Amphibia (TV series)

 cuL48NyEL6o Welcome to Amphibia!

Amphibia is a 2019 Disney Channel cartoon created by Matt Braly, who was a director on Gravity Falls. It premiered on June 17, 2019, and ended its third season on May 14, 2022. Anyone can view the first episodes on YouTube.

Anne Boonchuy is a girl who opened a mystical music box with her two friends, Sasha Waybright and Marcy Wu, where all three are transported to Amphibia. The inhabitants consist of giant flora, fauna, and sapient amphibians of frogs, toads, and newts. The three members of the Plantar family take her in: the energetic Sprig who becomes her new best friend, the brutal Polly who wishes to throw down with this monster, and the grandfather Hopediah or Hop Pop. Anne goes on many adventures with her new friends while searching for her old ones and finding a way back home.

Amphibia is a Spoilered Rotten series, so


 * Accidental Hero: It wasn't.
 * Action Survivor: Anne, Sasha, and Marcy manage to adapt to this hostile place surprisingly fast.
 * Action Girl: Pretty much every female member of the cast (even Polly at times) can fight, and in the case of the Calamity Trio, get better at it as the show progresses.
 * Adorkable: Both Anne and Marcie (especially Marcie), Polly, Sprig, quite a few minor recurring characters.
 * Adults Are Useless: Ultimately defied throughout the series.
 * In Amphibia, all the adults are shown as those that can fight and protect their homes, they children, or their grandchildren, when the chips are down. Hop Pop is shown to be an accomplished boxer, able to take down Mayor Toadstool, while Felicity Sundew uses innkeeping training to prepare Ivy for whatever is out there in the world. Stumpy Stumpson has lost both his hands, but is a Handicapped Badass and Chef of Iron.
 * Also, while Anne's father is something of a Bumbling Dad, her mother is a Mama Bear who catches on fast. With that said, Anne doesn't want to tell them about everything that happened in Amphibia because it was pretty traumatic, and she's sure they would never let her out of their sight again..
 * Alien Lunch: A Running Gag in season one involved Anne being grossed out by the food in Amphibia, which tended to have bugs in it. After about a month in Wartwood, however, she starts craving pillbug pancakes and bug jerky. In.
 * All Animals Are Dogs: Some insects and arachnids are kept as pets where they show dog-like behavior. There is one episode where Anne takes in a large wild caterpillar she names Domino II that resembles and acts like a cat but later changes into a meat-eating moth that almost ate her and the Plantars.
 * Alternate Realm Boon:
 * Amazing Technicolor Population: Amphibians consist of different species of frogs, toads, and newts comprised of various skin tones.
 * And I Must Scream:
 * Each of the Curator's exhibits in "Wax Museum".
 * When Marcy rejects.
 * Androcles' Lion: Anne rescues a caterpillar that resembles and sounds like her cat Domino, sneaking "Domino II" into the house when Hop Pop sternly says no pets as she brings up the question. Later, she has to shoo Domino II into the wild using a cat toy when Domino II is revealed to be a Killapillar that eats frogs..
 * Anger Born of Worry: In "Truck Stop Polly," Polly invites this from her family when her prank to swap an rock into her bed with her eye mask backfires; turns out it was a Rukh egg that hatches and nearly eats the Plantars. After she shoos it away with some quick thinking and Swampy Joe's help, she expects they'll be mad at her for the prank. No; as Hop Pop puts it, he's mad because she chose to leave the wagon and hide at the truck stop right when they were leaving. She could have been hurt or killed, and no one would have known where she was.
 * Artifact of Doom: The Calamity Box, the MacGuffin that drives the whole plot.
 * Ascended Fridge Horror: Andrias falls over, crying, when
 * Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence:
 * Possibly the Core’s true goal,
 * In the finale,
 * The Atoner:
 * In season three,.
 * "The Hardest Thing" shows.
 * Big Creepy-Crawlies: The world's fauna consists of various giant predatory insects and arachnids. Plus a lot of Mix and Match Critters who combine such with birds, reptiles, or mammals.
 * Bittersweet Ending: Each season ends this way:
 * "Reunion": While the Plantars and Wartwood manage to.
 * "True Colors": It's very close to a Downer Ending..
 * "The Hardest Thing": The sad part is not . The Time Skip further emphasizes this: while indeed Anne, Sasha and Marcy Back in frog world,.
 * Black Comedy: Practically a staple of the series, especially when it references how easy it is to die in Amphibia.
 * Both Sides Have a Point: One that comes up in the series finale. Hop Pop gently tells Sprig that . Sprig responds cheerily that . "The Hardest Thing" shows both of their points coming to life:
 * Brought Down to Normal: In "The Hardest Thing,".
