STEVEN UNIVERSE, SEASON ONE / CERT PG / CREATED BY REBECCA SUGAR / STARRING: ZACH CALLISON, GRACE ROLEK, TOM SCHARPLING, MICHAELA DIETZ / RELEASED DATE: FEBRUARY 17TH
Although it was never really a thing, the idea that cartoons aren’t just for kids has never been more true than the last decade, when smart, well-produced, conceptually realised shows like Adventure Time, The Amazing World of Gumball, and Regular Show began airing on Cartoon Network. Scheduled as part of CN’s regular programming, rather than its more teen and adult-oriented Adult Swim block, these shows were very much intended as children’s entertainment but produced in a way that children of all ages can enjoy them.
Steven Universe, created by former Adventure Time staffer Rebecca Sugar, is the story of a young boy and his magical pet lion who live in the fictional town of Beach City, where the legendary Crystal Gems protect humanity from all manner of threats. Steven’s mother was Rose Quartz, the leader of the Crystal Gems, after whose death the others in the group – Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl – took him in. His father, a human man named Greg, is something of a traveling hippy, from whom Steven has inherited many of his traits, but he has one thing from his mother, a gemstone embedded in his bellybutton.
The Gems are remnants of a once-powerful empire, which was corrupted by its ambitions, and Steven is drawn into their mission to protect Earth from danger, much of it a result of the Gems’ former colonial drives. Steven gradually comes into his own power, but there’s still ample time for him to get involved in the shenanigans expected of a young lad and his friends, Connie, Lars, and Sadie.
Simply yet beautifully animated, Steven Universe is a perfect example of this new wave of animated shows, with almost perfect voice action, on-point music, and sensitive exploration of real world issues. The show has particularly been lauded by the LGBTQ+ community, and won an award from GLAAD in 2019 for Outstanding Kids & Family Program, the first animated show to receive one. Moreover, with the exception of Steven and his dad, all of the series’ major characters are female, and it is more often than not these women who save the day for Beach City, not the titular Steven, a strong retort to the usual gender balance in animated adventure shows.
That’s not to say that Steven Universe is intent on virtue-signalling above all else; the inclusive nature of the show permeates its terrific mix of adventure and comedy, and never feels forced or lecturing in tone. And what a mix of adventure and comedy! It’s the stories, as well as the characters, that sell Steven Universe, and Steven faces as much peril from the trials of tweenage coming of age as he does from dangerous missions with the Gems.
There was a time when you could describe Steven Universe as a rare thing, a children’s show that doesn’t talk down to them, and has as much to offer adults because of that rather than seeding ‘jokes for the dads’ in the background of scenes. Thankfully, though, times have changed, and we’re living in a golden age for such shows, but this still stands out as one of the titans of its kind. Funny, warm, exciting, and inclusive, Steven Universe will leave make your heart grow three sizes.
