newer stories. In this cartoon, a lot of what goes on follows up on the fact that the Plantars lost their major source of income, their vegetable stand. Focus on this may seem hard to believe since they seemed to be getting along fine for several cartoons after that, but it’s later revealed that concerns of this have caught up by now. Still this would have had to be considered sooner or later, and it really goes in hand with another big plot point of Hop Pop wanting to take a stand with his hometown’s politics.
After failing to find a good job to make up for his lost stand, he hears of an election going on and gives a passionate speech about the poor leadership of the current Mayor Toadstool. Hop Pop’s talk of how the town’s less than ideal conditions and how much the people are taxed gets to the populace and they all agree that he should run against Toadstool. After a while, Hop Pop sees their point and is more than happy to attempt to become the new mayor, and you can easily see the potential in what this could bring. Given what’s known of his character and his passion to his town, Hop Pop being mayor is something legitimately interesting to anticipate.
Also, working in good creativity, the election process comes with several intense trials for each candidate to prove their care to the people. They’ve got to face monsters, feed giant birds something other than the townspeople, and find their way home after being dropped in the woods alone. This right here shows how strong Hop Pop’s capabilities are as he singlehandedly beats Toadstool in all of the trials, only building the potential for him as mayor.
It’s at this point where conflict arises as Toadstool decides drastic measures must be taken to ensure victory. By drastic, I mean that he tries to convince Hop Pop to take a dive in the last trial, promising a new stand and a lot of riches. Considering providing for his family, a big goal for all caretakers, was his main drive, Hop Pop is torn between what he should do, and you can easily feel the unease of the decisions. It’s just good that there’s a heartfelt scene of Anne, Sprig, and Polly promising to support whatever he decides to balance all tensions.
Then the final trial comes with Hop Pop and Toadstool facing each other in a wrestling match, which if you think about it, is a good visual metaphor for the candidate process. It takes the crowds rooting for him to finally convince Hop Pop that winning the election is the way to go, and he does so with good ease and knowing that this is not just about him. He’s really trying to make a difference for the whole town, and after coming out on top in these trials he seems all set to become mayor at last. However, it turns out that the entire valley gets to vote, which Hop Pop didn’t know, and while he wins the Wartwood vote, Toadstool wins overall. It’s a logical explanation, but it’s still disappointing that all the built up potential amounts to nothing. Still, there’s good heart to the conclusion where the town pitches in and gives Hop Pop a new vegetable stand to run from now on. I can see this as a way of the Plantars re-earning their trust and getting better respect than before, even if you wouldn’t think they lost the stand in the first place now.
Even so, this cartoon is still a great
character piece for Hop Pop and his values, helped nicely by creative twists
and a likable cast.
A
The Ranking
1. Toad Tax
2. Anne vs
Wild
3. The Domino
Effect
4. Prison
Break
5. Contagi-Anne
6. Best Fronds
7. Family
Shrub
8. Hop-Popular
9. Lily Pad
Thai
10. Dating
Season
11. Anne or
Beast?
12. Civil Wart
13. Stakeout
14. Taking
Charge
15. Flood,
Sweat, and Tears
16. Anne Theft
Auto
17. Hop Luck
18. Hop Pop and
Lock
19. Plantar’s
Last Stand
20. Girl Time
21. Breakout
Star
22. Grubhog Day
23. Cane Crazy
24. Sprig vs
Hop Pop
The next Amphibia review puts Anne and Sprig in a crime scene investigation setup, and a trip to the archives teaches the Plantars the concept of creative thinking thanks in part to Sprig's shenanigans.
Next time on MC 'Toon Reviews from The Owl House, it's "The First Day."
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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