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Thai Feud
With the right direction, even the wackiest adventures an animated series comes up with can make a meaningful statement. This cartoon is a good example of this where it’s still mostly antics, but open minds can find notable weight.
Consider the background of Sprig and his stance on family. While he’s clearly grateful to have Polly and Hop Pop, he had a clearer sense of belonging when Anne came into his life. This is an especially big deal when remembering that his parents tragically passed away and he can’t really remember them. Now that the Plantars have been transported to Earth and are living with Anne, Sprig has a chance to once again know what it’s like to have actual parents.
This makes for a jarring circumstance where Polly and Hop Pop treat the Boonchuy family with respect as guests, Sprig is much rougher. He feels that he’s automatically part of Anne’s family since she’s an honorary member of his, but everyone’s quick to say it doesn’t work like that. Wild as Sprig is, knowing the reasons for his behavior does make his drive for the rest of the cartoon more compelling.
To be considered family instead of a guest, he decides to join Anne who’s working at her parents’ Thai food restaurant. There, they learn of a problem going on with their top customer, Ned. He loves the restaurants food so much that he wants to be a part of the business. Since Mrs. Boonchuy insists the recipes belong to the family only, Ned decides to sell the food right outside the restaurant with a food truck. By doing so, he’s hurting the restaurant’s business by confusing customers of where to go. Sprig sees resolving this as an opportunity to prove himself as a part of the Boonchuy family. As is often the case with antic-driven stories, his actions constantly backfire in the most unfortunate ways. To make things sting even more, Anne has to face the consequences for Sprig’s messes. Since her mom only scolds family and not guests, Sprig’s plan really isn’t getting him anywhere. Still, it is nice to see Anne understanding where Sprig’s coming from, even if she’s desperate for him to stop these crazy schemes.
However, Sprig enacts his craziest act of the day by giving Ned a fake note from Mrs. Boonchuy saying he’ll get the recipes while he gets rid of the food truck. Once more, his lack of insight causes backfires with Ned and Mrs. Boonchuy quickly discovering Sprig set them up and he and Anne having to drive the truck when the brakes fail. The sequence in the truck certainly makes for a fun fast-paced climax to keep attention of the audience though. When the truck finally stops and Anne and Sprig are caught, there’s also a good payoff. Sprig takes responsibility for everything while admitting he just wanted to belong to a family. Thankfully, Mrs. Boonchuy understands and realizes she made him feel like an outsider, something Ned can relate to as well while also regretting his actions with the truck. Mrs. Boonchuy understands his feelings too and allows Ned to work at the restaurant by using his truck to make deliveries; this position is never shown, but it’s fine for this cartoon’s context. There’s also one last amusing scene to finally make Sprig feel like family as Mrs. Boonchuy gives him a firm scolding for what he did. This causes Sprig to happily tear up as it means he’s officially part of the family, a unique interpretation of certain circumstances to say the least.
While the subject of this cartoon doesn’t stand tall for being more fun than emotional, its strengths make it very solid entertainment.
A-
Adventures in Catsitting
Interestingly, this cartoon continues the theme of belonging to a family set up in its companion. It’s still largely built on comedic values which doesn’t allow it to reach any big heights, but again, there is some weight to the fun that must be worth taking note of.
There have been a few instances throughout the show where Anne has shown notable affection for her pet cat, Domino, one of her favorite things about her life on Earth. It’s certainly great for her to be back with her pet, but the real focus is on how the Plantars interact with the cat. When Anne is called in for a major dentist appointment on a day when she’s supposed to take Domino to the vet, there’s a problem of who can take her place. At the same time, the Plantars actually show some consideration to the hospitality they’ve been getting from the Boonchuys. As much as they enjoy it and even with Sprig at least considered family, they also fear that they’re becoming freeloaders mooching off of their special treatment. They offer to take Domino to the vet in order to avoid turning into total moochers, which includes not asking for help from the Boonchuys.
As things typically go for this kind of setup, not asking for help actually makes the process more difficult and shows how misguided the Plantars are. As a result, this seemingly simple task leads to a series of antics common to the comedic style largely associated with the show. The Plantars have to endure Domino, who’s clearly not used to other caretakers, scratching at them, and there’s awkwardness as they clumsily interact with other humans. Some instances even compromise the low profile they’re trying to keep, but unbelievably, nothing big comes from them.
