Amphibia Recap: Introduction

Amphibia is probably Disney’s best show that has aired this year. It aired within a month and a half, which surprised me. Between June and July, the show stole our hearts.

The plot is pretty simple: a biracial girl shoplifts a music box from a thrift store, and it transports her to another world of sapient frogs, toads, axolotls, and salamanders. A family takes her in, treating her as one of their own. Anne tries to find a way home while adjusting to life in this strange land. She can’t even leave the area physically because the mountains surrounding it are treacherous and won’t be safe to cross for months.

Two episodes are paired in fifteen-minute segments, with “Reunion” being the only 30-minute segment as the finale. I argue that each segment shares a common theme, and that is why they’re paired together. When we recap every episode, I’ll list the theme at the beginning.

We do have to make one thing clear. If you have seen the show, then these recaps are for you. But if you don’t want any surprises to be ruined…

SPOILERS

With that out of the way, let’s proceed.

Themes

While each pair of episodes has its additional set of themes that we will discuss in each recap, there are several running messages that go forth.