"Make It, Don't Break It!" is the twenty-third episode of the Disney Channel and Marvel Animation series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.
Synopsis[]
When I.S. 833 gets an impressive science teacher, Lunella is so eager to impress her that her drive toward perfectionism starts doing more harm than good.
Plot[]
Lunella, Casey, and Devil are watching Robot Warz where they witness Jackson Weele losing his match. Thanks to a change in rules, Lunella happily learns that she is allowed to enter the Robot Warz competition, but needs the support of a science teacher from her school, something that is impossible due to Coach Hrbek not being a real science teacher. Luckily, the school manages to get a new teacher, Dr. Akonam Ojo who is straight from Wakanda. Coach Hrbek is still involved as he leads the STEM kids, consisting of Anand, Eli, Cecelia, and Jurnee, while Lunella gets the support of the strict and curt Dr. Ojo to enter separately.
When Lunella shows off her specs and ideas to Dr. Ojo, she is less than impressed. Even going so far as to somewhat belittle Lunella's efforts, forcing Lunella to work even harder on her battle bot. Casey gets Lunella to take a break with her, but the very next day, when she brings this up, Dr. Ojo scolds her for doing so, claiming that it has affected her work. With the battle bot competition only a day away, Lunella hastily upgrades her bot overnight. On the day of the competition, Dr. Ojo approves of her work as Lunella defeats the STEM kids, though she notices Coach Hrbek being much more supportive. During the final battle, a screw loose causes Lunella's bot to wreck itself.
As Dr. Ojo confronts Lunella on her loss, Lunella has a panic attack and mentally locks herself in, just as Jackson Wheel returns as Big Wheel to get his revenge. While Devil and the STEM kids battle him, Casey gets through to Lunella who comes out of her funk. Lunella tells Dr. Ojo that she no longer wants her approval and she apologizes for the way she treated her. Dr. Ojo further reveals that she was actually trying to recruit her for a team, but Lunella politely turns her down. Lunella is invited to join the rest of the STEM kids in their club while Coach Hrbek is devastated to learn that Dr. Ojo is leaving, meaning he will have to take over science class again.
Cast[]
- Diamond White as Lunella Lafayette/Moon Girl
- Fred Tatasciore as Devil Dinosaur, Coach Hrbek
- Libe Barer as Casey Calderon
- Cynthia Erivo as Dr. Akonam Ojo
- Alfre Woodard as Mimi Lafayette
- Utkarsh Ambudkar as Anand
- Gerald Waters as Eli
- Isabella Gomez as Cecelia
- Myha'la Herrold as Jurnee
- Asia Kate Dillon as LOS-307
- Kalen Aris Whitfield as Jonathan Powers/Jester
Additional voices[]
- Sam Riegel as Jackson Weele/Big Wheel
- Gary Anthony Williams as RobotWarz Announcer, Rockin' Rudy
Songs[]
- "Betcha Can't" by Dewain Whitmore Jr., Steph Jones, and Haze
- "It's Okay" by Diamond White and Libe Barer
Trivia[]
- Dr. Ojo makes the analogy of Lunella being either coal or a diamond, adding that the only difference between the two is pressure. This is factually wrong. While it is commonly believed that coal when compressed turns into diamonds, this is actually a misconception as there are too many impurities within coal to allow such a thing to happen.
- The use of the coal/diamond metaphor to refer to Lunella could double as a wordplay regarding her voice actress, Diamond White.
- The TV show that Lunella and Casey watched at the beginning of the episode, Robo Warz, is a take on the classic real world UK TV series Robot Wars which ran from 1998 to 2004 and received a brief revival in the 2010s.
Gallery[]
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