Episode Review: Star vs the Forces of Evil (Season 3, Episode 4) – Toffee

And here we are: the fourth episode, the final part to Season 3’s Battle for Mewni storyline.

Given the title and imagery you’ve seen so far, it’s a good bet that a certain lizard-creature, is going to come into play in this story. So, let’s get on with it!

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– Toffee –

On her own, Star manages to infiltrate her family’s castle, but reveals to Ludo what he doesn’t know…that Toffee, whom he thought was long-gone, is inside his ‘wand-hand,’ and is controlling him!

Needless to say, this doesn’t sit well with Ludo, and he wants this problem taken care of. Star believes she may have a solution…but it soon leads to revelations and much more, than she and her friends could possibly have conceived of!

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Watching the whole Battle for Mewni storyline, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would have been like, if these four episodes had finished off Season 2 (instead of the cliffhanger we received). With this episode, it truly feels like a rollercoaster ride of a 22-minute story…and this is just the fourth episode of the new season!

Going over this story, I couldn’t help but feel that while it had some little ‘filler’ bits here and there, it’s one of the few stories that seems to quickly put aside nonsense, and throws us into the fray. This is one of those episodes where a number of revelations are revealed to us…and it feels like a lot of things that we have been wondering about for awhile, have finally been given some attention!

Since he disappeared at the end of the first season, many of us in the Star fandom have had numerous theories regarding Toffee and his ‘end-game.’ We’ve seen he can be an enigmatic puppet master, but it feels that with this episode, he has (so far) cemented himself as one of the series’ top baddies (sorry, Ludo).

Michael C Hall returns with his calm, enigmatic voice, that just gives Toffee that air of menace that makes him so scarily enjoyable to watch! Most notable is one scene, where he gives the equivalent of ‘three mic drops,’ in under 2 minutes!

Though Toffee figures into the story, it’s main character is Star, as she braves a number of dangers, and gets in over-her-head, in ways that I’m sure had many fans gasping at the events that unfolded before us!

Star last mentioned that she is not one to come up with plans, and we somewhat see that work both for, and against her in this story. She makes choices one would almost consider foolish, AND does things that show maturity, showing how far we’ve come from that first image, of a girl who conjured up a flaming rainbow in the first episode.

Aside from Toffee and Star, the rest of the cast are there largely as supporting players.

Ludo has a smaller role in this piece, but will probably get one of the episode’s most memorable moments.

Marco Diaz, Queen Moon, and Buff Frog show up for this episode as well, but seem to largely be here for ‘moral support.’ Even so, they play their parts well, with Moon getting probably one of the more emotional moments of the episode.

It was nice to also see how the previous episode Puddle Defender, brought Moon and Buff Frog together as allies, and makes me hope we’ll get more of this going forward.

This was the first episode I can recall, that while there are mysteries still unfolding, it felt complete (and emotional) enough, to jump to the top of the list of my favorite 22-minute episodes for the series (so far). I remember watching Gravity Falls, and being surprised that Disney was allowing some shocking-yet-amazing storytelling and graphics. It appears that taking of chances, has also been allowed with this series as well.

While there are some moments that seem to slow down for a comedic joke or three, there is more drama and emotion that overrides them, to deliver one of the best episodes the series has to offer!

Final Grade: A

Best line from episode (said by Toffee): “Poor little butterfly…you’ve lost your wings.”

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Best honorable mention line from episode (said by Ludo): “It turns out you’re dead!”

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Toffee proves to still contain secrets and questions within the world of Star vs the Forces of Evil, but it brings forth enough drama, emotion, and revelations, that it ends up becoming one of the best episodes the series has produced!

Even with some minor comedy moments that seem like ‘speed bumps’ in the overall story, there’s plenty of great stuff going on, to make one forget most of it’s underwhelming moments.

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And with that, The Battle for Mewni is now over…but what other adventures await Star Butterfly, Marco Diaz, and their family and friends in the next episodes of this season? Questions still abound related to some items in the series. Plus…(former) Queen Eclipsa, is still alive!

Sadly, we’ll have to wait until November to find out! Yep, another hiatus, and then we’ll see what happens next. My guess is, given the new opening and closing segments that show more dimensions, let alone Star being back in the Kingdom of Mewni, this season may take place over Star and Marco’s “summer vacation” time.

“Star, it’s called summer,” Marco told Star in the Season 2 episode, Starcrushed. “And it’s gonna be great.”

It may sound great, but we’ll have to wait a few more months to see just what the rest of this season has to offer.

Until then, expect a few little Animated Dissection posts regarding the series (and the possibility that I may be reviewing the new Ducktales series!).

Episode Review: Star vs the Forces of Evil (Season 3, Episode 3) – Puddle Defender / King Ludo

Halfway through Star vs the Forces of Evil’s Battle for Mewni storyline, things are looking rather bleak for the Mewmans in their dimension. Not only is the magic power that Star Butterfly and her Mother use failing them, but Ludo has taken control of the Kingdom of Mewni!

The third episode of Season 3, shifts us into more adventures for our main characters, revolving around unlikely alliances, both for Mewmans, and Monsters.

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– Puddle Defender –

After circumstances force them out of their hiding place, Star takes her Mom to Buff Frog’s place. However, while Star seems to be right at home with the monster, Queen Moon seems a bit uncomfortable with their surroundings.

One of the more intriguing character developments to come out of Season 2, was regarding the monster Yvgeny Bulgolyubov, aka Buff Frog. Upon being given some tadpoles by Ludo, Buff Frog gave up (most of) his evil ways, and strove to become a caring and devoted father to his children.

Getting to see Star and Buff catching up like old friends was a treat, and the way the writers threw Queen Moon into the mix, proved to be quite entertaining. It’s also notable in showing how Star differs in thinking from her Mother. Whereas Moon is more confident with a plan in place, Star is more willing to improvise on the fly.

Much like the segment Mewnipendence Day did for Star’s character, it feels like this story works as a ‘growing’ experience for Moon. Some stories like to throw a character out of familiar surroundings to see how they’ll act, which is often a great way to learn more about who they are.

We’ve seen Moon interact with ‘monster royalty’ (such as with Ludo’s parents), but it seems a given that she’s avoided the more ‘common monsters,’ scattered throughout the kingdom. Of course, as we saw in Moon the Undaunted, she may have decided to avoid most monsters altogether, given how they affected her life.

A notable part of the story, is Moon trying to play a boardgame with Buff Frog. The scene is a highlight for me, given it ends up being humorous, but also gets rather serious when we learn a bit more about Mewman/Monster relationships, and each culture’s perceptions of the other on Mewni.

This was an overall entertaining story, and getting to see Star, Moon, Buff Frog and his children interacting together, proved to be a highlight! There was a decent balance of comedy and storytelling, that has made this one of my favorite segments so far this season!

Final Grade: A-

Best line from episode (said by Star Butterfly): “She needs to make ‘boom-boom.'”

