Grubhog Day

"Grubhog Day" is the first segment of the eleventh episode of the first season of Amphibia, and the twenty first episode overall.

It premiered on July 3rd, 2019 alongside "Hop Pop and Lock".

Synopsis
During Grubhog Day, Sprig has to decide whether to uphold his responsibilities or have fun at the carnival.

Plot
It's Grubhog Day, the annual festival where everyone takes off from work and celebrates the grubhog, a small pig-like grub that predicts the weather when it sees its shadow. Anne, Sprig and Polly are excited to try out the rides when Hop Pop appears out of a bush to tell Sprig that he had him volunteer to watch over the Grubhog after the previous one chosen to watch over it "caught the plague". The Plantars have not watched over the grubhog due to one of their ancestors eating it, which resulted in him being shunned by the family. Sprig reluctantly agrees even though that means he will have to miss the entire fair. Sprig is forced to wear a suit and hat and given a scroll congratulating him, but adding "DON'T PULL A PLANTAR". Hop Pop and Polly leave, leaving Sprig to sulk with Anne.

As Sprig laments his inability to leave the Grubhog unattended to, Anne suggests that they go on the rides with the Grubhog in tow so that Sprig will technically be watching it. Together they go on numerous rides while avoiding Hop Pop and Polly. While riding a roller coaster, a misplaced nail causes the Grubhog to be launched from the cart and land on the tracks. When Anne and Sprig come back around to get him, a buzzard flies off with the Grubhog, scaring the two. They discover a socks and buttons stand and recreate the Grubhog as a puppet to use just in time for the ceremony.

The ceremony, surprisingly, goes off without a hitch until they have to cut open the Grubhog to examine its liver. Sprig stops the execution and reveals that he lost the Grubhog saying him and Anne tricked them all to cover it up and that he just wanted to make Hop Pop proud of him. Hop Pop apologizes as he realized that he unintentionally put a lot on Sprig's shoulders. However, the town is upset that they do not have a Grubhog to complete the ceremony, but they admit they did enjoy the puppets. Anne and Sprig start putting on shows nightly, redeeming the Plantar family name. Meanwhile, the Grubhog is revealed to be in league with the buzzard as they fly off "to war".

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

Additional voices

 * John DiMaggio as Iced Flies Vendor, Blue Frog With Hat
 * Eden Riegel as Southern Accented Frog
 * Paul Eiding as Socks and Buttons Vendor
 * Sam Riegel as Dartboard Frog, Brown Overalls Frog
 * Kaithlyn Robrock as Old Lady

Non-speaking cameo

 * Sadie Croaker
 * Felicia Sundew
 * Ivy Sundew
 * Leopold Loggle

Edits

 * The word "shoot" was muted during the Southeast Asia broadcast.

Quotes
"Don't stare into the abyss, Anne. After all, it stares back."

Character revelations

 * The Plantar's had a family member in the past who botched the job of taking care of the grubhog, because he ate it before the ceremony, that the family shunned him for life and the village rs lost their respect for the family.
 * On Grubhog Day, every frog is free of work.
 * Don't pull a Plantar is a sentence used by the family and the townspeople to encourage someone to not screw things up.
 * The bird that took the grubhog was actually saved by the grubhog in the past so he took him to help him back.

Series continuity

 * The Plantar's family name is still considered bad by the townspeople of Wartwood.
 * Sprig's enormous loyalty to his family is shown again when he decides not to have fun on the fair, but to take care of the grubhog for Hop Pop.

Allusions

 *  - The episode's title is a play on the word of a holiday.
 * , the famous groundhog is also referenced.
 *  - Hop Pop's warning to Anne not to stare into the Abyss references the famous quote from Beyond Good and Evil.

Trivia

 * "Grubhog Day" was the very first episode of Amphibia written and boarded in production of the entire series.