Star vs. the Forces of Evil

Star vs. the Forces of Evil
Genre
Created by Daron Nefcy
Developed by
Creative director(s) Dominic Bisignano
Voices of
Theme music composer
  • Brad Breeck (opening)
  • Daron Nefcy & Ego Plum (ending; seasons 1 & 2)
  • Daron Nefcy & Brian H. Kim (ending; season 3)
Opening theme "I'm from Another Dimension" performed by Brad Breeck
Ending theme "Star vs. the Forces of Evil End Theme" performed by Eden Sher (uncredited - seasons 1-2)
"Shining Star" performed by Agnes Shin (season 3-present)
Composer(s) Brian H. Kim
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 56 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Daron Nefcy
  • Dave Wasson (co-executive, season 1)
  • Jordana Arkin (co-executive, season 1)
Producer(s)
  • Aaron Hammersley (supervising)
  • Dominic Bisignano (supervising)
Running time 22 minutes
Production company(s) Disney Television Animation
Release
Original network Disney XD (2015–18)
Disney Channel (2018–present)
Original release January 18, 2015 (2015-01-18) – present (present)
External links
Website

Star vs. the Forces of Evil is an American animated television series created by Daron Nefcy and developed by Jordana Arkin and Dave Wasson, which airs on Disney XD.[1] The first Disney XD series created by a woman, and the third overall for Disney Television Animation (following Pepper Ann and Doc McStuffins), it follows the adventures of Star Butterfly (voiced by Eden Sher), the turbulent young heir to the royal throne in the dimension of Mewni, who is sent to Earth so she can complete her education and learn to be a worthy princess, and Marco Diaz (Adam McArthur), a human teenager who becomes her roommate and best friend, as they live their daily lives, and go on adventures in other dimensions.[2][3]

Star vs. the Forces of Evil typically follows a format of two 11-minutes long independent "segments" per episode, with individual writing and directing credits for each, although it occasionally opts for a single, 22-minutes long story instead. The first episode aired on January 18, 2015 on Disney Channel as a special preview, becoming the most-watched animated series debut in Disney XD’s history; the first season subsequently officially premiered on Disney XD on March 30, 2015.[4][1] The third season started on July 15, 2017 and concluded on April 7, 2018.[5] On February 28, 2017, the series was officially renewed for a fourth season.[6] Nearly a year after the renewal, it was announced that the show would be moving to Disney Channel for its fourth season.[7] At San Diego Comic-Con on July 19, 2018, it was announced that the fourth season is set to premiere in 2019.[8]

Plot

Star Butterfly is a magical princess from the dimension of Mewni, and the heir to the royal throne of the Butterfly Kingdom. As per tradition, she is given the family heirloom wand on her 14th birthday. After she accidentally sets fire to the family castle, her parents King and Queen Butterfly decide that a safer option is to send her to Earth as a foreign exchange student, so she can continue her magic training there. She befriends Marco Diaz and lives with his family while attending Echo Creek Academy. Going in a series of misadventures using "dimensional scissors" that can open portals, Star and Marco must deal with everyday school life while protecting Star's wand from falling into the hands of Ludo, a villain from Mewni who commands a group of monsters. Besides also dealing with her ex-boyfriend Tom, in Season 3, Star goes up against more serious villains like Toffee and Meteora Butterfly while uncovering the mystery behind her relative Eclipsa Butterfly.

