Book Review: Star Vs. the Forces of Evil The Magic Book of Spells

While I am a huge fan of behind-the-scenes material and making-of books, I’m also a big fan of things that are meant to be materials from a series or show (that is, if the items are done right).

With the television series Star vs the Forces of Evil, creator Daron Nefcy and some of her associates, first attempted to give their fans a “tangible” item the year 2017, with Star and Marco’s Guide to Mastering All Dimensions. The book provided some insights by Princess Star Butterfly and her friends, along with some tidbits regarding Star’s Magic Book of Spells.

Scene from the book’s first appearance in the Star vs the Forces of Evil segment, Monster Arm.

Introduced in the show’s first season, the book of spells has been handed down through generations of Mewni Princesses and Queens. It was a place where they could put down some of their own thoughts, and provide information about new magic spells they had come up with.

Also contained within the book, is a little blue man named Glossaryck of Terms. One would assume that he would be there almost like a helper, but most of the time, all he seemed to do (according to Marco Diaz),  was “spout cryptic remarks and eat pudding.”

Though it is not-to-scale or as thick as the version seen on the show, Daron Nefcy, Dominic Bisignano, Amber Benson, and Devin Taylor have attempted to create a version of the book that reveals more about Mewni’s past…well, as much as is recorded by the women who ruled over the kingdom.

The main focus overall, is on the numerous princesses and queens that have come before Star Butterfly.  Up until now, we only had a few names revealed to us from the television show, but this book quickly fills us in on the others we were less privy to.

Like many royal lines lines in our realm,  Mewni’s has some interesting rulers, and a few “duds” here and there. Some of the entries are real page-turners, and others made my head droop as I struggled to stay interested. The book also gives information on several spells Star Butterfly has used, and just who in her past lineage, created them.

On the show, it was mentioned that the inside of the book is “a complete disorganized mess.” Of course, when dealing with a book for people to read from cover-to-cover in our dimension, it probably was made clear to Nefcy and her crew that there would need to be some semblance of order. However, the book does stick to it’s television counterpart, by having the table of contents in the center.

For those like me who were intrigued by the strange culture of Mewni, there was one thing I was hoping the book would finally do: blow the lid off of the strange symbols we’ve seen all throughout the kingdon on television.

While the book does not provide us with a Mewni-to-English alphabet, it does give enough information to allow the more astute readers, to decipher the symbols if they look through the book enough (or, just go online and find the people who have already figured it out!).

That ability for the readers to also interact with the book, seems to be something that creator Daron Nefcy prizes greatly. There was a bit of this in the last Star book she did, but here, that reader/book interaction is on display in a number of ways.

Readers are encouraged to cut out a few things here and there. Plus, it is assumed that the reader is now the book’s new owner, and is encouraged to personalize it, along with designing what their magic wand looks like, and creating their own log and spells.

The Book of Spells at over 256 pages, is almost on par with another show-oriented book that Disney Press released several years ago: Journal 3 from the hit television series, Gravity Falls.

Much like that book, Spells manages to take a tome that is well-known to the show’s viewers, and add some things that the die-hard fans are yearning to know about, as well as be an intriguing find, or a gateway to those who may not have heard of the series.

Personally, I was hoping for a bit more information written in the book from the numerous owners. At times, it feels like some sections were truncated due to the page-count.

Even so, I do feel that most fans of Star vs the Forces of Evil will enjoy what Disney Press has put out, and may bring in some new fans, who happen to come across the book.

 

Book Review: Star and Marco’s Guide to Mastering Every Dimension

When I was younger,the way in which books were connected to visual media, was definitely different.

Some shows like The Care Bears, Transformers, and even Sesame Street, would often have books released, that would feature original story ideas, or stories taken from a television series, and condensed down into book form.

However, in this day-and-age, many companies in the entertainment business, have advanced well beyond this simplicity, and we’ve seen print media tie-ins, take on a whole new life of their own.

Want to know more about the story behind the latest Transformers movie? There’s probably a prequel comic mini-series, to explain where some of the new characters came from.

Just how did The First Order and The Resistance come to be the new Empire and Rebellion of Star Wars: The Force Awakens? There’s several hardcover novels to fill in those blanks.

Of course, there are also other methods of reaching out to the viewers of a series, via the printed page.

DisneyXD’s series Gravity Falls, is one such example. The last couple years have seen book tie-ins for Falls, including a ‘choose your own adventure’ storybook, and a real-world representation of the show’s third journal, that Dipper Pines carried around with him through both seasons of the show!

