"Swamp and Sensibility" is the first segment of the fifth episode of the second season of Amphibia, and the forty-eighth episode overall.[3]
It premiered on August 8, 2020, alongside "Wax Museum".
Synopsis
When Anne discovers an old friend has been living a double life, she becomes fixated on helping him be his true self.
Plot
On the road, Anne and Sprig are watching Anne's favorite movie, From Point to Poppin', when the fwagon goes over a steep hill and causes Bessie's reins to snap; she proceeds to chase after a flock of sheep-flies. To buy new reigns for Bessie, the group stops by at the nearest town, Ribbitvale, the most luxurious, high-class town in Amphibia. As the group looks around, Sprig spots what appears to be One-Eyed Wally. Wally acts strangely around the Plantars when they greet him, presenting himself as "Walliam Ribbiton", and claims the group are "servants from Wartwood". His father, Wigbert, invites the Plantars to the Ribbiton mansion to have his staff tend to their belongings.
At his family's mansion, Wally reveals to the Plantars he has been living a double-life as Wartwood's vagrant because the life of a vagrant is what he loves. He has hidden this from his family fearing they would estrange him and separate him from his beloved ladybug, Fiddleleaf. He also hides instruments around the estate to preserve his sanity. Anne tells him he should tell his family about the real him after what he taught her about other people not caring about the inner self, but Wally still finds estrangement from his family too risky. Wally floats the idea of them seeing his life in Wartwood for them to accept him, but he rejects it.
She secretly promises to help Wally get his family to understand, despite the Plantars' misgivings about the prospect of her meddling. As a result, Anne thinks it will work out based on the movie they saw earlier and presses with her intention. During dinner, Anne shows everyone videos of Wally's antics as the town vagrant in Wartwood, but instead of an accepting reaction, Wigbert is appalled, proving Wally's concerns right all along. Wigbert forbids Wally from returning to Wartwood and orders him to stay in Ribbitvale forever, however, Wally declares that if his family will not accept him, he doesn't want to be part of it anymore and challenges his father to Beast Polo; if Wally wins, he can live how he wants to. If Wally loses, he must take over the family business and stay in Ribbetvale forever. Wally accepts the terms.
On his way to the challenge, Wally angrily berates Anne for not respecting his wishes to maintain his secret. When Anne reminds him of what he said about wishing his family could see him in Wartwood, Wally clarifies he didn't actually mean it. Anne asks what she can do to make up for it, but Wally is not in a forgiving mood and says she has done quite enough already, and goes to the challenge to handle it alone, much to Anne's dismay.
At the start of the game, Anne offers to be Wally's mount after Fiddleleaf is denied use to make up for her mistake. The game begins its course, and though Wigbert puts up a challenge, Anne and Wally make the score and ultimately win. Though Wigbert concedes defeat, Wally tells his father that he does not want to leave his life in Ribbitvale behind, he only desires more freedom. Wigbert accepts his son's wishes and reveals he too hides a secret: he loves to play music with the jug. Pulling out his accordion, Wally and Wigbert perform in celebration as the Plantars join in, until a giant peacock appears and roars at them.