Background and production

Nefcy said she originally created Star as a girl who wanted to be a magical girl like Sailor Moon, and Marco as a boy who was obsessed with Dragon Ball Z and karate; they would be enemies instead of friends. In this earlier version, Star did not have any actual magical powers; she instead would approach and solve problems primarily through the force of her determination alone.[9][10] Nefcy began pitching the show when she was in her third year of college, when Cartoon Network was actively soliciting the creation of pilots for prospective new shows.[11] Nefcy originally placed Star in the fourth grade, reflecting on a time in her own childhood when she held a self-described obsession with the animated series Sailor Moon. However, Nefcy later adjusted the character's age to fourteen during the time she made her series proposition to Disney.[11][9][12] An executive at that time made the suggestion for Star to have actual magical powers. Nefcy worked this concept into the show's current iteration, along with the idea of different dimensions as show locations, the framing device of Star being a foreign exchange student, and the plot aspects relating to Star being a princess and the subsequent consequences of her royal birthright.[10] Nefcy said that the overall concept has evolved over about six years.[12]

In addition to Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z, Nefcy has said that she had heavy influence in her youth from the animated Japanese shows Magic Knight Rayearth, Revolutionary Girl Utena and Unico, the last of which featured a pink unicorn. She also cited shows unrelated to Japanese animation such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer,[10] and was influenced by independent comic series such as Scott Pilgrim and The Dungeon.[12] With regards to the development of more strong female characters, Nefcy said that she "looked at TV over the years and I have had to go to Japan when I was younger to find the cartoons that had the characters that I wanted to see. It was always a question of 'Well, why isn't that on TV in the U.S.?'"[9]

One of the concepts she likes about the show is that it doesn't make high school the most important experience for teenagers. She also likes that Star does her own thing instead of being concerned about fitting in.[10] Nefcy did not want the gimmick about keeping the magic powers a secret from others as typical of magical girl shows, so she had the students already know about it and Marco's parents as well. She also portrays Star as not really a superhero as she does not specifically go after super-villains except when they attack her, and that she doesn't really save people.[11] Nefcy said that the episodes balance comedy and drama: "we really want our characters to feel like teenagers and have them going through the normal emotions that teenagers go through, but in this magical setting."[9]

Storyboarding and design are done in Los Angeles.[12] In describing the process, Nefcy said that the show is storyboard-driven, with each episode mapped out by the storyboard artists. The storyboarders also do the writing, taking a two-page outline and turning it into a full script. A storyboard for 11 minutes would require about 2000 drawings to be done in a six-week period.[13] After pre-production in the US, the first season animation was done at Mercury Filmworks in Ottawa, Canada. Mercury had also done Wander Over Yonder and the Mickey Mouse series.[12] For the rest of first season, the animation was done in the Philippines.[13] The second season was animated by Sugarcube and Rough Draft Studios, both located in South Korea.[14][15]

The theme song was done by Brad Breeck, who also did Gravity Falls' opening theme; Nefcy said: "when we were listening to it we didn't know, because we just listened blind". Brian Kim was chosen among a group of about ten people as the show's composer.[11][16] Kim describes the music for each dimension as having a different sound and relating it to indie rock in Los Angeles.[17]

The show was initially scheduled to premiere on Disney Channel after being greenlighted in March 2013, for a premiere in the Fall of 2014, before being switched over to Disney XD.[11][18] However, on February 23, 2018, it was announced that the show would be moving to Disney Channel for its fourth season.[7]

Promotion and release

The show's title sequence was promoted at Comic-Con 2014 six months prior to its scheduled broadcast premiere. As a result, the footage was uploaded by fans to YouTube who then started generating fan art and fan fiction.[12] The first episode premiered on Disney Channel in January 2015. The positive reaction on social media prompted Disney XD to order a second season of the series in February 2015, six weeks ahead of its launch of the series on Disney XD in March.[19] Disney sitcom actors Olivia Holt and Kelli Berglund participated in promoting the series the weeks before its Disney XD premiere, with Holt dressing up as Star.[20][21]

The second season premiered on July 11, 2016,[22] The show's third season was ordered ahead in March 2016.[23] It premiered on July 15, 2017 with a two-hour long television movie entitled "The Battle for Mewni" and consisted of the first four episodes.[24][25] A live chat featuring Star and Marco was aired on Disney XD on July 17.[26] The remaining third-season episodes started airing on November 6, 2017.[27][28] A fourth season was also ordered ahead of the third season premiere.[6]

