"Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur" Season One Talkback (Spoilers)

[RoyalRubble]

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Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
Synopsis:
“Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur,” based on Marvel’s hit comic books, follows the adventures of 13- year-old super-genius Lunella Lafayette and her 10-ton T-Rex, Devil Dinosaur. After Lunella accidentally brings Devil Dinosaur into present-day New York City, the duo works together to protect the city’s Lower East Side from danger.

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur "Moon Girl Landing"
Episode Debut - February 10, 2023

Lunella Lafayette accidentally brings a dinosaur to the Lower East Side; she protects her community and has the brawn to match her brains.

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur "The Borough Bully"
Episode Debut - February 11, 2023

When Lunella finds a nasty comment on her Moon Girl social media page, her fixation on the troll threatens to take over her life.

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur "Run the Rink"
Episode Debut - February 18, 2023

When Lunella runs the rink for a night, she agrees to Casey's get-rich-quick scheme, which threatens Moon Girl's reputation and her family's beloved business.

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur "Check Yourself"
Episode Debut - February 18, 2023

When Lunella loses a game of chess against a supercomputer, her obsession with winning drives the frustrated computer to program every device in the school to attack her.

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow"
Episode Debut - February 25, 2023

When Lunella creates a chemical to change her hair, she accidentally turns her mane into a vengeful villain that vows to ruin her.

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur "The Beyonder"
Episode Debut - February 25, 2023

The Beyonder gloms onto Lunella to learn about humanity, just as she's struggling to win a big science competition.

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur "Moon Girl's Day Off"
Episode Debut - March 4, 2023

When Lunella seemingly gets hurt and is stuck in bed, Casey must step in as Moon Girl for the day.

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur "Teacher's Pet"
Episode Debut - March 11, 2023

When Devil gets jealous of sharing Lunella with her class hamster and accidentally sets the animal free, he must search New York City to bring the furry friend home.

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur "Skip This Ad...olescence"
Episode Debut - March 18, 2023

Lunella creates a device that allows her to fast-forward through mundane chores and tasks, but she struggles to handle the unexpected side effects.

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur "Goodnight, Moon Girl"
Episode Debut - March 25, 2023

Lunella tries to overcome her awkwardness about fitting in at a slumber party by creating a mind-reading device but accidently switches brains with Devil Dinosaur.

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur "Like Mother, Like Moon Girl"
Episode Debut - April 1, 2023

Moon Girl becomes the face of a new initiative to revitalize the Lower East Side, but the effort starts to drastically change her neighborhood for the worse.

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur "Today, I Am a Woman"
Episode Debut - April 8, 2023

Hoping to help Casey have an epic bat mitzvah, Lunella makes an appearance as Moon Girl, which ultimately brings out the worst in Casey and causes a rift in their friendship.

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur "Devil on Her Shoulder"
Episode Debut - April 15, 2023

Feeling insecure about his size, Devil convinces Lunella to create a potion to make him temporarily small.

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur "Coney Island, Baby!"
Episode Debut - April 22, 2023

Lunella must confront her childhood fear, the Coney Island Funhouse, to save Mimi from The Beyonder.

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur "OMG Issue #1"
Episode Debut - April 29, 2023

Lunella uncovers the history of the Original Moon Girl as she struggles to thwart a powerful villain's plan to use her portal for evil.

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur "OMG Issue #2"
Episode Debut - May 6, 2023

Moon Girl faces her greatest challenge yet and puts everything on the line.

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[Fone Bone]

Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur "Moon Girl Landing"

I liked that. Provisionally. I hate to say that, but Marvel animation and television (even Studios Television) have a NASTY habit of delivering an amazing pilot, and then the show itself falls apart from week to week, with diminishing results, until it's turned into pure dreck. I got similar vibes to this show from Ms. Marvel's first episode. Which worries the hell out of me. Granted this show is not gonna "Go dark" or forget it's a superhero show. But I'm at the point where I no longer simply give Marvel cartoons and TV shows the benefit of the doubt. Sorry to say.

But it was promising. I love the moment where time stops when Lunella and Aftershock recognize each other in the classroom. And I love the disqualifier "No disrespect to Jersey", when it does whatever single other show set in New York does, and takes a shot at New Jersey. Sorry, Lunella. You aren't fooling anyone.

The premise is cool. I'm trying to think of another superhero show with a black female lead, and coming up empty. This is going to fill a hole in the void of black girls wanting to be superheroes and being denied it by the rest of the media.

