Matt Kelly: Star vs. The Forces of Evil

This has been an interesting summer for television. Some of the new programming was very successful. Mr. Robot was a flawlessly executed anarchist hacker drama and Daredevil showed the gritty and complicated side of the Marvel Universe. Some of the returning shows were less than stellar. Game of Thrones meandered slowly through an uneventful book while True Detective limped from one cliché to another. One thing connects the entire summer TV landscape: it was dark. And depressing. In fact, it was almost too depressing. Could anyone inject a little light and fun into the otherwise gloomy season of TV?

Enter Princess Star Butterfly.

Created by Daron Nefcy, Star vs the Force of Evil follows a hyperactive high spirited princess the likes of which Disney has never created before. Star Butterfly takes all of the Merida rebelliousness and Mulan ass kicking and turns it up to eleven while at the same time creating the most relatable and personal Disney princess in a while. Star is exiled from her kingdom in an attempt by her parents to teach her some discipline before she eventually takes over the throne of Mewni. While on Earth she spends her time with her adopted family, the Diaz’s, which includes her new best friend Marco. The pair navigate the dangers of being a teenager in high school mixed together with the dangers of fighting inter-dimensional monsters. It all fits together surprisingly well.

But I know what you’re thinking. Why would anyone but a child be interested in watching a children’s cartoon about a couple of kids in high school? The answer is, for a bunch of reasons. For one, SvtFoE is really funny and not in an overtly childish way. That kind of humor is there too but beneath the surface there is a lot of humor that is clearly aimed at older audiences. I don’t mean that it is filled with dirty jokes or anything like that. It’s still Disney after all. I mean that certain elements, especially dialogue, are funny in a more subtle way than you would expect for a kid’s show.

The voice talent on SvtFoE is also incredible. Eden Sher from ABC’s The Middle plays Star herself. She injects a ton of personality and life into the role that is incredibly refreshing for a first time voice actor. Relative newcomer Adam McArthur is the voice of her best friend Marco Diaz who is very much the Ron Stoppable to her Kim Possible. Alan Tudyk (Frozen, Firefly) seems to be on some sort of Disney retainer, appearing as the series’ main villain as well as Star’s father. Here is a list of some of other actors who have guest starred on the first season of Star: Jenny Slate, Michael C. Hall, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Brian Posehn, Nick Swardson, and Jim Gaffigan

These are not your run of the mill animated series guest stars. Stars like Michael C. Hall clearly chose projects that they genuinely believe in and it is clear why they went with Star. The series is bright, fun, and does an excellent job of celebrating the individuality of each character but without doing it in a corny or annoying way. It is all earned. Also the series has been hinting towards more complicated themes than many other Disney cartoons and they are clearly going to be a big part of the future of Star. For instance, the kingdom of Mewni may or may not have committed some sort of semi genocide similar to how the European settlers wiped out the Native Americans. If this is the case, SvtFoE may be the first Disney princess to tackle issues like poverty, class warfare, and imperialism. There are only three episodes left before the first season is over and I am expecting some great things from Star going forward.

https://youtu.be/mn1Xtp-iPX4

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