Snow Day (not to be confused with the Steven Universe cartoon of the same name)
By now, some may notice that in addition to being mostly fun and light-hearted, the tone of this show has a touch of edge as well. I mean, most cartoons feature some way the featured characters get up to something perilous, in line with how actual amphibians have a lot of predators to deal with. This is certainly the case here as it unfolds within a backdrop as wholesome as a snowy day. On another note, it also gives weight to Anne’s role in this world.
It’s the third morning in a row where the temperature was below the freeze line, and everyone in Wartwood knows that a big day is upon them. In line with frogs being cold-blooded and freezing in place, this very thing will happen to them as a big snow is set to come to town. This only lasts for one day, contrasting with real life, but things are still very heavy about the affair. Every year, one citizen of Wartwood is taken away, and everyone is fearful that they could be the target for this year. Balancing the usual light-hearted tone, everyone’s ‘possible goodbyes’ are heavy on emotion, reflecting how big a deal this would be if you were in the situation. Luckily for Wartwood, Anne, a warm-blooded human unable to freeze in place, has the ability to watch over everyone while they’re frozen, and make sure no one is taken. There’s talk of how it takes a lot of responsibility and how this is like a culmination to all her time here, and you can definitely see where it comes from.
It isn’t long when the snow comes, the frogs are frozen, and Anne has to start carrying out her responsibility. At first, she appears to carry things out well, but then boredom catches up with her, resulting in some very questionable choices. Now, I don’t mind her playing around with the frogs she’s protecting, but thawing out Sprig too early when his hibernation is supposed to refresh him is clearly in the wrong. You’d think that Anne would know that no good can come from rushing nature, and Sprig’s dazed state proves this. I suppose getting bored with work isn’t out of character for her, but it’s still somewhat of a concern. At least their playing around in the snow is fun to watch, and Anne gets back to being responsible soon after.
In fact, when she notices that Polly is missing, I wouldn’t even call that completely irresponsible, as she was clearly present in one of the earlier snow fun moments. Still, it’s great that Anne wastes no time tracking Polly down, and finds her in a cave of a giant weasel. It’s threatening and monstrous, but through it all, Anne shows one of her biggest moments of humanity. When facing the weasel, she sees that it was only trying to feed her babies, and while she still needs to save Polly, she knows these innocent animals will starve if she does. Generously, she gives up something from an earlier scene, one of her prized omelets for the weasels to eat instead, guaranteeing both sides are safe and provided for.
In the end, all of Wartwood is safe as
planned, and even when Anne admits to her slacking, the town nicely emphasizes
the fact that what really matters is that she still fulfilled her service. It isn’t completely satisfying when we end
with them seeing pictures of Anne’s more questionable fun with their frozen
bodies, but the good vibes from the ending remain. This cartoon is ultimately a good example of
a mix of slice of life fun with the dark side of nature, with wholesome snowy backdrops aiding the experience.
A
Cracking
Mrs. Croaker
When a show is largely consistent with how it portrays its main cast, it can be off-putting when a work majorly contradicts certain established traits. That’s what happens in this cartoon and it leaves a huge conflict on how to take in everything.
The contradiction reveals itself right off the bat regarding Sprig. Even though it’s been shown since the beginning that he’s overly energetic and doesn’t have many friends, here, he’s suddenly the town favorite. In normal cases you couldn’t really blame his cute disposition, but with context, it’s not in line with what the show has set up. Also, doesn’t his family have a complicated relationship with the town? It’s improved lately, but to hear the cartoon talk, you’d be led to believe that Sprig was always very popular.
Then there is the main conflict for this cartoon when Sprig discovers one person who doesn’t like him, Mrs. Croaker, when she actively ignores his greetings and offers to help her. This turns out to be the driving force for all Sprig’s actions in the cartoon, all of which are honestly petty and hard to get behind. One of the most obvious things to take from life is that not everyone is going to like you, and it’s not that hard to deal with. In fact, Anne and Polly, who act rightfully unconcerned with Sprig’s dilemma, are the easiest to side with in this case. Yet, with the main focus on Sprig wanting to be liked, you can’t brush off this flawed setup so easily. The cartoon tries to make it humorous with several quips of criticizing Sprig’s obsession, Anne suggesting letting this go despite having similar issues, and general interactions. They make the experience better, but the main plot is still largely flawed.
This continues to be the case when Sprig gets a really boneheaded plan of breaking into Mrs. Croakers’ house and invade her privacy just so he can get to know her. The revealed information on her is somewhat interesting if basic, but the reveal that brings on hijinks is easily the best constructed. Little tidbits suggest that Mrs. Croaker had a boyfriend named Jonah, so Sprig believes that a good service to win Mrs. Croaker over would be to reunite her with Jonah. Then there’s a twist; Jonah is actually a bounty hunter who’s been after Mrs. Croaker for years, and Sprig just led him to his prey. Mrs. Croaker ultimately manages to fight Jonah back and tangle him in the web of her pet spider which is awesome coming from an old frog, but one fact remains.
Sprig’s ambitions to be liked by the one frog who doesn’t have reached an obsessive point. That being said, Mrs. Croaker’s reasoning for these feelings are very problematic. She doesn’t give any real reason she doesn’t like him; that’s just how it is. For how much this drove the plot, this really isn’t a fitting payoff, nor does it leave anything fully satisfying to walk away with. Plus, her dislike of Sprig doesn’t even have that big of a basis. I mean, she liked him fine before, so what’s with the disdain now? She does recognize that she could try to like him based on his efforts which is nice, but the moment is kind of ruined with the cartoon ending with Sprig rubbing it all in. That just brings a major lack of sympathy to the setup that does not fit the focus it’s given.
This makes the whole cartoon the show’s most
problematic. It has a few laughs and
interesting twists, but they’re not enough to make up for the contradictions,
and lack of weight to the principle conflict.
D+
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. Snow Day
13. Civil Wart
14. Stakeout
15. Croak and
Punishment
16. Taking
Charge
17. Flood, Sweat,
and Tears
18. Trip to the
Archives
19. Anne Theft
Auto
20. Hop Luck
21. Hop Pop and
Lock
22. Plantar’s
Last Stand
23. Girl Time
24. Breakout
Star
25. Grubhog Day
26. Cane Crazy
27. Sprig vs
Hop Pop
28. Cracking
Mrs. Croaker
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