There are more intriguing moments like when they find a smaller more realistic frog common to Earth, which Sprig takes a keen interest in. It even plays a role in the plot when the Plantars finally get Domino to the vet, and while the appointment goes well, they ask a lot of questions about this world’s frogs. By doing so, they don’t pay attention to Domino who goes out on her own. The Plantars become desperate to find the cat, and so to avoid making things more difficult, Sprig ignores Hop Pop’s beliefs and just calls Mr. Boonchuy for help. It’s very refreshing that someone immediately finds fault in the idea of not asking for help when they need it and keeps from prolonging the issue at hand. Thanks to this move, the Plantars learn of a tactic of tracking Domino down, and sure enough, she’s there. They have to cause a scene that amounts to a false alarm to successfully retrieve the cat, making for even more havoc that isn’t dealt with, but they still accomplish something.
What’s more, the antics get a balance of heart after Mr. Boonchuy comes to retrieve them. Hop Pop laments that since he had to assist them on what to do, he and the rest of the family are nothing but freeloaders. However, Mr. Boonchuy insists that’s not true, for since they took care of Anne for months, the Plantars earn the family's respect and don’t owe anything. Moments of genuine care are just what’s needed to make stories largely built on hijinks more engaging, particularly to all audiences.
While it still doesn’t make this cartoon one of the best, the undeniable care and heart make it well worth a watch with a few meaningful things to take away.
B+
Fan Art
Series Ranking
1.
True
Colors
2.
Hopping
Mall
3.
Reunion
4.
Marcy at the Gates
5.
Toad Tax
6.
The First Temple
7.
Turning Point
8.
Battle of the Bands
9.
Barrel’s
Warhammer
10.
Anne vs Wild
11.
The Domino Effect
12.
The Third Temple
13.
Toadcatcher
14.
Prison Break
15.
The Second Temple
16.
A Day at the Aquarium
17.
Anne of the Year
18.
Contagi-Anne
19.
The
Shut-In
20.
Best Fronds
21.
After
the Rain
22.
Family Shrub
23.
The New Normal
24.
The Dinner
25.
Hop-Popular
26.
Anne Hunter
27.
Wally and Anne
28.
Children of the Spore
29.
Friend
or Frobo
30.
A Night at the Inn
31.
Bessie
and MicroAngelo
32.
Handy Anne
33.
Scavenger Hunt
34.
Lily Pad Thai
35.
Dating Season
36.
Anne or Beast?
37.
Combat Camp
38.
Little Frogtown
39.
Cursed!
40. Thai
Feud
41.
Snow Day
42.
Civil Wart
43.
Maddie and Marcy
44.
Stakeout
45.
Croak and Punishment
46.
Taking Charge
47.
Flood, Sweat, and Tears
48.
Bizarre Bazaar
49.
The Plantars Check In
50.
The Sleepover to End All Sleepovers
51.
Wax Museum
52.
Return
to Wartwood
53.
Sprig Gets Schooled
54.
Swamp and Sensibility
55.
Trip to the Archives
56.
Toad
to Redemption
57.
Anne Theft Auto
58. Adventures in Catsitting
59.
Hop Luck
60.
New
Wartwood
61.
Ivy on the Run
62.
Night
Drivers
63.
Quarreler’s
Pass
64.
Hop Pop and Lock
65.
Plantar’s Last Stand
66.
Fort in the Road
67.
A Caravan Named Desire
68.
The Big Bugball Game
69.
Fiddle Me This
70.
Truck Stop Polly
71.
Family Fishing Trip
72.
Hop ‘Til You Drop
73.
The Ballad of Hoppediah Plantar
74.
Girl Time
75.
Breakout Star
76.
Grubhog Day
77.
Cane Crazy
78.
Lost in Newtopia
79.
Sprig vs Hop Pop
80.
Cracking Mrs. Croaker
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Anne, unsure if she can trust anyone, plans a museum heist for a break in getting the Plantars home, and learns about the importance of her culture during a trip to the local Thai temple.
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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