You know, I remember when I heard about there being a movie for this series months ago. Everyone who is a fan of this series, me included, was excited and curious about the plot because of the trailer we saw right after the ending of the season 5 finale, Change Your Mind, that featured a new mysterious villain with a cute but malicious-sounding laugh. What also intrigued me more about this new movie that was coming out on an a date that was unknown at the time was the claim by Rebecca Sugar and the writers on the show that this new villain would be so bad that, unlike other past villains, she wouldn't get a redemption arc.
But what would this mean, exactly? Would she end up killing someone on the show? Would Steven use his usual tactic of talking to his enemy and poking holes in their logic to make them suddenly go on his side and stop trying to kill him? Or are they not going to do that at all this time and have the villain die by the end of the movie? On September 2nd, 2019, I was sure I would finally get my answer.
Before I start, I just want to point out that there is a lot to go over in this movie. So, I'm actually not going to cover everything that happened in this film. Instead I'm going to mainly focus on Steven and Spinel since they are the ones with the main conflict in the story. I will be focusing on other aspects of the film in part 2 of my review, so I can break down other aspects of the film separately. Anyway, let's move on.
So, the movie begins with a narrator, who is revealed to be White Diamond, reading the story of Steven Universe and how he managed to go to Homeworld, defeat The Diamonds, and save earth from being destroyed. Basically everything that happened in the series was retold to us in the form of a beautiful, fairy tale-like story with wonderful encapsulating visuals. Heck, there are curtains opening up at the very beginning, as if we were going to see a play or musical, which is what the movie is, really. The singing that accompanied the opening visuals before White Diamond told the story, reminded me of those Merry Melodies shorts that used to show in the 40s and 50s. So, I really enjoyed that part since I have an appreciation for old cartoons.
After White finishes up the story, her, Yellow, and Blue beg Steven to stay on Homeworld with them. But Steven does not want to stay and he tells them that he wants to return to earth to be with his friends and family. Despite more pleading from the diamonds, he warps back to earth. One thing that's a major change besides their behavior, is the fact that it's been two years since the events of Change Your Mind and Steven is now 16 years old. Not only that, but he also has a visible neck now. Our boy's becoming a man!
So, anyway, once he returns home, he finds Connie in his living room reading and talks to her about life on Homeworld and Connie's decision to go to space camp. Despite Connie's past trips to space and other planets, she states that it sounds interesting since she hasn't gone to space camp before and it was a sweet idea of her parents. After she gives our boy, Steven, a kiss on the cheek to his surprise and delight. Then he goes around beach city meeting up with everyone we have come to know and love in this series and they all sing about how their lives changed and they're living their "happily ever after". On top of that, there are new homes being built for all the previously corrupted gems that have now been healed and in need of a new place to live. Now considering that the opening shows everyone now living their best life on Earth, of course it means that someone new is going to ruin it all in a matter of minutes.
Enter Spinel (voiced by Sarah Stiles), a new gem that can now be added to the roster of characters that seem to have a beef with Rose Quartz and, by extension, Steven and his family. Except there seems to be one thing that sets her issue apart from others, she's not actually mad at Rose Quartz. She's mad at Pink Diamond, but none of the characters know exactly why. Spinel has a very interesting design that sets her apart from the rest of the cast. While everyone in this universe still looks like a product if the 2010s animation era, she looks more like a mix of that and the Fleischer cartoons of the 1920s and 1930s. Her rubber hose movements are so charming and whimsical yet prove to be a threat since not even a gem like Garnet could keep up with her. In addition to that, she also potentially destroys the Earth once she plants her injector into the hill and factory resets all the gems to their original forms with the use of her scythe. Steven also manages to get hit but is able to temporarily defeat her by slicing a part of her head and torso so she can poof as well.
I spent the entire time watching the movie and waiting to see what the new villain, Spinel would do that would require Steven to put aside his pacifist ideals and get rid of her once and for all. To my surprise it was nothing entirely different from what they've done before, and yet, it was something completely new and compelling.
Spinel is one of the best villains of this series. No, she is the best villain of this series. Yeah, I'm saying it right now. She even surpasses White Diamond. It's not only because she's a threat to, but it's because she forces Steven to really figure out how he is going to handle the challenge she posed for him and future challenges that lie ahead. Not only that but she also is one of the most sympathetic characters on this show and each and every time she was hurting on screen, I just wanted to give her a big ol' hug and tell her that everything is going to be alright.
Her story is simple yet compelling. Basically when Steven and her return to the garden she reveals to him, in song, that she used to be Pink Diamond's playmate and best friend. She was created for Pink so the diamond wouldn't be so lonely. But one day after Pink got the news that she was going to have her own colony, Pink decided to play a "game" with her. She told her to stand still and wait for her to be right back then left via the warp pad with her back turned to Spinel and never returned. Spinel waited for Pink for 6000 years and only got the news that Pink had died once Steven made a message to everyone on the telegraph.
