Off-roading! Weeeee!
In an attempt to learn to drive the family snail wagon, Anne and Sprig take it for a joy ride.
Full Recap
TBA...
- All Animals Are Dogs:
- Mrs. Croaker's pet spider barks, pants and drools venom.
- Played with the hedgehogs, who snarl, cackle and hunt in packs like hyenas.
- Artistic License – Biology: Real hedgehogs lack the ability to shoot their spines. The spine-shooting ability of these hedgehogs could be justified by the show taking place in another world.
- Automaton Horses: At first, Anne seems to regard Bessie as just being a snail-shaped car.Anne: Hey, what's going on here? Does it need fuel in the tank or something? Is the oil low?
- Big "NO!": Anne after being told that Bessie's History has diagrams for pictures.Hop Pop: Dramatic much?
- Crossing the Burnt Bridge: Sprig asks for Mrs. Croaker's help after he teased her.
- Debut Queue: This marks the first appearance of the Plantar's snail Bessie.
- Evil-Detecting Dog: Bessie hides in her shell after Anne and Sprig crash in the middle of a bush patch, and for good reason...
- Foreshadowing: Campaign posters for Mayor Toadstool can be seen on the road; Toadstool's reelection campaign is central to the plot of several later episodes.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: We can read the first two pages of Bessie's manual, which consist of a rambling description of the color of the fall leaves that goes off on enough random tangents to put Grampa Simpson to shame.
- Hates Baths: Polly, who puts up quite the fight when Hop Pop tries to get her to take one. When Anne and Sprig return at night from their adventure, Hop Pop still hasn't gotten Polly in the tub.
- Laughing Mad: Anne does this at the end of the episode segment when, after she stayed up all night to read the entire manual, Hop Pop says now she only needs experience, completely unaware of what she went through yesterday.Hop Pop: (mildly concerned) I don't feel safe!
- Oil Slick: Feeding Bessie red berries makes her slime extra slippery, serving as this to trip up the hedgehogs.
- Pony Tale: A variation on the theme, only with a giant snail instead of a pony.
- Pun-Based Title: The title is a pun on "grand theft auto".
- Purple Prose: A shortcoming of the Bessie's History book which Hop Pop wrote.Sprig: Page 5 is as far as I got. Too much description, not enough plot!
- Read the Freaking Manual: Hop Pop won't let anyone drive Bessie until they have read the Bessie's History book he prepared. Neither Sprig nor Anne got very far the first time because of how elaborate Hop Pop's writing is, but when Anne eventually plows through, she becomes involved in the story, and it even becomes useful when facing giant hedgehogs. After that she comes to appreciate Bessie.
- Shaking the Rump: As Anne drives Bessie past Mrs. Croaker, Sprig mockingly slaps and shakes his butt at the old frog lady.
- Shout-Out: One of the hedgehogs is noticeably blue.
- Speedy Snail: Bessie can really burn the road when necessary.
- Spike Shooter: The hedgehogs can launch their quills like porcupines were long believed to be able to.
- That's No Moon: Several of the brush-like pointed bushes surrounding Bessie are actually curled up giant hedgehogs.
- Troll: When Mrs. Croaker gives Sprig a lift, she intentionally drives her beetle very slowly and sings an annoying song, just to have her revenge on the young frog who mocked her earlier.
- Truth in Television: Yes, hedgehogs are indeed major predators of snails (although in real life, they tend to hunt snails smaller than them).
- Won't Take "Yes" for an Answer: Hop Pop rejects Sprig's and Polly's suggestions, so when Anne suggests driving Bessie...Hop Pop: Sure.
Anne: Aw, come on, Hop Pop... wait, what?
