They're beautiful together.
I ♥ Arlo is a 2D animated series for Netflix created by Ryan Crego, and the continuation to Arlo the Alligator Boy. It was released on August 27, 2021.After the events of the movie, half-alligator boy Arlo Beauregard now resides in the community of Seaside by the Seashore in Brooklyn, New York City. Together with his band of friends — giantess Bertie, rodent man Teeny Tiny Tony, tiger girl Alia, furball Furlecia and reverse merman Marcellus — and his kindhearted half-bird father Ansel, Arlo has many wild adventures throughout the city, while learning new lessons and how to live together in their new community.
It's currently unknown if the series will be renewed for Season 2.
Note: All spoilers for the movie will be unmarked. Please read at your own pace.
I Heart Tropes:
- Aesop Amnesia: Subverted with Ruff and Stucky. In the ransom note they send to Arlo, they claim they forgot the lesson they learned from him in the movie. But once they find them in the swamp, they reveal the note wasn't their idea and was just an order from the Bog Lady, indicating they really did change.
- Animation Bump: The title sequence shows much more fluid and detailed animation than that in the actual show.
- Artistic License – Biology: In "The Shedding", Arlo sheds his skin in a patch like a snake. In reality, crocodilians shed individual scales like dandruff.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Alia's major flaw. Judging by the trailer, she is shown to be lured off by a bouncing pizza and flies, stops to watch some baby turtles walk out to the ocean, and goes right for a pile of junk which spills out of her bus.
- Bad Hair Day: In "Blow Out" when Furlecia becomes overwhelmed, she begins shedding her hair until she goes completely hairless. It grows back once she learns to loosen up.
- Be Yourself: The bread and butter of the series. Ansel even says this in "A Memory of Pizza".
- Big Damn Heroes:
- Bertie becomes one in "Make a Fish" when she saves Marcellus from his imminent death from dehydration after retrieving the condor egg for Arlo.
- Two in succession in "The Uncondemning". First, Bertie and Alia swing into the Heart of the Swamp, which is enough to break the Bog Lady's spell on Arlo so he can rescue Edmée from her briar cage. Secondly, Marcellus and the others arrive via fan boat which Arlo and co. hitch a ride on, thanks to Marcellus planting a tracking device to Bertie so he can find them.
- Big "NO!":
- Arlo in "Swamp Itch" when he is being trapped in twigs by Ansel.
- Tony in "Lily Lost & Found" when he finds the buttons of his register have been stolen.
- Big Storm Episode: "Frogday the 13th" has Seaside engulfed in a major rainstorm and Bertie has to watch Arlo while he goes to Hawaii to wait it out.
- Bound and Gagged:
- Happens to Edmée in the second-to-last episode of Season 1 when Ruff and Stucky capture her as an order from the Bog Lady.
- Done again to Arlo in the season finale, albeit he isn't gagged, when he is ensnared in the Bog Lady's roots and hypnotized into never leaving the swamp.
- BSoD Song:
- "The Way" from "Friendship Couch" starts out as one before it changes into a Friendship Song.
- "Just Another Night In New York" from "Get Lost!", as Bertie is alone in the city suffering from writer's block just before she takes inspiration from the sights.
- The Bus Came Back: Jeromio in the first episode when he moves in with Arlo and Bertie. Edmée in the fourth episode when she receives Arlo's skin and suddenly feels a disturbance. Ruff and Stucky in the second-to-last of Season 1 when they are holding Edmée hostage and send Arlo a ransom note to come get her.
- Cartoonland Time: It took Seaside one whole day from sunrise to sunset to rebuild completely; it also took just 24 hours to repair the damage caused by Ol' Bessie. Averted with the trip to Arlo's swamp, which took until sunrise the next day to arrive, as a trip from NYC to Louisiana takes about 18 hours by boat.
- Character in the Logo: Like the movie before it, the "O" in Arlo's name in the logo has its hole shaped to look like Arlo's footprint.
- Chekhov's Gun: Marcellus' obsession with tracking devices in "The Uncondemning" is what allows him to reunite the main characters during the final battle.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: A handful of characters from the movie, specifically Sandra June and Bradley, the angry barn folk, Michelle the reporter, ans Ansel's butlers and maids, have not yet appeared in the show to date.
- Cool House: Arlo and Bertie's shared apartment, which is conjoined together following the first episode.
- Costume Evolution: Ansel has swapped out the stuffy business suit from the movie with a more casual outfit mimicking the one he wore as a child, and almost similar to Arlo's. Alia's skirt also changed from grey to pink.
