Steven Universe: The Movie is a 2019 animated TV movie based on the Cartoon Network series, Steven Universe. The cast of the film consists of Zach Callison, Estelle, Michaela Dietz, Deedee Magno Hall, and Sarah Stiles, alongside an ensemble cast reprising their roles from the television series.
Plot[]
After an introduction from the Diamonds, Steven Universe (now 16 years old) greets the citizens of the Gem Homeworld. The Diamonds want him to stay to fulfill his mother Pink Diamond's role as leader, but he refuses. Back on Earth, Steven sees Connie off to space camp. Steven, Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst celebrate their newfound "Happily Ever After". Almost immediately afterwards, a giant drill lands on the hillside of Beach City and Spinel, a deranged, cartoonish Gem, appears, announcing her intent to kill Steven and the rest of the Earth. Using a scythe-like weapon, she "poofs" Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst back into their gem forms; her attacks also weaken Steven's Gem powers, though his body is unharmed. Steven manages to poof Spinel with the scythe.
Steven calls his father, Greg, for help. The Gems regenerate their bodies (including Ruby and Sapphire separately), but their memories have been erased; Pearl assumes that she is Greg's servant. With her memories gone, Spinel is a goofy and happy-go-lucky Gem whose role is to entertain her companion. Steven and Spinel take Ruby and Sapphire to seek advice from Peridot, Lapis Lazuli and Bismuth; they encourage Steven not to give up. Bismuth identifies Spinel's scythe as a "Rejuvenator", a device that can reset the mind of a Gem back to when it was first created. Spinel compares the situation to a puzzle, suggesting that they find the Gems' "missing pieces" to restore their memories, inspiring Steven to try to reenact Ruby and Sapphire's first fusion. Spinel's antics cause scaffolding to collapse, almost crushing Ruby; when Sapphire shoves her to safety, the pair fuse into Garnet, but she still has no memory of her life.
After Steven recovers Amethyst's memory by reenacting experiences the two had together, Peridot discovers that the drill is injecting a chemical that will kill all life on Earth. In order to revive Pearl's memory, the group takes her to a Sadie Killer and the Suspects concert, in the hope their music will bring back her memories of rebellion, but Pearl says that as long as Greg exists she will obey him. Steven uses what little energy remains to him to fuse with Greg, which enables Pearl to recover her memory. She tells Steven that Spinel was once Pink Diamond's playmate; Spinel is suddenly overcome with sadness and flees.
After sending for Connie, Steven finds Spinel crying at his house. She takes Steven to a desolate garden in space and reveals her backstory: she was Pink Diamond's playmate until the other Diamonds gave Pink her own colony. Pink told Spinel to wait for her, and left her alone in the garden for 6,000 years until she learned of Pink Diamond's fate. Steven tells her that he will never abandon her and that he will make up for her mother's mistakes.
Back in Beach City, Spinel turns off the drill, but when Steven begins shifting his attention back to everyone else, she accuses Steven of just using her and then abandoning her or planning to wipe her memory again. She turns the drill back on and attacks Steven. As he tries to explain the truth to her, Garnet recovers her memory. Steven sends the others out to rescue the humans of Beach City while he confronts Spinel. Steven finally realizes why his Gem powers have not yet returned: his desire for an unchanging "happily ever after" has left him resistant to the very notion of growth and change, which he needs to re-experience. Embracing this fact, he regains his powers and battles Spinel. Their fight destroys the drill, and Spinel realizes that hurting Steven will not make her feel better, and relents.
The Diamonds suddenly arrive and state their intention to live on the Earth with Steven. He introduces Spinel to them and they take an immediate liking to her and her goofy personality. The Diamonds accept her in place of Steven and she happily goes with them, now with people who will love her unconditionally. Steven and his friends gather to rebuild Beach City, thanks in part to Steven's healing powers undoing the damage of the poison. Steven, Connie, Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst and Greg perform a Broadway-style "Finale".
Cast[]
- Zach Callison as Steven Universe
- Estelle as Garnet
- Charlyne Yi as Ruby
- Erica Luttrell as Sapphire
- Michaela Dietz as Amethyst
- Deedee Magno Hall as Pearl
- Sarah Stiles as Spinel
- Tom Scharpling as Greg Universe
- Grace Rolek as Connie Maheswaran
- Matthew Moy as Lars Barriga
- Kate Micucci as Sadie Miller
- Shelby Rabara as Peridot
Production[]
The is a Musical film, with songs written by the series creator Rebecca Sugar featuring musical collaborations with Aivi & Surasshu, Chance the Rapper, Gallant, James Fauntleroy, Macie Stewart, Mike Krol, Grant Henry (Stemage), Jeff Liu, Jeff Ball, and Julian "Zorsy" Sanchez, as well as Estelle, Ted Leo, and Aimee Mann, who have voice roles. The film is executive produced by Rebecca Sugar. The co-executive producers are Chance the Rapper, Kat Morris, Joe Johnston, Alonso Ramirez Ramos and Ian Jones-Quartey. The film was directed by Rebecca Sugar, Kat Morris, and Joe Johnston. The story for the film was developed by Ben Levin, Hilary Florido, Ian Jones-Quartey, Jack Pendarvis, Joe Johnston, Kat Morris, Matt Burnett, and Rebecca Sugar.
Release[]
The film was released on September 2, 2019 on Cartoon Network; the Every Steven Ever marathon aired leading up to the movie, followed by a digital release on September 3. The film was released on DVD by Warner Home Video on November 12, 2019; this release contains the documentary Behind the Curtain: The Making of Steven Universe: The Movie and animatics with commentary.
The film has been released among various international Cartoon Network feeds. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the film was released a month later on 1 October 2019. In France, the film was premiered on 27 October 2019. In Romania, Hungary, and Czech Republic, the film will premiere on 9 May 2020. In Poland, the film will premiere on 17 May 2020. In Germany, the film will premiere on 30 May 2020.
Theatrical[]
In Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, the film was released theatrically from October 24 to October 30, 2019 in Cinemark Theatres.
A one-night theatrical sing-along screening of the film by Fathom Events was planned for March 23, 2020, including a premiere screening of an episode of Steven Universe Future, but the event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Through its limited run, the film made $24,012 at the international box-office.
Marketing[]
The film was announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2018, and a short teaser trailer was later released on Cartoon Network's YouTube channel. A poster was released a week before San Diego Comic-Con 2019, revealing a glimpse of the film's antagonist and a visibly older Steven, setting the film two years after the events of "Change Your Mind".
At San Diego Comic-Con 2019, a trailer for the film was released, along with the announcement of a documentary based on the film's creation to be released along with the DVD.
Toonami aired a second trailer for the film during their August 24 broadcast.
Reception[]
Steven Universe: The Movie was universally acclaimed by critics prior to broadcast, with the music, animation and characters highlighted in particular. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 100% approval rating.
ComicBook.com's Rollin Bishop summarised that the film contains "amazing musical numbers with striking illustrations and breathtaking animation to outdo anything the franchise has attempted before", while Shamus Kelley commented on the strong emotional content of the film for Den of Geek, saying that "this is a movie that will stick with you long after it’s finished airing. Like the best entertainment, it holds up a mirror and lets you examine your life in a safe way".
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