 * Chekov's Gun: Tons:
 * Anne's missing shoe. In the pilot, she is understandably dirty and disheveled, having been in Amphibia for weeks before finding Wartwood, and only has one shoe. Later, when Captain Grime is introduced and the viewers discover what happened to Sasha, it's is revealed he found it, and now is looking for the owner. Also used as a Brick Joke, as when Anne returns to Amphibia in season 3, she can't believe that she's lost it again.
 * The letter Sprig finds in the Plantar family tunnels in Season One that nobody can read;
 * Also,
 * Cool Motive, Still A Crime: says this about himself in the series finale "The Hardest Thing".
 * Could Have Avoided This Plot:
 * As Anne berates herself in season one both in "Best Fronds" and "Reunion," she could have avoided the whole adventure to Amphibia if she had not given into Sasha and gone to the birthday party that her parents were planning, rather than shoplifting the Calamity Box from the thrift shop. She learns from this mistake, telling Sasha that she should have stood up to her a long time ago.
 * "Wax Museum" has Anne apologize to the Plantars for sneaking into the Curator's museum at night and meet him alone at his request. If she had waited to go in the morning with them as a group, as Hop Pop originally planned, . Hop Pop says he's still mad at her for not listening to him, but the important thing is none of them.
 * "Fight at the Museum" has Dr. Jan become sympathetic when asking Anne.
 * "If You Give A Frog A Cookie" ends with Anne admonishing the Plantars about this, as they make their escape with.
 * Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy tell off.
 * After Sasha.
 * A really sad one in "The Hardest Thing". When Andrias realizes that.
 * Crapsack World: While Amphibia can be beautiful at times, it is full of dangerous predatory flora and fauna (the civilized inhabitants clearly not at the top of the food chain) along with supernatural menaces and remnants of malevolent technology. It is clearly not an ideal place to live for natives or visitors.
 * Crazy Prepared:
 * It's revealed that.
 * The Boonchuys become this after.
 * Cute Clumsy Girl: Marcie's most recognizable character trait. It actually benefits her as much as it hinders.
 * Darker and Edgier: The second season is much darker than the first, and by the time the third comes around, most viewers will be likely be saying to himself, "This is a freakin' Disney cartoon??" To give just one example of how dark it is,
 * Dramatic Irony:
 * "Best Fronds" ends with Anne hoping that Sasha and Marcy are okay whenever they are. Rapid cut to Commander Grime confronting a chained-up Sasha, with Anne's missing shoe.
 * In season three, Agent X is convinced that the "frog aliens" are planting an invasion when he sees traffic camera footage of them fighting a robot. All the while, Anne and the Plantars are trying to figure out how to.
 * Marcy Theme Song Takeover ends with Marcy proclaiming "Hope nothing bad happens to me!"
 * Early Teen Hero: Anne, Sasha, and Marcy are all stated to be thirteen years old.
 * Easily Forgiven: Season three more so than season two, and it's duly lampshaded:
 * Sasha tearfully asks Anne Notable is that trope wasn't in effect when they reunited in Season Two, and Anne remained prepared for another Sasha betrayal..
 * Discussed between Sasha and Anne about.
 * Much to shock, Marcy doesn't hold a grudge for the whole.
 * Easy Logistics:
 * Entertainingly Wrong:
 * Anne thinks that she was the only one sucked into Amphibia because she woke up alone in the swamp. Episode 2 ends with The Reveal that Sasha ended up in toad territory, and Grime captured her. In Season 2, when Anne realizes that Sasha was transported, she commits to finding Marcy as well.
 * Played for Drama with the reason that
 * Even Evil Has Loved Ones: While it first it seems that the corrupt Mayor Toadstool only likes Toadie because the latter is a Professional Butt-Kisser and a competent Bugball player, season two confirms that their bond runs stronger than that. . Toadie goes further by cheerfully telling . The series finale "The Hardest Thing" implies.
 * Even Evil Has Standards
 * Toadstool tries to bribe Hop-Pop into throwing the election against him. When Hop-Pop refuses the bribe, Toadstool is actually impressed and considers him a Worthy Opponent. Not that it matters since Hop-Pop lost anyway due to a political loophole, but Toadstool says that he would have accepted having a frog for mayor.
 * A flashback in the season 3 finale reveals that while still hiding his true colors from everyone,
 * . What makes him finally come to his senses? Two things:.
