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Quarreler’s Pass
A particularly unpleasing story setup involves characters incessantly arguing. Somehow, when this show features characters arguing, it’s honestly kind of fun to an extent. It’s probably because of the overall strength of writing its characters and their solid chemistry and witty interactions. Also, when you’re out on the road for a long time, things like petty arguments between siblings are bound to happen.
The main sibling relationship of this show, Sprig and Polly, is actually very healthy and full of heart based on what’s been seen up to this point. In fact, I can only think of at least two cartoons with conflict between them. The long trip to Newtopia seems to be enough to rise up another one here.
The actual nature behind their bickering though is still noticeably mixed. The entertainment of Sprig and Polly’s arguing is very high mainly through them being able to perfectly mimic each other’s voice. While the arguing is staged as funny though, it is concerning that the plot has to be tailored and retconned to justify the occurrence. Anne and Hop Pop are reasonably annoyed by it, claiming that it’s lasted for weeks. I don’t see how the audience can buy that when Sprig and Polly have appeared on fairly good terms as of now. It feels like the only reason this claim is made is to warrant the elders of the trip to drop off Sprig and Polly at a place called Quarreler’s Pass. It’s a stretch of road where two kids who can’t get along must face obstacles to work out their differences and overcome all squabbles.
So the focus for most of the runtime is on Sprig and Polly doing what they can to get through the pass. Despite them being there for excessive arguing, their overall chemistry is still handled rather well. Even at their worst, they don’t get too deep into their fights to keep themselves from overcoming the obstacles. In fact, at the first obstacle, their bickering has them recall a past difficult event to find their way around.
Plus, the compatibility sticks as proven by a following montage complete with a short yet catchy musical number through various obstacles. Even though the point of the Plantar kids taking this pass is to get them to stop fighting, their dynamic isn’t one note.
Fighting persists though as another obstacle brings Sprig and Polly nuisance and conflict, albeit from something as petty as accidentally stepping on each other. The issue of the pettiness is that Sprig and Polly split up. It’s a jarring and one-sided shift from the earlier strong sense of teamwork. Now in splitting up, Sprig and Polly end up in one challenge to make sense out of everything. The different paths they take face them with giant worm creatures called olms intending to devour them. Running from them leads them to a central cavern of bones, as well as a reveal that the olms are two parts of one body. In their threat though comes bickering from the creatures, and while it’s connection to Sprig and Polly is treated like a big discovery, it honestly couldn’t be more obvious. Still, it’s rewarding that Sprig and Polly grow sense resourcefulness from this. Their annoyance at the creatures help them to see why they were left to the pass, and their mimicking talents are put to good use. Then the cartoon ends with them back with Anne and Hop Pop in the middle of a humorous take on small talk.
In other words, this whole cartoon is a basic sibling rivalry story with a basic conclusion. However, in spite of inherent faults with arguing stories, it’s executed in a reasonably enjoyable way overall.
B+
Toadcatcher
Though Anne is the main character out of the three girls transported to Amphibia, it’s a nice touch to also look in on how her friends have been getting by during this time. At this point though, we’ve only seen what’s become of one of her two human friends, Sasha. Landing amongst the toads, she started out as their prisoner, but through manipulation and lust for control, she quickly rose to their commanding officer. These powerful traits were also central to her friendship with Anne back home, though it’s also clear that she cares for her friends.
Speaking of which, the start of this cartoon wisely dedicates her first moments this season to her reaction to her tense encounter with Anne at the end of Season 1. She throws herself into intense training of daring moves and fighting to the death. She shows no hesitation to annihilate dummies of the Plantar family, but when it comes to Anne, even she can’t bring herself to be as murderous. In other words, Sasha’s will to fight is strong, but there’s meaning in her bond with Anne. By contrast, Sasha’s confidante, the former captain of the toads, Grime, is surprisingly not as motivated to fight as he used to be. He’d rather laze around watching trash TV, eating junk food, and growing a beard, all while feeling like a shadow of his former self. Sasha doesn’t accept this and often berates Grime for his lack of motivation. To her point, there is proof that he should be acting with more urgency. His failure to control the frogs has made Grime an enemy to the Amphibia royalty to the point of being branded as a wanted criminal.
There’s even a legit Newtopia official shown to be after him known as General Yunan. As a character, Yunan leaves a very strong impression, appearing serious, but when no one expects it, she demonstrates much charisma and flamboyance. Much of this is shown through a gimmick of giving a long passionate monologue of her accomplishments when introducing herself. This should get old, but it’s reasonably amusing. As she puts it, repeating it helps the mentions of her accomplishments stick. She’s expectedly after Grime, though the way she finds him is through a convenient mention of all the details in a conversation that sounds forced.
Anyhow, Yunan tracks Sasha and Grime down and proves she’s more than just eccentricities. She shows some pretty destructive moves and claims her army slowed her down, hence why she’s alone. That’s enough to send Sasha and Grime on the run, bringing the contrast in how they approach situations of battle back to the forefront. During the action, there’s an explore of character where Grime’s lax attitude allows him to get to the core of Sasha’s obsession with fighting. It’s not really because of a lust for power and winning battles, but rather because she’s hurt by how much her dynamic with Anne has changed, which Sasha admits truth to. The best thing she can do now is to not lose another friend in Grime, and when that’s out in the open, they’re able to work together to decisively beat Yunan at her own game. Yes, even among the most aggressive, there’s good heart in character bonds. While they are certainly multi-layered from moments like this, they still pose a threat as the day’s events inspire Sasha and Grime end the cartoon setting their sights on conquering Amphibia.
On the whole though, that’s just the overall strength of this story where the characters involved are capable of showing aggression, emotional depth, and chemistry all at once.
A+
Series Ranking
1.
Reunion
2.
Toad Tax
3.
Anne vs Wild
4.
The Domino Effect
5.
Toadcatcher
6.
Prison Break
7.
Anne of the Year
8.
Contagi-Anne
9.
Best Fronds
10.
Family Shrub
11.
Hop-Popular
12.
Anne Hunter
13.
Wally and Anne
14.
Children of the Spore
15.
A Night at the Inn
16.
Handy Anne
17.
Lily Pad Thai
18.
Dating Season
19.
Anne or Beast?
20.
Combat Camp
21.
Cursed!
22.
Snow Day
23.
Civil Wart
24.
Stakeout
25.
Croak and Punishment
26.
Taking Charge
27.
Flood, Sweat, and Tears
28.
Bizarre Bazaar
29.
Trip to the Archives
30.
Anne Theft Auto
31.
Hop Luck
32. Quarreler’s
Pass
33.
Hop Pop and Lock
34.
Plantar’s Last Stand
35.
Fort in the Road
36.
A Caravan Named Desire
37.
The Big Bugball Game
38.
Fiddle Me This
39.
Truck Stop Polly
40.
Family Fishing Trip
41.
The Ballad of Hoppediah Plantar
42.
Girl Time
43.
Breakout Star
44.
Grubhog Day
45.
Cane Crazy
46.
Sprig vs Hop Pop
47.
Cracking Mrs. Croaker
The next Amphibia review reveals the radically different social class One-Eyed Wally crew up in, and one spot on the trip poses as a big tribute to Gravity Falls.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews, it's time to journey "Through the Looking Glass Ruins" in The Owl House.
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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