“Steven Universe” is a show with the premise of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and the execution of “Adventure Time.” It sets up a very heavy and interesting world where our heroes face off against a galactic empire run by god queens with which each of our protagonists have an intimate personal connection, and yet it maintains a very mellow tone and focuses on the interactions and arcs of its characters. I believe you can be both low and high key, but “Steven Universe” keeps its own set up and world at arms length, never really exploring all the opportunities and implications that arise from this worldbuilding. 

It tries to keep a very large and interesting plot as small and inconsequential as it can. Seeing so many storytelling opportunities and directions be either ignored or toned down is infuriating. When Steven’s confrontation with The Diamonds, something built up for eight seasons, was pressed into a single episode and wrapped up tepidly and with little depth, I felt my patience with the show had finally been worn into non-existence. But morbid curiosity took hold when I heard the announcement of “The Steven Universe Movie” and the new seasons to follow. I watched it with low expectations and disappointingly, I was not disappointed.

This film opens with Steven telling the audience he bloodlessly dismantled the entire militaristic Gem Empire off-screen, without new conflicts or storytelling opportunities arising. He celebrates with his friends Pearl, Amethyst and Garnet, until a mysterious new character, Spinel, arrives bent on destroying Steven’s happy ending. Spinel dispatches Pearl, Amethyst and Garnet with a scythe that erases their memories and reverts them back to who they were long before the series began. Steven must change his friends back, discover Spinel’s past, and save the world once again, in a film that fails to justify its own existence.

The good first. The animation is fluid and beautiful. The music is wonderful, though there are no instant classics like “It’s Over Isn’t It” or “Here Comes a Thought” (for context, these are two songs from previous seasons of the show and probably two of the best songs in any cartoon ever made). The character interactions are all on point, which is expected. “Steven Universe” is a show that is completely devoted to creating endearing protagonists, and while I wish they would truly explore the world and narrative, watching these characters interact makes me too happy to complain. However, this movie seems a little too enamored with its characters. Because the Crystal Gems are set back to factory settings, Steven spends the bulk of the movie trying to rush each of his friends through eight seasons of character arcs. While these scenes are fun and have some catchy songs, they come at the expense of interesting development since the Crystal Gem’s “character progression” is them returning to the perfect versions of themselves. I guess it wouldn’t be “Steven Universe” if it didn’t feel like we were treading water.

Speaking of Steven, you would think that the movie named after him would send him on some deep emotional journey that sets up his character going forward. But you forget, this is “Steven Universe,” where opportunities for satisfying storytelling are punted into the ocean. The big realization that Steven has in this film is that he has previously changed over the course of the series, and that there will always another villain to fight, both things he should have already known. In addition, every conflict in this film (the destruction of Earth, fighting with his friends, etc.) are all things Steven has faced before. There is nothing in “The Steven Universe Movie” that sets it apart from the rest of the show. It doesn’t change, progress or illuminate anything about the characters or the world. Instead, it’s simply a very long and meandering episode, devoid of anything truly special. 

Except the villain. Spinel is the the best singular element of anything “Steven Universe” related in the last few years. I’m convinced. She is the best villain in the show’s history, both charismatically lovable and threatening, with an emotional depth that rivals some of the shows most developed characters. Spinel’s backstory is shatteringly tragic, her motivations are understandable, her movement is prestinely and uniquely animated, and she has the two best songs in the film to boot. Spinel is the emotional and narrative centerpiece of this film, the thing that genuinely sets this picture apart and earns “The Steven Universe Movie,” that moniker.“The Steven Universe Movie” is thoroughly passable. Besides Spinel, everything good about the film is found elsewhere in the series, and everything bad in the film is simply a continuation of something bad about the overall series. Even my frustration feels like a rehash of old annoyances. If you still love the series then you will love this movie because it’s a long episode, and if you fell out of love with “Steven Universe,” watch it for Spinel and then never think about it again. Honestly, I am at a loss for how this series is supposed to continue from here. Every character has grown into the best possible version of themselves and trying to manufacture new development will likely come off as weak. “The Steven Universe Movie” made me neither excited nor enthused for more “Steven Universe,” and its failures simply accentuate how definitively this series has concluded. The only thought I came away from this movie was “the show’s over, isn’t it? Why can’t it move on?”