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– King Ludo –

Now that he has taken over the Kingdom of Mewni, Ludo attempts to get it’s inhabitants to like him, but finds resistance from everyone. Meanwhile, Marco and King River are locked in the dungeon, with Marco attempting to get them out, and restore River to the throne.

Most of the entertainment value of the story, stems from Marco meeting up with three members of the royal court: the songstrel Ruberiot (whom we know from last season), court jester Foolduke, and a Mime.

I didn’t expect to find myself entertained by them, but their banter and Marco trying to wrangle them together, proved to be very memorable (notably the rather quiet visual reactions of the Mime!).

Even Ludo manages to have some funny moments. His personality can waver between funny and annoying, and here, many of the beats for his childish thoughts on being the Kingdom’s ruler, proved to keep me smiling throughout. I did have to wonder how many of his lines, were improvised by his voice-actor, Alan Tudyk.

Compared to the last Ludo-based segment we saw (episode 2’s Book Be Gone), this one feels a bit more entertaining when it comes to the comedy regarding Ludo. While there was a bit more ‘rinse-and-repeat’ regarding him being abused by the book in the last story, this one lets us see just how unfit he is to rule.

Of all the main characters, it is King River who is mostly sidelined in this story. He has a few more serious moments here than in the Marco and the King storyline, though I felt they could have pulled back on some of his incompetency, in the face of what is going on.

Even with my minor gripes, this story proved to be a surprise, and I’ve found myself watching it a number of times since it came out!

Final Grade: B

Best line from episode (said by Ludo): “Stop! You’re all hacks…except for the Mime! She’s a genius!”

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Best honorable mention line from episode (said by King River, in King Ludo): “It’s a dungeon, not a torture chamber!”

So far this season, this episode has offered a very entertaining 1-2 punch of stories, making it a pretty enjoyable viewing experience.

Puddle Defender helped shed a little more light on Mewni’s ‘monster relations,’ showing how Star Butterfly and her Mother interact with Buff Frog and his children. Almost like a nice breath of comedic air to calm us down, it also proves well-written and insightful, in giving some character development to Moon, and challenging her perceptions of monsters.

King Ludo feels a little like Puddle Defender in it’s storytelling, but doesn’t delve into the dramatics regarding character development. This story is largely Marco’s, as we see him interacting with a few members of Mewni’s royal court, attempting to save King River. The inane bantering of Ruberiot and Foolduke may wear thin on some, but there is a method to the madness (and some fun, silent comedy moments with the Mime in their group). King River gets a small chance to shine, but it feels like once again, he serves as little more than comic relief.

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Next episode, the Battle for Mewni comes to an end, with the eerily named, Toffee. Star has headed off to her Kingdom to confront Ludo and Toffee, and circumstances are pushing Marco to step up his game. How did I feel about where this epic 4-parter went? Come back soon to find out!

Episode Review: Star vs the Forces of Evil (Season 3, Episode 1) – Return to Mewni/Moon the Undaunted

Wow…has it really been almost 5 months already!?

When last we left our inter-dimensional cohorts in Star vs the Forces of Evil, Toffee had officially returned, and was in possession of Ludo’s body. The Magic High Commission of Mewni had been taken out, and Queen Moon found herself facing off against one of the most powerful foes she had ever encountered!

Things were also in a precarious place for her daughter, Star Butterfly, who was forced to leave Earth, but not before confessing to her friend Marco Diaz, that she had a crush on him.

There was so much left open (even some threads from the first season!), that we pondered just what the world of the show would look like, when it returned to us. However, I don’t think any of us could have fathomed the Battle for Mewni event that was announced on the DisneyXD channel.

This event combined the first four episodes of the season into a ‘movie,’ that was released on July 15th, 2017. While I originally considered reviewing the episodes as if they were a movie, I felt it best to focus on each of them by episode, just as I’ve done with in previous reviews.

And so, let’s see what the first episode of Star vs the Forces of Evil’s third season, had to offer.

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Return to Mewni

After the events at the end of last season, Queen Moon is faced with several daunting tasks. These include reviving several members of the Magic High Commission and keeping her daughter Star safe. However, Star feels that they need to confront Toffee, and feels that her Mother is purposefully avoiding her duties.

Ever since seeing Star have some personal moments with her Mom in the Season 2 segment Game of Flags, I had been hoping for some more mother/daughter interaction, and that’s what we get here.

We see a bit of a personality clash between the two, notably in how Moon is struggling to do (what she thinks is) the right thing, and Star not quite seeming to fathom how dangerous things have become (possible shades of her Father).

There’s also a small scene with Marco and his parents, showing how they’re handling Star’s absence on Earth. It’s a nice little moment, before we are fully plunged into the more serious (and dangerous) world of Mewni.

While the story is integral to the Battle for Mewni storyline taking place, it felt a bit uneven, as we see Mother and Daughter struggle with their different viewpoints. We see Star falling back on wanting to use her wand multiple times, even though her Mom cautions her that the magic coursing through it is ‘tainted.’

A saving grace of the segment, comes near the end, when Moon begins to give more information regarding her past, causing Star to take pause. We’ve seen that some times she can respect her Mom, and there comes a rather touching moment between the two, as Star soon realizes some shocking information regarding her Mother, and Grandmother.

The segment is a nice lead-in to the following one, in that much like in her past, Moon is struggling with how to do the right thing…which I think almost any adult with a child can attest to.

Final Grade: B

Best line from segment (said by Star Butterfly): Oh, looks like ol’ Hekapoo is gonna be an Auntie!”

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Moon the Undaunted

“I did a lot of things you won’t be doing” – Moon Butterfly (Season 2, Episode 8)

This line always stuck out in my mind when I heard Moon say it, and it almost feels like it foreshadows this story, which is what (I assume) Moon tells Star, continuing the storyline from the previous segment.

After her mother is killed by a rogue monster general known as “The Lizard,” Princess Moon is thrust into the role of Mewni’s new Queen. However, as she grapples with the responsibilities and having to make grown-up decisions, she decides to try and seek help from an unlikely source: former Mewnian Queen, Eclipsa.

Like many, I’ve been somewhat fascinated by the unknown backstory regarding Star’s parents. A young River Johansen (aka Star’s future Dad) also figures into the story here, but in a very minimal fashion. However, it shows that even at this young of an age, it may have been a friendship between River and Moon, that led to their eventual marriage. We even get to see young River verbally showing support for Moon, as many of the ‘adults’ around them, doubt her competence.

What is also notable, is that part of the story’s plot actually answers a question I had, regarding issue 2 of the Deep Trouble comic series based around the series’ characters. However, given what is transpiring within this story, it’s safe to assume that comic issue’s story, takes place after the events we see here.

There are a number of other familiar faces that show up in this segment as well. I was very surprised to see Mina Loveberry in the story, though not as off-her-rocker as she was in the segment Starstruck last season. There’s also a new relation introduced named Count Mildrew, who seems to be rather ‘dramatic’ about certain things. We haven’t seen him depicted in the series yet, and one wonders if he may resurface further in the season.

