Steven Universe the Movie: Rebecca Sugar on the Unexpected Influence of Beavis and Butt-Head

Though both Steven Universe and Beavis and Butt-Head are animated shows, they are far from similar, what with the former being a sci-fi show for kids and the latter being an irreverent adult sitcom. What's interesting is, SU creator Rebecca Sugar said that she found an unlikely influence with the Beavis and Butt-Head movie when it came to making the film for Steven Universe.

Talking to Fast Company, Sugar explains, "One thing I found when I was studying TV movies is that the ones that I loved the most found some way fundamentally to break the foundational premise of the show and then put it back together again. That was really interesting to me, because it makes you instantly feel like, this is a show, but it's not the show. There's something much larger about this… The Beavis and Butt-Head movie, for example, they lose their TV and I was like, oh, that's brilliant because that's the show. What are they with their TV missing? This is going to force them out of their comfort zone in this really expansive way. I thought that was brilliant."

Sugar also explains that she feels a connection with Mike Judge's animated cult classic because several members of her Steven Universe staff have also worked on the series.

Watching Steven Universe: The Movie, you can definitely understand what Sugar meant when she said that it was a character-based film. In fact, she literally broke down the foundations of all the characters and built them up again toward the end. I'll admit, it's not my favorite film, but it feels like an extra-long episode, certainly with its moments.

After the whole conflict with the Diamonds ending, a lot of people were sure that Steven Universe was going to end. With the movie though, I think Sugar is saying that there's definitely more in store for Steven in the future. We don't know what that is, but hopefully, it will have the same elements of mystery and worldbuilding that made the show so great in the first place.

Catch Steven Universe on Cartoon Network.

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