When it comes to the DisneyXD series Star vs the Forces of Evil, we’ve had some of the episodes collected into Cinestory comic books, and seen the expansion of the show, through the currently-running, 8-part original comic series, by Joe Books.

Though in regards to a tie-in that aims to have some fun with it’s fans, that seems to be what has been created, with Star and Marco’s Guide to Mastering Every Dimension.

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The book is structured in a scrapbook-style format, with Star Butterfly being the main commentator, along with some additional  information from her best friends Marco Diaz, and Flying Princess Pony Head.

The concept is that one day, out of sheer boredom, the three decide to put together the book, to chronicle a number of things in regards to the show’s multiverse, as well as what Star has learned while living on Earth.

Each character uses their own pen for writing, with their own specific ink color (though how Pony Head can write so well without hands, is left to our imagination!).

I will admit that in some later chapters of the book, I got a little confused, when Star Butterfly would take over writing but use rainbow-colored inks, which made me wonder if maybe Marco was contributing to the items. Maybe this was the writers trying to make the book as wacky and wild as the show, but I can’t say for certain.

Example of Star Butterfly, Marco Diaz, and Princess Pony Head’s writing within the book.

For those who are fans of the show, you’ll find plenty of additional information about certain dimensions, and…the last names and distinctions of several characters. This to me, is where most of the fun in the book lies, as a few doors are thrown open with this additional information.

We also get our trio of writers, interviewing their friends (and friend-enemies?), to get their advice on a few things, as well as some commentary on how they feel about some people they know.

Like the title says, we also get to learn more about  various dimensions, including just where Star’s ex-boyfriend Tom, and Pony Head reside. Personally, I had hoped maybe we’d get some more dimensions than most of what we’ve seen, but at least we get an identification for a few dimensions that had no names in the television series.

Also of note, is additional information on Pony Head’s family tree (she is one of 13 sisters!), as well as more information about The Grandma Room, glimpsed briefly in the Season 2 segment, Into the Wand. There’s definitely some revelations to be had, but probably not enough to totally blow the doors off our curiosity (minor spoiler: we’re still no closer to knowing more about Queen Eclipsa!).

One of several tapestries shown in the guide, that gives information on past Queens of Mewni.

One section I was really eager to get through, was one that delved into some pages of Star’s magic instruction book, with notes by Glossaryck of Terms.

Unfortunately, my hopes to finally understand the ancient language we’ve seen in the book, failed to yield anything concrete.

However, we get a small understanding regarding spells, how some can be altered, and how Star comes up with several of the ones she recites in the series.

I will admit that when it comes to the writing, I found the style of characterization for Pony Head, to be a bit too contrasted from her Season 2 role.

Sure, she’s been somewhat abrasive in Season 2, but it feels like the writers of the show toned her down (we’ve even seen that Marco after awhile, is better able to put up with her!). The writers try to create some back-and-forth banter with Pony Head claiming she is Star’s ‘bestie,’ but it just feel a little ‘flat’ to me.

There are also some activity pages, including a cut-out diagram to design your own pair of dimensional scissors, and a page to draw what dimension the reader wold like to visit.

A tri-fold poster is also included in the back of the book. One side of it has the opening character shot from the second season’s intro, AND, if you flip it over, you get a map of the Kingdom of Mewni!

And, for those with wicked culinary skills, there is a recipe for how to make “Marco’s Super Awesome Nachos!” I’m not much good in the kitchen, but I have considered trying to follow Marco’s recipe and see if I can pull this off.

A portion of the map of the Kingdom of Mewni, that is contained in the book!

This book was originally set to be released in early January, but was pushed back by two months.

Going over it’s contents, I could see why it happened. Several chapters actually acknowledge some episodes and storylines, that hadn’t been released yet (maybe the ‘Starbomb’ of episodes in February, was a way to get them all out before the book release?). Plus, I believe the writers have included a few small tidbits, about what happened after the conclusion of Season 2 (sorry folks, no spoilers!).

What I’ve really enjoyed about some of the expanded universe material for Star vs the Forces of Evil, is that almost all original,  ancillary story materials, has had involvement by people who have also worked on the show! I really like that kind of dynamic, and it makes me pretty sure that those working on these materials, have a good idea of the show’s continuity, as well as how certain things are to be portrayed.

It should also be noted, that a few of the listed persons who worked on this book, also had illustration duties on the Svtfoe comic series that is currently out!

Overall, Star and Marco’s Guide to Mastering Every Dimension, is a fun book that has been made by the show’s crew, for the fans, as well as any who are weird or crazy enough to pick it up, and want to find out more a bout this show! Definitely recommended reading material for all fans of the series.

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