Of course, one of the more exciting moments, comes when we finally get some time with Queen Eclipsa (voiced by Esme Bianco). Her appearance here feels like a subtle hint of things to come in this season. Eclipsa comes off as being a bit off-kilter, but somewhat serious. However, I can’t help but feel she is hiding something sinister (her cheekmarks are spades after all…which represent ‘death’ in fortune-telling).

With the story being an intriguing character study of a preteen Moon Butterfly, I will say the moments with her dealing with the monsters, feels like the weaker part of the story. Some may note that it doesn’t quite go the way we saw in the Grandma Room tapestry from the Into the Wand segment, but I feel this is the writers saying how history, often isn’t like how it is depicted by artists, after-the-fact.

It is also notable, seeing a number of little character moments the animators give young Moon. Notable is her curling up into a ball, or gripping the long strands of her hair in a nervous fashion, similar to some things that we’ve seen Star do on occasion when she is frustrated, or fearful.

By the end of the story, I couldn’t help but find myself feeling sorry for Moon. She had to grow up before she was ready, and assume an air of nobility and seriousness, that she seems to wear at times almost like a mask. It is also clear she may have made some mistakes during the events we see, leading to some scars that have affected her, well into her adult life.

Episodes that give us introspection into characters usually press my buttons, and this one is definitely one I intend to keep coming back to.

Final Grade: A-

Best line from segment (said by Moon Butterfly): Oh, ‘apology meat.’ What am I going to do?”

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Best honorable mention line from episode (said by Star Butterfly, in Return to Mewni): “It’s behind the dog food Marco, stop being so dramatic! Why do you have to be such a cute…idiot?'”

With the first episode of Star’s third season, we have a pretty good two-segment lineup.

Return to Mewni helps show a comparison/contrast between Star and her mother, Moon. Mewni has become a much more dangerous place, as we see Moon struggling to make Star realize that magic may not be able to save them. That struggle is integral to the storytelling, but at times, it feels like it doesn’t flow as smoothly as it should.

Moon the Undaunted finally gives us a look into Moon’s past, one that is informative, yet sad. We see how Moon as a pre-teen, is thrust into a world of responsibility she’s not yet ready for, and makes some mistakes along the way. I hope this opens up the possibility of more backstory for Moon and her husband River, telling about their lives before Star was born.

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With 4 episode released at once, the episode reviews are going to be flying by over the next week or two. In the second episode, we’ll catch up with Ludo, following the events of the end of Season 2, in the story segment, Book Be Gone. Then, we’ll check in with Marco, as he journeys to Mewni, and encounters King Butterfly, in Marco and the King. See you back here soon, to discuss the next episode!

Episode Review: Star vs The Forces of Evil (Season 2, Episode 3) – Star on Wheels / Fetch

The first two episodes of Star vs The Forces of Evil’s Season 2 premiere, brought back some familiar characters from Season 1, and embellished their rather limp backstories. This seemed to hint that this new Season, with its 22 episodes, was going to further open up the world/dimensions, that we had only gotten a taste of last year.

As we move into the third episode, we get two segments that largely deal with Star Butterfly, as she continues to learn a bit more about the planet Earth, regarding its customs, and inhabitants.

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– Star on Wheels –

After Star continuously enjoys riding on the back of Marco’s bicycle, Marco thinks it’s time she learned how to ride one on her own.

However, his attempts to bolster’s Star’s confidence backfires, when he lets go of the bicycle seat, and she careens through town, unable to stop!

Fortunately, Oskar Greason (whom Star has a crush on!), is available to lend his driving services, to help chase Star down. We also get a return from Glossaryck of Terms, who as usual, provides little(-to-no) help regarding the situation at hand.

The episode does play around with not giving us the easy way out, in regards to Star’s emotions, and ‘dimensional naivete.’ There are plenty of opportunities for her to end the ride early, but the writers play with Star’s other-worldly mindset (not to mention her being upset at Marco for breaking a promise). This is where the humor can wear a little thin. A few times, it seemed like the writers were struggling to even carry the events out to the final conclusion.

Much like Marco’s Sensei in last week’s episode, this segment also gives over more screentime to a lesser-known supporting character, in the form of Oskar. Star’s schoolyard crush and keytar player (voiced by actor Jon Heder), gets a bit more time to interact with Marco, as well as Glossaryck of Terms (voiced by actor Jeffrey Tambor).

It feels like Oskar and Glossaryck could become future best buds, given the way they chat about foodstuffs, and break it down to some tunes in one scene (never thought I’d hear Heder and Tambor ‘gettin down’ with some mad rhymes).

Throughout the episode, Marco is largely the voice of reason, amidst a madhouse of other characters that don’t seem to see things in more serious terms like he does. Of course, Marco soon has to learn more about letting go of his more structured thought process, in order to help Star in the end (it culminates in a scene that I definitely did not see coming).

A decent episode, even if it does feel like they overdo the runaway bicycle plot. Then again, it’s no different than the story The Berenstain Bears Go Fly a Kite, where an event also goes horribly wrong, and the characters could easily end it, but it lasts the entire length of that storybook.

Best Star Butterfly line from segment: “Marco!! You said you’d hold onto the seat! You LIED to MEEEE!!!”

Final Segment Grade: B-

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– Fetch –

While taking the laser-puppies to the local dog park with Marco, Star decides to use her wand in a game of fetch, and soon finds it firmly lodged in the jaws of a rather aggressive-looking dog.

For much of the episode, Star attempts to get her wand back, but soon finds herself just carrying the dog everywhere she goes, trying to find a peaceful solution to her problem.

This serves as the main gag through much of the segment, with the litmus test being how long Star can put up with this nuisance before she snaps.

Composer Brian H Kim also has one of his more memorable musical cues so far this season. Near the end of the episode, the music gets emotional and heartfelt, in a similar fashion to some cues I’ve heard in Japanese anime…and to me, it just works!

The story came very close to being on the levels of The Banagic Incident, but it soon became a bit like The Other Exchange Student, in how the dog acted (even staring intently at Marco while he slept!).

In regards to secondary storylines, I was a little more enamored with seeing Marco’s relationship with the laser-puppies, who we’ve seen being very affectionate towards him previously, but often seemed to irk him in smaller moments. However, it seems like he’s gotten used to them, and one scene will probably make them seem even cuter than before (if no less dangerous).

Fetch even managed to cram in several smaller subplots, such as Star’s Mom reminding her to write a thank you note to a relation, and Marco trying to get a straw into a juice pouch. Plus, we now see that Star has the equivalent of an inter-dimensional cellphone, in the form of a compact (and as with most teenagers, it becomes a source of annoyance as her Mom keeps calling her on it!).

The overload of all these threads made it very close to making me feel that the segment was suffering from the same ADHD as the first season’s Matchmaker episode, but somehow, they managed to tie things together pretty well, even if a few of the results were a bit blase.

