‘Astrid & Lilly Save the World’ Review: Hug Your Inner Moppet
Best friends Astrid and Lilly accidentally open a portal to another dimension while yelling into the void. Now the dynamic duo must become monster hunters to save humanity. This is a fun idea as I feel like constantly yelling into the void so I could immediately relate. Because Syfy has recently been killing it with Chucky and Slumber Party Massacre it’s hard to not have certain expectations. Astrid & Lilly Save the World chooses its lane though and boldly aims to grab the attention of the TV-14 crowd
This show is not the next Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Crazyhead. It’s more Big Wolf On Campus or other sci-fi/horror spoofs geared towards the youth. Once I got past that, it allowed me to remember I’m not the audience for this anymore. I would’ve watched the hell out of it when I was a kid though. I remember looking for something to support my Power Rangers and Young Hercules-filled afternoons. Something preferably less dude-heavy and more relatable. With that in mind, I think it’s a good gateway for the tweens who want more genre. The ones who aren’t quite ready for the scary bloody stuff that the rest of us are into.
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As a chubby kid that grew into a fat girl, I was starting to think I would die before we got two leads with similar body types in the genre. Astrid (Jana Morrison) and Lilly (Samantha Aucoin) win us over from the moment we meet them. They wear cute clothes, go on adventures, and are not the sidekicks we’re usually stuck playing. I also love that they deviate from the norm, as most of us did at that age, and would rather watch Law & Order instead of whatever other kids get into. These two actors bring a little Broad City energy to the pilot as they begin to set up for this impending journey. I think both of our leads are charming and loveable. I personally can’t wait to see them in something that’s not for the TV-14 set.
Another thing working for this show is that the world isn’t aggressively white. Too many shows do the bare minimum when it comes to casting and I love that the powers that be decided to create a world that looks like our own. I’m hoping it’s also planning to be inclusive regarding queer characters to fully give it the representation it seems capable of. Because the bulk of the creative team is made up of women and non-gender conforming creatives, I’m rooting for this show to be one of the few that gets it right if/when it does.
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I’m hoping that after it gets further into its journey, the show will focus less on their weight. Bullies are awful but only giving them one insult makes them a little one-note. I also am highly invested in the bigger evil that is waiting for them. The monster of the week moments are cute but I want to know what’s on the horizon. No shade to the mini-monsters but a girl has serious questions after watching the first two episodes. Not wanting to get into spoilers, but whatever it is has a lot of potential to be the thing needed to give the show a bit more depth.
So, yeah. This show hits the tween genre nostalgia button we all have. It also leaves us wanting it to tip over into a more adult world. Again, I’m not the audience for this today but think your kids, siblings, etc. might enjoy it.
Let me know what you think of it at @misssharai.
Summary
It’s the show we wanted when we were tweens coming at us now that we’re supposedly adults. It’ll make you want to put on your jammies, open the cereal, and hug your inner moppet. However, it’s not going to satisfy you if you’re looking for something deep and meaningful.
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