 * Evolving Credits:
 * Fantastic Voyage Plot: "Mother of Olms", where the Calamity Trio have to go inside Mother Olm's skull to apply a cream to her brain to help job her memory. No shrinking required here, as Mother Olm is so enormous. Sasha is really grossed out by the whole thing, especially when they have to exit Mother Olm's body by being sneezed out.
 * Foreshadowing:
 * Season One
 * Anne's eyes glow blue in the pilot when she rescues Sprig from a giant mantis. Season two reveals that.
 * Season Two
 * Valeriana tells Anne, "We have been waiting for someone like you for such a long time." Anne is confused but attributes it to Valeriana being quirky..
 * Season Three
 * A Form You Are Comfortable With:
 * "All In" has
 * "The Hardest Thing" shows.
 * Freeze-Frame Bonus:
 * Also, in Sasha's Theme Song Takeover, right at the 0:45 mark, you can briefly see Anne and Sprigg fleeing from the chicken-monster, which occurs in the regular opening credits, at almost exactly the same time.
 * Funny Animals: All the civilized natives of Amphibia are anthropomorphic frogs, toads, and newts.
 * Ghibli Plains: The Denouement following the season 3 climax briefly features Ghibli Plains. There's a shot showing the previous industrial wasteland changing into green Ghibli Plains.
 * Grail in the Garbage: Anne, Marcy, and Sasha initially find the Calamity Box in a Thrift Store. Exactly how it wound up there is never explained.
 * Grail Quest: Season two has Anne, Marcy and navigate to three temples to . To do so, the temples contain tests and puzzles that seek them to look inward. Marcy, for example, has to know when to fold on a dangerous game, Anne has to face her past mistakes, and  has to persist against insurmountable odds. With that said, the tests don't necessarily make the girls grow as people: . That and.
 * The Heart: Anne would never consider herself as this at the beginning of the series. She thinks that she's a selfish bratty teenager that sneaks out to have fun without thinking of the consequences. Yet thanks to her influence, Sprig gains the courage to talk to his crush Ivy, Hop Pop dances for Sylvia Sundew while winning her heart,, and cleans up the local restaurant out of pure kindness. In "Anne of the Year," this trope is discussed; Hop Pop and the town said they didn't nominate Anne for Frog of the Year because she's perfect, but because of how much joy that she has brought to their lives.
 * Heel Face Turn:
 * Hollywood Healing: In the Marcy Theme Song Takeover short, Marcy says she was so overjoyed to find herself in the fantasy world she always dreamed of that she fell down a long flight of stairs and broke her leg. Lucky for her, Newtopia offered free universal healthcare. (This is confirmed in a flashback in "All In", showing her leg in a cast the first time she meets Andreas).Having said that, had she truly broken her leg it seems unlikely she could have done the heroic accomplishments she mentions in the rest of the short, plus all the things she spoke of in the actual show, especially since she had only been there three months by the time she and Anne reconnected.
 * Humans Are Ugly: In the pilot, Anne's attempts to ask Wally for help send him off screaming, claiming that a monster tried attacking him. He leads an angry mob in the town. When Sprig meets Anne, after she set snare traps to protect herself, he at first alls her "beast". Later, however, after she saves him from a giant mantis, he calls her an "ugly hero". Even after Anne proves that she's not a monster, the town still calls her the "scarecrow".
 * Inferred Survival: A big part of the plot of season one was the ambiguity of Sasha and Marcie's fates, as Anne had been separated from them in the initial transfer and had no idea where they were. Eventually, they were indeed found alive.
 * Large and In Charge: Mayor Froderick Toadstool is the largest resident of Wartwood Swamp, the town where most of season 1 takes place; justified, as he is a toad while most other residents are frogs. However, the king of Amphibia as a whole is King Andrias Leviathan, who towers over any of his subjects, clearly the biggest non-monster character on the show as of the end of season 2.
 * Lima Syndrome: Sasha's experience after being captured by Captain Grime was... well, maybe Sasha herself can summarize it better.
 * Machiavelli Was Wrong: Initially, Grime had a Machiavellian method of leading his troops, and they were a mess. Sasha manages to convince him that this Trope is better, and it does make his troops more efficient and competent. Of course, Sasha never says a leader has to be sincere when respecting his men, as she initially only does this to manipulate them.
 * Also,
 * Mama Bear: Android assassin or otherwise, you do not want to mess with Anne's mother.
 * The Man Behind The Man: This show lives on this Trope:
 * Mayor Frodrick Toadstool was the first antagonist, the greedy and corrupt mayor of Wartwood, but he was mostly penny-ante as a villain.
 * Later, it seemed Captain Grime was the higher-ranking antagonist, with
 * Still later
 * Mecha Mook:
 * My God, What Have I Done?:
 * Anne has this reaction for many moments throughout the seasons when her ideas or stubbornness get the Plantars into trouble or mortal danger. She spends the end of the episode apologizing when that happens and making up for her mistake..
