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Amphibia Episode 1 Review/Recap

It’s been a month since Star vs. The Forces of Evil ended , and with DuckTales on vacation, Disney is without a flagship cartoon. That ends this week with the premiere of what will (hopefully) be its next big cartoon, Amphibia. Starring Brenda Song, this western Isekai follows a young girl who’s transported from our world to a world of frog people.

Considering how I like cartoons, Disney, and Brenda Song, this show peaked my interest. I ended up watching it on the DisneyNow app last Friday, and I liked what I saw. Now, get ready to hop into the adventure with me in the first episode of Amphibia.

Anne or Beast?

The premiere episode introduces us to the world of Amphibia, home to talking frogs and toads. It’s a peaceful place until one morning when one of the townsfolk starts yelling about some sort of beast lurking in the woods nearby. This catches the interest of a young and adventurous frog named Sprig Plantar, who decides that catching this beast will prove how responsible he is to his family. It turns out, though, that that ‘beast’ is actually a normal human girl named Anne Boonchuy.

Despite a rough start, Anne and Sprig are quick to befriend each other as Anne explains that she somehow came from another world and just wants to get home. Even though the townsfolk first see her as a threat, Anne proves she’s trustworthy by helping to defeat a giant Pray Mantis. In gratitude, Sprig’s Grandpa Hop Pop and sister Polly let her stay at their place while she looks for a way home. Since the mountains around region are too dangerous to travel at the moment, though, Anne’s stuck for now.

Best Fronds

The second half of the episode reveals how Anne ended up in Amphibia in the first place. Back on Earth, her friends talked her into stealing a treasure box from a thrift store, and when she opened it, it magically transported her to Amphibia. Seeing how homesick she is, Sprig tries cheering her up by taking her to the local lake, but end up doing things that Sprig isn’t comfortable with. First, when Hop Pop tries keeping Anne locked in the house for her safety, she talks Sprig into stealing the key. Then when they find a “Don’t Swim” sign at the lake, Anne talks him into going in, despite his worries.

Sprig’s right to worry, though: there’s a giant, killer snake in the lake that almost kills them. It’s only thanks to his cleverness (and death peppers) that he and Anne get away. They get home before Hop Pop can suspect a thing. As for Anne, she learned a valuable lesson from the days events.

Review

Disney did a good job using the first episode to set up the world of Amphibia. The first half of the episode gave us the main characters, the setting, driving plot, and set up threads for future stories. The real hook, though, was the second half, as it tells us more about Anne.

Everyone is thinking it, so I’m only writing it: Anne’s two friends are a bad influence on her. In fact, I hesitate to even call Sasha and Marcie her friends, altogether. We saw that they pressured Anne into stealing the box that sent them to Amphibia. Judging by what Anne’s ideas of friendship, this wasn’t the first time they did this. They pressure her into doing things by using the fear of ending their friendship with her.

Anne was right when she said that friends help each other out. A true friend, though, will try and stop them from doing something they’ll regret or could get them hurt. So I have to give praise for how they had Sprig, someone known for being irressponsible, be the sensible one. It shows character development.

Disney gives us a Greater Mystery

I think that that box sent Anne to Amphibia for a reason. I don’t know what it is, but I’m going with the “make her a better person” theory. It seems like something Disney would do. Speaking of which, the final scene reveals a major plot point: Sasha and Marcie were also sent to Amphibia. Right now, Sasha’s held prisoner in a dark castle by an unknown frog, who’s aware that there are other humans in their world.

Matt Braly learned much from Gravity Falls. He just gave us an overarching mystery, a major plot point for the season, and the possible villain, all in one episode. I’m looking forward to seeing where Disney takes Amphibia this summer.

I Give “Anne or Beast?” and “Best Fronds” a 4/5. Jump on in with Disney.

Click here to see the first episode on Disney’s YouTube Channel!

