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Swamp and Sensibility
The trip to Newtopia has certainly brought a wide variety of adventures as long journeys expectedly would. However, there’s something special about this adventure as it also has the benefit of developing a familiar supporting character from Wartwood.
The tone of the story establishes itself with a mishap of broken snail reins, and a showing of Anne’s fascination with movies about acceptance among families. These instances lead to the Plantars having to stop in the lavish and rich town of Ribbitvale. Among the high class citizens of the populace are the Ribbitons who are able to provide the Plantars with the reins they need. The son of the owner though is the aforementioned familiar supporting character, One-Eyed Wally. Though the Plantars can easily recognize him, it’s clear that his eccentric free-spirited wanderer persona is something he’s trying to repress here. He’s trying to fit a mold built up by his father’s claims that he has a rich job in Wartwood and that the Plantars are basically his servants.
While Wally going along with the fabrications get the Plantars a chance to experience mansion life, which is a very welcome change for them, Anne can tell this isn’t the true Wally. When she’s alone with him, she confronts the issue of his true feelings about hiding his identity. Wally explains the pressures of having to keep up a proper appearance within the life that he leads, and that being a bum in Wartwood is his own escapism. It’s instances like these that showcase this show’s ability in crafting its characters through adding depth to even the wildest souls. There’s also something to be said about the growth to Anne’s bond with Wally. Initially starting out at odds with Wally being the first to brand her as a monster when she arrived, it’s nice to see how they’ve grown to respect each other and help each other out. Anne even remembers a past instance of Wally telling her not to worry about what other people think. Wally has a reasonable excuse for hesitation as this is his family he’s dealing with, and he can’t just disappoint them. Anne still has faith that honesty is the way to go, though it’s partially concerning that she’s also acting based on what she saw in a movie. It should be obvious that movies are not always right.
Anyhow, she showcases the real Wally to his father at a dinner, confident that he’ll be accepted for who he is instantly. Rather unsurprisingly, from his uptight attitude, Wally’s father is not only appalled by the truth, but his punishment for Wally is that he’s forbidden to leave Ribbitvale. Not wanting to stand for this, Wally uses an elaborate ribbon dance to challenge his father to a match where if he wins, he’ll be free to leave and live as he chooses.
This in turn leads to an exciting high-class climax of a croquet game. The energy and competitive spirt keeps the affair fun, Anne as Wally’s steed in the game is cool to see, and there’s classy commentary from a frog modeled after the famed Kermit the Frog. It’s exciting moments and interesting references all around, as well as a good way to bring on the resolution. Wally wins, and his father shows some humanity, lamenting that now his son will never want to see him again, to which Wally admits that the Ribbiton family is a part of him too. This is heartfelt and all, though it is kind of contrived that the father is into traits of a traveling bum too; what hints to that were shown?
There are a few setbacks in the storytelling, but this cartoon is ultimately a good clash of old and new concepts and life approaches.
A-
Wax Museum
At times, you have to appreciate how much this show, as well as The Owl House, owes a lot to another major Disney TV show, Gravity Falls. That series about strange occurrences and mysteries in a small town was where the creators of these shows got their first big animated breakthroughs. In a way, one can look at that show as a start of a cycle where certain crew members branch off and create their own shows with similar strengths in story, character, and imagination. It’s fitting that Amphibia would go on to create somewhat of a tribute to Gravity Falls as a way of returning to familiar roots while staying true to its own unique ways.
There’s a theme of oddities for this cartoon, fitting for Gravity Falls, and being a human in a frog world, Anne can be seen as an oddity herself. While this has been a burden for her in the past, here she uses it to her advantage by earning good money. Then the references to the past show kick in with a reveal of town attraction, the Curiosity Hut, a notable spoof on the Mystery Shack. Inside is all there is to the place with long lines of strange exotic creatures apparently made of wax. The biggest reference is the frog running the Curiosity Hut simply known simply as the Curator. He’s a direct reference to key Gravity Falls character, Grunkle Stan right down to a similar design, personality, and voice by that show’s creator, Alex Hirsch.
As his persona and humor delight just as much as the real Grunkle Stan, Anne takes interest in what his Hut has to offer, mainly human world objects apparently obtained in Newtopia. The thing to catch Anne’s interest is a portable CD player her parents had back home, and she’s convinced she must have it. She makes a deal with the Curator that if she poses as a Curiosity Hut attraction for a day, he’ll give her the CD player. This raises concern as it draws negative attention to Anne, something the Plantars advised against earlier. Sadly, through ignoring their warnings and sneaking back to the hut, Anne regresses as a character. It’s just unfortunate that she’d be as reckless as she was in the early part of the show after showing legit maturity throughout this season.
The warnings of drawing attention and the shadiness of the Curator prove correct. The deal was a scam to encase Anne in wax and use her as a permanent exhibit. Despite one casual remark of the Curator sympathizing with Anne falling for an obvious trap, it’s unfortunate that this Grunkle Stan caricature turns out to be so villainous. The real one may have been into scams too, but he also had plenty of heart.
Speaking of heart, it at least shines from the Plantars who hurry to save Anne as she’s being encased in wax. In the process is a tie to the twisted side of Gravity Falls as earlier paranoia from Polly about the wax figures saves the day. Like Anne, they’re live creatures encased in wax, so the wax can be melted, setting them free. They drag the Curator into a room, with a splash of a red substance begging questions about what was done. He says that it’s just wax, but everyone later says that he’s dead, so what’s right? As for the overall resolution, the cartoon ends expectedly with Anne learning her lesson while also managing to obtain that CD player after all. Where it came from actually is followed up on in a cartoon in the following season, but for now its existence makes sense upon arrival in Newtopia come next time.
This stop on the Plantars’ journey doesn’t have the best character moments or strongest ties to the overall narrative, but attributing where the creator got his start is plenty rewarding.
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. Wax Museum
30. Swamp and Sensibility
31.
Trip to the Archives
32.
Anne Theft Auto
33.
Hop Luck
34.
Quarreler’s
Pass
35.
Hop Pop and Lock
36.
Plantar’s Last Stand
37.
Fort in the Road
38.
A Caravan Named Desire
39.
The Big Bugball Game
40.
Fiddle Me This
41.
Truck Stop Polly
42.
Family Fishing Trip
43.
The Ballad of Hoppediah Plantar
44.
Girl Time
45.
Breakout Star
46.
Grubhog Day
47.
Cane Crazy
48.
Sprig vs Hop Pop
49.
Cracking Mrs. Croaker
The next Amphibia finally brings our heroes to Newtopia, and we meet Anne's other human friend, Marcy.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews, The Owl House is "Hunting Palismen."
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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