''Amphibia'' is an American
animated television series
An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...
created by
Matt Braly
Matthew Benjakarn Braly ( ; born November 8, 1988) is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, writer, and producer. He is best known as the creator and executive producer of the Disney Channel animated series ''Amphibia (TV series)''. ...
that aired on
Disney Channel
Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
from June 17, 2019
to May 14, 2022. The series features the voice talents of
Brenda Song
Brenda Song (born March 27, 1988) is an American actress. Born in California, Song began her career at the age of six, working as a child model. She made her screen debut with a guest appearance on the sitcom '' Thunder Alley'' (1995), and ...
, Justin Felbinger,
Bill Farmer
Bill Farmer (born November 14, 1952) is an American voice actor, comedian and impressionist. He has performed the voice of the Disney character Goofy since 1987, and has also been the voice of Pluto and Horace Horsecollar since 1990.
Early li ...
,
Amanda Leighton
Amanda Leighton is an American actress. She is known for her voice acting as Blossom in the 2016 Cartoon Network animated series ''The Powerpuff Girls'', Poppy in the 2018 Netflix animated series '' Trolls: The Beat Goes On!'', and Polly Planta ...
,
Anna Akana
Anna Kay Napualani Akana (born August 18, 1989) is an American actress, filmmaker, musician, and YouTuber. She has appeared in TV series, films, and music videos that include ''Awkward'' (2011), ''Ant-Man'' (2015), ''Hello, My Name is Doris'' (2 ...
,
Troy Baker
Troy Baker (born April 1, 1976) is an American voice actor and musician. Baker is known for his video game roles, including Joel Miller in ''The Last of Us'' (2013) and its sequel (2020), Booker DeWitt in ''BioShock Infinite'' (2013), Samuel ...
,
Haley Tju
Haley Alexandra Tju () (born February 15, 2001) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Pepper in the Nickelodeon television series ''Bella and the Bulldogs'', and Marcy Wu in the Disney animated television series ''Amphibia''.
Early ...
, and
Keith David
Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his signature deep voice and commanding screen presence in over 300 roles across film, stage, television, and interactive media.
He has starred in such films as '' T ...
.
''Amphibia'' has been praised by critics for its characters, animation, voice-acting, and balance of emotional weight and humor.
Premise
The series chronicles the adventures of an independent, fearless and brave
Thai-American
Thai Americans ( th, ชาวอเมริกันเชื้อสายไทย; formerly referred to as Siamese Americans) are Americans of Thai ancestry.
History in the US
The 1930 Census recorded just 18 ‘Siamese’ Americans. Acco ...
girl named
Anne Boonchuy
Anne Savisa Boonchuy ( ; Thai language, Thai: แอนน์ สาวิสา บุญช่วย) is the main protagonist of the Disney Channel animated series ''Amphibia (TV series), Amphibia'', created by Matt Braly. She is voiced by Bre ...
(
Brenda Song
Brenda Song (born March 27, 1988) is an American actress. Born in California, Song began her career at the age of six, working as a child model. She made her screen debut with a guest appearance on the sitcom '' Thunder Alley'' (1995), and ...
). On her 13th birthday, Anne is peer-pressured into stealing a mysterious music box (known as the Calamity Box) that magically transports her and her two best friends Sasha Waybright (
Anna Akana
Anna Kay Napualani Akana (born August 18, 1989) is an American actress, filmmaker, musician, and YouTuber. She has appeared in TV series, films, and music videos that include ''Awkward'' (2011), ''Ant-Man'' (2015), ''Hello, My Name is Doris'' (2 ...
) and Marcy Wu (
Haley Tju
Haley Alexandra Tju () (born February 15, 2001) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Pepper in the Nickelodeon television series ''Bella and the Bulldogs'', and Marcy Wu in the Disney animated television series ''Amphibia''.
Early ...
) to the world of Amphibia, a wild
marshland
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...
tropical island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
full of
anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
amphibian
Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...
s and threatening creatures, where they are separated from each other. Anne is taken in by the Plantars, a family of frogs that consists of excitable young Sprig (Justin Felbinger); unpredictable and adventurous baby pollywog Polly (
Amanda Leighton
Amanda Leighton is an American actress. She is known for her voice acting as Blossom in the 2016 Cartoon Network animated series ''The Powerpuff Girls'', Poppy in the 2018 Netflix animated series '' Trolls: The Beat Goes On!'', and Polly Planta ...
