#stvtfoe

Daron was friends with Alex Hirsh in college, he had the connections to help her pitch Star Vs

She had to deal with a lot of rejection for the show because at the time studios didn't want a girl protagonist

When it was picked up by Disney they asked for changes (aging up Star and actually giving her magic) and wanted to push Marco more into the spotlight to appeal to boys

In Daron's own words she got feedback that Marco was "a little bit of a pussy"

Originally Marco was supposed to have a cousin that was the exchange student living in Mewni while Star lived on earth

She showed us the "lost" Nickelodeon Star vs pilot (when Star was still an elementary schooler with no real magic) BEFORE it leaked on line

She always had access to it but isn't allowed to post it (we weren't allowed to record)

She's currently working on a superhero property show

In 2004, my father walked into a blockbuster with me, hand in hand, and pointed out a movie that would change the trajectory of my entire life; a movie that would become so beloved, so near and dear to my heart that the characters and my favorite quote from it are now displayed prominently on my arm forever. He pointed it out because there was a pretty cartoon unicorn on the front and I was VERY into horses at the time.

I was 6.

That movie was The Last Unicorn.

Now, arguably, no 6 year old should ever watch The Last Unicorn, as it is very pithy and very old and above all else, very dark. In fact, most reviews recommend you wait until your children are at least 8 to scar them with it. But what's done is done, and I am forever happier for it.

That movie took the magic horsey all good little girls are meant to love immediately, and treated it like it wasn't very vapid or frilly at all. Likewise, it treated the audience, for better or worse, with a respect and trust that certain subjects and themes can and should be handled from a rather youngish age.

For those unfamiliar with the premise, The Last Unicorn is a bittersweet fable about humanity, immortality, and what it means to tread the lines between; what is gained and what is lost, and the sweet tragedies found therein that give a mortal life meaning. It is a very human story about a mythical creature and the people who change her and are changed by her, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. In fact, it's also a book, which I should very much hope you'll order from your local bookstore when we finish here today!

Initially, this was going to be one essay on those themes in the story. Immortality, death, humanity, memory; however that's already been done far better by someone far smarter than me.

But it got me thinking.

Unicorns- soft, sweet, sparkly things that they are- lend themselves so very well to horror and existential dread, don't they?

Now, some might argue I was doomed to fall down this particular rabbit hole, as that very same aforementioned father had a penchant for inserting chainsaws into the narrative of every My Little Pony storybook he was ever pestered to read aloud. However, I am choosing to give myself credit where credit is due here: I asked him to read them rather than my mom because I knew he would throw a few chainsaws in.

See, there's something alluring, even from the view of a child, about the idea that something so good and kind and pure might have a way to protect itself once its had enough. And it makes sense, doesnt it? Even if you don't quite have the language to explain it at that age, a horse is an awfully big prey animal, and a horse with a big, sharp horn must not be quite so helpless as everyone says! Why shouldn't a lone unicorn, with minimal help from a mediocre magician, a scullery maid, and prince who dies almost immediately, be able to drive off a flaming bovine eight times her size by pure virtue of her determination?

Likewise, why shouldn't it go a step further? If unicorns are all that is good, it is natural that they must fight evil and be able to best it, and if they fight evil, they must also be capable of being twisted into it should they lose.

This series of essays is meant to explore murdercorns and dark horses of varying shades across media, ranging from the good-but-stabby to the twisted husks of divine beings.

This

Is Unicorns and Horror!

Prologue- Whats In A Murder Horse?

Part 1- The Last Unicorn

Part 2- DC seems to hate Unicorns

Part 3- Hunting Monsters

Part 4- To Anthologize a Horse

Part 5- Murdercorns Are For Kids

Part 6- Muppety CG and Jenna Ortega

Regressor! Jackie Lynn Thomas