"Fiddle Me This" is the second segment of the seventeenth episode of the first season of Amphibia, and the thirty fourth episode overall.
It premiered on July 15, 2019 alongside "Cursed!".[2]
Synopsis
When a popular talent competition comes to Wartwood, Hop Pop goes overboard in training Sprig to win.[2]
Plot
The gang is out shopping while Hop Pop steps into Ascots Unlimited to buy some Ascots. He speaks with the clerk Wartilda about their respective lives. Wartilda reveals that her daughter got into a prestigious college in Newtopia, which she's pleased about as she was worried that she would not be able to live successfully due to their ascots not selling as well as they used to. Hop Pop sympathizes saying vegetables are not selling well either and decides to buy less ascots to save money. As he leaves, he sees the kids reading a flyer for Amphibia's Got Talent, a show where people show off their skills. When Sprig expresses interest in wanting to show off his fiddling skills, Hop Pop has an epiphany. If Sprig wins the contest, they can earn the prize money and be set for life. Hop Pop supports Sprig's decision and immediately gets to work on training him.
Anne is put in charge of designing a costume for Sprig while Polly is put on support. She is upset by this as she wants to sing, but her singing is a high frequency wail that destroys things and stuns wildlife. Sprig starts his training which aside from fiddling, also consists of strict regiments. Hop Pop continues to push Sprig to the limit with various exercises. While Anne and Polly think Sprig is improving, Hop Pop continues to chide Sprig as he wants him to be perfect for the show. Sprig is upset as he just wants to have fun, but goes along with Hop Pop's strict training.
The day of the show arrives and Sprig goes out to perform in dazzling fashion to everyone's delight. However, a bat appears and swoops Sprig away. Hop Pop and Polly, using the show judges' spring lever, launch themselves onto the bat where Polly discombobulates it with her singing. The Plantars fall and Anne catches them on stage to the delight of the audience and judges who thought it was part of the act. Sprig calls Hop Pop out for his strict training, and Hop Pop then explains why he was so strict and apologizes; Sprig, now sympathetic, states to Hop Pop that his life is already great as it is now, and his future will be if he (Hop Pop) stays in it, and forgives him. The judges award the winning trophy to Anne and the Plantars who excitedly return home while Mayor Toadstool, who was launched off by the spring earlier for having a terrible act with Toadie, launches the judges away as revenge.
Cast
- Brenda Song as Anne Boonchuy
- Justin Felbinger as Sprig Plantar
- Bill Farmer as Hop Pop Plantar
- Amanda Leighton as Polly Plantar
- Stephen Root as Mayor Toadstool
- Tara Lipinski as Female Newt Judge
- Johnny Weir as Male Newt Judge
- Dee Bradley Baker as Bessie
Additional voices
- Bill Farmer as Stuntman
- Eden Riegel as Wartilda
Title in other languages
| Language | Title | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Latin American Spanish
|
La Clave del Éxito | The Key of Triumph | |
 Bulgarian
|
Изсвири ми нещо | Play me something | |
 German
|
Sprig Superstar | Superstar Sprig | |
 European Spanish
|
Tócame el Violin | Fidlle Me This | |
 French
|
Un sacré numéro | A real piece of work | |
 Indonesian
|
Mainkan Biola Untuk Ku | Play the Violin for Me | |
 Italian
|
Anfibia's Got Talent | Amphibia's Got Talent | The Italian title is a reference to the name of the American talent show competition, "America's Got Talent". |
 Japanese
|
スター・オーディション | Star audition | |
 Korean
|
스타 탄생 | Star born | |
 Dutch
|
Sprig op viool | Sprig on violin | |
 European Portuguese
|
Dá-me Música | Give Me Music | |
 Polish
|
Masz talent | You got talent | The Polish title is a pun on the Mam talent! show (Polish version of America's Got Talent). |
 Thai
|
ขอเล่นดนตรี | ||
 Vietnamese
|
Biểu Diễn Vĩ Cảm | Emotional Performance |
Transcript
| For a full transcript of "Fiddle Me This", click here. |
Gallery
Click here to view the gallery.
Trivia
- Viewership: This episode was watched by 0.47 million viewers on its premiere.[1]
- The song Sprig plays is an instrumental version of the alternative theme song and is called "Flight of the Moth".
- This is the first episode to mention Newtopia.
- This is the only Season 1 episode to picture Newtopia.
- Newtopia would later be mentioned in "Combat Camp" and the Season 2 episodes "Handy Anne", "Fort in the Road", "Truck Stop Polly", "Quarreler's Pass", "Toadcatcher" and "Wax Museum" before its physical debut in "Marcy at the Gates".
- In Hop Pop's fantasy, Polly notes to not having legs which she would later get in "True Colors".
- This is the first time Anne is shown as an adult, albeit only in a fantasy sequence. She would not be canonically seen in her adult design until the series finale "The Hardest Thing".
Continuity
- Wartilda mentions her daughter attending Newtopia University, which would later appear in "Sprig Gets Schooled".
- Hop Pop is worried about losing the stand again after first losing it in "Plantar's Last Stand".
Errors
- The first time Polly sings, Hop-Pop snaps his pencil in half. However, the next time the pencil is shown shortly after, it's unbroken.
- During Sprig's performance, Amphibia's moon is white rather than its usual red.
Allusions
- America's Got Talent - Amphibia's Got Talent is a parody of America's Got Talent (and other talent shows). The abbreviation "AGT" is common for America, Arabs, Asia and Australia. Even the Italian episode title is "Anfibia's Got Talent."
- "Riddle Me This" - The title "Fiddle Me This" is a reference to this phrase as the common catchphrase of The Riddler from the Batman franchise.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Metcalf, Mitch (July 16, 2019). SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.15.2019. Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on 2019-07-16.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://www.wdtvpress.com/disneychannel/shows/amphibia/episodes/