The climax of “Steven Universe: The Movie” comes not when the hero battles the vengeful, superpowered alien atop the planet-destroying weapon.
It arrives a beat later when the titular Steven and his adversary, Spinel, form a delicate friendship while standing in a smoldering crater of their own making.
Steven helps Spinal see that although the trauma she’s suffered can’t be erased, personal growth is good and possible. Their rapprochement follows a slugfest as action-packed as any you’ll find on Cartoon Network.
And creator Rebecca Sugar had to fight like hell for it. “I would get these notes that he should obliterate her and rid the universe of her evil,” says Sugar. “That’s really not what our show is about.
Read more on variety.com