Amphibia (TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Amphibia |
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| Genre | |
| Created by | Matt Braly |
| Voices of |
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| Theme music composer | Doug Petty |
| Opening theme | "Welcome to Amphibia" (instrumental) |
| Ending theme | "Anne's Theme" composed by T. J. Hill (seasons 1–2) "Anne's Theme (Remix)" composed by T. J. Hill and vocals performed by Brenda Song, Justin Felbinger, Bill Farmer and Amanda Leighton (season 3) "Extended End Credits" composed by T. J. Hill ("The Hardest Thing") |
| Composer(s) | T.J. Hill |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 58 (106 segments) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Matt Braly |
| Producer(s) | Tara Badawy |
| Running time |
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| Production company(s) | Disney Television Animation |
| Release | |
| Original network | Disney Channel |
| Original release | June 17, 2019 – May 14, 2022 |
Amphibia is an American animated television series. It was created by Matt Braly. The show aired on Disney Channel from June 17, 2019, to May 14, 2022. It features the voices of Brenda Song, Justin Felbinger, Bill Farmer, and Amanda Leighton. Other voice actors include Anna Akana, Troy Baker, Haley Tju, and Keith David.
Amphibia was very popular. People praised its characters, animation, and voice acting. They also loved its humor and emotional stories.
Contents
What is Amphibia About?
The series follows the adventures of Anne Boonchuy. She is a brave Thai-American girl. On her 13th birthday, Anne is dared to steal a mysterious music box. This box is called the Calamity Box. It magically sends Anne and her two best friends, Sasha Waybright and Marcy Wu, to a new world.
The World of Amphibia
This new world is called Amphibia. It is a wild marshland tropical island. It is full of anthropomorphic amphibians, which are animals that look like people. There are also many strange creatures. When they arrive, Anne, Sasha, and Marcy are separated.
Anne is found by the Plantars. This is a family of frogs. There's Sprig, an excited young frog. Polly is a tiny, adventurous baby pollywog. Hop Pop is their overprotective grandfather. They live on a farm in Wartwood. Anne learns to be a hero with her new frog family. She also learns about true friendship. At the same time, she tries to find her friends and return home.
Sasha and Marcy's Journeys
Sasha joins Captain Grime. He leads the toad army of Toad Tower. They want to control Frog Valley. Marcy ends up in Newtopia. This is the capital city of Amphibia. It is home to King Andrias.
Later Seasons
In the second season, Anne and the Plantars travel to Newtopia. They want to learn the secrets of the Calamity Box. They hope to find a way for Anne to go home. Anne reunites with Marcy there. Marcy offers to help fix the box. She suggests ancient trials to restore its power. But they don't know that King Andrias has secret plans for them. Meanwhile, Sasha and Grime plan to attack Newtopia. They want to take over the frog kingdom.
In the third and final season, Anne and the Plantars are sent to Anne's home. They land in East Los Angeles. Anne must help her frog friends fit into the human world. They also have to keep their identities a secret. They search for a way to return to Amphibia. They need to stop King Andrias from invading other worlds. When they return, Sasha and Grime have started a resistance group. Anne and the Plantars help them fight Andrias. Andrias is using Marcy as a host for his evil master, the Core.
Episodes
List of Amphibia episodes
How Amphibia Was Made
Show Development
On February 19, 2018, Disney Channel approved Amphibia. They ordered 20 episodes. The show was created by Matt Braly. He was also an executive producer. Matt Braly had worked on Gravity Falls and Big City Greens. He had been working on Amphibia for almost two years before it was approved.
Disney Channel ordered a second season on May 15, 2019. This was even before the first season aired! On June 23, 2020, a third season was ordered. Matt Braly said that Amphibia was a "three act story." This meant the third season would be the last.
Story and Ideas
The show's ideas came from Matt Braly's childhood trips to Bangkok, Thailand. The show's style was inspired by movies from Aardman Animations and Studio Ghibli. Its storytelling was like Gravity Falls and Steven Universe. Braly also got ideas from video games like The Legend of Zelda.
