"Bizarre Bazaar" is the second segment of the sixteenth episode of Amphibia . It premiered on July 11, 2019.
Synopsis[ ]
Anne’s music box goes missing at the mysterious and exclusive Bizarre Bazaar.
Plot[ ]
After coming back from the Archives and finding no information about the mysterious music box, Anne and the Plantars are stopped by small creatures who are exiting a small tree. Sprig digs inside and spots a small egg that he identifies as an entrance key to the Bizarre Bazaar, a nightly market that appears and disappears annually. Anne becomes convinced that the Bizarre Bazaar might hold the answers to the music box. However, Hop Pop discourages them from going as the Bizarre Bazaar is known for being covered with seedy individuals who steal things. Nevertheless, Anne and Sprig sneak out at night. The egg cracks and a small creature escapes and runs into the woods where it burrows into the ground and lights a pathway for Anne and Sprig into the Bizarre Bazaar.
The two of them explore their surroundings until they find a antiques stand that has artifacts similar to the Calamity Box. The owner, Valeriana, is out to lunch, so they eat first. Soon after Valeriana arrives and Anne attempts to ask her a question, but gets distracted and her backpack gets stolen by a thief. As she and Sprig race after him, Valeriana comments that Anne might be the one she is looking for. Anne and Sprig catch up to the thief (another vendor named Marnie) who refuses to acknowledge the backpack as being Anne's. He tells them that in order to win, they need to join his bug racing game and they accept.
Joining them in the race, is the Wrecker a legendary figure who is grizzled and intimidating. They race around the field, but ultimately, the Wrecker wins after using a blue shell on them. As the Wrecker takes the backpack, the Bizarre Bazaar closes and all the vendors and tents disappear. Saddened and defeated, Anne and Sprig are surprised by the Wrecker, who removes his disguise to reveal himself as Hop Pop. The kids apologize for not listening to him and Anne gives him the music box for safe keeping, asking him to make a solemn promise he must find answers.
In the last scene, later that night however, Hop Pop buries the box next to the tree beside the house, not wanting to see Anne bringing it around as it is too dangerous for the family, thus defying her.
Cast[ ]
- Brenda Song as Anne Boonchuy
- Justin Felbinger as Sprig Plantar
- Bill Farmer as Hop Pop Plantar, The Wrecker
- Amanda Leighton as Polly Plantar
- Susanne Blakeslee as Valeriana
- Bill Kopp as Marnie
- James Patrick Stuart as One-Eyed Wally
Additional Voices[ ]
- Eden Riegel as Walking Red Ball, One Eyed Purple Ball
- Jack Ferraiolo as The Wrecker, Long Legged Frog, Cloaked Figures, Scared Yellow Racer Frog, Muscular Betting Frog
- Matt Braly as Poker Frog, Cloaked Figures
Gallery[ ]
Trivia[ ]
General[ ]
- The red hourglass symbol on Valerina and the other black-cape wearers resemble the mark found on the Black Widow Spider.
- Anne and Sprig state that they do not have any romantic attraction towards each other, although Sprig's reason is due to the age gap between each other.
Continuity[ ]
- This episode might take place immediately after "Trip to the Archives" as it opens with Anne and the Plantars having just come back from it.
- The events of this episode are continued into the Season 2 episode, "After the Rain".
Allusions[ ]
- Gravity Falls - One of the stands at the bazaar is labeled "Mystery Sack", a nod to the Mystery Shack.
- Mario Kart - Anne, Sprig, and the Wrecker have a beetle race that appears highly inspired by the Mario Kart franchise.
- Beetles act as karts and their horns in front resemble the bottom bar of the Pipe Frame kart used in the first three installments of the series.
- In fact, the beetles as karts more specifically bear a striking resemblance to the Streetle kart, the male Villager's main choice of kart in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which is itself based on the beetles from the Animal Crossing series.
- The racecourse itself is heavily shaped after Mario Circuit 1 from Super Mario Kart, the very first track in the series and also the first classic course in the series.
- It also has some parts that resemble sections of Waluigi Stadium from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Waluigi Pinball from Mario Kart DS.
- The unique jingle when entering the second lap in the latter course is also faintly heard, reused from Mario Kart DS.
- The race takes place at night and has a dark-green background with lightning, similar to Luigi's Mansion from Mario Kart DS.
- The environment draws inspiration from DK Mountain and Dino Dino Jungle from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, as well as Koopa Cape and Maple Treeway from Mario Kart Wii, with an overall wetland/forest theme from said courses.
- Fire rings are seen in various sections of the track, a trait seen in most Bowser's Castle tracks. In addition, there is also a statue in the background, which resembles the Bowser statue seen in Bowser's Castle 2 from Mario Kart: Super Circuit.
- There are several dirt ramps followed by a large ramp towards the end, which pays homage to Wario Stadium from Mario Kart 64 .
- The race is in a bazaar, similar to Shy Guy Bazaar from Mario Kart 7.
- It also has some parts that resemble sections of Waluigi Stadium from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Waluigi Pinball from Mario Kart DS.
- Spectators are seen watching the race and are heard cheering, which is similar to most courses in this series that have an audience in the background cheering.
- Anne and Sprig ride on a single beetle, a nod to Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, where two racers occupy one kart.
- When the racecourse is first shown on-screen, the frogs riding the beetles are briefly seen tricking in midair after going off ramps, a mechanic first introduced in Mario Kart Wii.
- Sprig using his tongue to jump over the Wrecker and suddenly take the lead may reference the rubber-banding effect from this series, where CPU racers that are behind the human player will gain an increase in speed and those ahead of the human player will slow down, allowing for more competition.
- The Wrecker resembles Bowser, who is also the fastest racer in every game in this series. Both have high speed and an overall wrecking demeanor.
- Later in the race, the Wrecker uses a blue, spiky bug that explodes once it runs into Anne and Sprig, a clear reference to Mario Kart's Blue Shell item. It lacks the white wings from Mario Kart Wii and more closely resembles the Blue Shell in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, although it retains its behavior from the former game instead of the latter two games, flying over the track for the duration of its use instead of gliding along the track before homing in on 1st place.
- When suddenly speeding up, the beetles leave behind flame marks, an aesthetic seen in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe when using a Dash/Golden Dash Mushroom.
- The first few seconds before the race starts resembles the 3-2-1 countdown used by the Lakitu referee in the series. The shop-owner frog also acts as Lakitu and signals the start of the race.
- The starting line has a checkered grid, as is the starting line in most tracks from this series.
- Beetles act as karts and their horns in front resemble the bottom bar of the Pipe Frame kart used in the first three installments of the series.
- Animal Crossing - As mentioned earlier, the beetles in the race heavily resemble the Streetle kart, the male Villager's main vehicle in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which is itself based on the beetles from the Animal Crossing series. The racing beetles also have the same behavior as the Streetle in the aforementioned two games, opening up their elytra when gaining a speed boost and while in midair.
- "Check Yourself" - One of the two racers before Anne's race mentions how legend says the Wrecker will "wreck yourself if you don't check yourself", referencing the lyrics to the song "Check Yo Self" by Ice Cube.
- Black Widow Spider - The Red Hourglass sign is similar to the red mark on the Black Widow Spider.
- Infinity Gauntlet - One of Marnie's prize wall prizes, a giant glove, does bare a slight resemblance to the original version of Marvel's Infinity Gauntlet.