 * Sasha goes through an extended version of this in season three when kicking herself over.
 * In season three,.
 * has two of them in the series finale. Then "The Hardest Thing" happens, and.
 * Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Marcie has quite a few adventures before hooking up with Anne and Sasha that are only mentioned briefly in Marcie's Theme Song Takeover, fighting "this creepy cult, kept folks out of danger, slaying a killer cobra with a catapult!" boarding a pirate warship and beating the crud out of the crew and becoming a flipwart champion. Unfortunately, her attempts to introduce RPGs to the Newtopian soldiers didn't catch on as well.
 * OOC Is Serious Business:
 * When Sprig as the impulsive one of the Plantars is advocating caution on approaching a sign saying "DANGER" or actually following instructions? That means things are about to get serious.
 * Likewise, if sweet Blood Knight Polly is scared, to the point that she's running from a fight, that means the threat is real. "Night at the Inn" shows this prominently where she has to face her fears of being alone in the dark to rescue her family, including Anne.
 * Anne gets suspicious when the normally controlling Sasha is.
 * Grime spent seasons one and two hating Anne's guts, putting on a mere veneer of civility when they have to spend time together, because she's a rival for Sasha's friendship, a bit of a rebel to the Toad Regime, and a thorn in his side..
 * Likewise, Grime and Sasha try to remain professional when putting on their game faces for official military business..
 * Opposite Gender Protagonists: Sprig and Anne. The fact that the former is a frog and the latter a thirteen-year-old girl does not stop them from going on whimsical adventures and yelling "Spranne against the world!" The trope is prominent in the first season, which mostly features lighthearted adventures in the frog world, although Sprig's family occasionally takes centre stage. Later, when the ice around Wartwood melts and Cerebus Syndrome kicks in, more human characters appear, and the trope is used less. In season three, emphasis is placed on both Anne and Sprig's family interacting, completely averting the trope's usage.
 * Ordinary High School Student: Well, The three human girls (Anne Boonchuy, Sasha Waybright, and Marcy Wu) are ordinary middle school students.
 * Organic Technology: Amphibia's technology consists of plants that act as appliances, such as mushrooms that can shine light through bioluminescence.
 * Out of Character Alert: This is what alerts Marcy in the series finale that.
 * Perspective Flip: Season one starts with the typical Trapped in Another World, season 2 expanding it with Sasha and Marcie trapped with her;
 * The Power of Friendship: A major point plot of the whole series. Not only is this what helps the heroes survive, it is
 * Predecessor Villain:
 * Ragnar the Wretched; little is known about him, but seeing as General Yunan will  never let you forget she is the one who defeated him, he must have been one bad amphibian.
 * Zigzagged with
 * Properly Paranoid: It's revealed that when
 * Reality Ensues:
 * Anne falls in love with a caterpillar that resembles her cat Domino, luring it to the Plantars' house with a cat toy. She finds out belatedly that while Domino II loves her, she is still a wild animal, who wrecks the basement and eventually endangers the Plantars. As Anne sweeps the basement after shooing a grown Domino II back into the wild, she laments that she ought to have realized you can't take a wild animal home and expect it to work out.
 * Spending six months in Amphibia and having no access to modern hygiene facilities results in Anne needing extensive dental work when she gets home. As her mother puts it, "Seven cavities, plus lots of cricket legs between her teeth."
 * Likewise, while Anne's grades were not the best before she ended up in Amphibia, she ends up super behind on her schoolwork after returning home. Her mother tries to help her catch up by sending her to the museum to work on a science report.
 * When Agent X gets wind of possible "frog aliens" on Earth in company with a "string bean" of a human, at first the Boonchuys and Plantars are able to evade them and make Agent X look delusional. Then the Christmas episode happens; despite Mrs. Boonchuy giving up a chance to be in the Los Angeles Parade, she goes along with it when Anne surprises her with a float. Seems all is well despite Andrias using a Santa float to chase them and try to shoot Anne... but then the next episode starts. Agent X got footage of the rampage, complete with Anne shouting her name to the crowds, and shows it to his superiors. He negotiates for equipment that can help him track down amphibians, and busts them at the mall in a matter of hours.
 * Towards the end of season three, Anne hopes that . She points out that.
 * The Reveal: Quite a few in each season:
 * Season One
 * "Anne vs. Wild": Hop Pop finds out that the box that transported Anne to Amphibia is called a Calamity Box. One of his books illustrates it, with plenty of warnings about how dangerous it war.