International

Star vs. the Forces of Evil premiered in Canada on the DHX-owned Disney XD on April 6, 2015,[29] and was later moved to the Corus-owned Disney XD on December 1.[30] The series premiered on Disney XD channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland on April 16, 2015,[31] in Australia on August 3,[32] and in the Middle East and Africa on October 5.[33] It also premiered on November 8 on Disney Channel in Southeast Asia.[34][35] The series premiered on March 6, 2016, as Star Butterfly in French on Disney La Chaîne in Canada.[36] The show premiered on November 2 on Disney XD in Italy, and on Disney Channel on November 2, 2016.[37]

Episodes

SeasonSegmentsEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
12413January 18, 2015 (2015-01-18)September 21, 2015 (2015-09-21)
24122July 11, 2016 (2016-07-11)February 27, 2017 (2017-02-27)
33821July 15, 2017 (2017-07-15)April 7, 2018 (2018-04-07)

Reception

Star vs. the Forces of Evil has received positive reviews by critics.

Kevin Johnson of The A.V. Club gave the pilot episode a B+, saying that the show was something children could have a lot of fun with, noting how the show follows current trends in western animation "towards large-eyed characters and quirky visual trends". Johnson stated that Star vs. the Forces of Evil "excels on wild, silly, and clever set-pieces to bring the laughs and action", but expected that adult viewers won't get much out of it.[38] Furthermore, the premiere of Star vs. the Forces of Evil became the most-watched animated series debut in Disney XD’s history.[4] Following the end of the second season, Disney XD announced it had ordered a fourth season of the show, and that in 2016, Star and another animated show Milo Murphy's Law had reached over 100 million consumer views combined across its media platforms.[6]

In reviewing episodes from the first season, Marcy Cook of The Mary Sue described the show as a blend of others such as Invader Zim and a sanitized Ren & Stimpy, with great appeal to tween and teen girls as well some laugh out loud moments for adults. She said, "[I]t's really cool to see a girl who is into cuteness and rainbows also kick-ass and enjoy it". Cook was bothered by the short episodes that made the plot seem rushed or underdeveloped. Cook was bugged by Marco's retconned personality from the pilot episode where he was a safety conscious kid to the series where he was a martial arts fight seeker.[39] Caitlin Donovan of entertainment website Epicstream listed it among her top 10 animated series of 2015. She found the first few episodes to be "a little rough for me, like the show was trying too hard to be funny and weird", but that the show got better with character development and relationship building, with "a really dramatic, high-tension finale to the first season".[40]

Awards and nominations

The episode "Party with a Pony" was showcased in the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in June 2015.[41][42]

Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref
2015 Annecy International Animated Film Festival TV Series For "Party with a Pony" Nominated [42]
Behind the Voice Actor Awards Best Female Vocal Performance in a Television Series in a Supporting Role Dee Dee Rescher as "Miss Skullnick" Nominated [43]
2016 Annie Awards Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production for Children's Audience For "Blood Moon Ball" Nominated [44]
Behind the Voice Actor Awards Best Male Lead Vocal Performance in a Television Series Adam McArthur as "Marco Diaz" Nominated [45]
Best Female Lead Vocal Performance in a Television Series Eden Sher as "Star Butterfly" Nominated [46]
Best Female Vocal Performance in a Television Series in a Supporting Role Jenny Slate as "Pony Head" Nominated [47]
Best Female Vocal Performance in a Television Series in a Guest Role Yvette Nicole Brown as "Brigid" Nominated [48]
Best Vocal Performance in a Television Series Vocal Director: Kelly Ward Nominated [49]
2017 Behind the Voice Actor Awards Best Female Lead Vocal Performance in a Television Series Eden Sher as "Star Butterfly" Nominated [50]