- Crazy-Prepared: Should Ansel's yacht get sunken or his helicopter get stolen, he doesn't have to worry, as since he's so insanely rich he has just enough to get a new one.
- Creative Closing Credits: The end credits are presented with an establishing distance shot of the SBS dock and gazebo with Tony's Pizzeria and the Department of Hair in the background, set to an instrumental remix of "Beautiful Together".
- Damsel in Distress: Edmée in the finale of the first season, thanks to being held hostage by the Bog Lady as bait to lure Arlo back to the swamp.
- Darkest Hour: "The Uncondemning", the Season 1 finale. Arlo's friends have all gotten separated from him by the Bog Lady's magic, with Bertie and Alia tricked by an imposter and Ansel's yacht being sunken and destroyed, Arlo is hypnotized into never leaving the swamp, Edmée is still in her thorn cage, and the swamp is still under the Bog Lady's thorny curse. It's only through Alia learning to "change perspective" from Bertie do the girls find Arlo, allowing him to snap out of his trance and save the day.
- Darker and Edgier: Though the series is generally lighthearted in many ways, the Season 1 finale "The Uncondemning" takes its edginess up several notches. Specifically Arlo's old home is under a spell by the Bog Lady whom had been knowing him since his childhood years; Edmée is held hostage thanks to Ruff and Stucky being manipulated into luring Arlo to her; Arlo is stuck in her grasp and hypnotized into never leaving her again; and most notably, Arlo and his friends are almost Eaten Alive. What really takes the cake is Edmée's shack being blown up, and the way the Bog Lady dies.
- A Day in the Limelight: Arlo's friends have gotten at least one focus episode to themselves:
- Bertie gets the spotlight in "Frogday the 13th" and "Get Lost!".
- Alia in "Be the Turtle".
- Furlecia in "Blow Out".
- Marcellus in "Make a Fish".
- Tony in "Tony Baloney".
- Ansel in "Swamp Itch".
- Debut Queue: The first episode only introduces Arlo and his gang, and Jeromio. Ansel and Mayor Elena debut in the second episode, while Edmée debuts in The Stinger of the fourth episode.
- Disney Death: Marcellus suffers one in "Make a Fish" when he cannot get back to the fountain in time after retrieving the Phoenix egg for Arlo, resulting in him nearly dying from dehydration. He is rescued last-minute by Bertie who was watching everything.
- Distressed Dude: Arlo in the Season 1 finale when he is captured and hypnotized by the Bog Lady.
- "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: The theme song, which is an abridged version of "Beautiful Together" from the movie, is sung by Arlo himself.
- Episode Title Card: The title card is displayed as wet cement on Bertie's stairs as the main cast add their handprints around it, along with an artifact relating to the theme of the episode.
- Establishing Series Moment: The first scene of the first episode is Arlo saying good morning to the seagulls and praising Seaside by the Seashore as his new home.
- Eye Color Change: In "The Shedding" when Arlo is about to shed, his eyes turn pale blue and his pupils become faded.
- Feet-First Introduction: The title sequence shows the feet of Arlo and his friends getting ready in their own respective ways.
- Final Exam Finale: The S1 finale "The Uncondemning" serves as the finale to Arlo's Character Development since the start of the Pilot Movie, learning to accept his birth home, know that his old home will always be part of him, and no matter what happens, his friends will always be with him. The destruction of the shack symbolizes he has finally moved on.
- Fisher King: Normally Arlo's swamp is bright and full of yellow-green shades, but when under the Bog Lady's control in the Season 1 finale, it becomes drab and greyish, and coated with thorns.
- Forgotten Phlebotinum:
- "Be the Turtle" reveals Alia has Super-Senses, meaning she can see and hear everything around her even from a far enough distance, but her P.O.V. Cam which displays said skills has been barely brought up since then.
- Similarly, in "Jeromio, Jeromio", Arlo manages to locate Jeromio by listening carefully and hearing his croaks a few miles away, which hasn't been used since that episode.
- Free-Range Children: Arlo and his gang are free to traverse SBS and the whole city without any adult supervision.
- From Bad to Worse: In "Goin' It Arlone", Arlo attempts to fix up the Ol' Bessie Ferris wheel as a surprise for Ansel, but doesn't read all of the manual and puts it back together authentically. His work is rather poor, causing the wheel to break off and destroy the entire boardwalk, reverting to as it was before the restoration. Thankfully, it is quickly repaired in no time.
