'Toon Reviews 9: Star vs. the Forces of Evil Season 1 Episode 1

After two sets of reviews looking at material of the past, we’ll be looking at the first season of one of the most popular Disney animated series currently airing.

Star vs the Forces of Evil (Season 1)

Basic Premise

This modern age has given us way more good animated TV shows than one might expect, many of which priding themselves on likable and well-developed characters, fun stories, a good sense of continuity between episodes, and in some cases creative premises.  For several years, it’s safe to say that Disney has been a supplier of many of today’s most beloved shows.  This is why it’s unfortunate for me to say that I aside from Phineas and Ferb, Gravity Falls, and the new series of Mickey Mouse shorts, I’ve hardly ever given many modern Disney shows a proper watch.  It’s honestly hard for me to explain why this is the case.  It could be that my life is too busy to devote myself to a lot of shows, or that I’m just not pushing myself enough, or if looking back at my DuckTales reviews shows anything, I’m simply not active to see what Disney’s currently airing because I never grew up with their shows.  However, one of the major points of this blog is for me to get a proper experience of animated TV shows of any kind, including those I’m only a little familiar with, and share my thoughts on them, which become more engaging coming from a show I’m only just getting a true feel for.  With that in mind, I gladly approach one of these modern Disney animated series, Star vs the Forces of Evil.

What the show is basically about feels like one I’d really enjoy.  It follows a girl from another dimension, Princess Star Butterfly, who gets sent to Earth for being too reckless and the adventures she has with the boy she’s staying with named Marco.  Star also has a magic wand that allows her to perform all kinds of magic spells which is sure to add in some fun and creativity.  Now, I’m not completely unfamiliar with the show as I have seen bits and pieces of it ever since it aired back in 2015.  However, as I’ve stated earlier, I never felt motivated to watch full episodes all that much.  Thanks to this blog though, I have my chance to really take the time to see what it’s all about.  So get ready, because things can get a little weird and a little wild as we take a look at the episodes of this show’s first season.

Now on with the reviews:

Star Comes to Earth

With premise episodes, you expect them to give a solid introduction to what the characters are like and how they get to the positions they stay in for much of the series, and that’s just what this one does.  It sticks to these expectations so much that it comes off as a little too basic as an episode by itself, but it still paints the series as a thoroughly enjoyable one with likeable characters.  Right in the beginning we get a sense of what Star is like when we see how she’s an outsider of the royal elite in her home dimension of Mewni.  She’s destructive and reckless through how she battles monsters and fails to use her newly acquired magic wand properly which results in her parents, King River and Queen Moon Butterfly, sending her to another dimension to better control her wand, which happens to be Earth.  We also get a sense of the character of the kid assigned to watch over her at the school she’s attending, Marco.  He’s shown to always play it safe which makes him look uncool to his peers, yet he truly longs for more action and adventure in his life.  The two of them prove to have an interesting dynamic with Star’s hyperactivity combined with her wand’s powers, which adds a fun layer to her character even if it can be a bit much, giving Marco what he wants, even if he doesn’t really have a proper way to respond to it.  Through their interactions, while we do see a lot of Star’s recklessness, we also see more of her caring side as she tries to use her wand to appease Marco, whose parents allow her to stay with, such as forming laser-shooting puppies and giving him a new room with questionable results.  Then, when Marco finally has enough and decides to move out, she actually strives to make things better for him by opting to find somewhere else to live.  Ultimately though, it takes a fun battle against the recurring antagonist, Ludo, and his army, filled with creative ways Star takes down her enemies with powers that make things like rainbows pack a punch and even Marco getting in some fight moves, to solidify the bond leading to more fun adventures to come.  As for Ludo, he seems to come off as a typical run-of-the-mill villain for simply wanting to get Star’s wand to control the universe, but since this is just the premiere, I’m sure there’s more to his plans.  Even if this episode is pretty standard as far as premieres go, it still sets up the show’s main points solidly, gives enough reasons to like the characters we follow, and most of all, is filled with promise for what’s to come. 9/10

Party with a Pony

After getting the promise for fun and interesting adventures brought about by the show’s magical aesthetic and Star and Marco’s dynamic, the following episode really delivers on this promise while also being heavy on creativity.  The creativity is easy to see right from the start when Star is visited by her best friend from Mewni, Princess Pony Head who’s literally a floating head of a pony.  She takes her and Marco to a series of dimensions that are all about fun and partying with the aid of a pair of scissors that can cut through the fabric of the universe.  Each one they enter is full of so much fun and energy that it’s easy to forget the tensions between Marco and Pony Head over who’s Star’s true best friend which kind of paints them as petty and immature.  Also, you’re constantly left to wonder if Pony Head is really all about fun as she’s constantly giving nervous looks when all alone and opts to go to another dimension whenever she catches sight of guards looking for her.  However, rather than undermining her friendship with Star, Pony Head does show off her genuine loyalty to her friend when a talk with Star gets her to realize that it’s possible to have more than one best friend and respects her feelings for him.  This leads to an exciting moment from Pony Head as she sets out to rescue Marco held up in an arcade dimension and being interrogated by the guards on where Pony Head is, by taking them on in a fight.  The fast pace and comedic gags that result from the fight don’t just make what happens fun, but also prove to be a true fit to what we’ve seen of Pony Head.  It’s also interesting to note that when all is said and done, it’s revealed that Pony Head’s actions were because she’s being sent to St. Olga’s Reform School for Wayward Princesses.  Considering that Star was shown to dread the possibility of being sent there in the last episode and that it’s referred to as a prison, it’s easy to feel for Pony Head about to be stripped of what makes her such a lovable character.  All you can do is be happy that she got to have one last night of fun with her friend which is all she really wanted.  Plus, she gives the scissors she used to travel dimensions to Star and Marco which further opens up the possibilities for new creative adventures.  With all the creativity, fun characters and story, well-thought out consequences and new possibilities for the future, this is a solid entertaining entry for the season. 9.5/10

The Ranking

1. Party with a Pony
2. Star Comes to Earth

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Star plays "Matchmaker" with mixed results, and watch in awe as her literal mindset allows her to show a special kind of "School Spirit."