We also have some guest voices for the episode, provided by actresses Amy Sedaris, and Mayim Biailk. Both give decent performances, but their characters are rather brief in their appearances. Of the two, it is Sedaris who really gets to play around with her voice role, while Bialik is the more down-to-earth in the tone of her character.

Even with a gaggle of cutesy-eyed laser-puppies throughout, the episode meanders a bit with its languid pace, as Star continues to try and retrieve her wand from the dog’s jaws.

Best Star Butterfly line from segment: Go, Willloughby…go to your businessman!

Final Segment Grade: B-

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Best honorable mention line from episode (said by Marco): “Okay, everything is half-red.”

Coming off of last week’s episode that had some character development for its segments, this episode’s segments feel a little less serious in many respects.After reaching an emotional and storytelling highpoint with Mr Candle Cares last week, I did expect that this week’s segments couldn’t possibly keep up that ’emotional’ momentum (the show is more about comedy than drama, after all).

Overall, the segments this week did manage to keep their own (decent) momentum going within their stories, and while not top-caliber regarding the comedy, they were definitely passable.

Star on Wheels showed Stars’ ‘earth training’ freewheeling out-of-control, along with additional characters sharing in Marco’s attempts to help her. Kinetic at times, but felt a bit too simple a story, stretched out into too long of a running gag.

Fetch deals with an unexpected problem that Star attempts to fix on her own, leaving Marco with a lesser-involved, if not decently-enjoyable ‘story b’ for the segment. One could also see it as showing further how Star solves problems when they brush up against her, with not all resolutions being the same in the end.

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If this week’s segments were a bit ‘iffy’ when I first heard of their storylines, I’m moreso looking forward to what is coming up next week. A clip has already been revealed for the first segment, “Star vs Echo Creek,” where it looks like a high-on-sugar Star Butterfly may run rampage across the city. And the second segment, “Wand to Wand,” may finally give us the conclusion some of us has wondered about, since Ludo found the other half of Star’s ‘cleaved’ wand, earlier this season. This could be one of the most major magical showdowns, since Harry Potter, and Voldemort! See you all in 7 days!

Episode Review: Star vs The Forces of Evil (Season 1, Episode 9) – Freeze Day / Royal Pain

The return of Star vs The Forces of Evil with last week’s 8th episode, definitely re-ignited a lot of the fandom’s pent-up energy, and gave us one of the more solid episodes in some time.

As we moved on to episode 9, I will admit I didn’t know quite what to expect from the previews, but enough of my babbling…let’s dive right in!

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-Freeze Day-

When Marco wakes up late, he madly rushes to make it to school in time for his 7:56 AM ritual – to be at his locker as Jackie Lynn Thomas skateboards by. However, with just a few minutes to spare, Marco asks Star for help, and with a wave of her wand, she ends up freezing time.

After partaking in some frozen-time antics, Star attempts to unfreeze time, only to find out that Father Time (voiced by Jim Gaffigan), has stepped off the Wheel of Progress. Star and Marco travel to the Plains of Time, where they find the old man eagerly running around the strange landscape, with little care about wanting to get back to his neverending grind.

I will admit, as soon as Jackie Lynn Thomas came into the picture for this episode, I was hooked. The Jackie/Marco crush story development is something I’ve been curious about for some time. It hasn’t been a constant in most episodes, and any little hints that Marco still pines for his dream girl, definitely make me eager to see more. As well, much like in the Match Maker segment of episode 2, Star is also an encouraging figure regarding Marco’s love life.

This episode was also fun because of a lot of little cameos (we even get a brief glimpse of what Gustav from episode 4 is up to!). Most intriguing to me, was when Star addresses Glossaryck (of Terms), the little creature in her wand’s spellbook. This put to rest one of the questions I had since seeing the episode 6 segment, Mewberty, in which he was introduced by name.

Father Time isn’t the best supporting character, but he does have his moments. Gaffigan voices him like a person who has just come to life, eager to see and do things beyond the smaller scope of his lifetime of simply turning the Wheel of Progress. In a sense, his wild abandon running around the Plains of Time, is almost reminiscent of Star’s romping around Echo Creek Academy when Marco first showed her around in the first episode.

During our visit to the Plains of Time dimension, we get plenty of little tidbits regarding Star and Marco’s past (and a tiny glimpse into the future, perhaps?). Those past glimpses are always welcome by me, as they help add more pieces to the puzzle in my head regarding who these characters are.

Almost every animated show seems to have an episode that deals with time disruption in one form or another, and this looks like it’ll be the one for Star. The use of back-story and character insight for Marco was what definitely drew my attention, as well as getting to get brief glimpses into Star’s past.

Plus, one has to wonder if the episode’s message, might push some to…take a chance?

Final Segment Grade: B

Best Star Butterfly line from segment: “Or, maybe, now’s the time to move on to the next step of your crazy plan!”

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-Royal Pain-

After Star’s Mom kicks her Dad out of the castle, the King of Mewni decides to crash at the Diaz’s place on Earth. Though at first excited that her Dad isn’t as overbearing towards her as her Mom, Star soon begins to tire of his presence when he keeps her up at night, let alone leaves his laundry lying around (I’m sure the same scene I saw will also have you shivering in repulsion!).

Things don’t get much better when the King decides to take up residence on Earth, and throw a massive party with other dimensional royalty in attendance.

Much like Freeze Day, Royal Pain gives us a little more insight into some characters, in this case, Star’s Dad. We saw a little of his wild ways in the segment Diaz Family Vacation, in episode 5. Here, it pretty quickly becomes evident just where Star gets some of her wild-abandon in some situations. Marco even makes note of this, though it is a little fun to see that maybe some of Star’s Mom is alive in her as well, given how she wants some order to the chaos her Dad has wrought.

A minor subplot that weaves its way through the episode, involves Marco and wet socks, which I found slightly humorous, because wet socks also bug me in the same way. Fortunately, it doesn’t fall flat like the “mess-up twins” subplot in the Pixtopia segment of episode 6.

Also like Freeze Day, we get quite a few return nods to previous characters, and foreign dignitaries, not to mention a few other new personalities that the King knows.

I wobbled back-and-forth on my feelings for this episode. Much like how Party with a Pony dealt with the typical ‘friend doesn’t like other friend’ storyline, this worked on slightly altering the ‘my relative is driving me crazy and won’t leave’ plotline we’ve seen done in most series. Sadly, it didn’t feel like Royal Pain really did much to make my mind stray far from thinking of how formulaic it was at times.

Don’t get me wrong. It does have its moments, and I did laugh out loud several times, but I felt the story just didn’t hold together as strongly. What does save the story to me, is its comedic moments. Though I did enjoy Freeze Day more, I laughed more at Royal Pain.

A fun moment was when Star panics at seeing her Dad on the Diaz’s doorstep. I will admit having almost the same anxieties when my own Dad visits, and like Star, I usually freak out, making sure the place looks presentable (and most people I know go into the same sort of ‘panic mode’ when their parents come to town).

