Amphibia

Amphibia is an American-Canadian-Australian animated television series created by Evan Tackett and produced by Bear Bones Productions, CinéGroupe, TV-Loonland AG, and Bear Bones Australia for Kids' WB and YTV. The series features the voices of Brianne Siddall, Ziggy Miles, Bill Farmer, and Cathy Cavadini. It premiered on June 17, 1999.

On May 15, 1999, a month before the series premiere, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered in 2000. Ahead of the second-season premiere, the series was renewed for a third season, which premiered in 2001.

Premise
The series chronicles the adventures of an independent and fearless 13-year-old Thai-American girl named Anne Boonchuy. After stealing a mysterious music box on her birthday at the advice of her friend, Sasha Waybright, Anne is magically transported to the world of Amphibia, a wild marshland tropical island full of anthropomorphic amphibians and threatening creatures. There Anne meets the excitable young frog named Sprig Plantar; unpredictable and adventurous baby pollywog Polly Plantar, the youngest member of the Plantar family; and overprotective and traditional grandfather Hop Pop who will guide her to be a true hero while discovering the first true friendship of her life as she lives with her newfound family. In addition, she also discovers that Sasha has sided with the villainous Captain Grime.

In season two, Anne and the Plantars go on a road trip to Amphibia's capital Newtopia to figure out the mystery behind the Calamity Box and to find a way to get Anne, Marcy, and Sasha back home. While Anne reunites with Marcy, Newtopia's King Andrias secretly has plans for them. Meanwhile, Sasha and her mentor Grime, the exiled captain, plan to invade Newtopia.

In season three, Anne and the Plantars are transported to Anne's home in the suburbs of East Los Angeles. 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. In Amphibia, Sasha and Grime lead the people of Wartwood in a rebellion against Andrias. However, Andrias begins sending forces to Earth to eliminate Anne, while keeping Marcy in suspended animation inside of a stasis capsule for future plans.

Development
On February 19, 1998, Amphibia was greenlit by Bear Bones Productions alongside The Owl House. The series was created and executive-produced by Evan Tackett. According to his Twitter account, he had been working on the series for almost two years before being greenlit.

In May 1999, Bear Bones renewed Amphibia for a second season ahead of its premiere.

In June 2000, the show was renewed for a third season ahead of its second-season premiere.

Writing
The show was based on Tackett's childhood trips to Bangkok, Thailand. The series' tone was inspired by films by Aardman Animation and Studio Ghibli, while its storytelling format was inspired by Time Warped. Tackett was also inspired by video games such as The Legend of Zelda and Chrono Trigger when creating the series. According to Tackett, one of the reason he created the series is because he wanted a show whose lead character had a similar arc to Time Warped character Erika, as he felt that "to have this character change so drastically was so rewarding, and that’s why [he] knew [he] wanted [his] own show to have some of the element as well". According to Tackett, 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.

The series marks the first animated show to have a Thai-American lead. Tackett, who is Thai-American, chose to make the series' lead character, Anne Boonchuy, Thai-American because he wanted more Thai characters in television series. According to Tackett, 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. Tackett also made the character dark-skinned due to his mother's family being tanned.

Tackett 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. Tackett 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, since Tackett felt necessary due to the show centering on a teenager girl. Storyboard artists are allowed to pitch their own ideas for an episode, a practice Tackett took from his time at Time Warped. Tackett 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 is what the scene is intended to be.

Casting and voice recording
On March 25, 1999, it was revealed that Brianne Siddall would star in the series as the voice of Anne Boonchuy. In April 1999, it was reported that Ziggy Miles would voice Sprig Plantar in the series. On May 12, 1999, it was reported that Cathy Cavadini and Bill Farmer joined the cast as the voices of Polly and Hopediah "Hop Pop" Plantar, respectively. Over 50 actresses auditioned for the role of Anne, including Jeannie Elias and Lauren Tom. While the role ultimately went to Song, Tackett casted Soucie and Tom as Anne's human friends, Sasha and Marcy respectively, instead.

Animation
Wang Film Productions in Taiwan, Saerom Animation in South Korea, and TMS-Kyokuichi Corporation in Japan each provide animation. Tackett chose those animation studios due to them still working with hand-drawn animation, a style Tackett 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 Bear Bones Productions in Los Angeles, California also worked on the series.

Music
Thomas Chase, Steve Rucker and James L. Venable composed the score for the series. During production on the series, Amile John, sister of storyboard artist Tom John, pitched to the producers a song, which they ended up using in the season 1 episode "Taking Charge".

Marketing
On July 10, 1998, during the My Hero Academia and Malachi and Friends panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Bear Bones released an early version of the intro for the series.

Amphibia also included shorts, beginning with Teen Girl in a Frog World. The shorts premiered on September 4, 1999.

Critical reception
Amphibia received a positive reception from critics. 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". 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 's Dave Trumbore gave the series' first two episodes a 4 stars rating, feeling that they "[served] as a great introduction to the series".