Interview by Avery and Ollie Kaplan
In Amphibia, the animated adventure series created by Matt Braly, Anne Boonchuy (Brenda Song) travels to a parallel dimension where she becomes entangled in the titular world. The series ran from 2019 to 2022, but later this month, the show’s legions of fans have something to get excited about. On March 25th, 2025, The Art of Amphibia arrives from Tokyopop. With text by Drew Taylor and illustrations by many of the artists who worked on the show, The Art of Amphibia is a must for fans of the series.
To celebrate the release of the book, Comics Beat caught up with Braly over email. We asked all about the development of the series, about what went into creating The Art of Amphibia and about what we can expect next from Braly and the world of Amphibia.
AVERY AND OLLIE KAPLAN: Alex Hirsch, who you worked with on Gravity Falls, states that your expertise includes characters like Pacifica Northwest. Can you tell us about how this propensity for working with “Mean Girls-style teens” came from?
MATT BRALY: I think it’s just my personality. My friends have always thought I was pretty sassy so I think I found myself drawn to characters who were like that.
When Pacifica Northwest was introduced in Gravity Falls, she was just intended as a foil for Mabel…but when my board partner Alonso Ramirez Ramos and I got the script we instantly were like, “SHE’S A STAR!”
KAPLANS: As huge Trekkies, we have to ask about Internship. Can you tell us anything about this pitch? Did any elements make their way into Amphibia?
BRALY: Sooort of. The protagonist of Internship was an overachiever who found himself assigned to the “worst ship in the fleet.” So both he and Anne were characters who were stuck in places they would rather not be.
As a bonus treat, I have included a sketch from my Internship pitch from way back in 2014 – feel free to share it with readers. It was about three misfits working on a dinky exploration ship called the Chickadee.
KAPLANS: You mentioned in a post to social media that it “was all hands on deck back in development” of Amphibia. I’m curious if you can tell us about what this collaborative process was like?
BRALY: So one of our bits of feedback from research was that Sprig focus tested very poorly with kids. They didn’t like how much of a “wet noodle” the original version of the character was. After that note, we really went out to everyone and anyone in the building for a take on the character. We got some really crazy exploration back from all kinds of different artists – it was simultaneously awesome and a bit intimidating.
KAPLANS: How involved were you in the making of Art of Amphibia? How did the book come together?
BRALY: After the sales success of Marcy’s Journal, Tokyopop and I talked about what was next. An art book has always been a dream of mine. For some reason animated TV shows specifically just didn’t have very many of these kinds of collections published – it’s common for movies but very rare for shows.
So for our next book, I made sure it was the artbook. I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity to immortalize and celebrate our hard work. As for my involvement, I was back at Disney for weeks hand selecting the pieces that are featured in this book.
KAPLANS: Is there anything in Art of Amphibia you are particularly excited for people to learn about?
BRALY: I’m excited for people to see our thinking process when it comes to the characters and environments. When you watch a finished TV show, there is just so much conceptual work that is left on the cutting room floor and it’s always fascinating to see.
Mrs. Croaker, one of our beloved townspeople, once had gelatinous hair made up of what looked like frog eggs. It was disgusting and while I’m glad we changed it – you can see it now for yourself in the book!
KAPLANS: One of the neat things about Art of Amphibia is the episode-by-episode focus, including the season 2 episode “Wax Museum.” We’re curious if the references to Gravity Falls (or the Amphibia references on The Owl House, etc) were just fun Easter eggs, or if a larger crossover was ever discussed?
BRALY: No crossover event was ever seriously discussed but I think we really liked referencing each other, sort of winking to the audience that these shows had similar DNA and philosophies.
Amphibia and The Owl House were of course both created by Gravity Falls alum so that connection was natural. I would love to see a crossover someday but don’t think you could service the three shows and their amazing characters with anything less than 90min – a movie, essentially.
KAPLANS: As evidenced by content in The Art of Amphibia, the show was deeply influenced by your own experiences, family history and perspective. Can you give us some insight into the experience of making something as public as an animated show but which contains such personal elements?
BRALY: I think being a show creator means a certain degree of just putting yourself out there and hoping people are receptive and kind. It’s a bit of a shock when you discover everyone on the internet has really strong opinions about your little cartoon show.
That said, I was especially grateful that people liked the voice of Mrs. Boonchuy in season 3, who happens to be played by my actual very real mother. I don’t think I could have taken it if people were overly critical of that character haha.
KAPLANS: In season 3, Anne and the Plantars travel to Los Angeles. Can you tell us about the process of translating a real world location into the realm of animation? Did you face any particular challenges?
BRALY: Our big challenge was to make LA seem as fun and exciting as the world of Amphibia. We didn’t want viewers to get bored of seeing the city skyline episode after episode.
Part of our thinking was to really try and portray the city through the eyes of the Plantar family. What would a giant talking frog think of our freeways and restaurants? What would they think of the cineplex? We tried to design the world from that POV.
KAPLANS: Amphibia was nominated for two GLAAD Awards. Was it important for you to include this representation in the show?
BRALY: A big chunk of the Amphibia team identified as part of the LGBTQ+ community.
When you are managing a team that is diverse, it becomes very personally important for you to make sure the show is also diverse. People’s eyes just light up when they are able to see themselves in these characters and it’s not a feeling you forget quickly.
KAPLANS: We understand you are working on a new show? Is there anything you can tell us about your upcoming project(s)?
BRALY: I’m juggling a few things right now – I’m working on a couple feature length films for different studios and have an action/adventure graphic novel coming out this summer with Skybound.
Please check my social media (@radrappy on all platforms) if you want to follow my work. I really appreciate it!
KAPLANS: Is there anything else you’d like us to include?
BRALY: Art of Amphibia is not the last Amphibia book we are making with Tokyopop – we have another very exciting project that is just now being written and drawn…I can’t say too much but as a hint I can tease that it’s about Sprig and his friends on an exciting expedition.
The Art of Amphibia will be available at your local bookstore and/or public library beginning on March 25th, 2025.
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