Final Segment Grade: B

Best Star Butterfly line from segment: “Buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh.”

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Best honorable mention line from episode (said by The King of Mewni): *laughing* “The ball’s in your court, Salivary!”

I didn’t know quite what to expect from episode 9, but it definitely surprised me regarding some of its twists and turns.

Freeze Day looked a little too wacky when I first saw preview clips of it, but turned out to be a little deeper, in how we got to explore some of Marco and Star’s backstory, let alone get some character callbacks.

Royal Pain was definitely the weaker of the two stories, but made up for its shortcomings with the placement of its humor at times. Plus, we get a few more glimpses into other-dimensional royalty, and see Star may have a little bit more of her Mom’s responsible personality than we thought.

One of the most decent episode releases so far, but not as intriguing as the previous episode. I will admit, it’s probably the episode most chock-full of cameos and background characters I’ve seen yet.

*And with Episode 9 wrapped up, we must now endure the torture that is 2 weeks until episode 10. But…episode 10 is most likely going to have everyone eager to see what happens. It’s not only the first episode to have a full 22-minute segment, but it is also going to deal with…St Olga’s Reform School For Wayward Princesses! Will Star’s imaginings of what goes on inside come true? Will it be Star’s Mom that ends up sending her there? Will Flying Princess Pony Head be Star’s Morgan Freeman? We’ll have to hold our breaths, and wait…FOR 2 WEEKS!!!??*

Episode Review: Star vs The Forces of Evil (Season 1, Episode 6 ) – Mewberty / Pixtopia

After a month-long hiatus, Star Butterfly’ is back on Disney XD! Of course, the trials and tribulations of the Princess of Mewni lived on in reruns on the channel during that time. Since then, I’ve seen the fanbase slowly grow. Tumblr accounts, numerous tweets, and…fanart and fan-shipping out the wazoo!

But enough talk about the minor nitpicks…let’s dig into our latest episode!

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– Mewberty –

When Marco notices a purple heart on Star’s forehead, she begins to freak out, when she realizes she is starting to go through: Mewberty!

Puberty has often been equated to some form of metamorphosis that can be considered disgusting by many (and healthcare brands make billions on our fragile teen egos). Of course, with this concept placed on an otherworldly teenager, it becomes both entertaining, yet horrifying. I think that’s largely where my enjoyment of the episode comes from: a place of fascination, and repulsion.

Eden Sher’s vocals sound a little weird and stilted as the episode gets started. However, once Mewberty begins to take hold of Star, her voice (and the music of the episode), quickly makes one feel a little uneasy.

Much like I hoped for with some of the earlier episodes, we get to see a little more of Echo Creek Academy, with callbacks to several members of the school, and the expansion of some side-characters (including their names!).

Speaking of side-characters, one who I wondered about from his first minor appearances in a few earlier episodes, has finally come to light: the miniature, blue-skinned Glossaryck of Terms (voiced by Jeffrey Tambor). He apparently is a component of Star’s wand-instruction manual, though plays like a fast-and-loose support extension of it. If you want any sort of help from him, one has to be prepared to pay…the price.

Learning a little more about Star Butterfly and certain information about her dimension, is always a welcome thing for me, along with seeing a little more about her adapting to her new home. The episode’s opening and closing minutes seem a little haphazard, but once the story gets to its main intent, it works pretty well (we even get a brief Spanish lesson at no extra charge).

I’m also sure the episode has given plenty of Star and Marco “fan-shippers” more fuel for their fan-crazed fires as well.

*Note: a fun little hint of Star’s teenage metamorphosis, was seen in the episode Quest Buy. In the final scene, one can see a book on the floor titled, Mewberty and You.

Final Segment Grade: B

Best Star Butterfly line from segment: “No! your little ‘boy hands’ are part of the problem!”

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– Pixtopia –

Marco, Ferguson, and Alfonzo make some prank calls on Star’s magic mirror, only to use up all her minutes. This results in them traveling to Pixtopia to pay off the bill. While Star, Marco, and Alfonzo end up working in the shard mines, Ferguson catches the eye of a Pixie Empress (voiced by Anna Camp).

The majority of the jokes fall a little flat in this episode, including a hidden meaning joke I’ve heard several times before, to the point that I already had a hint on where it was going. One joke that is played throughout the episode, has Star claiming Marco ‘messed up’ by causing her mirror’s services to be suspended. Claiming he ‘Star’d up,’ she declares them ‘mess-up twins,’ and keeps trying to rub his nose in what happened. What I find rather interesting, is that Star treats this mirror issue like it wasn’t a big deal (I figured she’d be very upset, given that there is the looming threat that her parents could call her at any time on it, and find the services blocked…possibly leading to big trouble).

The episode plays fast-and-loose with its storyline taking the characters to another dimension, though it is nice to see Alfonzo and Ferguson as part of the group for the first time, since the episode School Spirit. Though they were last seen in Monster Arm, they didn’t contribute that much to the overall plot.

The world of Pixtopia is seen briefly, but doesn’t really give us much information to go on. It seems little more than a location for a quick peek, and then we’re back to Earth.

Overall, a rather flimsy episode, that feels like it needed some punching up with the jokes in order to make it a little more passable.

Final Segment Grade: B-

Best Star Butterfly line from segment: “Maarcooo’s, emergency caaassh staassh!”

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Best honorable mention line from episode (said by Glossaryck): “Look kid, nature is like a runaway dump truck: hot, fast, and full of garbage.”

Though not an excellent Star vs The Force of Evil episode, I do like how like episode 3, they took a break from using Ludo and his minions, and focused moreso on the interactions and adventures of the teenage cast. And, I finally got to know just who Glossaryck was…though the big question now is, does Star know he is part of her instruction manual, or not? I guess where one door closes in this series, another opens.

While awaiting the latest episode of Star vs The Forces of Evil, I was surprised to come across an interesting response string on Youtube. Some had noticed a slight change in the imagery for episode 6 from commercials, and a person who worked on the first few episodes confirmed this.

The first 5 episodes had their animation done by Mercury Filmworks in Canada. However, Mercury found themselves overloaded with work, and as such, Star was one of their assignments that they decided to let go of.

After the production of episode 5, the animation was moved to Toon City, a studio in the Philippines. There’s been no confirmation just how many episodes Toon City has done, but I’m of the assumption they have taken over duties for the rest of Season 1 (and most likely, the upcoming Season 2).

Though Filmworks did assist in transitioning the art style and techniques over to Toon City, one can definitely sense a change. Some of the line work is much thinner in places, and a lot of the cartoony squash-and-stretch smoothness seems to have vanished. I can’t help but feel that the Mewberty segment suffered a little from being the first Toon City episode out the gate. There are some areas that feel a little too ‘stiff’ in places.

I’m hoping as the series goes on I’ll be able to adapt to the new studio’s animation style, but I will definitely miss the artistry brought on by Mercury Filmworks. Guys and Gals up at the studio, if you read this, thank you for your services, and good luck in your future endeavors.

