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Scavenger Hunt
A new location to explore and a new character to start regularly joining the series’ main players brings a lot of promise for new interesting stories. For the most part, this cartoon nicely shows off this promise as it offers amusing ways of moving everyone along in the next phase of their goals.
Now that they’ve arrived in Newtopia, the next step is to meet up with the king of Amphibia for information on how to get Anne and her friends home. It doesn’t take long for everyone to discover the ways the king has them go about this when an arrow flies on the scene. According to Marcy, this is part of his ways of delivering messages. Attached to the arrow is a scroll of clues to a message, so the group has to go on a scavenger hunt find them. This in turn portrays the king as someone out for fun, though given his ominous first appearance last time, it’s best not to get too sucked in on the thrill of the hunt.
One person who is definitely not too fixated on the fun, is Anne. This cartoon is a good one to delve into her dynamic with Marcy. At the start, it’s made clear that they contrast greatly in how they go about life with Marcy being intellectual while Anne can barely keep focus on brainy stuff. It shows that even if she can be protective of Marcy because of how fixated she gets on things, Anne is also aware of her friend’s talents. In fact, she’s so aware of Marcy’s strengths, Anne feels dumb around her, and this scavenger hunt only enhances the self-doubt. The first two clues are honestly cleverly hidden and difficult for even the audience to figure out, but Marcy has methods of uncovering them effortlessly. When she does, for the most part you can see the logic behind it, but in certain cases, they’re answers that really only she could possibly uncover. Anne is desperate to play a big role in deciphering the clues, but her methods offer little to no help, focusing on elements that turn out to be inconsequential.
However, while the hunt shows off Marcy’s wit, it also showcases Anne’s own strength. Through positive attitudes and genuine care for others, she helps a little girl rescue her caterpillar, bonds with an elder newt at a bus stop, and socializes with a local nacho saleswoman. You’d be surprised how beneficial Anne’s friendliness with these citizens turns out to be. That said, she does take advice on faking it until she makes it from one of them the wrong way. When Marcy becomes stumped for the last clue, Anne acts smart with very basic facts she knows, but that ends up putting them in danger from a sewer gator. However, Anne’s good social skills and bonds she formed from others lead all the people she met to rush over to save her and the others.
It’s here where she gets some much needed reassurance as Marcy points out how Anne’s ability to befriend whoever she meets has a lot to admire. In fact, she’s just as jealous of Anne as she is of her. Still, they admire each other’s strengths and are able to recognize that their differences are what makes them such a good pair. Heart even turns out to be a good companion to wit as Anne’s friendliness allows her to find the last clue in a nacho tray. The message is simply for Marcy to bring the Plantars to the king, but it’s enough to lead into the next cartoon. Not only that, but it all comes through in a well-told story of individual strengths and endearing bonds.
A
The Plantars Check In
The structure of this cartoon goes in two different directions, but it’s still interesting in execution.
It starts by progressing the most central story of helping Anne and her friends get home during an audience with none other than King Andrias. This first meeting presents the literally giant monarch as very fun-loving and jovial. His positive vibes, interest in playing around, and making a good connection with the kids give a good feel of a lovable monarch. At the same time, it’s best to remember his genuine dark introductory moments, so it’s best not to fully trust him.
Despite any trust issues, King Andrias does have honest knowledge on the best possible strategies for the main goal. Claiming that the only way Anne and her friends can get home is with the music box that brought them to Amphibia, he reveals interesting information. Anne doesn’t have the actual music box, unbeknownst to her because of Hop Pop, but she does have a picture of it. That brings to attention the box’s main features, its three gemstones. While attentive viewers can point out that they’re grey now as opposed to vibrantly colored before Anne opened it, here it’s in the forefront. It’s clear that this detail is huge and needs investigating.
However, while Marcy and King Andrias do the investigating, this cartoon’s focus shifts to something more light-hearted. The Plantars are given a suite at a very lavish hotel in Newtopia and an unlimited credit card. From here, the focus shifts from world-building to fun antics in an interesting location. Sprig is keen to explore Newtopia and take advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime access to free stuff.
Unfortunately for him, all everyone else wants to do is lay around their comfy hotel room and nap. From vacations I’ve been on, I can relate to Sprig in wanting to enjoy amenities when really it’s better to take things slowly. Then again, this was mostly when I was younger. Still, there’s believability to Sprig’s actions, and the antics that follow have solid humor and stand out for where they unfold.
Sneaking away with the credit card, he goes down to the lobby to explore what the hotel has to offer; he was only forbidden to explore the city. From dining on ice cream sundaes and mocha chinos to major shopping sprees and haircuts, it’s just fun to watch Sprig live it up and know just how to go about things. However, all these activities pale in comparison to his most desired activity, an indoor Ferris wheel, something that would make total sense to not pass up. This was recommended to him by the hotel’s bellhop named Bella. She’s an interesting personality where she’s young and hardworking, but things like a low-paying job and a mountain of student debt have caused her to lose all hope.
However, she instantly breaks out of her funk when Sprig’s antics cause him to lose the credit card and it lands in her hands. There’s a chase sequence that lands them both on that Ferris wheel, and once they see the gorgeous view from the top, that’s enough to have them reach a truce. Bella admits that it was wrong to try and steal Sprig’s credit card, and Sprig makes it so that she doesn’t get fired for riding the Ferris wheel for free and gets a good raise. So this set of antics is both fun, and has good heart. It even ends in a relatable sense with Sprig returning tired from all he’s done while the rest of the Plantars who napped are refreshed and ready to enjoy things.
While this cartoon suddenly goes from insightful to just plain fun, it’s fortunate to know that it pulls off the majorly contrasting tones very well.
A-
Series Ranking
1.
Reunion
2.
Marcy at the Gates
3.
Toad Tax
4.
Anne vs Wild
5.
The Domino Effect
6.
Toadcatcher
7.
Prison Break
8.
Anne of the Year
9.
Contagi-Anne
10.
Best Fronds
11.
Family Shrub
12.
Hop-Popular
13.
Anne Hunter
14.
Wally and Anne
15.
Children of the Spore
16.
A Night at the Inn
17.
Handy Anne
18. Scavenger Hunt
19.
Lily Pad Thai
20.
Dating Season
21.
Anne or Beast?
22.
Combat Camp
23.
Cursed!
24.
Snow Day
25.
Civil Wart
26.
Stakeout
27.
Croak and Punishment
28.
Taking Charge
29.
Flood, Sweat, and Tears
30.
Bizarre Bazaar
31. The Plantars Check In
32.
Wax Museum
33.
Swamp and Sensibility
34.
Trip to the Archives
35.
Anne Theft Auto
36.
Hop Luck
37.
Quarreler’s
Pass
38.
Hop Pop and Lock
39.
Plantar’s Last Stand
40.
Fort in the Road
41.
A Caravan Named Desire
42.
The Big Bugball Game
43.
Fiddle Me This
44.
Truck Stop Polly
45.
Family Fishing Trip
46.
The Ballad of Hoppediah Plantar
47.
Girl Time
48.
Breakout Star
49.
Grubhog Day
50.
Cane Crazy
51.
Sprig vs Hop Pop
52.
Cracking Mrs. Croaker
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