Cast
- Brenda Song as Anne Boonchuy
- Justin Felbinger as Sprig Plantar
- Bill Farmer as Hop Pop Plantar
- Amanda Leighton as Polly Plantar
- James Patrick Stuart as Wally Ribbiton
- Hugh Bonneville as Wigbert Ribbiton
- Matt Vogel as Crumpet
Additional voices
- Jim Cummings as Stuffy Rich Frog
- Eden Riegel as Ballerina & Ballerina's Mother
- Troy Baker as Cops
Title in other languages
| Language | Title | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Latin American Spanish
|
Sapos y sentimientos | Toads and feelings | |
 Bulgarian
|
Š£ŃŠµŃŠ°Š½Šµ Š·Š° Š±Š»Š°ŃŠ¾ | Sense of swamp | |
 German
|
Reichtum ist nicht alles | Resistance isn't everything | |
 European Spanish
|
Pantano y sensibilidad | Swamp and sensibility | |
 French
|
Marais et sensibilitƩ | Swamp and sensibility | |
 Italian
|
Ranocchie e sentimento | Frogs and sentiment | A reference to Italian dub of Sense and Sensibility (Ragione e Sentimento) |
 Japanese
|
ę¬å½ć®čŖå | real me | |
 Korean
|
ģė¦¬ģ ģ“ģ¤ģķ | Wally's Dual Life | |
 Dutch
|
Moeras en gevoeligheid | Swamp and Sensibility | |
 European Portuguese
|
Orgulho e PĆ¢ntano | Pride and Swamp | A reference to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (Orgulho e Preconceito) |
 Polish
|
Bagnisty i romantyczny | Swampy and romantic | |
 Thai
|
ąøąø±ąøąøąø°ą¹ąø„ąø°ąøąø§ąø²ąø”ąø£ąø¹ą¹ąøŖąø¶ąø | ||
 Vietnamese
|
Äįŗ§m Lįŗ§y VĆ LĆ TrĆ | Swamp and Sensibility |
Transcript
| For a full transcript of "Swamp and Sensibility", click here. |
Gallery
Click here to view the gallery.
Trivia
- Viewership: This episode was watched by 0.32 million viewers on its premiere.[2]
- This is the second time a Muppet character guest stars in a Disney Channel cartoon, the first being Fozzie Bear in Big City Greens.
- Wigbert's passion for playing the jug was foreshadowed in the beginning when he was with his son, looking at the window of a jug store.
- This episode marks the second instance a family challenge occurs after its first appearance in "Sprig Vs. Hop Pop".
Revelations and significant events
- Wally is revealed to come from a rich family and he's a bum in Wartwood because it makes him happy.
- Wally's full name is Walliam Ribbiton.
Continuity
- Anne mentions that Wally taught her to "never worry about what others think", alluding to "Wally and Anne".
Allusions
- Sense and Sensibility: The title is a play on the first novel written by Jane Austen.
- Billy Elliot: The entire plot of this episode and the movie Anne and Sprig watch at the beginning are references to the 2000 film.
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: The style of the credits from the movie that Anne and Sprig are watching is a reference to the logo from the 1990 sitcom.
- Donald Duck: In Anne's video of Wally showering at Wartwood's fountain, a rubber ducky wearing Donald Duck's signature hat from the Mickey Mouse TV series can be seen.
- Little Lord Fauntleroy - Wally's outfit in Ribbitvale is similar to the titular character from the Frances Hodgson Burnett novel.
- The Muppets: Befitting his inspiration, Crumpet makes a few references to the franchise.
- Right before the game, Crumpet introduces himself by saying, "Hi-ho, Crumpet the Frog here." This is a variation of his actor Kermit the Frog's catchphrase, "Hi-ho, Kermit the Frog here."
- Crumpet asks for the game to be "cool and friendly-like," which is a lyric from one of Kermit's songs, "Bein' Green".
- PokƩmon: The sheepflies that Bessie follows and in the location look like the sheep PokƩmon, Wooloo, from PokƩmon Sword and Shield.
References
- ā Sparrow, Joe [@torpordust] (August 24, 2020). "I meant to post some of my designs from last week's #Amphibia episode, Swamp & Sensibility! but i forgot. so here they are! enjoy!" (Tweet). Twitter.
- ā 2.0 2.1 Metcalf, Mitch (August 11, 2020). Top 150 Saturday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.8.2020. Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020.
- ā Disney TVA [@DisneyTVA] (June 23, 2020). "From risky robotics to museum mishaps, we can't wait for you to watch these brand-new episodes of #Amphibia, #BigCityGreens, and #TheOwlHouse! Which ones are you most excited for?" (Tweet) ā via X (Twitter).