Steven Universe: The Movie

They always find a way. On April 30th, 2020, I watched Steven Universe: The Movie. A TV movie based on the Cartoon Network series Steven Universe, it takes place two years after the show and is rated TV-PG.

Steven has established peace after his long battle for freedom and feels he finally has his happily ever after. That all changes when Spinel, a gem he’s never seen before with some connection to him, appears to get revenge for something he doesn’t know about. He needs to be a hero again to save everyone he cares about. Can Steven save the day again? Who is Spinel and what is her story?

When I made the decision to watch the series Steven Universe, I had found an experience. The first season started out like a standard kids’ show, but evolved in the middle of the season to a thoroughly entertaining animated experience for all ages. The storyline about a hybrid of a human and a gem warrior learning his powers with three gem warriors who make up the Crystal Gems ended up being very well developed. Each gem warrior has the name of a real gemstone such as Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, etc. Every new season got even better than the previous ones. To add to that, the fifth and final season delivered on an epic finale. If the franchise had ended there, I would have thought of it as a great ending. However, the knowledge of this movie and a sequel series, Steven Universe Future, excited me that the story wasn’t over. Now let’s talk about this movie.

The plot is fresh and original and takes a turn that might not be expected from watching the end of the series. Steven thinks things will never get bad again, but he is wrong. There is no fairy tale ending in real life or on this show which continues to weave real-life lessons into its stories and character development. A new character with a mysterious background coming for some unknown reason keeps the audience and Steven guessing. It’s also interesting to see Steven try to fix the problems and act like he did when he was two years younger. We also see just how better his home has gotten since he saved it and makes us hope he can save it again.

In addition to the plot, the characters are also represented well from their appearances in the show. Steven is a kind and optimistic person who always looks for the best solution to everyone’s problems. He is likable, but also interesting in that he has to learn some new lessons in this movie, showing his growth even after all he learned in the show. Garnet is the awesome leader of the Crystal Gems, who is powerful and tough, but also has a soft side to her. Amethyst is amusing, but still has an amount of seriousness to her that she brings when it’s important. Pearl has taken on more of her own identity and still remains an integral part of the team. Spinel is the new character introduced that clearly wants some payback, but can also come across as sympathetic. She can also be rather annoying at times, but she has a complex character arc that is well written. She is based on a classic cartoon character design from the 1920s-1930s, which is fun to see in the modern days of animation. Some of the show’s recurring characters also return in significant roles.

As great as these characters are, they wouldn’t be as good as they are without their voice actors. I view the voice actors in the show as the best voice actors I’ve heard in an animated show. They are able to give the characters their likable and complex personalities, portraying how the Gems take on more human feelings once they step out of their Gem expectations. Zach Callison voices a teenage Steven here as opposed to the child he voiced in the show, so his voice does sound deeper here, but regardless he still manages to be the same, lovable protagonist. Estelle, Michaela Dietz, and Deedee Magno Hall all reprise their main character roles from the show. Whether their voices are deep or normal pitched, they all sound great too. Sarah Stiles is the real surprise here, as she manages to pull off both a dark, scary voice and a cute, innocent voice. The other voice actors from the show are incredible as well and they never fail to bring these characters to life.

Since the show is a musical, the movie has several original songs. Although there are a lot of them and it seems that the movie is filled with them, I still did enjoy the songs. Songs like Happily Ever After, Other Friends, Who We Are, Disobedient, Independent Together, and Drift Away were great, but the song True Kinda Love was the best in my opinion. The movie’s songs really live up to the masterful songs from the series.

Finally, I want to talk about the animation. Since made-for-TV shows don’t usually have animation that is on level with animated movies, it was refreshing to see the quality of the series’ animation. This film continues that format by adding exceptional animation to the backgrounds and the characters, continuing the quality style from the show.

Overall, this film was a worthy inclusion to the franchise. It’s not as good as the series, with certain problems still existing, such as Spinel’s annoying character traits and the conflict not seeming close to how extreme it was in the show, but it still succeeds in continuing the amazing story. I highly recommend the Cartoon Network series. I can’t wait to watch Steven Universe Future.