To add insult to injury, Pink spent the rest of her years living incognito as Rose Quartz,unbeknownst to most of her crew except Pearl, and had a bunch of new friends she had made and spent time with since leaving Spinel behind. Pink Diamond lied to this young gem, told her that she will come back for her, let her think that she will always be here for her and love her, only to never give her a second thought and come back to get her. I've said this on YouTube before and I will say it again: Pink Diamond is trash.
Knowing this, I'm glad I never liked her from the start. I always felt that, as sweet as she was, she was a bit of a Mary-Sue. I always hated Mary-Sue-ish characters, especially ones that seem to get away with everything. Lo and behold, I was right not to like her like everyone else did. I'm also going to reaffirm a previous statement I made years ago as well. Pink Diamond/ Rose is a deadbeat mom. I said this years ago on Reddit and received backlash, but now that the cat's been let out of the bag and we know this story, my comments could not be any more correct. Pink Diamond, though she had good intentions, was pretty awful to the people around her.
What makes this more heartbreaking is that Pink didn't have to leave Spinel behind. Knowing the power she had as a diamond, she could have just taken her with her, and just told her not to keep asking her to play with her. She could have even put Pearl in charge of watching over Spinel and have her babysit since Pearl was a servant anyway, and Spinel was practically like child in need of care. Even if Pink wanted to separate from Spinel so she could take on more adult responsibilities, there are ways she could have done it better. I know that there are some fans out there who feel like I am being hard on Pink, and I respect their opinion and understand where they are coming from. Pink was not perfect but she did go out of the way to save people on Earth and cared about her friends and family. She probably just forgot about Spinel by accident, for all we know. If anything, she is a little better than Star Butterfly from Star vs. The Forces of Evil. But regardless of what was going through Pink's head when she did this, I think I can safely say that this is one of the things I won't forgive her for. Not by a long shot.
So, anyway, after Steven gets her backstory revealed to him, he tries to console her and tells her that she will find someone who loves her one day. Then, once they get back on Earth she has her try to help him get rid of the injector. All is well for a moment until the scythe that Spinel used at the beginning of the movie falls out of his coat pocket. Spinel gets uncomfortable seeing the weapon she previously used on all the gems and it spurs her having another mental breakdown and a fight between her and Steven. Meanwhile Garnet, who is now back to her old self, Connie, and the other gems try to save the townspeople who are dealing with a flash flood. Steven complains and asks why he has to constantly deal with the same thing over and over again. Then he realizes that the difference between all those times is that he changed, he starts regaining his strength,,,and sings about how he can change. Classic Steven.
Spinel gets tired of this singing very quickly and shuts him down before launching a major attack that breaks the injector and creates a big crater-sized hole in the center of the hill. After trying to attack Steven one last time she has another mental breakdown and starts crying, asking herself why does she even want to hurt him and then admitting that she just wants to be his friend. Hearing this line broke my heart and it also had me fascinated by the voice-acting done by Sarah Stiles, her VA. I really felt her pain during every moment prior to this scene. But it was this moment right here that really solidified my love for this character. Steven consoles her once again and informs her that the only person who could change is her, that is if she wants to change for the better and not continue to become even worse off than she already was.
So, after all of that pans out, how is Spinel supposed to get her happy ending? By living with the diamonds of course! Yes, indeed. After all the heartache she, Steven, and the rest of the cast go through, the diamonds finally show up and inform Steven that they want to live with him. They love him so much now because they just can't get enough of him and now want to live with him to Steven's chagrin. Steven of course is not up for it but the diamonds beg to stay, and even White tries to guilt-trip him like a mother guilt-tripping her son for not calling her more after moving out of the house. But then Steven re-introduces Spinel to them and explains her plight. They instantly feel sorry for her, and as soon as Spinel cracks a joke about her trauma, the diamonds are instantly amused and take a liking to her. The diamonds, again in song, offer her a place to live and after Steven asks if she's sure she wants to go with them, Spinel agrees to join them, seeing this as an opportunity to start over and better her life.
They all agree that they'll "love again" and then leave Earth for...well, who knows how long it'll be before they come back for another visit? So, then Steven and the rest of the gems finally get their real happy ending since everything's been sorted out and go back to rebuilding Beach City. The movie even goes out with more of a bang, by ending like you would a big Broadway musical before closing the curtains while a round of applause is heard.
So that was the Steven Universe movie. I honestly think it was a pretty good movie, despite a couple of flaws the film had. I'm glad there has been some progression and a time skip in this series. Now, if the series has a season six we can expect episodes that actually tie up everything in a neat little bow and we won't feel like they are pointless filler. I know, I know, "Rebecca never does filler episodes in this series". But most of the episodes that have nothing to do with the plot are borderline filler episodes, or actual filler episodes.
So, I can't see it any other way. I just hope that that we get to see Spinel again some time soon and that Lars and Sadie officially end up together. Also, Pearl needs to officially date the mysterious pink-haired woman. I won't consider the series to end well unless they do all of that! As for other aspects within the film, like I previously stated, I will go over these flaws in the next post where I talk about everything else I did not talk about here. Until then, have a nice day and don't forget to stay animated.