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Amphibia Series Overview

When Gravity Falls ended in 2016, fans had to go looking for a Disney cartoon good enough to be its successor. Many people think they found it in the form of Star vs. The Forces of Evil, but now that show has also come to an end. They won’t have to wait long for a successor to it, though. As of this week, Disney’s airing the cartoon that looks to be a hybrid of Gravity Falls and Star vs., Amphibia. It also has shades of the “Isekai” genre that’s controlling anime lately.

The show’s created by Matt Braly, who worked as a storyboard artist on Gravity Falls. If he was good enough to work on Gravity Falls, then I have faith in his abilities. The show follows Anne Boonchuy, a normal, somewhat self-centered 13-year-old girl who gets magically transported to Amphibia, a world populated by sentient frogs. She soon befriends a young, adventurous frog named Sprig, who helps her adjust to life in her new world. With Sprig’s sister and grandpa by their side, the two set out to find a way to get Anne home while also becoming the first real friends they’ve ever had.

There’s a lot of good things that I can say about this show, but for now, I will limit it to three main things.

The Inspiration

A lot of the inspiration for this show comes from Matt Braly’s childhood. Like Anne, he’s Thai-American, and he would spend part of his summers as a kid with relatives in Bangkok, Thailand. Like Anne, he felt out of place in such a strange place but would grow to love it and all it had to offer. Now he wants to bring that love to western audiences. Face it: while efforts are being made, cultural diversity is still underrepresented in cartoons. If Amphibia ends up doing as well as it promises to do, it could change that. Even a small step is always a step forward!

A Hybrid of Past Successes

Ever since I learned about it, I’ve seen people on social media drawing comparisons between Amphibia and the successes of Disney’s recent past. Out of all the comparisons made, two of the biggest have been to Gravity Falls and Star vs. The Forces of Evil. Given that Braly was a storyboard artist on Gravity Falls, the resemblance is unmistakable. The art style and the character’s appearance is a lot like the show. Some even speculate that they take place in a shared universe! While that remains to be seen, Amphibia does carry on Gravity Falls‘ love of mysteries, given that the need for Anne finding a way home being a driving force behind its plot.

On the magic front, it’s more like SvTFOE. Both shows have a female lead sent to another world, albeit Anne has no way back as of now while Star could travel as she wished. It does nail down the magical adventure aspect that SvTFOE had, though. You get that feeling by looking at the weird creatures that inhabit Amphibia. Heck, Buff Frog and his kids look like they would fit right in! Plus when I went on YouTube, a lot of the comments were about how it was like Star or Gravity Falls.

Brenda Song’s Return to Disney

One of the major selling points of this show is that Anne’s voiced by Brenda Song. If you grew watching Disney Channel in the 2000s, then you’ll best remember Brenda for her role as wealthy heiress London Tipton in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and The Suite Life on Deck. For the longest time, she was one of Disney’s biggest stars, but after Suite Life ended, they parted ways. Amphibia will mark the first time in almost eight years that she’s worked with Disney.

As someone who grew up watching The Suite Life, I am a big fan of Brenda Song both in an outside her roles. She’s been a good role model for kids, even though her character is not known for her brains. As a bonus, Brenda’s also Thai-American, so this gives her a chance to show off her family’s culture.

My Verdict: Jump On In It

Do I think this show could be the next Gravity Falls? Given the person who’s making it, I’d say it has the potential. Could it fill the hole in the hearts of fans of SvTFOE? It just might. Or am I and other fans holding up to too high a standard because we can’t get over the fact that these cartoons are over? I… won’t deny that.

Legacy or no legacy, though, I won’t deny that Amphibia looks like it could be a fun show. I reserve my judgment until we see more of it, but right now, I find a lot of promise in it. Whether you’re a fan of Gravity Falls in search of your next fix or just looking for a good time, then Amphibia is one show you may want to watch.

But if I see people trying to start shipping wars over this show, I’m going to be disappointed. Not every show has to have couples in it!

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