Sunday, January 15, 2023

Commander Anne / Sprivy - (Amphibia Season 3 Episode 11) - 'Toon Reviews 53

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Commander Anne

Through entering the second half of Season 3, there’s a transition to a different atmosphere and focus.  Instead of the relatable homely setting of Earth, the setting is back in the fantasy category with an apocalyptic flair.  The reign of King Andrias has turned Amphibia into a desolate wasteland, stripping its vibrancy and mostly welcoming aesthetic.  It’s certainly a shock for Anne and the Plantars when they first arrive back after such a long time away.  However, that’s where the new atmosphere brings about motivation to make things right for this world.  

It isn’t long before Anne and the others find refuge in this doomsday setting upon learning what’s become of their hometown of Wartwood.  This is also where what’s become of Sasha since her last appearance is revealed as she’s taken charge of protecting Wartwood’s citizens and built up a resistance.  The resistance’s headquarters reveal several callbacks to past events of the series, most notably their location being in a secret hidden basement of the Plantars’ house.  With Anne’s return, Sasha feels more confident than ever about bringing justice to this world and doesn’t hesitate to let that be known to the crowd.  

The reason for this is soon revealed as she entitles Anne the new commander of the resistance.  All the while, Anne, and even several others, question if putting her in charge of the resistance is the best thing to do.  All Sasha says is that the reason for the decision is complicated as if to avoid sharing any details.  Anyway, the resistance sets off to take out one of the king’s bases guarded by beasts under the control of mushroom enzymes; another callback to give legitimacy to past seemingly one-off events.  

All the while, a point is made of how natural it is that some people are just not cut out for certain tasks.  Anne isn’t used to holding a position like a commander, leading to her making poor decisions that lead to dangers the group barely escapes.  This setup kind of makes sense, but it can also be kind of laughable how badly Anne messes up while in charge.  She’s planned strategies before and taken charge when things were at stake, so it’s somewhat hard to believe that managing this position would be so difficult for her.  Also, it’s kind of sad to see her arrive in Amphibia clean only to instantly revert back to how she looked during the majority of her original time there; missing shoe, leaves in hair, and all.  She really should be expected to know how to get around this world by now.  

Still, there is a point to Anne’s ineptness as commander when they reach the base, and no one is in the right shape to face the beast guarding.  Anne wisely accepts that she’s not fit for the position and insists Sasha be commander.  It’s here where Sasha reveals that the reason she’s staying out of power is because she ended up ruining their friendship the last time she sought for control.  This shows that she truly has maturely adjusted her morals and values after her recent epiphany, and Anne is quick to point that she can manage being commander because of this change.  So, after Anne willingly lets herself be eaten along with the rest of the group, Sasha is open to using her smarts to save everyone and prove herself worthy of being leader.  Still, a compromise is reached with her and Anne agreeing to share the leadership duties, meaning healthy growth for both of them as both friends and individuals.  

This shift in tone may not be perfectly executed, but it shines for its clever ideas and apparent character development.

A

Sprivy

When Sprig started a romantic relationship with Ivy Sundew, the two had a lot of potential to be a very charming kid couple.  In the subsequent appearances of them together after that, they certainly met that potential.  The problem is that there wasn’t a lot of material devoted to their relationship, making it seem not very important in the grand scheme.  This is especially hurtful to this cartoon devoted to their relationship and how prominent it is even in the face of needing to stop a tyrannical king destroying everything.  

Sprig and Ivy are apparently so close and so infatuated that they can’t bear to spend a second apart.  Such extreme attachment is too much for the rest of the resistance as well as baffling from an audience perspective.  Because so little of Sprig and Ivy as a couple has been shown throughout the series, it doesn’t feel right for them to be portrayed as this clingy.  Even if this is a romantic relationship, the show hasn’t really made it seem like Ivy is that vital of a part of Sprig’s life.  Heck, one past moment of the Plantars missing home showed Hop Pop thinking of Sylvia, Ivy’s grandmother, but not Sprig doing the same for Ivy.  For that, how attached they act towards each other ends up just as off-putting to the audience as it is to the actual characters.  

