Marvel’s latest superhero offering, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur follows 13-year-old New Yorker Lunella Lafayette. The child genius splits her time working at her family’s roller rink and inventing incredible things in a secret underground lab she has constructed beneath her family’s Lower East Side apartment. With a punchy, somewhat garish yet adorable art style the show may be geared toward kids, but it has a little something for everyone.
At first glance the title may seem like a bit much for some adult viewers, but the new Marvel entry holds plenty of elements to keep viewers interested. The animation is Disney-meets-Cartoon Network classics like Teen Titans (both incarnations) and Dexter’s Laboratory. It’s punchy and unconventional, laced with bright colors and fantastic cuts and transitions. More than a few frames smack of the incredible animation style from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The character design is cutesy and the colors brash and bold (much like our heroin) and the show fearlessly takes liberties with their color palette to spice up the fight sequences.
If the visual reminders of Into the Spider-Verse aren’t enough to keep viewers, the show is already shaping up to have a stellar soundtrack. Executive music producer Raphael Saadiq really brings the heart of Lunella’s world to life. Through thumping beats during fight sequences and calmer melodies that bring the nostalgia of Saturday morning cartoons rushing in, the soundtrack is a perfect balance of thematic and cultural. It helps to emphasize the multiculturality of the Lower East Side and who Lunella is as a child growing up in such a vibrant community. Just like Daniel Pemberton’s work in Into the Spider-Verse, the soundtrack informs listeners that Lunella is coming through with that #BlackGirlmagic to save the day. Between the soundtrack and the daring art style, even the least inspired action sequence is kicked up a notch.
Diehard fans of the comic may be offended at the liberties Disney has taken with the character, but the changes are a wonderful way to celebrate the idea of community that the company has been exploring with other recent entries like Ms. Marvel. Lunella is deeply engrained in her neighborhood, the issues her friends and neighbors face are monsters she must overcome. It provides just enough stake in the first season without thrusting too much weight into the narrative. By removing some of the larger comic book tie-ins, Marvel is free to experiment with Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. The Avengers do exist in Moon Girl’s world but they operate far above her level. With world-ending baddie Thanos constantly threatening Earth, they don’t have time to help the little guys.
That leaves Lunella, just like fellow New Yorker, Peter Parker, to defend her neighborhood however she can. Check out Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur streaming on Disney Plus Feb. 15th.