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*Coming up in Episode 7, Star and Marco try to help one of Ludo’s minions reform himself, and Star develops a habit of sleep-walking, and using her wand at the same time! What wonders/craziness will unfold? We’ll find out soon enough.*

Episode Review: Star vs The Forces of Evil (Season 1, Episode 3 ) – Monster Arm / The Other Exchange Student

The second episode of Star vs the Forces of Evil, attempted to focus on the microcosm of Star Butterfly’s life amid the students of Echo Creek Academy. With Episode 3, we get some more character insight, along with plenty of magical shenanigans.

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– Monster Arm –

Marco’s karate dojo has an upcoming tournament, in which Marco will face off with a rich combatant named Jeremy Birnbaum. However, Marco gets carried away while training, and breaks his right hand.

Marco convinces Star to use her magic wand to heal his hand, but her spell-casting goes horribly wrong, and leaves Marco with a tentacle instead of his right arm!

Monster Arm differs from the earlier episodes, in that it moreso focuses on Marco, with Star taking on more of a supporting role. It’s nice to see Marco react to the situations he has found himself in, but we also get to see him almost become a different person when he realizes this new appendage can give him an advantage (and even impresses the students at school when it beats back a bully!).

We even get some additional lore regarding Star’s family wand, given that it comes with a tome of an instruction manual. The episode also provides examples of how specific one’s verbiage has to be while using the wand. Apparently, being off in your pronunciation by a smidgen, can be both a good and a bad thing (but most of the time, a bad thing!).

Voice actor Corey Burton also provides a fun, deep-voiced role that is a nice little surprise. I can’t help but think that this segment will be the first introduction of the word “bowels” to many young people, given his character’s role.

It doesn’t get as dramatic as I prefer, but Monster Arm is probably one of the most fun segments I’ve seen so far, which pushes it above the normal B-territory most of these segments have fallen into. Also notable, is that the episode ends with an intriguing-yet-unsettling coda, that one wonders if we’ll see resolved in future episodes.

Final Segment Grade: A-

Best Star Butterfly line from segment: “Then I gotta come here, and watch him, Kah-RAH-Tey!”

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– The Other Exchange Student –

Ever since Star arrived on Earth, Marco’s family has celebrated each and every day that she has been with them. Prior to Star’s arrival, the Diaz family has been taking in exchange students for quite some time, and everyone is surprised when a former Scandinavian exchange student named Gustav, shows up on the Diaz’s doorstep with souvenirs, and plans to stay with them for a few weeks.

Needless to say, Star is a little jealous about being bumped to ‘exchange student #2’ status in the Diaz household, but soon, she begins to wonder if there’s more to Gustav than he’s letting on…

Probably not since the first episode, have we gotten this much time with Marco Diaz’s parents. However, there isn’t really that much to them, except being very happy-go-lucky in their demeanor. Even Marco seems to adopt this attitude for much of the episode.

Those who have seen cartoons, can probably see the “something’s not right” angle towards Gustav and his ways, which is a given in some cartoon plots when a new character arrives on someone’s doorstep. The writers do manage to tweak the formula a bit, but it’s a little predictable regarding the outcome of the episode. Though just łike Monster Arm, there are some things that are not resolved by the end.

In the role of Gustav, voice actor Rob Paulsen manages to have some fun with his accented role, pitching around his voice for the various situations.

Star for the most part, spends most of the episode not being as happy as she normally is. It’s a little fun at times to see characters have to deal with unwelcome situations, allowing us to see how they handle something uncomfortable. It’s very similar to how I felt with Pinkie Pie in the My Little Pony episode, “Party of One,” where the character had to shut down from being a little scatter-brained, and became analytical.

In Monster Arm, we saw Star exasperated from lack of sleep as she attempted to help Marco. Here, we get a little more of that, along with a rather obsessive angle to her going on a fact-finding mission. I will admit, hearing Eden Sher voice Star as she unravels, is a fun little treat. It does seem a double-edged sword regarding how Star acts: on one hand, she seems jealous over the attention that Gustav is receiving, but on the other hand, she is also concerned for the well-being of Marco and his family.

The episode also serves as a nice little respite from Ludo and his minions (though one makes a brief cameo), by showing that even suburbia can house its own problems for Star Butterfly. Though intriguing at times, it never deviates far enough from the formulaic ‘stranger at the front door’ storyline, to really make me love it more.

Final Segment Grade: B-

Best Star Butterfly line from segment: “YOU’RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!”

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In conclusion, Episode 3 is probably the best full episode so far. I like how both segments focus mainly on Star and Marco on earth, with no dimensional villains like Ludo. Here, we get to see Star and Marco deal with problems in their own way in Monster Arm, and then get to see Star handle a human “outsider,” in The Other Exchange Student.

Of all the segments, Monster Arm is the one I’ve probably seen a few dozen times. The story and animated emotions just seem so entertaining to me. I personally feel that if you’re looking to get someone hooked on this series, it’s a must-show segment.

*Coming up in Episode 4, Marco works on cheering up Star when something doesn’t go as she would like. Following that, the two end up in a dimensional store, questing for a specific item for Star’s magic wand. What wonders/craziness will unfold? We’ll find out soon enough.*

Season 1, Episode 4 – *Cheer Up, Star/Quest Buy*

Episode Review: Star vs The Forces of Evil (Season 1, Episode 2 ) – Match Maker / School Spirit

After the Premiere episode of Star vs The Forces of Evil, I like many, was eager to see where the second episode would take its viewers. After all, given that large cast image during the opening scenes, we were sure to start getting to know more regarding the other characters that populated this strange new world. Well, episode 2’s segments give us quite a few, and then some.

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– Match Maker –

Seeing how Marco gets tongue-tied when his crush Jackie Lynn Thomas skateboards by, Star gets the idea that she’d be the perfect person to play match maker around Echo Creek Academy.

Star offers to play match maker for their recently-dumped teacher Ms Skullnick, but her wand ends up turning Skullnick into a troll. During Star’s attempts to resolve the problem, Ludo drops by, in another attempt to get Star’s wand.

Match Maker starts out feeling like an open door to learning some more about the supporting teen cast. This is the first time we’ve had characters addressed by name like Jackie, and we also meet Marco’s friends, Alfonzo, and Ferguson. However, the story points revolving around Skullnick and Ludo’s minions quickly thrusts the story into a new (if somewhat erratic) direction. The segment even manages to squeeze in a brief cameo of Star’s ex-boyfriend Tom, as well as her Mom.

A positive regarding the segment, is that we get a little more insight into two areas of the overall world of the series. In less than 30 seconds, we do get a little more explanation regarding just why Ludo wants Star’s wand, and just what will (supposedly) happen once he gets his claws on it. We also get a little more (imaginative?) insight into Star’s fear of St Olga’s School for Wayward Princesses.