- Go Back to the Source: The season 1 finale has Arlo and the gang return to the swamp where they find Ruff and Stucky in the shack instead of Edmée, where the two reveal she's being held by the Bog Lady who vowed revenge on Arlo for leaving the swamp.
- The Good, the Bad, and the Evil: The season 1 finale has Arlo and the gang (good) confront Ruff and Stucky (bad) back in the swamp, where the two reveal Edmée is being held by the Bog Lady (evil).
- Gross-Up Close-Up:
- Anytime the head of the fountain is viewed up close, its nostrils are shown oozing out backed-up sewage water like boogers.
- Also Arlo shedding his skin in "The Shedding".
- The rash that comes with Swamp Itch.
- Hallucinations:
- A side-effect of Arlo's eponymous "Swamp Itch".
- Furlecia imagines her rollerskating stickynote doodle talking to her in "Blow Out".
- Also Bertie imagining a flowerpot as a frog's face in "Frogday the 13th".
- Hard-Work Montage:
- One in "Community Garden" as Arlo and the Seasiders are constructing the garden in the abandoned city lot, set to the titular song.
- Another in "Goin' It Arlone" as Arlo and his gang are putting together the final preparations for the Uncondemning party. Like before, it is set to the "Coming Together" sequence.
- Half-Arc Season: Season 1 features the "Uncondemning" arc, which serves as the background for Arlo and his friends working to clean up Seaside before a huge block party to celebrate its official reopening and Edmée winding up in a perilous plot.
- Half-Human Hybrid:
- Arlo is half-alligator, Ansel is half-bird, Alia is half-tiger, and Tony seems to be a human rat while Marcellus is a reverse merman.
- Lily the Lobster Woman is half-lobster.
- Heart Symbol: A heart is used for the show’s very title!
- Heroic BSoD:
- Arlo in the first episode when he decides living on his own is not the best thing he thought would be.
- Alia in "Be the Turtle" when her distractions get the better of her.
- Furlecia in "Blow Out" when she cannot bring herself with her salon appointments and feels overwhelmed.
- Arlo in "In the Blue with You" when his intended fishing retreat with Ansel did not go as planned.
- Arlo has a huge one in "Goin' It Arlone" when his attempt to surprise Ansel only resulted in reducing SBS back to shambles.
- Heroic Second Wind: In "The Uncondemning", when Bertie and Alia swing into the swamp and call out to Arlo, not only does this break the Bog Lady's spell on him, it also gives him enough confidence and determination to bite his way out of her grasp, rush past her roots, hop onto Edmée's cage and tear the bramble bars off, freeing her.
- Hope Spot: Often pops in and out.
- In "Jeromio, Jeromio", Arlo deduces Jeromio is upset because he needs some alone time. So he puts him in the rooftop garden... only for Jeromio to slump further.
- In "Swamp Itch", Ansel takes the delusional Arlo out for a flight around Seaside, seemingly calming him down, only for him to snap awake again and break free of his talons.
- In "Goin' It Arlone", Arlo spends all night fixing the Ol' Bessie wheel until it's in perfect condition by morning, but because he didn't repair it properly, it breaks off and destroys Seaside.
- In "The Uncondemning", while everyone is stuck in the Bog Lady's fist, Arlo stops her, giving her a speech that she's right and is a part of him like he is a part of her, and even though he doesn't live in the swamp anymore, it will always be part of where he's going. He and his friends then ask the Bog Lady for forgiveness and to be let go, but she coldly turns it down and decides to eat them instead.
- Hypnotic Eyes: The Bog Lady has these, which she unleashes on Arlo in "The Uncondemning" so he doesn't leave her.
- Hypnotize the Captive: In the Season 1 finale "The Uncondemning", Arlo is stuck in the Bog Lady's grasp and is hypnotized by her into not leaving the place he grew up in so she can keep him forever.
- Indy Escape: In "Goin' It Arlone", Arlo is briefly chased by the SBS Ferris wheel as it rolls down the boardwalk and destroys all the work.
- I Need to Go Iron My Dog: In "Blow Out", Furlecia says she's going to chug a pot of coffee to excuse herself from Arlo and hide when she starts shedding her fur.
- The Inspector Is Coming: "A Memory of Pizza" has Arlo and the gang prepare for a visit from the mayor of New York for a final inspection of SBS since it has to be approved; if the mayor is not impressed with it, the boardwalk will be shut down permanently.