I think the most interesting thing about the show to me are the designs and the way they are animated. It very much reminds me of Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in how chaotic and flawless the action sequences are. Now this is nowhere near as frenetic, or for lack of a better word, BANANAS, as that. But like Rise, seeing how far 2-D animation can go on a TV budget really makes me resent the fact that most current action / superhero toons are CGI animated, and BAD CGI at that. 2-D can look beautiful now. I wish more current stuff would embrace it.

Very well done, Pilot. But Spidey And His Amazing Friends had a promising Pilot too, and that just turned out awful. I don't see any way this specific show should get as awful as that, but the fact that that cute show went downhill so fast is the reason why my praise is measured here, and very much of the "Let's see how this shakes out before declaring it cool" variety. ****1/2.

Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur "The Borough Bully"

I was looking forward to seeing the theme song but it wasn't on the Disney Channel's website when I watched the episode.

I didn't dig the premise because I'm old, but I like the resolution of the kid repenting, and teaming up with Lunella on an antibullying campaign.

For the record, being compared to Michelle Obama is a VERY good thing. For those people at home keeping score about that sort of thing.

Was the alien Symbiote the thing from Spider-Man? Weird thing to crossover to the Marvel Universe with.

I very much feel like the troll's design and animation is something that woulda been cooked up on Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This show's animation is almost as good.

Cute. ***1/2.

Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur "Run The Rink"

This show is TOO cute! Devil Dinosaur in the car wash and eating the popcorn was a riot. "Is he dangerous?" "Pssht! Probably." And Gravitas is a spiffy villain. The Day-Glo action sequence in the climax had AMAZING animation.

Very impressive first few episodes for this show so far. ****.

Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur "Check Yourself"

I love LOS. They are so cute and charming and the fact that Lunella is such a "dingus" to them upsets me as well. I like that they were saved and fixed at the end by being put in a giant sandbox of rice.

Principle Nelson was funny too especially him ordering the kids not to have any feelings until the new guidance counselor can be found. His favorite qualification of LOS' is that they'll work for free.

This show is so much fun! ***1/2.

Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow"

Ooh, a hair episode! The notion of Lunella's hair turning evil after she rejects it made the episode surprisingly topical. And hearing her mom and grandmother talk about loving their hair makes the episode feel especially empowering. ****.

Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur "The Beyonder"

The Beyonder is great.

The Marvel series this most resembles is Big Hero 6: The Series. And yet, with the Beyonder appearing and the references to Wakanda, this feels much more in the Marvel Universe than that does. By the end I felt Big Hero 6 was far more a Disney series than it ever was a Marvel one. I feel there is a Marvelness running through Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur.

Lunella thinks the idea of basing whether or not humanity lives or dies on the outcome of a science fair is shady, but think about it: Is that really any stupider and more pointless than the Secret Wars? If anything, the science fair gag points out the essential ridiculousness of that arc in general.

I really liked the unexpected pathos between Lunella and Eduardo. More of that please. I love it and am here for it.

Delightful episode. ****1/2.

Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur "Moon Girl's Day Off"

This show is just the cutest.

I love that Abyss absorbed the moral Lunella just learned, and called her mom and told her she didn't want to be a supervillain anymore. That was very sweet.

Okay, it is VERY clear to me Mimi knows Lunella is Moon Girl.

The Beyonder makes a fun recapper.

This show is living up to its early promise so far. ****.

Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur "Goodnight, Moon Girl"

Fun. I think they only used the Moon Girl suit at the end as a formality. There is no villain to fight and it's Lunella's story entirely.

I thought it was cute and funny seeing her and Devil Dinosaur switch bodies. Unlike most dinosaur characters, Devil's demeanor is entirely cute instead of scary. And I like that about him.

This show isn't disappointing me. ****.

Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur "Teacher's Pet"

I love this show.

Interesting that Angel's name is pronounced "On Hell".

The Rat villain living in the sewers crazy for pizza is a clear riff on the Ninja Turtles. Do this show's lawyers know there is already a character from Ninja Turtles called the Rat King?

I love that Daveed Diggs goes to a Brooklyn accent when the Rat King strips off his fancy affectations at the end.

The music on this show is wonderful. I especially liked the Rat King's rap and the song they played during Devil's "Walk of Shame" montage.

Hot Dog vendors give Devil Dinosaur free hot dogs. I like that about hot dog vendors.

For the record, hot dogs are MUCH closer to sandwiches than cereal is to soup.

The animation on Rat King's facial expressions was dynamite. There has simply never been a Marvel cartoon before this one capable of such personality in the expressions. Probably because most Marvel cartoons don't need it. But when you actually HAVE it, you truly appreciate it.

The theme song just isn't the same with a hamster.

It's amazing the complex storylines they can give Devil Dinosaur even though he can't talk. The series uses all kinds of cool animation tricks to tell us exactly what he is thinking and communicating anyways.

