Amphibia Stars’ Thai Heritage Shaped Show
Last time I wrote about Disney’s new show — Amphibia — I specifically opined about the excitement generated by the brand new animated concept for Disney Channel. Today, we read more about Amphibia Stars’ Thai Heritage as NBC News published, “Matt Braly, and Brenda Song’s Thai heritage helped make Disney Channel’s Amphibia…”
Amphibia: Quirky Characters
- In the animated series “Amphibia,” Brenda Song voices the lead character, Anne Boonchuy, a Thai American teenager who finds herself transported to a mystical land populated by anthropomorphic amphibians. While there, Anne befriends a family of frogs, including one named Sprig.
- The show, scheduled to premiere on the Disney Channel on June 17, is a departure from the live-action TV shows and movies Song, 31, is usually known for.
- But after seeing renderings of Anne and reading for the role, the actor said she fell in love with the character’s quirkiness.
OUT-standing. That sounds like no show I’ve ever seen on my boys’ various channels.
Amphibia Stars’ Thai Heritage
“She has leaves in her hair. She’s missing a shoe. She’s blasé about everything. I was like, ‘Oh, my god, I kind of love her,’” said Song of her character, Boonchuy.
“I remember her during her audition, and she’s killing it. One of the executives said to me, ’You know, she’s also Thai.’ I remember being like, ’I’m trying to evaluate the performance, and that is just going to extremely bias me,’” said Executive Producer Matt Braly to NBC. “It’s always been a huge goal of mine to create a Thai character.
“From the very inception of ‘Amphibia,’ I knew that Anne had to be Thai.”
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biographical Amphibia
Perhaps equally as important is that many essential pieces of Amphibia can be traced to Braly’s life.
NBC’s Yap explained:
The humid, lush world of Amphibia is inspired by Braly’s childhood summers spent in Bangkok. Braly remembers stepping off the plane and into the steamy tropical weather — a sharp contrast to that of his hometown of Sacramento, California — and hearing his cousins speaking Thai more fluently than he could. Every summer would start with an unshakeable fish-out-of-water discomfort, he recalled, much like Anne’s when she first lands in Amphibia.
“Something I really love about what we’re doing with the show is that we’re introducing our audience to a very specific culture, but she’s not defined by it. It’s just who she is,” said Song.
\Meanwhile, my boys exposure to Braly’s and Song’s Thai culture through Amphibia remains key. Make sure you check out the entire fascinating article. Then tune in on the 17th.
But tell us: Will you be taking in the new show? Let us know in the comments.