DreamWorks She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is back for a third season starting today, Friday, August 2nd, on Netflix. I recently caught-up with the cast and EP at San Diego Comic-Con, and they shared their insights on the “power” of this popular series.
Jackson Murphy: What can fans expect from Season 3?
Aimee Carrero (Adora/She-Ra): When we open Season 3, Adora gets some pretty disturbing news that she was abandoned as a child. She came through this weird portal and was like, “Maybe you should’ve told me this before.” So she’s in the throws of an existential crisis. And it only gets worse. There’s a lot of weird things that happen… and she has a lot of conflicting emotions. And it wouldn’t be She-Ra if she didn’t. It’s a real rollercoaster this season.
Marcus Scribner (Bow): The script is flipped. A lot of the characters take different paths that aren’t expected and aren’t characteristic of them. There are a lot of character departures for Bow from his normal, happy, cheery self. And it definitely surprised me because I’m used to Bow always being that moral support. He’s a good guy. And seeing him in a different place is very interesting.
Noelle Stevenson (Executive Producer): I feel like we really hit our stride this season of visiting different places and meeting new characters. It’s so great to see more of the world. And we also have some really cool effects.
Jackson Murphy: What impresses you the most about the animation on this show?
AC: I love that it’s hand-drawn. I love that it looks like something of yore. I like the nostalgic feeling to it. It’s an explosion of color and rainbows.
MS: I’m a big anime geek. I love anime. The animation style is cool because in anime the fight scenes usually flow, and the same thing with “She-Ra”. It’s a little bit of a departure from the normal cartoon vibe where everything is kind of blocky with the movements.
Merit Leighton (Frosta): I love the colors that they’ve chosen for the sky and Bright Moon itself with the different crystals everyone has. They’re all so beautifully designed, and they reflect the princesses’ personalities. The character designs are amazing. It’s just such a beautiful landscape.
Lauren Ash (Scorpia): What I love is how all the characters are drawn differently. I didn’t realize that I wanted a show to show women drawn in so many different ways until I watched the show that I’m on. And I went, “Oh my gosh, this is what I’ve always been missing.” Because it’s not just that a character might be bigger than another – we got short women, tall women… we got curvier in different ways, different body types. And I just think that’s so great that that’s so embraced – and it’s such a part of the look of the show, which I think is really unique. I can’t think of other shows that have embraced it to this extent. And it’s never a plot point. It’s never about “Oh she’s great… but for her body.” No – this is what real women look like. We’re all different, we all look different, and I think it’s great that that’s being represented.
JM: What are some of themes and lessons explored throughout Season 3?
ML: There are so many lessons within the show, whether they be small or big. Frosta, who I voice, even though she’s the youngest, she’s super strong. And she has one of the strongest kingdoms on the entire planet. I think that’s a role model for kids to be able to say, “Hey – look, I can be just as powerful as everyone else. I don’t have to wait until I get older. I don’t have to be silenced. I have a voice, too.”
LA: A lot of the themes of Adora are about searching for an identity in a world she doesn’t fully understand yet. Obviously, right now, where we’re living in 2019 in the United States… I think it’s always something that humans can relate to, but certainly right now we’re in a pretty crazy time. And for young people, it must be very overwhelming to try and find out, “Where do I fit in?”, “Who am I?”, “How do I make a difference?”, “What do I want to do?” So I think those themes are always very important, but right now more than ever. I think it’s very interesting to explore those things in another dimension, in another universe, in another way – that is actually still relatable.
JM: How have you seen the fan response first-hand?
LA: People’s enthusiasm for this show is so amazing and so contagious. I think it’s really a cool thing to be a part of something people are really into and excited about.
NS: We make everything pretty far in advance. By the time the first season was out, we were already working seasons ahead. Animation takes a while to finish. I think the most satisfying thing is that people are really responding to what we hoped they would… and relating to the characters. It’s everything I hoped it would be.
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