Battle of the Bands

"Battle of the Bands" is the second segment of the nineteenth episode of the second season of Amphibia, and the seventy-fourth overall.

It premiered on April 24, 2021, alongside "The Dinner".

Synopsis
Anne and her friends team up to enter Wartwood's Battle of the Bands contest.

Plot
Wartwood has been on edge since Sasha and Grime have returned due to the events of "Reunion". So Mayor Toadstool has consulted the wheel of fun to come up with an activity to help relieve some tension. The result is a Battle of the Bands! Immediately, Anne, Marcy, and Sasha decide to reunite their former garage band, Sasha and the Sharps. Sprig and Hop Pop join a jug band being formed, and Sasha makes sure that Grime will be okay on his own, where he issues a sinister sounding promise that all will tremble at his performance. Toadie approaches Mayor Toadstool about their act, and is rebuffed with the mayor saying that he just bought himself a 12 hour nap. Back at the Plantars, the girls are trying to figure out what to play for the contest, with Sasha suggesting her song “Heartstomper,” while Anne suggests a new song she wrote about her experience in Amphibia, “No Big Deal,” which even has a guitar solo for Sasha. Anne show them the song and a concept for dresses that they will bring, but Sasha has a few notes and changes the entire song, even giving critiques to Frobo and Polly who are there mostly to provide stage effects for their performance. When Anne says that she is taking over the whole thing, Sasha leaves the group but promises to still root for them as they try and get her to stay.

Sasha goes to find Grime and discovers him locked alone in a dark room and invites him to play with her. Grime insists that he is a solo act, and despite it not being a “real” battle, he is in it to win it and slams the door in Sasha’s face. Out in the town, Sasha is trying to find someone to join her act and comes across a dejected Toadie, who is looking for someone to play music with that will also boss him around. Sasha immediately jumps on the opportunity. After their performance, Sasha realizes that Toadie has no opinions for himself, but points out that sometimes it's more fun to support someone who you really care about than to take control.

We then head over to the Wartwood Battle of the Bands, where Anne and Marcy are ready to take the stage. Sasha wishes them well, while Toadie asks if they should be worried that they’ll win. She says it's okay, but would have been better if they listened to her, and that she only wants them to succeed. Toadie, still full of wisdom, says that sometimes being a good friend just means being there when they need it the most.

The duo hits the stage and performs their song, and Sasha watches from backstage. Mayor Toadstool, who is acting as judge for the contest, says that the song is very charming, “but there had better be a very cool guitar solo about to drop.” On cue, Sasha comes out from backstage to perform the guitar solo that Anne put in the song for her, reuniting Sasha and the Sharps. The song builds into a final verse, but there is still one more contestant. Grime takes the stage with a maniacal laugh and what appears to be some kind of military ploy, but is just a big case for his instrument, an elegant harp. He calmly introduces his piece that he says is dedicated to the serenity of nature, and plays a calm, tranquil tune that lasts three hours and leaves the audience in tears, winning the Wartwood Battle of the Bands. The episode ends with Anne telling the inhabitants of Wartwood that she, Marcy and Sasha are going back home soon. As a final goodbye, they take a group photo.

Cast

 * Brenda Song as Anne Boonchuy
 * Justin Felbinger as Sprig Plantar
 * Bill Farmer as Hop Pop Plantar
 * Amanda Leighton as Polly Plantar
 * Haley Tju as Marcy Wu
 * Anna Akana as Sasha Waybright
 * Troy Baker as Captain Grime
 * Stephen Root as Mayor Toadstool
 * Jack McBrayer as Toadie
 * Kevin McDonald as Albus Duckweed
 * James Patrick Stuart as Wally Ribbiton
 * Brian Maillard as Leopold Loggle & Excited Orange Frog (credited as additional voices)
 * Laila Berzins as Sadie Croaker
 * Fred Tatasciore as Soggy Joe
 * Matt Braly as Chuck (credited as additional voices)

Non-speaking cameo

 * Ivy Sundew
 * Maddie Flour
 * Stumpy
 * Felicia Sundew
 * Sylvia Sundew
 * Mr. Flour
 * Rosemary, Lavender & Ginger Flour
 * Sheriff Buck Leatherleaf
 * Tuti
 * Gunther

Other characters

 * Frobo
 * Bessie
 * MicroAngelo
 * Archie
 * Fleafy
 * Zechariah Nettles

Songs

 * Battle of the Bands
 * "Heartstomper"
 * "No Big Deal"

Trivia

 * On the Wheel of Fun, on one of the slots it said Pot Luck Dinner, referencing the episode "Hop Luck".

Revelations and significant events

 * Grime is revealed to play the harp.
 * It's revealed that Toadie stopped having opinions years ago.
 * Sasha, Anne, and Marcy had a garage band, called "Sasha and the Sharps".

Continuity

 * Anne makes drafts of outfits based on bugs, like she did for Sprig in "Fiddle Me This".

Production information

 * In a storyboard for the episode, Anne’s band clothes are purple.

Allusions

 *  - The promotional poster for this episode is based on the promotional poster of that film.