The plot veering from school to a backyard battle just makes this episode feel like the weakest one so far. The pacing of the segment reminded me of the hodge-podge nature of some episodes of My Life as a Teenage Robot, and The Fairly OddParents. It’s far from terrible, but it could have had a little more TLC applied to it, staving off the somewhat erratic ping-pong’ing of the story in multiple directions.

Final Segment Grade: C+

Best Star Butterfly line from segment: “I got an ‘F’ for Fan-tastic!”

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– School Spirit –

Star attends her first pep rally for the school’s football team, the Awesome Opossums. However, her enthusiasm turns to concern, when Marco tells how their arch-rivals “The Warriors,” are going to “slaughter” their team. Full of school spirit, and knowing a thing-or-two about combat, Star is willing to help in her own “special” way.

Meanwhile, Marco finds out that his friend Ferguson has taken on the role of the school’s mascot, and goes on the defensive, sure that the Warriors intend to steal Ferguson as part of a school prank.

The concept of Star misunderstanding Earth terms is something I figured would come about sooner or later. It happened in some anime series I watched (and in Teen Titans with the character, Starfire), and it’s fun to see it here. It doesn’t help that Star is so eager to help, but unable to fully grasp what Marco truly means (such as his use of the term, “kitty-cat offense”).

A notable scene is where Star attempts to join the Spirit Committee, but is denied by their head-cheerleader, Brittney Wong. One would assume Star would flaunt her Princess status upon being criticized, but the writers bypass this easy way out. Instead, Star simply figures she’ll need to take matters into her own hands regarding the upcoming game.

Unlike Match Maker, this episode actually does some good, in giving us more character-building regarding Alfonzo and Ferguson. Plus, much of the episode is split with both Star and Marco doing their own things to get ready, until their plans collide before the big game. Both storylines show fun examples of each character’s fanaticism getting out of hand, but in different ways.

Like the previous episode, this one also seems to suffer from story-overload, scrunched into an 11-minute window. Luckily, there’s enough structure to keep it entertaining. Plus, I’m sure many will love to see “Star Butterfly: Warrior Princess.”

Final Segment Grade: B

Best Star Butterfly line from segment: “Do you know nothing of combat!? No warrior is gonna be distracted by Chandelle’s booty!”

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In conclusion, Episode 2’s segments feel a little weaker than the first episode’s. Match Maker ends up derailing half-way in, while School Spirit has some nice moments, but needed some tightening up. Continuity-wise, Spirit shows that Ms Skullnick is still a troll since her transformation in Match Maker, which most likely is going to be her appearance for the rest of the show (she also shows up in the show-opener as a troll as well).

Best honorable mention line from episode: “You’re alive! THIS IS WHY, YOU ONLY HAVE TWO FRIENDS!!!”

*Coming up in my review of Episode 3, Star’s attempt to heal Marco’s broken arm gives him a slimy tentacle, and a former exchange student the Diaz’s housed previously, shows up for a visit.*

Season 1, Episode 3 – *Monster Arm / The Other Exchange Student*

Episode Review: Star vs The Forces of Evil (Season 1, Episode 1 ) – Star Comes To Earth / Party With A Pony

In the last few years, one of the most surprising names to be seen associated with television animation, is Walt Disney Studios. In the 80’s and 90’s, their television division hit it big with The Disney Afternoon lineup of after-school animated shows. Since then, there’s been almost nothing like it…until now.

The company launched an additional cable channel in 2009, called DisneyXD. Along with some live-action series, the channel is home to some popular animated series, embraced by many different age groups. These include shows such as Gravity Falls, Star Wars Rebels, and in the last month, Star vs The Forces of Evil.

The story of a Princess who comes to Earth from another dimension, officially premiered in late March, and garnered the highest ratings for a DisneyXD program debut, since the release of Star Wars Rebels. I didn’t discover it until around episode 3…and it quickly hooked me. In fact, so much so, that I decided to review each and every episode of Season 1.

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– Star Comes to Earth –

On her 14th Birthday, Star Butterfly, Princess of the Kingdom of Mewni, obtains her family’s ancestral wand…and within a matter of seconds, plunges the kingdom into chaos. Her parents then send her to Earth to “train,” enrolling her at Echo Creek Academy, and setting her up to live with the Diaz family. The Diaz’s also have a son at the school named Marco, who serves as Star’s “guide.”

Right off the bat, the show quickly reveals how Star is a little quirky (though a Princess, she likes to fight monsters, and even tame wild unicorns). While she does seem easily distracted and rather excitable, she isn’t completely crazy. When she accidentally opens a black hole in Marco’s room, she shows remorse for her spell-casting ability to not be perfect. That ability for her to not just be a brainless magical girl, helped make me want to see more of where her character would go.

Of course, it’s not like Star doesn’t have some fears regarding what her actions can entail. One of the most fun gags is Star’s fear of being sent to St Olga’s Reform School for Wayward Princesses. The sequence is brief, but it cracks me up every time I see it.

Marco Diaz serves as a great friend to Star as well. Though considered “the safe kid” by several in school, it is quickly established that Marco knows karate, and seeing him in action, made me excited for the fact that both he and Star can fight their own battles. The dynamic reminds me of Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, and I mean that in the best way.

The episode also helps establish who Star’s main adversary is: a little bird-creature named Ludo, and his army of thuggish minions. His main goal is to obtain Star’s magic wand, though just what he intends to do with it, is left to our imagination.

Unlike some series that spend an entire (full) first episode laying out all the rules, this first segment only clocks in at 11 minutes, and serves moreso to give us a taste of what we can possibly expect to come down the pike. The segment is a little more talk-than-show at times, but as long as the talking leads to us understanding a little more, I’m all for it.

In conclusion, Star Comes To Earth is definitely an intriguing way to start off a new series.

Final Segment Grade: B+

Best Star Butterfly line from segment: “I had no idea these were your parents! I just assumed everyone on Earth had the last name Diaz!”

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– Party With A Pony –

What Marco thinks is going to be a simple night of eating nachos with Star, turns into a royal pain, when Star’s best friend from Mewni, Princess Pony Head, stops by wanting to party with Star…and, she doesn’t seem at all happy to have met Marco. Star proposes that Marco come along on the proposed dimensional romp, certain that her two “besties” will become “besties” with each other.

Pony Head re-introduces us to the concept of ‘dimensional scissors’ from the first episode, which allows one to cut open dimensional portals. Here we get our first glimpse of other dimensions besides Mewni, though moreso the kind of hangouts for young, inter-dimensional beings.

Continuing on from the fast friendship in the first episode, it is nice to see Marco and Star communicating on a person-to-person basis, with Star seeming to find almost no problems with wanting to have a larger circle of friends within friends.

Sadly, for those who watch cartoons, one can easily start gleaning where the story is going as soon as Pony Head narrows her eyes at Marco. We’ve all seen that episode where the best friends of the main friend, don’t quite see eye-to-eye.

