Steven Universe: The Movie

Steven Universe: The Movie is a 2019 animated musical television movie based on the Cartoon Network series, Steven Universe.

Plot
Taking place two years after the events of the season 5 finale "Change Your Mind", Steven and the Crystal Gems must save all organic life from a new Gem named Spinel.

Why It Deserves Gems

 * 1) The story is very well written as it continues after the events of the season 5 finale, and it manages to keep its peaceful and spirited tone that the show is widely known for.
 * 2) Most of the cast from the show reappears in this movie, and even though the Beach City residents appear as well, they thankfully don't take away any focus from the Crystal Gems.
 * 3) Awesome soundtrack.
 * 4) *"Happily Ever After" fully recaps the Crystal Gem's backstories for newcomers, and it shows how long the characters have come since the beginning.
 * 5) *"Other Friends" is a song sung by Spinel that is a great introduction for her character, as well as a great plot start up with her past connection to Pink Diamond and also became a meme.
 * 6) *"Disobedient" is a song sung by Amethyst and Sadie in an attempt to restore Pearl's memories after the rejuvenator caused her to revert back to how she was when she was first created.
 * 7) *"Drift Away" is another song sung by Spinel that explains about how she used to be Pink Diamond's playmate, but was later outgrown by the Diamond and abandoned in the Floating Garden for 6,000 years. And how Steven's message made her realize how her Diamond, her best friend and the person she trusted with all her heart and dedicated her entire life towards, had simply left her behind in her past like she was a toy to be thrown away.
 * 8) Phenomenal voice acting from all the characters. Especially Zach Callison as Steven Universe who's singing voice is very heavenly as 16-year-old Steven, and delivers a perfect amount of emotion into his performance. Sarah Stiles is also well cast as Spinel.
 * 9) Spinel, the main antagonist, is a very well sympathetic and relatable character. She was Pink Diamond's playmate who was abandoned by Pink Diamond when she left Homeworld to run Earth (Her new colony at the time), leaving Spinel waiting for her return for over six thousand years, and then eventually learning that she was gone when she had Steven. The abandonment she felt after realizing the truth is a very relatable trait for those who have suffered through abandonment. Her character design is also very cool.
 * 10) It introduces a new human fusion named Steg, who is a fusion between Steven and Greg.
 * 11) The animation is top-notch. It does not go off-model like in the show, and is nice to look at. Special mention goes to the animation used on Spinel, which is reminiscent of a 1930s cartoon.
 * 12) Good moral that when someone claims that they care about you, but they treat you very poorly, you're better off without them, and you should find someone new who will treat you better. This is shown when Spinel finally learns to let go of the trauma caused by Pink's abandonment of her, and goes to live with the Diamonds who promise to love and care for her just as how they wanted to do for Steven.
 * 13) Funny moments such as Pearl calling Greg "Um Greg Universe" while in her amnesiac form.
 * 14) It is the first time, that the Steven Universe series had on-screen violence, which even in one scene Steven Universe had a nose bleed.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The plot of the Gems losing and regaining their memories is somewhat predictable and doesn't take their characters in any new directions, though this is probably for the purpose of reintroducing the characters so they can prepare to be taken in new directions in Steven Universe Future.
 * 2) Pink Diamond was very cruel to abandon Spinel in her flashback, as before getting her first colony. This was the point when many people in the fandom started to truly hate her.
 * 3) *Some speculate that Pink's constant abuse, combined with the fact that the diamonds took her Pearl away and inconsiderately replaced her with Spinel, could be the lead cause of this, which still doesn't excuse Pink.
 * 4) It is never explained how a gem like Spinel found the Pink Diamond-themed Giant Injector, the liquid inside of the injector and the Gem Rejuvenator.
 * 5) * Even Bismuth remembers the latter's functions and their use in Homeworld, she still didn't explain enough how Spinel found both of them.
 * 6) A couple of things that weren't explained in this movie:
 * 7) *We don't get to learn about what happened to White (originally Pink Diamond's) Pearl after the events of Change Your Mind since she didn't appear with the other Pearls at the beginning of the film.
 * 8) *We also never got to learn what was in the treasure chest in Lion's mane, as it was opened this time.
 * 9) *For some unknown reason, Jasper is absent in this film as well (though she was pictured in the song "Happily Ever After"), though as of Steven Universe Future, she actually was on Earth during the events of this film and between the events of this movie and "Change Your Mind".
 * 10) The movie is set two years after "Change Your Mind", so naturally, there is a lot that could have happened during that time, and some events seem as though they were just waiting for the movie to occur...
 * 11) Steven letting Spinel live with the Diamonds wasn’t necessary the smartest idea. Although she seemed like she had redeemed herself, she still could’ve been lying about it and wanted her revenge on the diamonds. Luckily, she didn’t do that, but it wasn’t that smart because there was still a chance she could’ve done it.

Reception
It was universally acclaimed by critics and fans alike, highlighting it for its characters, animation, and music, and viewing it also as approachable to newcomers. The film has managed to get a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Trivia
A Sing-Along fathom event was planned to be released in Fathom Event Theaters in March 23rd, 2020. Unfortunately, it was cancelled due to the rise of Covid-19 pandemic. The Sing-A-Long version however, is released on digital platforms, streaming serivces and VOD along with the Homeworld Bound preview on Cartoon Network websites.

Video
w8H33iJNC-0 rJetmldX12w P6CT2uErO40