Sixteen-year-old Steven Universe thinks he’s living happily ever after, but in reality it’s just the calm before the real storm—a new threat that will take everything away from him.
“Steven Universe: The Movie” is a 2019 fantasy musical based on the hit TV show by Rebecca Sugar. It stars the voice talents of Zach Callison, Estelle, Michaela Dietz and Deedee Magno.
The whole theme of the Steven Universe movie revolves around the concept of happily ever after. Steven (voiced by Callison) defeated the Diamonds (voiced by Patti LuPone, Lisa Hannigan and Christine Ebersole) and brought peace to the universe. He thinks his time defending the galaxy is over…until a new mysterious antagonistic Gem named Spinel (voiced by Sarah Stiles) teaches him that there’s more after the happily ever after.
The movie takes the idea of happily ever after and runs with it, embracing both Steven’s past and his future through his interactions with the Crystal Gems after Spinel causes them to regress back to their basic forms. Pearl regresses to be an obedient servant, Amethyst regresses back into a child and Garnet, the personified love between two gems Ruby and Sapphire, splits up. She also causes Steven to lose his gem powers after regressing Spinel as well.
Estelle, Dietz and Magno portray the Crystal Gems as the complete opposite of themselves, which was weird, but so impressive at the same time. These were Gems who are completely different from who we all know from our time spent watching the show, warped into a shadow of who they were.
Luckily, Steven helps the Gems return back to normal by showing them what they were like before Spinel attacked, while also learning about Spinel’s past with his mother, Rose Quartz, aka Pink Diamond.
Stiles tells the story, through her portrayal of Spinel, about how Rose abandoned her on a distant planet and what it does to her mentally and physically. The depth of all these character portrayals is astounding in a way that made long-time viewers feel uncomfortable with the familiar.
The music in Steven Universe was always a pivotal part of the show, and in the movie the importance was heightened and brought out to the extreme. Luckily, the sheer amount of music didn’t slow down the movie. In fact, it heightened its strength of the message. The music helped portray the themes of the movie.
“Disobedient” and “Independent Together” both try to exploit Pearl’s disobedience and remind her of her roots through a rock anthem and a ballad song, respectively. The duet between Dietz and Callison, called “No Matter What,” effortlessly portrays the best friend bond between Amethyst and Steven and plays off each other’s strengths.
One of the strongest songs on the soundtrack was Stiles’ “Drift Away.” Stiles portrays an emotional depth of Spinel that we didn’t know was possible. She portrays a range of traits: the innocent child, the nostalgic friends, and mostly, the sadness and rage over the fact that her best friend abandoned her on a desolate garden for over 6,000 years. This song adds depth to the story of her trauma, and Stiles, a Broadway star, performs the song beautifully.
Overall, the combination of music and acting tells a wonderful story—a story that doesn’t need ‘the end’ or ‘to be continued’ to complete it. Steven Universe grew up before our eyes, transitioning from a naive boy to a strong young adult, and this movie shows us that stories don’t stop after happily ever after. They keep going, and “Steven Universe: The Movie” sets that up beautifully.
Steven’s story is far from over, and I hope more audiences get to ‘Believe in Steven’ like I did when I first watched this movie.
Graphic: Courtesy of Cartoon Network