); and overprotective and traditional grandfather Hop Pop (
Bill Farmer
Bill Farmer (born November 14, 1952) is an American voice actor, comedian and impressionist. He has performed the voice of the Disney character Goofy since 1987, and has also been the voice of Pluto and Horace Horsecollar since 1990.
Early li ...
) who live on a farm in the town of Wartwood. As she bonds with her newfound family, Anne gradually learns what it means to be a hero and develop a true friendship, all the while trying to find her friends and return home. Sasha allies with Captain Grime (
Troy Baker
Troy Baker (born April 1, 1976) is an American voice actor and musician. Baker is known for his video game roles, including Joel Miller in ''The Last of Us'' (2013) and its sequel (2020), Booker DeWitt in ''BioShock Infinite'' (2013), Samuel ...
), leader of the warfaring toads of Toad Tower, who seek to control their home of Frog Valley. Marcy ends up in Newtopia, the capital of Amphibia, the seat of the government and home to the ruler of Amphibia.
In the second season, Anne and the Plantars go on a road trip to Newtopia, to learn the secrets of the music box, also referred to as the Calamity Box and find a way to get Anne home. There, Anne reunites with Marcy, who offers to help restore the box's power through a series of ancient trials, unaware that Amphibia's ruler, King Andrias (
Keith David
Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his signature deep voice and commanding screen presence in over 300 roles across film, stage, television, and interactive media.
He has starred in such films as '' T ...
), secretly has plans for them. Meanwhile, Sasha and Grime plot to invade Newtopia and overthrow the monarch, allowing the toads to rule over all of Amphibia.
In the third and final season, Anne and the Plantars are transported to Anne's home in the
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
s of
East Los Angeles
East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical purpo ...
. Anne must now help the frog family adjust to the human world and keep their identities a secret while searching for a way to return to Amphibia and stop Andrias's invasion of the
Multiverse
The multiverse is a hypothetical group of multiple universes. Together, these universes comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describe them. The di ...
. When they return, they discover Sasha and Grime have started a resistance force in Wartwood and aid them in their rebellion against Andrias, who is using Marcy as a vessel for his master, an entity known as the Core.
Episodes
Production
Development
On February 19, 2018, ''Amphibia'' was greenlit by Disney Channel alongside ''
The Owl House
''The Owl House'' is an American animated fantasy television series created by Dana Terrace that premiered on Disney Channel on January 10, 2020. The series stars the voices of Sarah-Nicole Robles, Wendie Malick, Alex Hirsch, Tati Gabrielle, Issa ...
'' with an order of 20 episodes.
The series was created and executive-produced by
Matt Braly
Matthew Benjakarn Braly ( ; born November 8, 1988) is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, writer, and producer. He is best known as the creator and executive producer of the Disney Channel animated series ''Amphibia (TV series)''. ...
, previously a storyboard artist on ''
Gravity Falls
''Gravity Falls'' is an American mystery comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines (Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel (Kristen Schaal) wh ...
'' and later a director on both ''Gravity Falls'' and ''
Big City Greens
''Big City Greens'' is an American animated comedy adventure television series created by The Houghton Brothers that premiered on Disney Channel on June 18, 2018. The series features the voices of Chris Houghton, Marieve Herington, Bob Joles, and ...
''. According to his Twitter account, he had been working on the series for almost two years before being greenlit, though he began to conceive the project while work on ''Gravity Falls'' began to conclude.
[ Matt had been developing the series with prototype designs of the protagonists in early 2015.
On May 15, 2019, Disney Channel renewed ''Amphibia'' for a second season of 20 episodes ahead of its premiere.]
On June 23, 2020, the show was renewed for a third season of 18 episodes ahead of its second-season premiere. In a Reddit AMA, Braly referred to ''Amphibia'' as a "three act story" with season two as the "2nd act". He further clarified in the AMA that he had "structured the story for 3 easons
Eason Retail PLC, known as Easons or Eason, is an Irish retail company best known for selling books, stationery, cards, gifts, newspapers and magazines. Headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, it is the largest supplier of books, magazines and new ...
currently", implying that Season 3 will serve as the final season of the show. Later on March 16, 2022, storyboard artist Alex Swanson confirmed on Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
that season 3 is set to be the show's last.
