Steven Universe: The Movie (2019)
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Steven Universe: The Movie Review
Steven Universe: The Movie is a 2019 animated musical television film that serves as a conclusion/continuation of the eponymous television series.
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“You can’t solve your problems by singing some stupid songs“
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Steven thinks his time defending the Earth is over, but when a new threat comes to Beach City, Steven faces his biggest challenge yet. But that threat is so not a threat, and the entire movie is very anti-climactic that it really bothered me.
Yes, I have to say that I really did not care for this film. The season ended with a great finale that this particular movie wasn’t needed as the story here is quite weak. Passable, but weak. None of the show’s edge or psychology is to be found here whatsoever.
What bothered me the most is its musical approach. I personally have never been a fan of the show’s musical numbers, and here they are even more bland and they all sound very similar to each other. The flick was burdened with way too many of these numbers so the end result was more plotless than I had hoped.
Let’s talk about the characters. It was odd witnessing an older Steven, but it was fantastic how he developed into a less clingy and more stable person. I loved that maturity here. I also liked the three Gems, but of course having them not be themselves for most of the movie really led to a lack of true interactions between them. Spinel is a fine villain at first, but later on she was too silly. I loved her 20s and 30s inspired cartoon design, though.
And that brings me to the animation. I honestly do not know how a movie, even a TV movie, can be worse in animation than its television series counterpart, but it happened. The unpolished look to it is very unpleasant, and I simply found it very undercooked and undone.
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What I liked about Steven Universe: The Movie is more mature characters and their clear progression. That was wonderful to witness. And the dialogue is strong per usual. There was a lot of potential here, especially for future seasons, but as a movie itself, it failed.
Steven Universe: The Movie gets a passable grade from me. It’s not bad as has its emotional moments and strong dialogue and interactions, but the animation is so mediocre, the musical numbers are bland and the plot is nothing to write home about. I expected so much more.
