Lesbian Space Princess is an adults only queer anime, a cinematic garden of unearthly delights. Directed by poly-creative partners Leela Varghese and Emma Hough Hobbs, there’s no limit to how high this film could fly.
The story follows Princess Saira, an introverted space princess from Planet Clitopolis, who embarks on a mission to save her ex-girlfriend, Kiki, from the clutches of the Straight White Maliens. While the elevator pitch for this film might be out of this world, the structure is firmly grounded, adhering to key storytelling rules: Saira embarks on a hero’s journey, slays her Straight White Malien dragon, her childhood trauma, in the man cave, hunts for her labrys and moon crystal macguffins, navigates a love triangle. Any film which sticks to these rules, then layers upon them impeccable comedy, pop culture easter eggs and tuneful and funny songs, sung in a Julia Stone singing voice, can’t go wrong.
Shabana Azeez, who is currently in the US filming a HBO series, voices the protagonist, Saira, capturing her introverted yet determined nature. Heartbreak High’s Gemma Chua-Tran plays Willow, a runaway gay goth pop idol who becomes Saira’s ally. Richard Roxburgh lends his voice to the phallic problematic spaceship with baby boomer computer. The film also features Ru Paul’s Drag Race’s Kween Kong as the S Club 17 queen Blade and the Aunty Donna guys as the Straight White Maliens. Aunty Donna’s Straight White Maliens, who kill with their toxic homebrew, are such a biting satire that incel keyboard warrior heads will explode across the planet following a broader cinematic or online release. Every cast member, though, shines like a moon crystal.
It’s Futurama meets Fritz the Cat, it’s Rick and Morty satiring Rick and Morty viewers, it’s an animated Adelaide Fringe Festival in space. LSP’s anime influences are apparent every time a character blushes. LSP takes a pink-handled double headed satirical axe to homophobia, toxic masculinity and racism. It is the first South Australian animated feature, produced on just a million-dollar budget. Keen eyes will spot the techniques used to stay within the million bucks: voices soundtrack still images at times, for example. As a total package, though, LSP works so well that Leela and Emma will have all the budget they need in no time.
Lesbian Space Princess has rocketed into stratosphere since its sold-out debut: its encore was at capacity, and we will never know how many additional sessions it could have filled. At the very least, it is destined to be a cult classic. It has the potential to be much more. It could spawn a long-running tv series on one of the big streaming services.
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