Original film | I ♡ Arlo
I stand here now
There's nothing beyond these walls
And I'm tired, I'm achin'.
There's nothing beyond these walls
And I'm tired, I'm achin'.
Weighted, ya hated
Your crest fell upon my chest now
Thousands of pounds
The baggage wearing me down now
I came to your door, I'm alone, and it's me
And you still can't believe I'm the seed that came from your tree
And the life we want flashes, it flashes!
And the love we had? Ashes to ashes!
We are lost and we're drifting and drifting away!
Your crest fell upon my chest now
Thousands of pounds
The baggage wearing me down now
I came to your door, I'm alone, and it's me
And you still can't believe I'm the seed that came from your tree
And the life we want flashes, it flashes!
And the love we had? Ashes to ashes!
We are lost and we're drifting and drifting away!
"Wash the Hurt Away"
Despite the vibrant colors and quirky character designs, Arlo the Alligator Boy definitely shares its eye-watering moments, some of which are rarely touched upon in children's cartoons and movies.
- In a way, the very beginning. We're treated to some nice Scenery Porn of New York City...and then we see a baby carriage in the middle of an underground sewer, which drifts off into the sea. A couple of people notice, but other than that, this is how Arlo began his life. Completely abandoned and forgotten.
- The incredibly melancholic piano accompanying baby Arlo's lonely journey can also tug at the heartstrings. Coupled with the visuals, you can just feel how alone he is for the first few moments of his life until Edmée finds him.
- Although it's mostly Played for Laughs at first, Arlo's isolated life in the swamp is this. For fifteen years, he had only Edmée for company, while almost every animal in the swamp seems to either ignore, fear, or outright detest him. And he can't interact with people without scaring them. Small wonder he's so eager to find friends.
- There's a very sobering line from Edmée, in which she prefaces by saying, "I'm not gonna be around forever..." And considering how old Edmée is, she's worried that one day, she will have to leave Arlo sooner or later, which is one of the reasons that she allows Arlo to make the journey in the first place, so that he would have somewhere to fall back to once she's gone.
- Arlo's mother's name isn't anywhere on his baby ID bracelet. The fact that Edmée's reaction to Arlo pointing it out is to distract Arlo with her birthday song shows that she's aware of the implications of this.
- Bertie is a rather sad girl, once you get to know her. The reasons for her being The Drifter amount to people being unable to treat her as a person as she grew into a giant. What especially sucks about this is that, unlike most of the outcasts seen in the film, she's 100% human. It just goes to show that in this world, no one is safe from being picked on for being different.
- This comes into play several times in the film, one of which is when Furlecia is berating her and Arlo for losing the money to the angry farmers after they escape. When Bertie tells her that she knows how it feels to barely get by and survive due to her looks, the fuzzball's expression becomes more concerned and understanding.
- The beginning of "Follow Me Home", Bertie's song about how she feels destined to be alone for the rest of her life. Thankfully, Arlo joins in to counter this, and the song becomes much more upbeat in the process.
- So, Arlo finally managed to find his father, Ansel, and all seems right, right? Nope. All Ansel does is sing a song to distract him, give him some nice (non-fitting) clothing, and escort him to the door while telling everyone else that it wasn't any kid that mattered. Naturally, Arlo is HEARTBROKEN. Seeing him wandering the busy New York streets all by himself amidst Apathetic Citizens and a Grey Rain of Depression is enough to draw pity from just about anyone watching.
- Ansel's song, "A Better Life," sounds upbeat and encouraging, but pay attention to the first line of the refrain: "You've gotta change yourself, you've gotta un-strange yourself." Combined with the reveal of Ansel's Dark and Troubled Past later on, it immediately becomes clear: Ansel sincerely believes that the only way to succeed in life is to hide everything that makes you unique, so you don't stand out too much. After all, that's what he did, and look where he is now.
- "Wash the Hurt Away". Arlo, having stripped himself of his clothing (symbolically losing his sense of self as a person instead of some freaky animal), floats into a fountain drain and back into the sewers he was in as a baby, which becomes a Disney Acid Sequence featuring him singing about how stupid it was to leave his friends behind for the sake of a man who wanted nothing to do with him.
- Oh, and what is the title of the discordant mishmash of previous songs/quotes that plays as he sinks into despair before and as he goes into the water? "The Collage of Broken Dreams". OUCH.
- "Something's Missing". Once again, Arlo tries to reach out to Ansel, and they end up having a duet reflecting the emotional situation they're in. Arlo just wants to know why his own father cast him out twice over, while Ansel feels a reunion now would be hollow after everything he's done.
- Ansel literally trying to run away from Arlo (and in turn, the truth) shows that despite all his successes, deep down he's still a very lonely individual tormented by his Dark and Troubled Past. When Arlo finally catches up to Ansel, he's crying and in a Troubled Fetal Position behind a suit of armor.
- Just after Ansel ends his verse, Arlo and the audience are absolutely bewildered yet remorseful at what they just heard, as shown by the concerned whispers amongst the guests, but judging by Ansel's dumbstruck expression compared to Arlo's, he feels he's said too much, prompting him to flee the room and Arlo chases after him.
- In the last verse, the spotlight shining on Arlo from the front is lighting Ansel from behind, showing he's become a literal shadow of his true self.
- Not long after the song's over, Ruff and Stucky catch up with and apprehend Arlo. Ansel is helpless to do anything as he's framed in front of a split shadow representing his own fractured image. Thankfully his guilt motivates him to literally swoop in and save his son.
Ansel: "...What have I become?" - After saving his son and revealing himself to the public as a bird-man, Ansel tells Arlo and the audience exactly why he's the way he is. In summary, he spent his childhood living in Seaside by the Seashore being bullied by his peers for being a hybrid, and left so that he could become a successful businessman with the intent of destroying his old home out of sheer misplaced spite. He had to hide what he was for years, and after copulating with Arlo's mother, he abandoned the poor baby out of fear that he'd expose his true nature to everyone. Fittingly, he calls it the biggest mistake of his life, and tears up as he finishes.
- It is also possible, judging by certain shots in the flashback, that Arlo's mom died giving birth to Arlo. That, or she abandoned him AND Ansel.
- "Please, please wash the hurt away..."
