Interviews with Avery and Ollie Kaplan
In Amphibia, Anne Boonchuy (Brenda Song), an animated adventure series created by Matt Braly, moves to parallel dimensions, where she entangles the world of classics. The series took place from 2019 to 2022, but later this month has something to excite the show’s huge fans. On March 25th, 2025, Art of Amphibia arrives from Tokyopop. With Drew Taylor’s textbooks and illustrations by many artists involved in the show, Art of Amphibia is a must for fans of the series.
To celebrate the book’s release, Comic Beat caught up with Braly by email. We asked about the development of the series, what happened to create amphibian art, and what we can expect next from the world of Braly and Amphibia.
Avery and Ollie Kaplan: Alex Hirsch said his expertise includes characters like Pacifica Northwest, as he worked at Gravity Falls. Please tell us how this trend has emerged in collaboration with “Mean Style Style Teens.”
Matt Brary: I think that’s my personality. My friends always thought I was pretty cocky, so I think I realized I was attracted to such characters.
When Pacifica Northwest was introduced in Gravity Falls, she was meant to be a Mabel foil… But when my board partner Alonso Ramirez Ramos and I got the script, we quickly said, “She’s a Star!”
Kaplans: As a giant trekki, I have to ask about my internship. Could you tell me anything about this pitch? Has any of the elements headed towards amphibians?
Braly: SOORT. The hero of the internship was Ober Achiever, who finds himself assigned to “The Worst Ship of the Fleet.” So both he and Anne were characters who were stuck where they were not.
As a bonus treat, we included sketches from the 2014 internship pitch. Feel free to share with readers. It was about three misfits working on an incredible expedition ship called The Chocodee.
Kaplans: In a social media post, he said that Amphibia was “every deck on the deck being developed.” Would you be interested if you could tell us what this collaborative process was like?
Braly: So, one of our feedback from the study was that Sprig focus was tested very poorly in children. They didn’t like how “wet noodles” the original version of the character was. After that note, we really went out to take on the character. We’ve regained some really crazy exploration from all sorts of different artists. At the same time, it was wonderful and a bit intimidating.
Kaplans: How involved were you in amphibian artwork? How did the books come together?
Braly: After the successful sale of Marcy’s Journal, Tokyopop and I talked about: Artbooks have always been my dream. For some reason, the animated television show, especially many of these types of collections, were not published. It’s common in films, but very rare in shows.
For the next book, I have confirmed it is an art book. I couldn’t miss this opportunity. As for my involvement, I returned to Disney after shaking hands over the works featured in this book for weeks.
Kaplans: Is there anything people are particularly excited about learning about at Art of Amphibia?
BRALY: When it comes to characters and the environment, I’m excited to see our thought process. Watching the finished TV show is always fascinating to watch with plenty of conceptual work left on the floor of the Mana room.
One of our beloved townspeople, Mrs. Kurokoker, had gelatinous hair, once made up of what looked like a frog egg. I didn’t like that and I’m glad we changed it. You can now see it for yourself in the book!
One neat thing about Kaplans: Art of Amphibia is the focus of each episode, including the season two episode, “Wax Museum.” Are we interested whether the reference to gravity (or the amphibians of the owl house) was a fun Easter egg, or if a larger crossover was discussed?
BRALY: The crossover events were never seriously discussed, but I think we really loved referring to each other. I’m winking at the audience that these shows have similar DNA and philosophy.
Amphibian and owl houses were of course created by Gravity Falls alumni, so the connection became natural. I’d love to see the crossover one day, but don’t think I can serve three shows under 90 minutes and their amazing characters. It’s essentially a movie.
As evidenced by the content of Kaplans: Art of Amphibia, the show was deeply influenced by your own experiences, family history and perspective. Could you give us any insight into your experience of creating something that is published like an animation show but contains such personal elements?
Braly: I think being the creator of the show means putting yourself there and wanting people to be receptive and kind. It’s a bit of a shock when you discover that everyone on the internet has a really strong opinion about your little cartoon show.
That said, I liked the voice of Mrs. Boonchuy in season 3 and was grateful that it happened to be played by my actual, very realistic mother. If people were overly critical of the character, I don’t think I could have taken it.
Kaplans: In season 3, Anne and the Foot Plant travel to Los Angeles. What is the process of translating real world locations into the realm of animation? Have you faced a specific challenge?
Braly: Our big challenge was to make it look as fun and exciting as the world of Amphibia. After the episode, they didn’t want viewers to get bored of watching an episode of City Skyline.
Part of our idea was to try and truly portray the city through the plantar eyes. What do giant tale frogs think about our highways and restaurants? What do they think about Cineplex? We tried to design the world from that POV.
Kaplans: Amphibia has been nominated for two GLAAD awards. Was it important to include this expression in the show?
BRALY: A large chunk of amphibian teams identified as part of the LGBTQ+ community.
When managing a diverse team, it becomes very important for me personally to make sure the show is also diverse. People’s eyes brighten when they can see themselves with these characters and don’t forget them anytime soon.
Kaplans: Do you understand that you are working on a new show? Is there anything you can talk to us about your upcoming projects?
BRALY: I’m juggling a few things now – I’m working on some feature films for various studios and have an action/adventure graphic novel that’s coming out on Skybound this summer.
If you want to follow my work, please check my social media (@radrappy on all platforms). I’m so grateful!
Kaplans: Is there anything else you would like to include?
Braly: Art of Amphibia is not the last amphibian book I’m making at Tokyopop. Now there is another very exciting project written and drawn.
Art of Amphibia will be available at local bookstores and public libraries starting March 25, 2025.
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