Star Darlings: A Supernova of a Failed Franchise

10:57 AM · May 8, 2021 "is that your fucking fursona? that's cringe"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Content Warning: This blogpost will contain spoilers for the special "The Power of Twelve" and the book Leona's Unlucky Mission. I don't know if anyone has interest in this franchise, but considering my interest in dead franchises, it could be possible. Consider yourself warned.

I'm gonna be honest, the way I define shows for the Disney Watch is a little off. I opt not to watch stuff from purchased franchises like Star Wars and Marvel, because I fucking hate them, but Big Hero 6 is still on the table, because it was part of the Disney Animated Canon. I also ultimately decided against including Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur for the Disney Watch, because I don't want that to mean I have to watch other Marvel cartoons, like the Avengers one. But this is the first DTVA Marvel cartoon, so I don't know how to feel.

Another thing I do is I don't watch short series unless they are in a collection, like Marsupilami, House of Mouse, or Chibiverse. Because of this, stuff like the Paul Rudish Mickey Mouse shorts and Baymax are not on my list. But because this had two episodes and a special, this is. So let's get into the quickest show in the Disney Watch, as well as another failed franchise for Disney. (In fact, one I alluded to nine months ago. I could have had a baby in this time.)

The idea had promise, it was a sort of magical girl series about these high school Starlings, which are wish granting creatures who get their power from granting wishes from the planet Wishworld (what they call Earth).

10:34 AM · May 8, 2021 "WISHWORLD"
10:44 AM · May 8, 2021 "Wishers are weirdos"
10:45 AM · May 8, 2021 "They set cakes ablaze and kill fish"

Really, already a good start to worldbuilding for kids. I think it's tacky as hell, but it's important to note that I am 28 and this franchise is not intended for me. I don't even have the "it's media for young children it should be discussed with parents" excuse. There are chapter books in this franchise, and its clearly meant for third and fourth graders.

Unfortunately, wish magic is running dry, so it's up to this band of 12 gifted high schoolers to save the day. I guess it's sort of similar to a Future Problem Solvers. 

11:57 AM · May 8, 2021 "Star darlings will predict the downfall of infrastructure in the United States"

I do like that each of the 12 girls has their own personality and interests (they even have their own profiles in the one book I read). I don't want to describe all of them, but there are a few who come to mind. There's the protagonist of the show, Sage, who is a first year and kind of the hopeful everywoman of the show, along with her roommate Cassie, who's a bit cowardly, but more importantly, the both of them are gay as hell.

10:52 AM · May 8, 2021 "GAY MOMENTS"
10:53 AM · May 8, 2021 "Cassie and Sage huge girlfriend moments"
10:54 AM · May 8, 2021 "“My dream come true is you sage” GAY GAY GAY"
10:55 AM · May 8, 2021 "GAY PEOPLE."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honestly, I really enjoyed Sage, but other than this scene, I was not huge on Cassie.

There's also Scarlet, the punk girl with a heart of gold. She's actually genuinely interested in Wishworld and its inhabitants, more so than any of the other girls, and sometimes it gets her in trouble.

10:32 AM · May 8, 2021 "There’s a goth one"
10:33 AM · May 8, 2021 "Who has my NAME?"
11:34 AM · May 8, 2021 "Scarlet ate 100 year old chocolate"

Leona is sort of the wannabe popstar of the group, and a character of interest, as the Star Darlings book I read was focused on her. She's actually pretty hyperfocused on things like music and fame, to the point where she'll hear that and focus on nothing else.

10:45 AM · May 8, 2021 "Leona is fucking great"

Vega was my least favorite of the girls, acting a bit self righteous, and just not that fun to watch.

10:47 AM · May 8, 2021 "Vega listing all the girls in school with bad vibes"
11:09 AM · May 8, 2021 "Vega: we’re all different from one another that makes us special PLEASE STOP GIVING ME DANCE LESSONS"
11:15 AM · May 8, 2021 "Vega got a smooth star"
11:16 AM · May 8, 2021 "Man I don’t like Vega"
11:54 AM · May 8, 2021 "They’re letting the shitty. Blue one save the day"

And of course who could forget Libby? Straight, heterosexual Libby?

11:10 AM · May 8, 2021 "Another Libby’s gun episode"
11:11 AM · May 8, 2021 "Everyone: one of the star darlings has a serious problem
Everyone: it’s Libby she’s straight"

There's also MO-J4, a robot who shows up to introduce the shorts and does little for the plot, and has a crush on Sage. 

11:31 AM · May 8, 2021 "MO-J4 is queering heterosexuality"

The shorts and episodes focus on all the girls, with some getting more attention than others. In particular, Sage, Scarlet, Libby, and Vega got a lot of attention, while characters like Piper and Adora didn't really.

11:29 AM · May 8, 2021 "Oh each of the shorts is about a different girl. You don’t see any of piper but she’s just doing her thing"
11:32 AM · May 8, 2021 "Adora made a picrew"

Honestly, the shorts collection is pretty cute, and has really good setup. A lot of my problems actually exist in the special, The Power of Twelve, an animated adaptation of Gemma and the Ultimate Standoff, and the 12th book in a series of 14. Absolutely no context is given for anything that happens in the special, we're given a collection of shorts about how the girls prepare to go to Wishworld, and then we're thrust several books into the future.

11:38 AM · May 8, 2021 "What?????? The hell is going on????"
11:47 AM · May 8, 2021 "Oh shit? Random woman entering the special is the villain"
11:49 AM · May 8, 2021 "Grandma Badvibes"
11:50 AM · May 8, 2021 "Behold the power of my rancid vibes"
11:52 AM · May 8, 2021 "Why is this special called the power of twelve if only five of them are fighting"
11:52 AM · May 8, 2021 "GRANDMA YOUR VIBES ARE ATROCIOUS"
11:55 AM · May 8, 2021 "She’s dead"

Clearly a lot of heart was put into it, but I'm still a bit lost as to why they only adapted the 12th book. The whole time, I was convinced they had all gone and granted their wishes in the first part, except Gemma, who was still there. Turns out this part 2 was more of a part 12.

But yeah, speaking of the books, by a stroke of luck, I found one of them in one of the community library boxes in my neighborhood! So back in June of 2022, I read Leona's Unlucky Mission. 

Immediately, I felt the terminology was tacky, as mentioned before (but again, it's not for me). There was a side plot about the roommates starting to hate each other, and it was particularly bad with Leona and Scarlet. Leona actually didn't go to Wishworld until halfway through the book, during which she helps a boarding school girl compete in her school's talent show. Of course, the wish itself isn't about the talent show, but about the girl getting close to her sister. The second half of the book was a lot more likeable than the first half, but I found myself wondering "Why is it called Leona's Unlucky Mission?" Anyway it essentially ended with Leona's Wish Pendant burning. SO I GUESS THAT'S WHY. Was it a good book? Not at all. Did it give me context for The Power of Twelve? A little. I'm still confused.

And really it's that confusion that makes Star Darlings, an overall decent show, fall flat.

Overall Rating For Star Darlings: B Tier