On February 10, 2022, episodes 10 and 11 of the third season were leaked, and then announced by Matt Braly on Twitter.
Writing
The show was based on Braly's childhood trips to Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
, Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
. The series' tone was inspired by films by Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations Limited (also known as Aardman Studios, simply Aardman or Aardman Animation and stylised as AARDMAN as of 2022) is a British animation studio based in Bristol, England. It is known for films made using stop-motion and clay an ...
and Studio Ghibli
is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and ha ...
, while its storytelling format was inspired by ''Gravity Falls
''Gravity Falls'' is an American mystery comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines (Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel (Kristen Schaal) wh ...
'' and ''Steven Universe
''Steven Universe'' is an American animated series, animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. It tells the coming-of-age story of a young boy, Steven Universe (character), Steven Universe (Zach Callison), who li ...
''. Braly was also inspired by video games such as ''The Legend of Zelda
''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-rele ...
'' and ''Chrono Trigger
is a 1995 role-playing video game developed and published by Square. It was originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as the first game in the ''Chrono'' series. The game's development team included three designers th ...
'' when creating the series. Other inspirations for the series include shows Braly watched in his childhood, such as '' Batman: The Animated Series'' and Disney's '' Gargoyles''; he precisely cited ''Gargoyles'' as an inspiration for the series' story arc. According to Braly, one of the reasons he created the series was because he wanted a show whose lead character had a similar arc to ''Gravity Falls'' character Pacifica Northwest, as he felt that "to have this character change so drastically was so rewarding, and that's why eknew ewanted isown show to have some of that element as well".[ The character of Sprig went through several changes through development, with the developers constantly giving him different ages, before choosing to make the character a younger brother-like figure for Anne.] Similarly, Anne, Sasha, and Marcy were originally fifteen-years-old because they wanted the series to have a high school-like feel, but were aged down in order to appeal to the series' target demographic; due to this, the trio often realizes actions more akin to high school students, such as driving and having part-time jobs.
The series marks the first animated show to have a Thai-American lead.[ Braly, who is also Thai-American, chose to make the series lead character, ]Anne Boonchuy
Anne Savisa Boonchuy ( ; Thai language, Thai: แอนน์ สาวิสา บุญช่วย) is the main protagonist of the Disney Channel animated series ''Amphibia (TV series), Amphibia'', created by Matt Braly. She is voiced by Bre ...
, Thai-American because he wanted more Thai characters in television series. According to Braly, Anne was loosely inspired by his grandmother.[ He described Anne being Thai-American as "a number one priority", as he wanted Thai-American kids to see themselves reflected on television.][ Braly also made the character dark-skinned due to his mother's family being tanned.] Season 3, which is set on Earth, further delves into Anne's Thai heritage, including an episode set at a Wat
A wat ( km, វត្ត, ; lo, ວັດ, ; th, วัด, ; khb, 「ᩅᨯ᩠ᨰ」(waD+Dha); nod, 「ᩅ᩠ᨯ᩶」 (w+Da2)) is a type of Buddhist temple and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State, Yunnan, the Southern Provi ...
Thai temple in Los Angeles. Braly described the temple's representation in the episode as "pretty accurate", as it is important for him to represent Thai culture accurately.
Braly chose to make the series to be centered around a frog-populated world because he felt that, due to how frogs change from tadpoles to frogs, they were perfect for the series' theme of change. Braly also implemented themes involving social classes and environmental awareness into the series, with Anne interacting with frogs of several different social backgrounds and learning to "appreciate the natural world around her".
Three of the series' four writers are women, which Braly felt necessary due to the show centering on a teenage girl.[ Storyboard artists are allowed to pitch their own ideas for an episode, a practice Braly took from his time at ''Gravity Falls''.][ Braly wanted the series to feature intense sequences, yet still being appropriate for all ages, constantly checking-in whether a scene is too terrifying for children and whether a scene is what it's intended to be.]
Casting and voice recording
On March 27, 2019, it was revealed that Brenda Song
Brenda Song (born March 27, 1988) is an American actress. Born in California, Song began her career at the age of six, working as a child model. She made her screen debut with a guest appearance on the sitcom '' Thunder Alley'' (1995), and ...
would star in the series as the voice of Anne Boonchuy
Anne Savisa Boonchuy ( ; Thai language, Thai: แอนน์ สาวิสา บุญช่วย) is the main protagonist of the Disney Channel animated series ''Amphibia (TV series), Amphibia'', created by Matt Braly. She is voiced by Bre ...
. In April 2019, it was reported that Justin Felbinger would voice Sprig Plantar in the series. On May 15, 2019, it was reported that Amanda Leighton
Amanda Leighton is an American actress. She is known for her voice acting as Blossom in the 2016 Cartoon Network animated series ''The Powerpuff Girls'', Poppy in the 2018 Netflix animated series '' Trolls: The Beat Goes On!'', and Polly Planta ...
and Bill Farmer
Bill Farmer (born November 14, 1952) is an American voice actor, comedian and impressionist. He has performed the voice of the Disney character Goofy since 1987, and has also been the voice of Pluto and Horace Horsecollar since 1990.
Early li ...
joined the cast as the voices of Polly and Hopediah "Hop Pop" Plantar, respectively. Over 50 actresses auditioned for the role of Anne, including Anna Akana
Anna Kay Napualani Akana (born August 18, 1989) is an American actress, filmmaker, musician, and YouTuber. She has appeared in TV series, films, and music videos that include ''Awkward'' (2011), ''Ant-Man'' (2015), ''Hello, My Name is Doris'' (2 ...
and Haley Tju
Haley Alexandra Tju () (born February 15, 2001) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Pepper in the Nickelodeon television series ''Bella and the Bulldogs'', and Marcy Wu in the Disney animated television series ''Amphibia''.
Early ...
. While the role ultimately went to Song, Braly cast Akana and Tju as Anne's human friends, Sasha and Marcy respectively, instead. According to Braly, certain roles were written with a specific actor in mind, such as King Andrias, who is voiced by Keith David
Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his signature deep voice and commanding screen presence in over 300 roles across film, stage, television, and interactive media.
He has starred in such films as '' T ...
.
Muppet performer Matt Vogel (as Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Muppet Show'', as well ...
) made an appearance in the season 2 episode "Swamp and Sensibility". However, Kermit himself (whom Vogel performed since 2017) was credited for the role in promotional material; Kermit previously appeared in two promotional web videos for the series, as well as in a D23 Expo
D23: The Official Disney Fan Club is the official fan club for The Walt Disney Company. Founded in 2009, the organization is known mainly for its biennial exposition event, the D23 Expo. The name ''D23'' refers to ''D'' for ''Disney'' and ''23' ...
panel promoting both the series and ''Big City Greens
''Big City Greens'' is an American animated comedy adventure television series created by The Houghton Brothers that premiered on Disney Channel on June 18, 2018. The series features the voices of Chris Houghton, Marieve Herington, Bob Joles, and ...
''.
According to Braly, Song ad libbed several jokes during recording. Similarly, Alex Hirsch
Alexander Robert Hirsch (born June 18, 1985) is an American voice actor, animator, writer, storyboard artist, and producer. He is the creator of the Disney Channel series ''Gravity Falls'', for which he provided the voices of Grunkle Stan, Soos ...
improvised several lines for his appearance in the season two episode "Wax Museum". During the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, cast members had to remotely record their lines from their homes, after which they sent their lines to the series' editors.
Animation
Rough Draft Korea
Rough Draft Studios, Inc. is an American animation production studio based in Glendale, California, with a second studio in Glendale and its sister studio Rough Draft Korea located in Seoul, South Korea. The studio was founded in Van Nuys, Los ...
, Sunmin Image Pictures
Sunmin Image Pictures Co., Ltd. (선민동화, ''Seonmin Donghwa''; abbreviated as SMIP Co., Ltd.) is a South Korean animation studio. It was founded as Artplus in 1990. The studio animates many American animated television series and movies, mos ...
, and Saerom each provide animation. Braly chose those animation studios due to them still working with hand-drawn animation
Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation.
Pro ...
, a style Braly favored for the series. The animators spend three to four months working on pre-production, with an episode taking about nine months to complete.[ Forty staff members at Walt Disney Studios in ]Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
also worked on the series.[
James Turner, a British illustrator most well known for his work on the '']Pokémon
(an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise.
In terms of ...
'' series of games (having created several Pokémon designs and worked as the art director
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...
for ''Pokémon Sword and Shield
and are 2019 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch console. They are the first installments in the eighth generation of the ''Pokémon'' video game series ...
''), provided artwork during the initial stages of the project. The series' visuals were inspired by Jim Henson
James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...
's 1982 film ''The Dark Crystal
''The Dark Crystal'' is a 1982 dark fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. It stars the voices of Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, Percy Edwards, and Barry Dennen. The film was produced by ITC Entertainment and The J ...
'' and the 1977 animated adaptation of ''The Hobbit
''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the '' ...
''.[ The series' environments were also inspired by natural settings.] According to Braly, storyboarding for an episode begins after its script is finished. Braly said that the different character designs for Anne and Marcy, in spite of both characters having Asian backgrounds, were because the producers "never wanted to be trapped into a character design just because of what people might think an Asian person 'should' look like in a cartoon", as the characters "are representations of folks, not caricatures".
By March 24, 2020, Disney Television Animation
Disney Television Animation (DTVA), formerly known as Walt Disney Pictures Television Animation Group and Walt Disney Television Animation, is the television animation production arm of Disney Branded Television, a sub-division of the Disney G ...
was closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, with work on the series continuing remotely. By that point, the producers had started storyboarding the season 2 finale, while other episodes were only partially completed.
Music
T. J. Hill composed the score for the series. During production on the series, Leslie Wolfhard, wife of storyboard artist Steve Wolfhard, pitched to the producers a song, which they ended up using in the season 1 episode "Taking Charge". On July 23, 2020, Hill created a SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...
playlist featuring 10 tracks from the first season's score.
A song titled "Welcome to Amphibia", performed by Celica Gray Westbook, was originally intended to serve as the series' theme song. However, the song was later discarded in favor of an instrumental theme. According to Braly, "Welcome to Amphibia" was written due to orders from Disney, but he eventually convinced the studio to use an instrumental theme instead, as he felt it didn't fit with the show or its main character.
Hyper Potions composed a new version of the instrumental opening for the show's first "Theme Song Takeover" video. A third version of the opening, with lyrics by writer Dan Siegel, was written for the second "Theme Song Takeover" video.
The first season finale, "Reunion", features the song " Lean on Me" by Bill Withers
William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (1972) ...
. Braly said that he constantly listened to the song while developing the relationship between Anne, Marcy, and Sasha, so, when work began on "Reunion", Braly chose to use the song for the scene in which Sasha tries to sacrifice herself.
On April 23, 2021, an extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. album, titled ''Amphibia: Battle of the Bands'', was released. The album features the songs "Heartstomper", written by T.J. Hill and performed by Akana, and "No Big Deal", written by Adam Gubman and performed by Song, Akana, and Tju, as well as instrumental covers of both songs by Hill, Todd McClintock and Adam Gubman, respectively.
Season three featured a Christmas special with a song titled "Our Special Time of Year", which was written by Rebecca Sugar
Rebecca Rea Sugar (born July 9, 1987) is an American animator and screenwriter. She is best known for being the creator of the Cartoon Network series ''Steven Universe'', making her the first non-binary person to independently create a series for ...
of ''Steven Universe
''Steven Universe'' is an American animated series, animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. It tells the coming-of-age story of a young boy, Steven Universe (character), Steven Universe (Zach Callison), who li ...
'' fame; Braly previously served as a writer and storyboard artist in the ''Steven Universe'' episode "Lars and the Cool Kids".
The third season episode, " All In", features the song "As If It's Your Last
"As If It's Your Last" () is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Blackpink. It was released as a standalone single via YG Entertainment on June 22, 2017, and was made available to digital outlets. The song was written by Teddy Park, Brothe ...
" by South Korean girl group, Blackpink
Blackpink (, commonly stylized in all caps or as BLɅϽKPIИK) is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment, consisting of members Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. The group debuted in August 2016 with their single album ''Square ...
.
Marketing
On July 19, 2018, during the ''Star vs. the Forces of Evil
''Star vs. the Forces of Evil'' is an American animated magical girl television series created by Daron Nefcy and developed by Jordana Arkin and Dave Wasson, which aired on Disney Channel and Disney XD. It is the first Disney XD series created b ...