Other media

A comic book series titled Deep Trouble was written by storyboarder Zach Marcus and illustrated by character designer Devin Taylor, both of whom are part of the Star crew. They have been released monthly by Joe Books starting in September 2016.[51][52] A Cinestory comic was also developed and released.[53]

The book Star and Marco's Guide to Mastering Every Dimension, authored by Amber Benson and supervising producer Dominic Bisignano, was released on March 7, 2017.[54][55]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Disney XD (February 12, 2015). "'Star vs. The Forces of Evil' Renewed for Second Season by Disney XD Ahead of Series Premiere" (Press release). Retrieved February 12, 2015 – via TV by the Numbers.
  2. ↑ "Disney Tries Something New With 'Star Vs. The Forces of Evil': A Woman Creator". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  3. ↑ Koontz, Robert (March 25, 2015). "Women In Animation Host 'Star vs. The Forces of Evil' Panel". Disney Post. Disney. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Kissell, Rick (April 6, 2015). "Disney XD Sets Animated Ratings High with Premiere of 'Star vs. the Forces of Evil'". Variety.com.
  5. ↑ "Calendar | Disney XD Press". www.disneyabcpress.com. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  6. 1 2 3 Nordyke, Kimberly (February 28, 2017). "Disney XD Renews Al Yankovic's 'Milo Murphy's Law,' Eden Sher's 'Star vs. The Forces of Evil' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  7. 1 2 Pedersen, Erik (February 23, 2018). "Disney Channel Launching Toon Series 'Amphibia' & 'The Owl House', Renews 'Star Vs. The Forces of Evil' For Season 4". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  8. ↑ Gunderson, Alexis (July 19, 2018). "SDCC 2018: Watch Disney's First Looks at New Episodes of 'Star vs. the Forces of Evil' and Big City Greens'". Paste Magazine. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Creator Daron Nefcy Guides Us Through Tonight's Star-Studded Episode of Star Vs. the Forces of Evil". Disney Insider Blog. July 20, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Rutherford, Kristen (March 26, 2015). "Interview: Daron Nefcy of Disney's Star vs. the Forces of Evil". Nerdist.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Siegel, Lucas (March 25, 2015). "Get a Little Weird and Wild with Daron Nefcy's Star Vs. The Forces Of Evil on Disney XD". Comicbook.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "How Comic-Con Helped Create Fans for Disney XD's Star vs. The Forces of Evil Six Months Before Its First Episode Airs - Jim Hill". The Huffington Post. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  13. 1 2 Smith, Jacquelyn (March 24, 2015). "Disney animator shares best and worst parts of her job". Business Insider. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  14. ↑ Daron Nefcy [@daronnefcy] (December 22, 2015). "@chuck_kopsho nope, now it's Sugarcube and RDK" (Tweet). Retrieved August 19, 2016 – via Twitter.
  15. ↑ Nefcy, Daron (December 22, 2015). "- Recently I got the wonderful opportunity to visit..." daronnefcy.com. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Brian H. Kim". brianhkim.com. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  17. ↑ Brian H. Kim [@BrianWithAnH] (January 18, 2015). "We wanted the different dimensions to have a different "sound." Echo Creek is very laid-back LA indie rock. #StarVsTheForcesOfEvil" (Tweet). Retrieved October 15, 2016 – via Twitter.
  18. ↑ Nellie Andreeva (March 7, 2013). "Disney Channel Greenlights Animated Series About Magical Princess From Young Creator". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  19. ↑ The Deadline Team. "Disney XD Orders Season 2 Of 'Star Vs. The Forces of Evil' Ahead Of Its Launch - Deadline". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Behind the Scenes with Olivia Holt - Star vs. the Forces of Evil - Disney Video". Disney Video. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Puppies - Star vs. the Forces of Evil - Disney Video". Disney Video. Archived from the original on March 16, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  22. ↑ McClendon, Lamarco (May 26, 2016). "'Big Bang Theory' Stars to Guest on Disney XD's 'Star vs. the Forces of Evil'". Variety. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  23. ↑ Bryn Elise Sandberg (March 4, 2016). "Disney XD Orders Pair of Original Animated Series (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  24. ↑ Schmidt, Joseph (May 26, 2017). "Exclusive: Star Vs. The Forces Of Evil TV Movie Coming This Summer". Comicbook.com. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  25. ↑ Daron Nefcy [@daronnefcy] (May 26, 2017). "I just want to be clear that the movie is the 1st 4 episodes of S3 played together. It will play like a movie but it is the premiere of S3" (Tweet). Retrieved May 26, 2017 – via Twitter.
