Anne Theft Auto

**"Anne Theft Auto"** is the first segment of the fifth episode of the first season of *Amphibia*, and the ninth episode overall.

It premiered on June 24, 2019 alongside "Breakout Star".

## Synopsis

*In an attempt to learn to drive the family's snail wagon, Anne and Sprig take it for a joy ride.*

## Plot

Hop Pop allows Anne to drive Bessie, the family snail, but only if she reads Bessie's history journal before doing so. Anne thinks it's better to drive by experience rather than reading a long book, so she and Sprig take Bessie for a joy ride while Hop Pop is bathing Polly. They pass Mrs. Croaker, who is riding very slowly on her own bug. Sprig mocks her as they speed away. The pair also buys Swamp slushies, and then they decide to drive off-road. They ride through the forest at top speed before landing in a clearing. Anne decides to get back on the main road, but Bessie hides in her shell and refuses to move or come out. Anne asks Sprig to go back to the farm to get Hop Pop.

As Sprig is walking back to the farm, he passes by Mrs. Croaker, who allows Sprig to ride with her. They begin the journey to the farm but Mrs. Croaker rides extremely slowly and sings songs which annoys Sprig intensely. To pass the time, Anne decides to read Bessie's history journal. She then reaches the part which explains why Bessie hides in such situations, which is to avoid the snail's top predator, large hedgehogs. Anne, realizing the danger, quickly reads on and reaches the part where it states that when in trouble shout "Bess we're in a mess!". Hedgehogs begin to appear and surround Anne and Bessie but after Anne yells "Bessie, things are getting messy!", Bessie suddenly erupts out of her shell and speeds off away from the hedgehogs. As Anne and Bessie are escaping though, the Hedgehogs catch up to them, so Anne reaches into a special compartment in Bessie which contained special berries which she fed to Bessie, caused her slime to convert into a sticky substance, causing the Hedgehogs to slip and crash into each other and Bessie manages to outrun the array, picking up Sprig along the way who had barely reached the farm. As soon as Sprig goes on Bessie though, Mrs. Croaker laughs and speeds off. Sprig realizes he had been played and Anne states, "That woman is everything I want to be."

After returning home, Anne decides to sleep outside with Bessie and finishes the history journal. After Anne finished the book, she goes to Hop Pop's room in the morning, very tired, saying that she finished it, Hop Pop then starts talking about the fact that she now needs experience, causing Anne to weirdly started chuckling, then laughing crazily, and bumping into a wall as she leaves. Hop Pop states he doesn't feel safe in his own house.

## Cast

* Brenda Song as Anne Boonchuy
* Justin Felbinger as Sprig Plantar
* Bill Farmer as Hop Pop Plantar
* Amanda Leighton as Polly Plantar
* Laila Berzins as Sadie Croaker

### Other characters

* Bessie
* Archie
* Hedgehogs

## Trivia

* **Viewership:** This episode was watched by 0.39 million viewers on its premiere.

### Revelations and significant events

* Hop-Pop tried many times to teach Sprig to drive Bessie, but Sprig is not interested in driving since he finds Bessie's history manual too descriptive.
* Anne's parents own a family car.
* Sprig's favorite beverages are Swamp Slushies.
* Mrs. Croaker rides a ladybug as a vehicle.
* Bessie hides in her shell when giant hedgehogs are near.
* When someone yells "Bessie, things are getting messy!", Bessie will come to rescue her owners.
* Hop-Pop was once stuck in a mysterious environment in the snow.

### Continuity

* Sprig's short attention span is mentioned again.
* A billboard for Stumpy's Diner appears saying the food "probably won't kill you", foreshadowing the state of the restaurant in "Lily Pad Thai".

## Edits

* In Southeast Asia broadcast, "What in tarnation", "slowpoke", "slug", "swamp suckers", "old man", and "dang it" were cut.

## Allusions

* **"Grand Theft Auto"** - The title "Anne Theft Auto" is a spoof of *grand theft auto*, which is also known as vehicle theft.
* *Sonic the Hedgehog* - The hedgehog with blue fur is a reference to the famous mascot of the Sega company, Sonic the Hedgehog.

## Errors

* The letters on Anne's shirt are missing during multiple scenes:
	+ When Anne and Sprig pass Mrs. Croaker for the first time.
	+ When Anne is walking to Bessie while holding swamp slushies.
	+ Multiple scenes, starting when Anne takes Bessie off road.
	+ When Sprig agrees on going back to the road.
	+ When Anne waits around Bessie after Sprig left.
* When Anne is eating leafs.
* When Sprig jumps on Bessie, the lines Bessie's saddle are drawn over Anne's left leg until Anne starts moving.
* When Anne takes the swamp slushies, she is holding the one without flies on it in her right hand. However, in then next scene she is holding it in her left hand.
* While Anne and Sprig are riding Bessie, Sprig compliments her while laying on his back but his mouth is not moving while his dialogue is being spoken. In the next scene, his mouth finishes moving.
* Before Sprig gets hit by a tree branch, a part of his mouth has no outlines.
* When Anne suggests going back to the road, Sprig is covered with leaves. But in the next scene, all the leaves are gone.
* Anne starts reading Bessie's history book at the beginning. However, many pages before her current page can be seen.
* When Mrs. Croaker suggests singing a song, the lines on Archie's eyes are white, but in the next scene they are black.
* According to Bessie's history book, Hop Pop and Bessie found themselves in a snow storm. However, in "Snow Day", it was revealed that frogs hibernate as soon as it starts freezing. And even when wearing thick clothing, Hop Pop should have have acted weird due to the cold.
* When Anne throws the book on top of Hop Pop, he appears to be wearing blue clothing around his shoulder. However, in a later shot, he can be seen wearing his grayish-green waistcoat.

## Memorable quotes

“
That woman is everything I want be.
”

—Anne

“
I don't feel safe
”

—Hop Pop

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Metcalf, Mitch (June 25, 2019). SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.24.2019. *Showbuzz Daily*. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019.
2. ↑ Disney Television Animation News (June 6, 2019). Amphibia air dates (Tweet). *Twitter*. Archived from the original on August 14, 2021.
3. ↑ Braly, Matt (Jun 24, 2019). Also, happy birthday @sonic\_hedgehog!! (Tweet). *Twitter*. Archived from the original on April 2, 2022.