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: For anyone who didn't see the movie yet: Arlo is not from the swamp, Seaside by the Seashore has been rebuilt and is slowly regaining population, and most importantly, Ansel is a bird-man.
- "Leave Your Quest" Test: In the Season 1 finale, Arlo is tempted by the Bog Lady into apologizing for leaving the place he lived all his life and is offered to stay with her forever. He snaps out of it upon realizing he always has the swamp in his heart.
- Local Hangout: Tony's Pizzeria serves as the standard hangout spot at SBS other than the central fountain.
- Logo Joke: The "Netflix Original" intro has Arlo sitting on the Seaside billboard as the words wash up on the beach; Arlo then sings, "Iiiiit's original... like me!"
- Lucky Charms Title: The heart in the logo is pronounced as "heart".
- Madness Mantra: "Tony Baloney" starts with Arlo's gang walking to Tony's while chanting "Yam!" over and over like zombies. Arlo even sings it on his part.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": In "A Memory of Pizza", Arlo's friends are all undeniably shocked when he brings up should they fail the final inspection with the mayor, then SBS will be shut down for good.Arlo's gang: SHUT DOWN PERMANENTLY?!!
- Mind-Control Eyes: When Arlo is hypnotized by the Bog Lady in the Season 1 finale, his eyes have red and gold psychedelic rippling swirls in them.
- Minor Living Alone: Played straight then subverted in the first episode. Arlo and his friends all each reside in their own separate houses at SBS, with Arlo and Bertie residing in side by side apartments. Arlo isn't comfortable living by himself, so he tries to make the best of it. It doesn't go well, and he soon discovers living alone is harder than he thought and isn't the best thing it turned out to be, prompting Bertie to conjoin their living rooms together and make their house as one so they live together as housemates.
- Multi-Part Episode: The final three episodes of the first season make up an overarching plotline centering around Edmée's danger and Arlo responding to her call.
- The Musical: Just like the movie.
- Musical World Hypotheses: Like the movie, the series mostly falls in the Alternate Universe type, where characters randomly start singing out of nowhere as per the norm. The Diegetic type is also used, as well as flipping back and fourth to All In Their Head during montages or scene shifts.
- My Significance Sense Is Tingling: Ansel can sense something strange is up with Arlo, as evidenced by his neck twitching and making plenty of bird noises.
- Nice Mean And In Between:
- Arlo and his pals are split half-and-half. Optimistic hero Arlo and kind best friend Bertie (nice), grumpy Marcellus and aloof and dramatic Furlecia (mean), and fast-talking Tony and tough Alia (in-between).
- There's also a few recurring Seasiders. Elena the nice and reasonable mayor, Gordy the mean and mischevious pumpkin boy, and Ansel, Arlo's bumbling biological father who stays in-between.
- During Arlo's time in the swamp, we have: Edmée the nice and caring adoptive mother of Arlo, the mean and trecherous Bog Lady who vowed revenge for Arlo leaving, and Arlo's pet bullfrog Jeromio, who stays in-between due to being clumsy and expressionless but also serves as a voice of reason.
- Open the Iris: As with the movie, the characters' eyes are rather expressive, and tend to grow accordingly when astounded or surprised about something.
- Parental Love Song: Arlo and Ansel have "In the Blue With You" from the aforementioned episode, as they bond with each other on a real fishing trip and show their true attachment. An instrumental version often plays in episodes as a leitmotif whenever the two have a father-son moment.
- Pictorial Letter Substitution: In the title logo, the hollow in the "O" in Arlo is replaced with the titular main character's footprint.
- Planimal: The Bog Lady in the Season 1 finale is a supernatural swamp being made out of wood with moss as her hair.
- Prehensile Tail: Arlo's tail seems to have many functions, such as using it as a third leg.
- Quarter Hour Short: Every episode is 11-13 minutes long. The season finale though, is a full half-hour special.
- Recurring Extra: Gordy the Pumpkin Boy shows up in the background in certain episodes. He is even noticed as well. Alia even interacts with him in "Be the Turtle".
- Red Herring: Near the end of the first season, Arlo gets a distress call from Edmée saying she's in danger; the follow-up package includes a note from Ruff and Stucky, saying Edmée is being held hostage and demand ransom within 24 hours for her release. Once Arlo and co. get to the swamp, they find it under a thorny curse and Edmée not at home, and the hunters reveal the note was just a set-up by the wicked Bog Lady as part of her plan to lure Arlo to her.