 * "Hop Popular": Toads rule the valley through unfair elections. While a frog can technically run against a toad, it's unheard of and Toadstool is scared what Toad Tower will do to him if he loses.
 * Season Two
 * Amphibia is a monarchy, and Andrias is the newt ruler.
 * The Calamity Box didn't work because the gems lost their charge when transporting the girls to Amphibia.
 * Season Three
 * was.
 * Sadistic Choice:
 * Both Anne and her parents suffer this in "Escape to Amphibia". They know . Anne starts crying about it when the reality hits her, but her parents put on a brave face. They tell her that they love her, and trust her to make the right decision, . It's only after.
 * In the past,
 * In the same episode,.
 * Ship Tease: From the way that.
 * Schizo-Tech:
 * Secret Test of Character:
 * Each of the temples has one for those that hold the Gem's power..
 * According to the, the.
 * Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: This is practically a Running Gag in the series and a motif:
 * Part of the reason why Sasha is so controlling is that she's worried Anne and Marcy would otherwise have no reason to hang out with her. Fortunately,.
 * Hop Pop.
 * Marcy
 * A more ambiguous one with
 * Series Goal: Anne is trying to reunite with Sasha and Marcy while finding a way home.
 * Shared Universe:
 * Shipper on Deck: Anne loves romance, where she even obsesses over Sprig and Ivy being together.
 * Sissy Villain: Mr. X; "Villain" might be stretching the definition (he's sort of an Inspector Javert-type of antagonist) but he clearly fits the "sissy" part,  with his lavender suit complete with purple lipstick.
 * Title-Only Opening:
 * Trapped in Another World: The three human girls are trapped in Amphibia due to the music box. Each one is sent to different locations: Anne near Wartwood, Sasha taken prisoner of Toad Tower, and Marcy in Newtopia.
 * Wham! Episode:
 * Wham! Shot:
 * "Best Fronds" has Anne hoping that Marcy and Sasha are okay. The episode ends with Commander Grime confronting someone in a dungeon, holding Anne's missing shoe. That person ends up being Sasha, chained up and leveling a Death Glare at him.
 * "Anne Vs. Wild" has Hop-Pop look up the music box in one of the old family books. He goes Oh Crap when a page reveals it's called a Calamity Box, surrounded with lots of handwritten warnings about how dangerous it is.
 * Whole Plot Reference:
 * The series makes loving homages of Fushigi Yuugi, a story where two best friends end up in a magical world and become mortal enemies after enemy factions find them. Their school uniforms also become indicators of their connection to their homes, and fundamental goodness, much as how Miaka's uniform connected her to Yui until they switched places by accident in the real world and in the book. Anne sticks to her St. Catherine's uniform while traveling throughout Amphibia, while Sasha trades it in for Grime's toad armor, and Marcy . In the end, despite all the girls making more than their fair share of mistakes and.
 * The series finale combines plot points from the Sailor Moon manga and anime. As with the Silver Crystal,.
 * You Killed My Father:
 * Sissy Villain: Mr. X; "Villain" might be stretching the definition (he's sort of an Inspector Javert-type of antagonist) but he clearly fits the "sissy" part,  with his lavender suit complete with purple lipstick.
 * Title-Only Opening:
 * Trapped in Another World: The three human girls are trapped in Amphibia due to the music box. Each one is sent to different locations: Anne near Wartwood, Sasha taken prisoner of Toad Tower, and Marcy in Newtopia.
 * Wham! Episode:
 * Wham! Shot:
 * "Best Fronds" has Anne hoping that Marcy and Sasha are okay. The episode ends with Commander Grime confronting someone in a dungeon, holding Anne's missing shoe. That person ends up being Sasha, chained up and leveling a Death Glare at him.
 * "Anne Vs. Wild" has Hop-Pop look up the music box in one of the old family books. He goes Oh Crap when a page reveals it's called a Calamity Box, surrounded with lots of handwritten warnings about how dangerous it is.
 * Whole Plot Reference:
 * The series makes loving homages of Fushigi Yuugi, a story where two best friends end up in a magical world and become mortal enemies after enemy factions find them. Their school uniforms also become indicators of their connection to their homes, and fundamental goodness, much as how Miaka's uniform connected her to Yui until they switched places by accident in the real world and in the book. Anne sticks to her St. Catherine's uniform while traveling throughout Amphibia, while Sasha trades it in for Grime's toad armor, and Marcy . In the end, despite all the girls making more than their fair share of mistakes and.
 * The series finale combines plot points from the Sailor Moon manga and anime. As with the Silver Crystal,.
 * You Killed My Father:
 * You Killed My Father: