Amphibia (TV series)

Amphibia is an American animated television series created by Matt Braly that aired on Disney Channel from June 17, 2019[6] to May 14, 2022.

[7] The series features the voices of Brenda Song, Justin Felbinger, Bill Farmer, Amanda Leighton, Anna Akana, Troy Baker, Haley Tju, and Keith David.

[8][9] Amphibia has received positive reception, with praise for its characters, animation, voice acting, humor and emotional weight.

[10][11] The series chronicles the adventures of Anne Boonchuy (Brenda Song), an independent, fearless and brave Thai-American girl.

[12] 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) and Marcy Wu (Haley Tju) to the world of Amphibia, a wild marshland tropical island inhabited by anthropomorphic amphibians and threatening creatures, where they are separated from each other.

Anne is taken in by the Plantars, a family of frogs consisting of excitable young Sprig (Justin Felbinger); unpredictable and adventurous baby pollywog Polly (Amanda Leighton); and overprotective and traditional grandfather Hop Pop (Bill Farmer) 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, while trying to find her friends and return 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), secretly has plans for them.

Upon returning, they discover Sasha and Grime have formed a resistance force in Wartwood and aid them in their rebellion against Andrias, who is using Marcy as a host for his master, a multi-eyed artificial intelligence entity known as the Core.

[18] On May 15, 2019, it was reported that Amanda Leighton and Bill Farmer joined the cast as the voices of Polly and Hopediah "Hop Pop" Plantar, respectively.

While the role ultimately went to Song, Braly cast Akana and Tju as Anne's human friends, Sasha and Marcy respectively, instead.

[19] Muppet performer Matt Vogel (as Kermit the Frog) made an appearance in the season 2 episode "Swamp and Sensibility".

[35] Voice actress Anika Noni Rose, best known for starring as Tianna in The Princess and the Frog, was cast in the recurring guest role of Dr. Jan, a museum curator and conspiracy theorist.

[49] 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.

On July 19, 2018, during the Star vs. the Forces of Evil and Big City Greens panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Disney released an early version of the intro for the series.

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[48] and a two-minute clip[56] during a livestream.

[62] Common Sense Media'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 and emotional manipulation in ways that will resonate with kids and tweens and can prompt discussions about the topics".

[63] 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.

[80] The book, which is a real-life version of Marcy's journal seen through the series, was written by creator Matt Braly and show writer Adam Colás, with illustrations by Amphibia character designer Catharina Sukiman.