Smiling Friends S1E2: Mr. Frog
In today’s world of instant virality, it takes only one slip-up for a beloved celebrity to tumble from stardom to disgrace. Whether it be an inappropriate comment or bad public behavior, these superstars and their PR teams scramble to justify, apologize, and do anything to avoid “cancellation.” In the first season’s second episode, Smiling Friends tackles this modern trend by telling the story of the eponymous character Mr. Frog. The metaphorically and physically large-mouthed creature is put to shame after an impulsive on-air incident with a news anchor.
This episode hits close to home as cancel culture has taken off in recent years, with netizens justifying and showing disdain for it. Mr. Frog’s portrayed character is basic and shallow, yet his actions are bizarrely extreme. There is an impression that he is a normal dude with no ill intent, perhaps led down and trapped by the sinister path of stardom. His story feels fitting and typical of a troubled celebrity; he struggles with addiction, lives an ostensibly fulfilling life, and hides his struggles to keep up his on-camera image. His physical portrayal is deliberately absurd yet his story feels uncannily familiar and authentic, creating this clashing effect that frequents the show.
Something that makes this show so lovable is its commitment to rewarding honest characters while punishing bad behavior from unlikeable ones. There’s always a sense of justice being served that leaves the audience with a satisfactory conscience. What makes this aspect even more entertaining is how the punished characters are consistently modeled after dislikeable archetypes that exist in reality, and these archetypes can get pretty specific. The sheer agreeability of their critiques fosters a sense of community, as the show brings up the very criticisms that audiences have quietly had about big media for years.
However, this episode doesn’t just critique the producers of media but the consumers as well. With the exaggeration that is characteristic of the show, it is easy to recognize the futility of certain content that has been popularized by die-hard fans. How could a show with six spoken lines and less than 15 seconds of runtime break worldwide records?
And of course, no Smiling Friends episode is complete without utterly insane visuals. This episode blends real footage and animations of real people with traditional animated characters, creating a chaotic and surreal universe. Even trivial details aren’t safe; the scene with the Boss eating meat sauce pasta is gruesomely disturbed by his eyes turning a devilish red and his mouth being coated in a blood-like crimson.
