Written and directed by Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese, a space princess is thrust out of her sheltered life and into a galactic quest to save her bounty hunter ex-girlfriend from the Straight White Maliens. Voiced by Shabana Azeez, Gemma Chua-Tran, Richard Roxburgh, Kween Kong, Jordan Raskopoulos, Madeleine Sami, Bernie Van Tiel, Zachary Ruane, Mark Bonanno and Broden Kelly.
We are forever bombarded with films that attempt to be ‘current’, poke fun at political correctness, or try to explore modern themes with a tongue-in-cheek sense of humour and fall completely flat. So, if you want a genuinely good example of how to explore today’s issues while being funny, cute and playful, watch Lesbian Space Princess. Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese grapple with womanhood, sexuality and identity while keeping it light, adventurous and a touch silly in the best of ways.
The sense of humour is superb and extremely consistent all throughout Lesbian Space Princess. The writing keeps an excellent beat, the energy never dips, and they really embrace that sci-fi adventure feel, sending Saira (Shabana Azeez) off into unknown lands. It’s a lot of fun, there’s a real buzz to it, especially emanating from its vivacious use of colour that’s on the psychedelic spectrum. It has a great use of puns and then throws in a musical edge, which has been the downfall of a lot of animated films but works really well here, it’s surprisingly charming and catchy.
Stylistically and tonally, it reminds of the very underappreciated series The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy. In quite a number of ways, including how it embraces and celebrates the queer community, explores insecurity and identity, and knows how to use sexualised imagery and dialogue without it feeling uncomfortable or sleazy. However, with Lesbian Space Princess Hobbs and Varghese take those elements and then add this unexpectedly endearing old school children’s television style. Matched with how they like to use puns and delightfully on the nose comedy, it brings this strangely wholesome edge while not at all being family friendly and it’s a fantastic contrast.
The humour is perfectly brought to life by the voice cast. Shabana Azeez is excellent as Saira and leads Lesbian Space Princess effortlessly, as she’s so relatable and easy to root for. Gemma Chua-Tran’s Willow is adorable and generous, making for a terrific pairing with Azeez’s Saira. Richard Roxburgh is fantastic as the voice of Problematic Ship, tapping directly into so many classic points of misogyny in an exceptionally fun way. The whole ensemble really does a phenomenal job of keeping that high energy going flawlessly.
Lesbian Space Princess is charming, funny and feel-good. It’s such a great time and has a wonderful sense of humour that’s somehow both sharp and cheesy. It hits every point so directly on the nose in the most enjoyable way. The animation is superb, it’s bursting with colour and does absolute justice to creating a genuine adventure while adding in the details to keep it nice and adult. The voice work is outstanding, the writing is brilliant, it’s a refreshing way to explore womanhood and self-worth.
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