Anne or Beast?

"Anne or Beast?" is the first segment of the first episode of the first season of Amphibia, and the first episode overall, which also serves as the series premiere.

It first premiered online on June 14, 2019, on DisneyNOW and YouTube and premiered on Disney Channel on June 17, 2019, alongside "Best Fronds".

Synopsis
Sprig tries to capture a mysterious beast to prove that he’s responsible.

Plot
Late at night, a one-eyed frog named Wally walks out of Stumpy's Diner, greeting some frogs sitting nearby, only to fall over some barrels before making his way down the road. As he plays his accordion and sings, he hears some bushes rustle, a twig crack and senses movement while a creature watches him. Feeling scared and turning back, he bumps into something with two wide eyes and screams as crows fly off in both directions.

The next day, people in Wartwood Swamp are doing their typical work and regular business. Meanwhile, Hop Pop Plantar is in a cart with a slug riding to the town center. He talks about doing some shopping at the Grub & Go and asks Polly Plantar to watch the cart, but Sprig Plantar assumes he will be the one watching it, saying he will defend the cart with his life due to him being older. Hop Pop says that he was talking to Polly and gets into an argument with Sprig, along with a series of flashbacks showing how Sprig was irresponsible, such as not turning off the lights at night, resulting in giant fireflies crashing into their house.

Then Hop Pop commands Polly to make sure Sprig doesn’t get out of the cart and to watch over him while he enters the shop. All of a sudden, Wally arrives crashing through some brushes and trees and announces that there's a monster in the woods. He then grabs some twigs and rocks to create a model of what he saw and states that it would eat everything. Mayor Toadstool then declares that the creature should be caught and dealt with as that is the 'right' thing to do for his citizens as everyone applauds for him. Sprig sees this as the perfect opportunity to make his grandfather think he was responsible, but Polly knows he can't overpower her, so instead Sprig bribes Polly with candy and runs off to hunt the "beast" as Polly yells "Don't die" after him as he enters the forest.

Sprig then wanders the forest, hiding in bushes and tree stumps and trying to find any trace of the mysterious beast. He finds some footprints and declares that the beast roams these parts. As he continues down a path he steps into a rope trap and gets hung by a tree as something erupts from the bushes right in front of him; a human girl named Anne Boonchuy. Sprig screams "The beast!" as Anne walks over to him and asks him to stop following her. She explains that she was trying to ask directions from Wally, but while she's talking, nearby trees begin to crash down as the real 'beast' approaches. Anne runs away but seeing Sprig trying to free himself arrives back and cuts him loose before grabbing him and hiding in a fallen log as the beast saunters off.

Sprig declares that Anne isn't a beast but a very ugly heroic creature as the two introduce themselves to each other. Anne asks Sprig for something to eat "other than bugs" and Sprig leads her through the woods to find other types of food such as mushrooms.

Back at the town, the citizens want to hunt the "beast". Hop Pop returns from his shopping and realizes that Polly is sick eating candy, and that Sprig is gone. Polly says it wasn't her fault, and explains that Sprig went off to try and hunt the beast down. Wally states that now Sprig would be good as eaten by now if he tried to find the beast, to which Hop Pop yells, "Hold on, boy! Hop Pop's a coming!" while grabbing Polly and dashing into the forest. Shortly after the rest of the angry mob follows him as well, led by Mayor Toadstool.

Back in the forest with Anne and Sprig, Anne eats some twig-like roots and claims that they taste pretty good. Sprig asks who and what she is and Anne answers that she’s a human being from "another world!" Sprig then asks how it happened, but Anne doesn’t know. Her goal now is to get home. After Anne says that’s her story, she asks Sprig why he is in the woods. He responds that he wants to prove to his family that he is responsible by hunting a beast down to which he awkwardly replies.

Soon, Wally appears and shouts out that Sprig found "the beast". The citizens find Anne and tie her up to the ground. Anne accuses Sprig of setting everything up, but he states that he didn't while Hop Pop and Polly congratulate him on capturing the beast and say he maybe is responsible after all. Then an actual beast arrives in the form of a green praying mantis and the Amphibians deal with it quickly by commencing their 'mantis formation' and driving it off, but when a larger and more threatening red one arrives, they scream in fear and scatter as the bigger mantis chases after them. Sprig unties Anne to let her run away while he distracts the monster with his slingshot. However, Anne decides to help Sprig and grabs the mantis' arm just as it's about to crush him, during which her eyes briefly flash blue. She holds its arm while Sprig ties the beast up with some rope. He attempts to pull the rope, but the monster is stronger and is about to pull itself free before Anne slides down and grabbing the other side of the rope, pulls hard enough to cause the creature to come crashing down. Everyone cheers, but Mayor Toadstool decides that the best option would be to run the creature out of town just to be safe. Sprig then defends Anne, stating she's a helpless creature and that they should look after her, to which Wally replies she'll probably wake up in the morning and eat everyone up. Hop Pop intervenes and agrees to look after Anne and tells Sprig that defending the creature was very responsible of him, but also quite dumb. Everyone heads home as the frogs pulls the defeated monster behind them, one stating it would 'taste great in butter'. Sprig feels bad and thinks he's still in trouble. Hop Pop denies that sad comment and tells him that saving the family and the mob from the mantis was brave, responsible, and "dumb". While discussing, Anne realizes that she has her phone with her in the first place, however, she finds out there is no signal and puts it away. She asks Hop Pop for a map to get out of the woods. He shows a map to Anne and reveals that "The Valley" has enclosed mountains this year. Spring comments that the area might clear up in several months, but Hop Pop and Polly warn Anne that she will "die" if she crosses. Anne asks where she can stay.