  26. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo0hnxp4RdI
  27. ↑ This Season in Mewni... Disney-ABC Television Group. July 18, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2017 – via YouTube.
  28. ↑ Schmidt, Joseph (May 26, 2017). "Exclusive: Star vs. the Forces of Evil TV Movie Coming This Summer". ComicBook.com. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  29. ↑ Wolfe, Jennifer (March 31, 2015). "'Star Vs. The Forces Of Evil' Debuts on April 6". Animation World Network (Press release). Toronto. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Disney XD". disneychannel.ca Buzz Blog. Corus Entertainment. November 1, 2015. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  31. ↑ VGX / TV Holidays (April 8, 2015). Disney XD UK Easter Continuity 2015. YouTube. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  32. ↑ P, Chuck (July 31, 2015). "New on Foxtel in August: 200+ shows including Texas Rising, Rogue and 7 Days In Hell". The Green Room. Foxtel. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  33. ↑ Germishuys, Andrew (August 31, 2015). "Disney XD Programming Highlights For October 2015". South African Movie Database. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  34. ↑ "Star Vs The Forces Of Evil Premiere". Disney Philippines. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Star Vs The Forces Of Evil Premiere". Disney Singapore. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  36. ↑ "Star Butterfly". La chaîne Disney. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  37. ↑ "Marco e Star - Dal 7 Novembre" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2016-12-30. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  38. ↑ Johnson, Kevin (January 18, 2015). "Star Vs. The Forces Of Evil: "Star Comes To Earth/Party With APony"[sic]". The A.V. Club.
  39. ↑ "You Should Give Star Vs The Forces of Evil a Try". themarysue.com. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  40. ↑ "Epicstream". epicstream.com. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  41. ↑ Ellen Wolff. "Annecy Animation Festival hosts toon legends - Variety". Variety. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  42. 1 2 CITIA. "Annecy > Programme > Index". annecy.org. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  43. ↑ https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/btva-awards/2015/television/
  44. ↑ Carolyn Giardina (February 6, 2016). "2016 Annie Award Winners - Hollywood Reporter". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  45. ↑ https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/btva-awards/2016/television/
  46. ↑ https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/btva-awards/2016/television/
  47. ↑ https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/btva-awards/2016/television/
  48. ↑ https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/btva-awards/2016/television/
  49. ↑ https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/btva-awards/2016/television/
  50. ↑ https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/btva-awards/2017/television/
  51. ↑ Newsdesk, Laughing Place Disney (May 26, 2016). ""Star vs. The Forces of Evil" Season 2 to Kick Off July 11 on Disney XD - LaughingPlace.com". laughingplace.com. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  52. ↑ "- This is the 1st cover of the new Star original..." daronnefcy. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  53. ↑ Disney (May 31, 2016). "Disney Star vs. The Forces of Evil Cinestory Comic". Joe Books Inc. Retrieved May 27, 2017 – via Amazon.
  54. ↑ Benson, Amber; Bisignano, Dominic (March 7, 2017). "Star vs. the Forces of Evil Star and Marco's Guide to Mastering Every Dimension". Disney Press. Retrieved May 27, 2017 – via Amazon.
  55. ↑ "Disney XD Renews Al Yankovic's 'Milo Murphy's Law,' Eden Sher's 'Star vs. The Forces of Evil' (Exclusive)". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
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