"Friend or Frobo?" is the second segment of the fifteenth episode of the second season of Amphibia, and the sixty-sixth episode overall.[4]
It premiered on March 27, 2021, alongside "New Wartwood".
Synopsis
Desperate for fun, Polly breaks out on her own and finds an unlikely new friend in the process.
Plot
Anne, Marcy, and the Plantars are out shopping for the day and decide to stop by the seed store. Marcy reveals her love for seeds, something that Hop Pop shares and they both enter with the intent to spend a long time inside. A very bored Polly suggests to Anne and Sprig that they go out and get caught up in another misadventure, but they want to spend time playing a robot fighting game on Anne's phone and believe that they are mature enough to simply do what they are told, adding on that they need to be responsible for Polly's safety. In an act of defiance, Polly makes a mess by destroying a bag of seeds in front of a store and claims that Anne and Sprig are responsible when the owner angrily asks for them to clean it up. As Anne and Sprig start cleaning, Polly sneaks away.
Polly attempts to get into trouble, but her small appearance and lack of any real skill causes her to get brushed over easily. While walking by some trash, she finds something moving and realizes that it is the giant robot that had been following the Plantars this whole time. She quickly learns that it mimics everything that she does and upon comparing it to the robot from Anne's game, takes to calling him Frobo. Polly has Frobo perform various things for her all throughout the town and cause some minor destruction. However, when Polly teaches him to cannonball by jumping into the water fountain in the town square, Frobo ends up causing major damage, finally alerting everyone to his presence. Polly tries to calm everyone, but Frobo uses his laser vision to destroy a weather vane, enraging everyone.
As the townsfolk form a mob and prepare to attack Frobo, one person accidentally kicks Polly. As a result, Frobo becomes furious and begins to attack everyone. Anne and Sprig, finally done with cleaning the seeds, join in to fight Frobo, but are easily taken out. Polly finally stands up for Frobo, claims responsibility for his actions and apologizes for not treating him right. Frobo then utters "Polly", making her cry. The citizens are still furious and Polly has Frobo say his next word, "Sorry", which everyone casually accepts. Hop Pop and Marcy finally come out of the store and see Frobo for the first time with Marcy impressed by his appearance. Hop Pop is won over when he sees that he can garden, as well as make toast. Anne and Sprig briefly deduce that he came from the Ruins of Despair from early on the journey to Newtopia, but immediately abandon this idea.
Cast
- Brenda Song as Anne Boonchuy
- Justin Felbinger as Sprig Plantar
- Bill Farmer as Hop Pop Plantar
- Amanda Leighton as Polly Plantar
- Haley Tju as Marcy Wu
- James Patrick Stuart as Wally Ribbiton
- Laila Berzins as Sadie Croaker
- Stephen Root as Mayor Toadstool
- Jack McBrayer as Toadie
- John DiMaggio as Stumpy
- Brian Maillard as Leopold Loggle
- Kaitlyn Robrock as Felicia Sundew
Additional voices
- Dee Bradley Baker as Larry, Seed Store Employee, & Blue Frog
- Troy Baker as Tall Cop & Game Announcer
- Matt Braly as Frobo
Non-speaking cameo
- Ivy Sundew (No dialogue, screaming)
- Tuti
- Albus Duckweed
Title in other languages
| Language | Title | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bulgarian
|
Приятел или враг? | Friend or enemy? | |
 German
|
Frobo | Frobo | |
 European Spanish
|
¿Amigo o Ranobot? | Friend or Frobot? | Frobo's Spanish (Castilian) name is Ranobot, a mixture between Rana (Frog) and Robot |
 Italian
|
Amico o Ranobot | Friend or Frobo | Frobo's Italian name (Ranobot) consist in the worlds Rana (frog) and Robot |
 Japanese
|
ケロボ | Kerobo | Frobo's Japanese name is Kerobo, a mixture between Kaeru (Frog) and Robo |
 Korean
|
개구봇은 내 친구 | Frobot Is My Friend | |
 Dutch
|
Is Krobo een Vriend? | Is Frobo a Friend? | Frobo's Dutch name (Krobo) consists of the words frog (kikker) and robo. |
 European Portuguese
|
Amigo ou Sapô? | Friend or Frobo? | |
 Polish
|
Przyjaciel czy Żobot? | Friend or Frobo? | Frobo's Polish name (Żobot) |
 Thai
|
โฟรโบ เพื่อนหรือศัตรู | ||
 Vietnamese
|
Người Máy Frobo | Frobo the robot |
Transcript
| For a full transcript of "Friend or Frobo?", click here. |
Gallery
Click here to view the gallery.
Trivia
- Viewership: This episode was watched by 0.34 million viewers on its premiere.[1]
- This is the first time in the series that Frobo's name is mentioned.
- Anne mentioning her and Sprig sounding different is a fourth-wall break about Justin Felbinger, Sprig's voice actor, whose voice slightly changed over the course of Season 1 due to puberty, and Brenda Song, Anne's voice actress, whose voice has gotten a little deeper than Season 1 and 2A.
- This and "Anne or Beast?" are the only episode titles to contain a question mark.
Revelations and significant events
- Frobo finally catches up with Anne and the Plantars since "Fort in the Road".
- Polly officially names him Frobo based on Anne's app game and adopts him as her little brother.
- Frobo is taken in by the Plantars.
Continuity
- The events of the season premiere are mentioned.
- Polly wanting to make mischief while Sprig and Anne don't is similar to when Sprig wanted to go explore but Polly wouldn't let him in the very first episode.
- The same dishes from "Lily Pad Thai" can be seen inside Stumpy's Diner.
- Hop Pop tells Marcy that she shouldn't have bought tomato seeds due to his experiences with tomatoes in "Hop Luck".
- Mayor Toadstool mentions the statue and the fountain being missing in "After the Rain". He also mumbles that it was the second time this week it got destroyed.
- This also reveals that the events of these two episodes took place within the same week.
Production information
- This is the first episode (along with "New Wartwood") to be produced in 2021, according to the credits.
Allusions
- The Iron Giant - The plot of the episode resembles the plot of the movie.
- Sonic the Hedgehog - Both Polly and Frobo's spins are similar to Sonic's famous attack, the Spin Dash . The way Frobo imitates what Polly does and learns "tricks" such as the Spin Dash from her may also be inspired by Emerl, an "imitator" robot introduced in Sonic Advance 2.
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Polly's initial response to acquiring Frobo mirrors that of the young John Conner when he acquires his own Terminator.
- Castle in the Sky - Frobo's arms look similar to the robots in the film.
Videos
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Metcalf, Mitch (March 30, 2021). Top 150 Saturday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.27.2021. Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on 2021-03-30.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/DisneyTVA/status/1357407032526135297
- ↑ Sparrow, Joe [@torpordust] (March 29, 2021). "Episode sheet" (Tweet). Twitter.
- ↑ https://mobile.twitter.com/Radrappy/status/1342200463882522624