Back at the Plantar Farm, Hop Pop shows Anne the basement where she'll be staying and Polly arrives with her rolling pin asking whether she should use "Old Doris" on her. As she leaves, Sprig appears at the door and drops some old stuffed toys for Anne, but quickly taking them back one by one saying he still needs them. He looks up and says he's happy she's staying with them before warning her of bed bugs that can drain a body in seconds. Anne sits down on her mattress and pulls out the Calamity Box and closes her eyes before opening it, but to no avail as it doesn't transport her back to Earth. She tries it again a few times before sighing and claiming "Look like I'm gonna be here for a while".

Cast

 * Brenda Song as Anne Boonchuy
 * Justin Felbinger as Sprig Plantar
 * Bill Farmer as Hop Pop Plantar
 * Amanda Leighton as Polly Plantar
 * James Patrick Stuart as Wally
 * Stephen Root as Mayor Toadstool, Villagers (credited as additional voices)
 * Jack McBrayer as Toadie (uncredited)

Additional voices

 * Dee Bradley Baker as Green Praying Mantis, Red Praying Mantis
 * Liam O'Brien as Top Blue Frog, Villagers
 * Eden Riegel as Female Villager
 * Amir Talai as Villagers

Non-speaking cameo

 * Sadie Croaker
 * Felicia Sundew
 * Leopold Loggle
 * Mr. Flour

Trivia

 * A fully animated scene was cut, possibly due to time restraints. It featured Polly appearing in the door after Hop Pop leaves Anne.
 * Felicia Sundew, Sadie Croaker, Mr. Flour, Leopold Loggle, and most of the Amphibians make silent cameos.
 * Toadie's voice sounds different compared to his current one.
 * Despite being the first episode to air, it alongside "Best Fronds" are not the first episodes produced in production order.
 * A clip from the episode premiere at the Amphibia panel at Disney Channel Fan Fest 2019, on April 27, 2019. It was later uploaded to Disney Channel's YouTube channel that same day.

Revelations and significant events

 * Sprig in this episode is revealed to be irresponsible and reckless according to Hop Pop.
 * Polly is revealed to have a candy problem.
 * Hop Pop's real name is revealed to be Hopediah Plantar.

Continuity

 * Anne still has the Calamity Box in her possession though it seems to be currently inactive as the gems on the box appear to be colorless.
 * One of Sadie Croaker's cowapillars appears. More of them can be seen later, in "Hop Luck".

Allusions

 * "Man or Beast": The title "Anne or Beast" is a play on the phrase "Man or Beast".
 * : When Polly eats up the candy Sprig gives her, she makes sounds that sound like they're from a classic Pac Man-esque video game.

Errors

 * When Sprig says he will defend Hop Pop's cart with his life, Polly's tail is the wrong color. It is normal again in the next shot she is in.
 * When Sprig looks at Anne's footprint, the slingshot he is holding disappears.
 * When Anne frees Sprig from her trap, the remaining rope tied around Sprig's foot disappears when he falls on the ground.
 * When Anne leaps to start sliding into the log with Sprig, for a frame, her school logo disappears off her shirt.
 * When Anne is tied up, the ropes around her keep changing designs in every shot.
 * When Mayor Toadstool asks what they are going to do with Anne, Wally's left shoe is the same color as his right one.
 * When Sprig stops the townsfolk from attacking Anne by talking, a part of shading on his left sleeve disappears for a few frames.
 * Anne responds to the Plantars telling her about the mountains with, "Are you telling me I'm stuck here in this crazy place for two months?" However, no one specifically said two months; Sprig only said a couple of months.
 * When Sprig peeks around the corner to ask Anne if she is comfortable, the lighter part of the skin on Sprig's face is dark for a frame.
 * The Plantars were using a green slug to go to the store, but in the rest of the show, they used Bessie. It could be possible that the Plantars needed to borrow the slug or something.

Edits

 * In the Southeast Asia broadcast, the word "heck" was cut.