- The Reveal: The events of the Season 1 finale reveal Arlo leaving the swamp for New York City angered a creature called the Bog Lady, who commits herself to all life in the swamp and secretly protected Arlo to the point she didn't want him to leave at all.
- "Setting Off" Song: Arlo has "Back To You" in the Season 1 finale as he is setting off to the swamp and vows to rescue Edmée whatever it takes.
- Sick Episode: "Swamp Itch", where Arlo catches the titular ailment from a sweater sent by Edmée, and Ansel tries in vain to take care of him. The sickness even causes Arlo to have crazy Gold Rush Hallucinations.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: In "A Memory of Pizza", it turns out Mayor Elena had no intention of shutting down SBS, and Ansel only exaggerated her visit.Ansel: I tend to catastrophize.
- Super-Senses: Alia is revealed to have this ability in "Be the Turtle"; she can see things from really far distances, and can hear even the slightest of noises which simultaneously silence her off from everything else. Arlo is fascinated by her ability and encourages her to use it to her advantage to focus herself.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Arlo lived his whole life in the swamp for fifteen years under the care of Edmée; now that he's moved to NYC to live on his own (right next door to Bertie, of course), he finds it will be easy at first and enjoys it. By the first episode, he discovers he cannot learn how to take care of himself like how Edmée took care of him, specifically hosting a housewarming that lasts three days, and he finds living alone quite horrible.
- Tears of Joy: In the first episode, Arlo is brought to tears by the photo Bertie gives him as a housewarming present.
- Tempting Fate: Bertie lets Arlo know it can be difficult living on his own, but he just scoffs her off and claims it will go easy. Eventually, he discovers said living has its drawbacks, and has come to the conclusion living alone is not as fun as he thought it would be.
- Time-Passes Montage: In "Friendship Couch", Arlo decides to throw a housewarming party and wants it to last forever. Cue the outside of the house which zips ahead over three days, cutting back to inside where everyone but Arlo is worn out.
- Trailers Always Spoil:
- The series trailer completely spoiled moments from the last minutes of the Season 1 finale, to the point of even playing the final song and showing the very last scene of the episode.
- One of the preview clips for "Friendship Couch" and a promotional photo spoils Arlo and Bertie deciding to bring down the shared wall separating their two houses' living rooms and conjoin them into one.
- Trash the Set:
- In "Goin' It Arlone", Seaside is reduced back to shambles thanks to Arlo's poor repairs of the Ol' Bessie wheel. Thankfully, it is quickly repaired.
- In the Season 1 finale, Edmée's shack is blown up to bits.
- Unseen No More: Tony's parents, which were only mentioned in the movie, appear onscreen for the first time as shown in "Tony Baloney".
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: When Arlo left the swamp in the Pilot Movie, this infuriated a creature known as the Bog Lady, who seizes control of the swamp and plots to lure him back by holding Edmée hostage as bait. Arlo realizes the consequences too late.
- Verbal Tic: Arlo singing what he says or lapsing into song mid-sentence.
- Villain Song: The Bog Lady has her own self-titled song in the Season 1 finale as she tries to coax Arlo into not leaving the swamp.
- Volumetric Mouth: Often seen whenever a character shouts.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Arlo does it in "Swamp Itch" when he throws up a homemade soup made by Ansel.
- Warning Song: Ruff and Stucky's self-titled song in "The Uncondemning", as they teach Arlo and his gang about the Bog Lady and warn them of her dark magic.
- Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises: This is the standard eye expression for characters if they're shocked or horrified over something, or if they get too crazy.
- Wingding Eyes:
- When Alia is reaching for the fountain foundation in "Be the Turtle", her pupils are replaced with mini foundations.
- Tony gets dollar signs in his eyes in "Community Garden" when he taste tests a tomato and approves of it.
- Marcellus gets the coin variant in "Make a Fish" when he realizes he can become rich from the fountain wishes.
- Arlo has hearts in his eyes in "Tony Baloney" when he sees Tony's makeover.
- Where It All Began: The final episode of Season 1 revolved around Arlo and the gang returning to the Louisiana swamp where he was raised all his life in the Pilot Movie to save Edmée from the evil Bog Lady.
- Where the Hell Is Springfield?: Sure Seaside is in Brooklyn, but just where?
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Bertie's shown to have a dislike of frogs, as indicated at the end of "Friendship Couch" when Jeromio moves in. Put to great use in "Frogday the 13th" when Arlo leaves her to watch him during a storm, and at one point it appears the frog is trying to murder her.