I loved the episode. ****1/2.

Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur "Skip This Ad...olescense"

This episode is a gem. Not just for introducing a science fiction high-concept I hadn't seen before, but for wringing an entirely new and different kiddie show moral out of it. Do you appreciate how freaking RARE that is, that a kids show has something new to say about the world and how kids should perceive it? I'm floored by that.

Maybe being bored is okay. Maybe taking the good with the bad is what life is actually about.

I love that they got Mae Jemison to voice herself. She also appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation back in the day (in a bland and forgettable cameo) and I'm betting she actually had a TON more fun on this show. For the record, she is pretty good actress, which is not something Star Trek tested.

I am in awe of this show. *****.

Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur "Like Mother, Like Moon Girl"

This is literally the first time I've seen a kiddie cartoon take on gentrification.

Lunella reminds her Mom of Moon Girl. Except Moon Girl's Mom must be crazy to let her run around all fighting supervillains.

Luiz Guzman has had a LONG acting career, so there is no way this is his first voice-over role. But it's the first one of his I saw / remembered.

The music and visuals continues to be beyond cool and funky.

One character visual I loved is when Lunella is sad in her room, and her mom sits down next to her, she scoots away from her a bit. It's a small but believable character detail you rarely find in animation, especially animation made for television. But it gave personality to both their characters and their situation, and added a ton. Little things can sometimes matter a lot.

I'm loving this show. Still. ****.

Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur "Today, I Am A Woman"

I was a little bored, but I love Captain America Sam Wilson showing up at the end.

I also really like how diverse and modern the show is. Casey has two dads, who kiss. One of them is Puerto Rican and one is Jewish, and they have mixed their heritages together to give Casey the best of both worlds. I think that's a cool thing.

But the truth is I could take or leave the episode itself. **1/2.

Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur "Devil On Her Shoulder"

Oh, my. That ending of Devil befriending Torg was SO freaking nice. Is it too much to ask TV to be nice? Even kids shows rarely do it. I appreciate it when it happens.

I love that Lunella's first angry note upon first seeing a shrunken Devil is to admit he's adorable. It is the most noticeable thing about him, not the actual size, so not immediately pointing it out would have been weird.

This is the best Marvel cartoon since Wolverine And The X-Men. I will go further. It's the only GREAT Marvel cartoon besides Wolverine And The X-Men. Even GOOD cartoons like X-Men: The Animated Series had notable faults. But this show is pretty special. ****1/2.

Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur "Coney Island, Baby!"

Oh, well that ending was unsettling.

I love that Lunella seems to legitimately loathe the Beyonder. Probably more than he even deserves. Which is why I love her loathing him so much. Lunella having THAT strong of a negative value judgment against him says volumes.

They were really leaning into the Grinchy aspects of that design including a full-on homage to the infamous Chuck Jones Wonderful Awful Idea smile.

Pretty good. ****.

Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur "OMG Issue No. 1"

OMG is right.

Action, pathos, revelations, this episode has it all. I can also pretty much declare this the best Marvel cartoon now. Even Wolverine And The X-Men never hit these highs.

They sure as hell didn't NEED to get Cobie Smulders to play Maria Hill. But it's cool they did.

If anything Wesley Snipes is an even bigger and more impressive get. He's certainly a Marvel legacy. And the first black Marvel Superhero in film.

Mimi being Original Moon Girl is not a surprise, but her knowing what she does sort of is. I'm pretty sure her always having known Lunella was Moon Girl tracks (she's said some suspiciously knowing things in the past) but her behavior in this episode defies that idea. If she always knew, and was always OMG, she would have tried putting a stop to it long ago.

That killed me dead. *****.

Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur "OMG Issue No. 2"

It's possible Morlock could have repented before this. But it's interesting that he believed it was too late instead.

Shocking and unexpected cliffhanger. Did not expect the episode to leave off there. If anything, I expected Mimi to be the one trapped in another dimension, not Current Moon Girl herself. The wait for the next batch of episodes will be murder.

Wow! ****1/2.

 

[Perla Magica]

This is the only Marvel-related cartoon that I actually enjoyed from the start to end of its' first season.

Great animation and character designs, catchy and groovy music (especially the intro), nice character development, and amazing, colorful visuals. Of course I can’t wait to see season two, but knowing Disney Channel it will come next year and it better not mess up the episode numeration airing for the sake of continuity.

 

[Eldorado]

It's possible Morlock could have repented before this. But it's interesting that he believed it was too late instead.

I'd like for him to stay behind in the other dimension just before Lunella goes home so he can atone for his misdeeds by helping out whoever is on the other side before he goes back home to face justice for his crimes.