"Night Drivers" is the first segment of the eleventh episode of the second season of Amphibia, and the fifty-ninth episode overall.[note 1]
It premiered on March 6, 2021, alongside "Return to Wartwood".
Synopsis
Sprig and Polly stay up all night to drive the family home.
Plot
Sprig and Polly are excited to be returning to Wartwood. They deduce that if they ride continuously through the night, they'll be able to reach home by sunrise. However, Anne and Hop Pop are severely tired from driving for 20 hours straight and need to sleep. Despite Sprig and Polly's plea to drive Bessie themselves so that they can return home on time, Hop Pop refuses because they haven't read Bessie's manual. They both go to sleep where Hop Pop dreams of confronting his fears (personified as monsters) only to enjoy his time and flies away while Anne dreams of being in a candy land-esque environment that only serves black licorice flavored yogurt, much to her horror. Sprig and Polly take advantage of this and decide to drive the fwagon.
Sprig and Polly's adventure has them driving through falling rocks and monster infested forests. While out driving, they encounter a tall bearded man with a hook hand and a lantern. They attempt to pick him up, but get frightened by his appearance and quickly drive away. They pass through a foggy fjord where they once again encounter the hook handed man at a fork in the road. He points to the left, but out of fear, they decide to turn to the right instead, which sends them falling down a hill and passing by numerous creatures that nearly catch them. As they believe to have prevailed, they're horrified to discover the hook-handed man standing atop the fwagon.
The hook handed man attempts to wrangle control away from the children who believe they're being attacked. However, the man simply stops the fwagon just as the sun rises and disappears. Sprig and Polly discover that they're just outside of Wartwood and see a statue of the man who turns out to be Zechariah Nettles, who was known for leading travelers home. They realize that it was the spirit of Nettles who was trying to help them, not hurt them, and that he was trying to lead them through a calmer passage back to Wartwood. Hop Pop and Anne wake up and are at first angered at Sprig and Polly disobeying them, but quickly see them acting loopy before collapsing from exhaustion and decide to let them off easy before driving the last three miles back into town.
Some short distance away, the robot from the factory continues to follow the Plantars. It notices the sign pointing to Wartwood, and proceeds to slowly march in the same direction.
Cast
- Justin Felbinger as Sprig Plantar
- Amanda Leighton as Polly Plantar
- Brenda Song as Anne Boonchuy
- Bill Farmer as Hop Pop Plantar
- Katie Crown as Ivy Sundew (Sprig's imagination) & Little Yogurt Man (credited as additional voices)
- Dee Bradley Baker as Bessie (credited as additional voices)
Additional voices
- Matt Braly as Vulture
Others
Title in other languages
| Language | Title | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bulgarian
|
Нощни шофьори | Night Drivers | |
 German
|
Die Nachtfahrt | The night drive | |
 European Spanish
|
Conductores Nocturnos | Night Drivers | |
 Italian
|
Guidatori Notturni | Night Drivers | |
 Japanese
|
ナイトドライバー | Night Driver | |
 Dutch
|
Nachtrijders | Night Drivers | |
 European Portuguese
|
Condutores Noturnos | Night Drivers | |
 Polish
|
Nocni woźnicy | Night Drivers | |
 Thai
|
นักซิ่งราตรี | ||
 Vietnamese
|
Tài Xế Đêm | Night Drivers |
Transcript
| For a full transcript of "Night Drivers", click here. |
Gallery
Click here to view the gallery.
Trivia
- Viewership: This episode was watched by 0.41 million viewers on its premiere.[1]
- This, alongside "Return to Wartwood", are the first episodes to air in another country before it aired in the United States.
- On December 11, 2020, a clip from the episode was leaked but quickly deleted.
- This is the first episode to air in 2021.
- On Disney+, this episode and "Return to Wartwood" are listed before "The Shut-In!".
Revelations and significant events
- In Anne's dream that later turned into a nightmare, it's shown she likes yogurt very much, except the licorice flavor that she fears so badly.
Continuity
- This episode takes place alongside "Return to Wartwood", after "A Day at the Aquarium".
- The robot from "Fort in the Road" has come back from the pothole in "Lost in Newtopia", and he's coming to Wartwood in about 3 miles.
- The events of "Quarreler's Pass" are mentioned.
- In the shot of Wartwood, several known structures from the town can be made out, such as the Plantar Farm, Stumpy's Diner, the Town Hall, and the town's large statue.
- A large lake can also be spotted on the outskirts of town, which may be the same lake seen in "Best Fronds".
Allusions
- Sonic the Hedgehog - One of the obstacles that Sprig and Polly come across while driving is a loop-de-loop, a staple of the franchise, it's also accompanied by flowers that resemble those appearing in Green Hill Zone.
- The Hook - The hook-handed frog is most likely a reference to the urban legend of a mysterious, faceless killer that had a hook for a hand and wore a black trench coat that is often the basis for many campfire stories.
Errors
- On Disney+, when Anne said, "I don't know what happened last night, but it looks like they've already learned their lesson", the captions exclude "last night".
Memorable quotes
Notes
- ↑ Although "Night Drivers"/"Return to Wartwood" was originally aired as the twelfth episode of the second season, it slots into the season's continuity as the eleventh episode, preceding "The Shut-In!", and is listed as the eleventh episode on Disney+.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Metcalf, Mitch (March 9, 2021). Top 150 Saturday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.6.2021. Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on 2021-03-09.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/DisneyTVA/status/1357407032526135297
- ↑ https://twitter.com/DisneyGrillasLA/status/1437244429295919105?t=tcB-GNNLyPZjOU4dhGF4vw&s=19