The main character, Anne Boonchuy, is Thai-American. Matt Braly is also Thai-American. He wanted to see more Thai characters on TV. Anne was partly inspired by his grandmother. He made Anne dark-skinned because his mother's family has tanned skin. In season 3, which is set on Earth, the show explores Anne's Thai culture more. An episode shows a Wat Thai temple in Los Angeles. Braly wanted to show Thai culture accurately.
Braly chose a frog world because frogs change a lot. They go from tadpoles to frogs. This fit the show's theme of change. The show also talks about social classes and caring for nature. Anne meets frogs from different backgrounds. She learns to appreciate the natural world.
Most of the show's writers are women. Braly felt this was important since the show is about a teenage girl. Storyboard artists could share their own ideas for episodes. Braly wanted the show to have exciting scenes. But he also made sure they were safe for all ages.
Voice Actors and Recording
On March 27, 2019, it was announced that Brenda Song would voice Anne Boonchuy. Justin Felbinger voices Sprig Plantar. Amanda Leighton voices Polly, and Bill Farmer voices Hop Pop. Over 50 actresses tried out for Anne's role. This included Anna Akana and Haley Tju. Even though Brenda Song got the part, Braly cast Akana and Tju as Anne's human friends, Sasha and Marcy. Some roles were written for specific actors. For example, King Andrias is voiced by Keith David.
Kermit the Frog (voiced by Matt Vogel) appeared in a season 2 episode. Brenda Song often made up jokes while recording. During the COVID-19 pandemic, actors recorded their lines from home. They sent their recordings to the editors.
Animation Style
Rough Draft Korea, Sunmin Image Pictures, and Saerom did the animation. Braly chose these studios because they still used hand-drawn animation. This was a style he liked. Animators spent three to four months on pre-production. An episode took about nine months to finish. Forty staff members at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California also worked on the show.
The show's look was inspired by the 1982 film The Dark Crystal. It also got ideas from the 1977 animated version of The Hobbit. The show's environments were inspired by nature. Storyboarding for an episode began after the script was ready. Anne and Marcy have different designs, even though they are both Asian. This was because the creators didn't want to be limited by stereotypes. They wanted the characters to be unique.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney Television Animation closed. But work on the series continued remotely.
Music in the Show
T. J. Hill created the music for the series. A song called "Welcome to Amphibia" was first planned as the theme song. But it was later changed to an instrumental theme. Braly felt the song didn't fit the show.
Hyper Potions made a new version of the opening music. This was for a "Theme Song Takeover" video. A third version with lyrics was made for another "Theme Song Takeover."
The first-season finale, "Reunion," used the song "Lean on Me" by Bill Withers. Braly listened to this song while developing Anne, Marcy, and Sasha's friendship. He chose to use it in the episode when Sasha tries to sacrifice herself.
An extended play album, Amphibia: Battle of the Bands, was released on April 23, 2021. It included songs like "Heartstomper" and "No Big Deal."
Season three had a Christmas special. It featured a song called "Our Special Time of Year." This song was written by Rebecca Sugar, who created Steven Universe.
The third-season episode, "All In," features the song "As If It's Your Last" by the South Korean girl group, Blackpink.
Marketing the Show
On July 19, 2018, Disney released an early version of the show's intro. This was at San Diego Comic-Con. They also gave away a special plush toy of Sprig Plantar.
On April 26, 2019, Disney FanFest released a music video. It was for the vocal version of the opening theme, "Welcome to Amphibia."
Disney Channel released the official trailer on May 14, 2019. The final version of the intro was released three days later.
Amphibia also had short videos and a game called Amphibia: Locust Pocus. The shorts began with Teen Girl in a Frog World on September 3, 2019.
In Other Media
Characters from Amphibia also appear in Chibiverse. This is an animated series based on the "Chibi Tiny Tales" shorts.
A book based on the series was released on December 6, 2022. It is called Marcy's Journal: A Guide to Amphibia. Disney Books and TokyoPop published it. The book is a real-life version of Marcy's journal from the show. It was written by creator Matt Braly and Adam Colás. Catharina Sukiman did the illustrations. The book shares new stories and more details about the show's world.
See also
In Spanish: Amphibia (serie de televisión) para niños