'' and ''Big City Greens
''Big City Greens'' is an American animated comedy adventure television series created by The Houghton Brothers that premiered on Disney Channel on June 18, 2018. The series features the voices of Chris Houghton, Marieve Herington, Bob Joles, and ...
'' panel at San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
, Disney released an early version of the intro for the series. They also gave away a limited-edition plush toy of Sprig Plantar.
On April 26, 2019, Disney FanFest released a music video for a vocal version of the opening theme titled ″Welcome to Amphibia″ performed by Celica Gray Westbrook and a two-minute clip during a livestream. It was originally planned to be used as the show's theme song.
On May 14, 2019, Disney Channel released the trailer, with Disney Channel releasing the final version of the intro 3 days later.
''Amphibia'' also included shorts, beginning with ''Teen Girl in a Frog World''. The shorts premiered on September 3, 2019.
Reception
Critical reception
''Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children. ''s Emily Ashby rated the show 4 out of 5 stars and praised the series for its characters and themes, writing that "Sprig and Anne's adventures are a joy to behold, mostly thanks to their delightfully compatible personalities and the sweet friendship that develops between them" and that "the story illustrates issues like bullying
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an imba ...
and emotional manipulation
Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definitio ...
in ways that will resonate with kids and tweens and can prompt discussions about the topics". Bekah Burbank of ''LaughingPlace.com'' praised the series' ability to balance its humor and its terror elements, as well as its pacing, characters, and animation, stating that "''Amphibia'' is clever and goofy with plenty of jokes to keep kids laughing and just enough scary content to hold their attention. The show moves quickly and is broken into two 11-minute episodes that, at least for the premiere, form one complete chapter. The animation is bouncy and colorful and the characters are a delight". ''Collider
A collider is a type of particle accelerator which brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators.
Colliders are used as a research tool in particle ...
''s Dave Trumbore gave the series' first two episodes a 4 stars rating, feeling that they " ervedas a great introduction to the series".
Ratings
Accolades
The show won an Annie Award
The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally desi ...
for "Best Character Design" in 2021. In the same year, it was nominated for an Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
for "Outstanding Children's Animated Program", but it lost to ''Hilda
Hilda is one of several female given names derived from the name ''Hild'', formed from Old Norse , meaning 'battle'. Hild, a Nordic-German Bellona, was a Valkyrie who conveyed fallen warriors to Valhalla. Warfare was often called Hild's Game. Th ...
''. The season 2 finale, "True Colors", was nominated for the 2022 Annie Awards for "Best TV/Media - Children", "Best Direction - TV/Media", and "Best Editorial - TV/Media".
In other media
A book based on the series, titled ''Marcy's Journal: A Guide to Amphibia'' is set to be released on December 6, 2022, by Disney Books
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...
and TokyoPop
Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed J ...
. The book, which will be a real-life version of Marcy's journal seen through the series, will be written by creator Matt Braly
Matthew Benjakarn Braly ( ; born November 8, 1988) is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, writer, and producer. He is best known as the creator and executive producer of the Disney Channel animated series ''Amphibia (TV series)''. ...
and show writer Adam Colás, with illustrations by ''Amphibia'' character designer Catharina Sukiman. According to Braly, the book will feature stories not seen within the series, as well as further explore the show's lore and provide further character insight.
Characters from ''Amphibia'' appear in ''Chibiverse
''Chibiverse'' is an American animated television series developed by Gino Guzzardo, produced by Disney Television Animation and premiered on Disney Channel on July 30, 2022. The series is based on the studio's ''Chibi Tiny Tales'' short series. ...
'', an animated series based on the "Chibi Tiny Tales" shorts.
References
External links
*
''Amphibia''
on Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
Production website
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{{Rough Draft Studios
Amphibia (TV series)
2010s American animated television series
2020s American animated television series
2019 American television series debuts
2022 American television series endings
American children's animated adventure television series
American children's animated comedy television series
American children's animated science fantasy television series
Animated television series about frogs
Animated television series about teenagers
Annie Award winners
Asian-American television
Portal fantasy
Disney Channel original programming
English-language television shows
Television series by Disney Television Animation
Television series set on fictional islands
Television shows set in Los Angeles County, California