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I have the attention span of a frog, so I’m still working my way through Disney’s Amphibia at a snail’s pace. Wait, maybe I have the attention span of a snail. Anyway, I’ve heard so much of the show is toadally awesome, so I can♓’t wait to finish the first season and delve into the lore and character development that my social media feed has been spawning and fawning over for months now. Okay enough puns - and I promise I’ll marathon the entire show on a weekend so I can hang out with all of the cool kids. That and dodging spoilers online has become a talent I should be using competitively at this point.
Even though I’m only nearing the first season’s conclusion, Amphibia has already demonstrated a level of poignancy that only a few animated shows of its kind have managed to match in recent memory. It joins the likes of She-Ra, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Owl House, Gravity Falls, and a handful of others that manage to create a world filled with characters that 🌺feel so genuine, like real people pulled out of their comfort zone as they’re forced to contend with an environment that at first feels hostile and uncompromising.
Anne Boonchuy is one such her🐟oine, a young Thai girl who finds herself transported into the land of Amphibia and separated from her closest friends where she must fend for her life in the most lighthearted way imaginable. Don’t worry there’s nothing harrowing to be seen here, not yet anyway...
The first season doesn’t dabble with the serious consequences of being separated from her friends and🌟 family right away, it instead decides to establish what this slimy world is all about. Turns out that behind all of th💝e giant spiders and bloodthirsty plants sits a society that welcomes Anne with open arms, even if they think her lanky limbs and bushy hair are a tiny bit weird. She’s an outsider, but one that is given the opportunity to prove herself again and again to show that she doesn’t need to share a species with all of these charismatic frogs to show she can belong.
During the first few episodes she’s taken in by the Plantar family, a dysfunctional trio of frogs who themselves are seen as oddities in the town of Wartw🗹ood. Hop Pop struggles to make ends meet as a goofy merchant, while Sprig is young, chaotic and passionate - qualities that lead him to causing trouble he never intends. Polly is a homicidal tadpole, so her misplacement more or less speaks for itself. They’re an odd bunch, but Amphibia shows that there is an evident sense of beauty to be found in eccentricity. Being normal is boring, and it’s increasingly important to recognise your expectant flaws and personality quirks as things to be treasured and improved upon instead of demonised. Anne makes mistakes with the Plantars. She often comes across as selfish, throwing away advice and betraying the trust of those closest to her because she’s a young girl trying to find her way in the world. It’s realistic, and the guilt she feels when the true cost of her actions comes crashing down is so meaningful.
But her found family are always there to pick up the pieces, only asking for Anne to apologise and avoid making the same mistakes again. Of course, she screws up constantly, but that’s all a part of progress that this show does a wondrous job of conveying. I recently spoke to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:series creator Matt Braly about the third season 🐲and how it aims to explore the consequences behind Anne’s actions as she finally returns to the human world and reunites with her parents. Her disappearance likely spawned a nest of anxiety that festered over the months she was missing, causing her family to fear for the worst as it seemed she was never going to return.
But she did, and the Planters came along with her, and I cannot wait to reach that point in the series and see how the 🔜more lighthearted notes of the first season develop into a nuanced tale with layered lore and character motivations that feel unusually mature for a show on Disney Channel. It doesn’t treat its intended audience like fools, layering tough life lessons into smaller episodes and the wider narrative that show that it’s okay to be different, while you should always be aware of how your actions might affect other people. I’m sure my emotional investment will only skyrocket as I delve deeper into Amphibia, and I’m ready to go along for the ride once my dire attention span decides to give me a break🌌.
I think the first season’s credit sequence is a perfect example of how found family is exemplified throughout Amphibia. It’s a tranquil moment of peace as Anne and Sprig sleepily sit together atop a hill, delving into a novel as they slowly surrender themselves to the world of slumber. Sombre yet upbeat acoustic music imbues it a sense of homely nostalgia that you can’t help but feel comforted by. It’s so soft and welc📖oming, showing that Anne belongs in this world and all of her potential doubts will be swept away by all of those who care about her. As the credits reach their conclusion she closes the book and joins Sprig as they sleep together, safe in the company of a found family that means ev▨erything to both of them.
N꧋ot everyone has a traditional family or huge group of friends to turn to in their hou♎r of need, and shows like Amphibia showcase that you can find care and companionship in the most unlikely of places, all while accepting the differences that come with not abiding by society’s standards of how you should look and behave. Wartwood is filled with talking frogs and giant insects, but the feelings at the core of its inhabitants are undeniably human, helping to establish an aura of belonging that permeates through each and every episode. This might fade away as Amphibia begins to deal with more dramatic story arcs and the characters of Sasha and Marcy, but they will always be the foundational elements that make it so special.