Having this unfold in something like the resistance makes it even worse as the main plot shows.  Sprig and Ivy are tasked to join Sasha on a mission along with two supporting characters from Warwood; Stumpy the local restauranteur, and Fern who works at the town spa and I’m certain hasn’t even spoken before.  The goal is to take down a robot battalion while they’re changing shifts so a delivery of important supplies for the resistance can get through.  Sasha has certain teammates assigned for certain things, but Sprig and Ivy are distressed that this means they have to split up.  This in turn leads to a very dumb decision where Sprig forges a message saying Sasha wants the partners to switch leaving him with Ivy and Stumpy with Fern.  It’s not hard to see why this is a bad move because certain talents are not being used in the right place.  Sprig and Ivy’s attempts at shutting down the robots’ force field are ineffective, and Fern gets easily distracted by things and is unable to help Stumpy when he needs it.  While Sprig can be rash, Ivy has been known to think more logically about things, so one would assume that she’d not go along with this foolish act so easily.  

Because of this boneheaded move, everyone is mobbed by robots, though getting out of the mess does make the overall message clear.  Everyone’s talents are put in the right place to avoid the force field’s power and ultimately shut it down.  Sprig and Ivy even see the benefits of this despite STILL making a huge deal of being apart for a few seconds.  For that, the cartoon gets points for nicely executing the message it sets out to teach, obvious as it is.  However, since Sprig and Ivy’s relationship hasn’t gotten a lot of attention before and still doesn’t after this cartoon, the threat to the mission’s progress feels baseless.  It acts like this romance is a huge thing in the grand scheme when it really isn’t.  

The cartoon itself has some merit, but emphasis on something that’s actually a very minor detail makes the viewing experience awkward and off-putting.  Its heart is in the right place, but it overall turns out to be pretty weak.

C+

Fan Art

Series Ranking

1.      True Colors

2.      Hopping Mall

3.      Reunion

4.      Marcy at the Gates

5.      Anne-sterminator

6.      Olivia and Yunan

7.      Toad Tax

8.      The First Temple

9.      Froggy Little Christmas

10.  Turning Point

11.  Battle of the Bands

12.  Barrel’s Warhammer

13.  Escape to Amphibia

14.  Anne vs Wild

15.  The Domino Effect

16.  The Third Temple

17.  Toadcatcher

18.  Prison Break

19.  The Second Temple

20.  Temple Frogs

21.  A Day at the Aquarium

22.  Mr. X

23.  Anne of the Year

24.  Contagi-Anne

25.  The Shut-In

26.  Best Fronds

27.  After the Rain

28.  Family Shrub

29.  Fixing Frobo

30.  If You Give a Frog a Cookie

31.  Commander Anne

32.  The New Normal

33.  The Dinner

34.  Hop-Popular

35.  Anne Hunter

36.  Wally and Anne

37.  Children of the Spore

38.  Fight at the Museum

39.  Friend or Frobo

40.  Sprig’s Birthday

41.  A Night at the Inn

42.  Bessie and MicroAngelo

43.  Handy Anne

44.  Scavenger Hunt

45.  Lily Pad Thai

46.  Dating Season

47.  Anne or Beast?

48.  Combat Camp

49.  Little Frogtown

50.  Cursed!

51.  Thai Feud

52.  Snow Day

53.  Civil Wart

54.  Maddie and Marcy

55.  Stakeout

56.  Croak and Punishment

57.  Taking Charge

58.  Flood, Sweat, and Tears

59.  Bizarre Bazaar

60.  The Plantars Check In

61.  The Sleepover to End All Sleepovers

62.  Wax Museum

63.  Return to Wartwood

64.  Sprig Gets Schooled

65.  Swamp and Sensibility

66.  Trip to the Archives

67.  Toad to Redemption

68.  Anne Theft Auto

69.  Adventures in Catsitting

70.  Hop Luck

71.  New Wartwood

72.  Ivy on the Run

73.  Night Drivers

74.  Quarreler’s Pass

75.  Hop Pop and Lock

76.  Plantar’s Last Stand

77.  Fort in the Road

78.  A Caravan Named Desire

79.  The Big Bugball Game

80.  Fiddle Me This

81.  Hollywood Hop Pop

82.  Truck Stop Polly

83.  Family Fishing Trip

84.  Hop ‘Til You Drop

85.  Spider-Sprig

86.  The Ballad of Hoppediah Plantar

87.  Girl Time

88.  Breakout Star

89.  Grubhog Day

90.  Cane Crazy

91.  Sprivy

92.  Lost in Newtopia

93.  Sprig vs Hop Pop

94.  Cracking Mrs. Croaker



The next review features another resistance mission with a varied cast, and the next big step in saving Amphibia as our heroes seek a prophecy from the Mother of Olms.

Next time is an Ed Edd n Eddy review of "Ed Overboard" and "One of Those Eds."

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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