Jenny Slate voices the unrefined Pony Head, with a sassy whine that seemed familiar. Looking on IMDB, I soon realized she was also the annoying mother of Ted in the animated Lorax film. I will give this to Jenny: she can annoy like the dickens with that voice of hers!

There is an attempt to end the episode on a resolved angle, but it feels like it just becomes a little too by-the-book regarding problem and resolution.

One bright spot is Brian H Kim’s music throughout the segments, with Princess Pony Head’s theme seeming similar to the electronic sounds of Giorgio Moroder. He also works to give each dimension its own unique musical sound.

Personally, this segment might have seemed more proper to being included in the second episode. Maybe this second segment of the first episode, could have been better used to show Star interacting more on Earth, and establishing more of the supporting characters she and Marco encounter at school, and on a daily basis.

Final Segment Grade: B-

Best Star Butterfly line from segment: “He’s the best turd I’ve ever known.”

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The first episode of Star vs The Forces of Evil, gives a pretty decent introduction with its first segment, Star Comes to Earth. Unfortunately, Party with a Pony takes a familiar story trope, and wraps it up in a story that plays a little too close to the chest. Even so, the episode does provide key story elements for future episodes.

*Coming up in my review of Episode 2, Star decides to play match maker, and gives her all to help Echo Creek Academy against their rivals in an upcoming football game.*

Season 1, Episode 2 – *Match Maker / School Spirit*

Episode Review: Star vs The Forces of Evil (Season 1, Episode 4 ) – Cheer Up, Star/Quest Buy

4 episodes in, and I can’t believe I’ve become hooked on DisneyXD’s new series, Star vs The Forces of Evil. The adventures of Princess Star Butterfly and earthling Marco Diaz, has already captivated me with its hand-drawn animation, emotionally engaging characters, and storylines that are just weird enough without being too ridiculous. In fact, it’s worked so well, that I’m intending to review every single episode for the rest of Season 1. Personally, I can’t recall the last time an animated series has claimed me as a fan almost from the very beginning.

Episode 4 brings us two segments, entitled Cheer Up, Star, and Quest Buy. So let’s jump right in to gauge my thoughts on these segments.

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– Cheer Up, Star –

The episode starts with Star and Marco already being attacked by Ludo and his monster army. However, Star is perplexed as to just how/why Ludo is attacking them. Marco then explains the events that led to their current predicament: a twisted, sticky, heartbreaking tale that involved ‘the worst day ever,’ fish, musicians with records, and…”Space Unicorns.”

I will give the writers credit for throwing us halfway into the story, and then back-tracking to the beginning. Marco’s ‘worst day ever’ is pretty by-the-book, but Star’s fascination with a young musician named Oskar is rather cute, as she hopes he’ll call her (though on Marco’s cellphone). Composer Brian H Kim ups the ‘feels’ with a wonderful little music-box piece as Star waits by her phone. I was always enthralled by little emotional moments like these in other cartoons, and this one here definitely helped sway my feelings for the episode.

As well, there’s some fun little comedic moments, where we see both Marco and Star trying to cheer each other up regarding their sad moods during the segment. I’m not the easiest person to make laugh, but I actually found these comedy moments amusing, and a few of them are still stuck in my head. That’s what sold me on the story: the little things the characters do. I’m sure the storyboard artists were a major help in realizing a lot of what made this episode entertaining.

Speaking of little things, Eden Sher really adds an extra dimension with what she does with Star’s voice. From her trembling sigh thinking about Oskar, to her annoyance at being interrupted during a phone call.

Much like the episode School Spirit, this one plays around with Star’s foreign naivete, with her misunderstanding that Oskar has “a record.” There’s also a fun little callback to the 2nd episode’s segment titled Match Maker, in that we briefly see Star’s “F-” test paper as she waits for Oskar to call.

Marco’s parents are nowhere to be found in the episode, but a fun little game for repeat viewers, is to examine all the odds and ends in their backyard shed. There’s quite a few art supplies in there…including an animation disc! Someone on Twitter even wondered: were Marco’s parents former animators?

A fun item that may stick in most peoples heads, is the ringtone on Marco’s phone: the song Space Unicorn, by Parry Gripp. Much like Everything is Awesome is to The LEGO Movie, I could see Space Unicorn really becoming associated with the show very soon, given its catchy and fun-sounding nature.

Final Segment Grade: B+

Best Star Butterfly line from segment: *laughing* “I’m in a fish!”

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– Quest Buy –

When Star loses the charger to her magic wand, she and Marco make a dimensional jump to the maze-like Quest Buy, a labyrinthine store that has everything…even a run-in with Ludo and his gang on a shopping excursion.

The concept of a magic wand needing power (albeit, magical power), is a rather fun gag to go on, though they do try to add a ticking clock mechanism to the plot, claiming the wand will forever cease to function without a charge. I guess we can just assume Star’s parents and ancestors were just more careful with keeping the wand powered up?

This is also the first episode since Party with a Pony, where we’ve found ourselves in another dimension. I must admit, I LOVE the concept of Quest Buy, which is like a neverending CostCo/Best Buy/Fry’s Electronics/etc with very little information on where to find anything…which is how most of those stores are in real life! The dilemma of finding the right charger for Star’s wand, reminded me of this past December, when my Dad and I found ourselves looking over dozens of HDMI cables, unsure which would be the right one for his TV and Blu-Ray player.

It’s also fun to see Ludo and his minions also attempting to just be ordinary, everyday creatures doing daily things. We get a few little jokes here-and-there in Quest Buy as well, notably regarding the nonchalant “sloths” working the floor that provide little assistance (“that’s not my department”).

There’s also a little subplot about messiness vs orderliness, though luckily it doesn’t get too front-and-center. It’s definitely one of several items that pop up but don’t overstay their welcome.

The episode is also one of the first where Star’s magic wand is unable to get her and Marco out of a tight spot, leaving the two to work together with their strengths and mental powers.

Though it is entertaining, the episode does feel a tad rushed in places. Star and Marco encounter a Sphinx and even booby-traps, but one can’t help but feel that the concept of being lost in a maze-like store might have been better suited for a full 22-minute episode. After all, for a place called Quest Buy, one can only imagine the kinds of madness its customers encounter. Then again, whose to say we might not find ourselves back in this dimension for another crazy purchase in the future?

Final Segment Grade: B

Best Star Butterfly line from segment: “It’s possessed…I’m gonna touch it…”

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In conclusion, Episode 4’s segments were a pretty entertaining duo. On one hand, we got to see some emotion between Star and Marco with Cheer Up, Star. And on the other end, we visited another of the myriad dimensions this series has to offer, with Quest Buy.

*Coming up in Episode 5, Star Butterfly brings the Diaz family to her home world of Mewni, and ends up attending a Birthday Party for Echo Creek Academy’s head-cheerleader, Brittney Wong. What wonders/craziness will unfold? We’ll find out soon enough.*

Season 1, Episode 5 – *Diaz Family Vacation / Brittney’s Party*