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"Stump Day" is the twenty-fifth episode of the third season of Star vs. the Forces of Evil.

It premiered on December 2, 2017, alongside "Holiday Spellcial".[1]

Synopsis[]

Star, Marco, and the rest of Mewni celebrate a special snowy holiday, "Stump Day".[2]

Plot[]

The episode begins on Mewni, where everyone is celebrating a wintertime holiday called Stump Day. As the Butterfly and Johansen families celebrate at Butterfly Castle, King River tells the story of the first Stump Day.

Long ago, a small group of seafaring explorers crashed their ships on Mewni during a cold winter night. After weeks of traveling together, disagreements arose between them, and they planned on going their separate ways when a harsh blizzard suddenly struck. In order to survive, the group huddled together around a giant tree stump to keep warm and share supplies. A strong bond of friendship was forged between them, and they commemorated the occasion by carving their initials into the back of the stump. Thus, Mewmans come together each year to honor the stump for a full 24 hours "or else".

Star spends the whole day happily honoring the holiday with her loved ones while Marco appears to be planning something. That night, after Star goes to bed, Marco comes to her room to ask for help in closing a window downstairs. However, this turns out to be a ruse to lure Star to her 15th birthday party (a quinceañera with a mariachi band), since her birthday falls on the same day as Stump Day. While Star's friends are thrilled to celebrate her birthday, Star herself is horrified because Stump Day is a day to honor the Stump exclusively. Even though her friends don't believe in the Stump, Star doesn't want to unintentionally anger it by not paying it proper tribute, and she takes down all the party decorations.

When Marco and Tom disagree over whether they should've thrown a party in the first place, Marco accuses Tom of being a bad boyfriend, and they get into a fight. Similarly, Janna and Kelly get into an argument when Janna suggests that Kelly has a crush on Marco, and Tad still refuses to move out of Kelly's hair. As Pony Head and StarFan13 join all the yelling, Star fears angering the Stump further and opens the windows to let in the cold and recreate the weather conditions of the first Stump Day. However, her friends still don't believe in the Stump, and Janna throws a ceremonial stump in the fireplace to keep warm.

All of a sudden, the lights go out, and monstrous tree roots invade the castle. The Stump (which turns out to be a real, vengeful creature) appears to capture Star and her friends. When King and Queen Butterfly enter to see what's going on, the Stump captures them as well for being non-believers. Star's friends apologize to her for not believing in the Stump and ruining the holiday, and Star forgives them. They join hands and come to grips with their imminent deaths, but the Stump suddenly vanishes and the lights turn back on. Marco believes the Stump spared their lives because they came together in friendship and love, but Star says it's because it's past midnight and Stump Day is technically over.

Even though the Stump was about to kill them, Star gives thanks to the Stump for helping them come together in the end. King and Queen Butterfly decide to have a bigger Stump Day celebration next year just to make sure the Stump isn't angered. Star thanks Marco for throwing her a surprise party, and with her approval, the group dances together to mariachi music.

Characters[]

Major characters[]

Minor characters[]

Production notes[]

Songs[]

Title in other languages[]

Language Title Translation
Italian Festa a sorpresa per Star Surprise Party for Star
Japanese 切り株の日 Stump Day
Korean 그루터기 날 Stump Day
Malay Hari Stump Stump Day
European Portuguese Dia do Cepo Stump Day

Transcript

View the episode transcript here.

Gallery

Click here to view the image gallery for Stump Day.
Click here to view the gallery.

Trivia[]

Revelations and continuity[]

  • Star Butterfly's birthday is revealed in the series to fall on the same day as Stump Day. This was previously revealed in YouTube live chats hosted by Marco Diaz and StarFan13.
    • However, Star does not celebrate her birthday on Stump Day as that would disrespect the Stump.
  • Star is revealed to know at least some Spanish.
  • Janna suggests that Kelly might have a crush on Marco.
  • Despite supposedly having moved out of Kelly's hair in "Lava Lake Beach", Tad appears to have sneaked back in and still lives in it.
  • This is the first time Marco and Tom have fought each other physically.
  • This is the first time Marco kept his hoodie up throughout an entire episode.

Allusions[]

  • Stump Day could possibly be the Mewman equivalent of Christmas.
  • The episode and the legend it is about share many similarities with the mythical Krampus and the 2015 film based on it.
  • Several initials on the Stump match the initials of some of the show's production staff:

Errors[]

  • King Butterfly's story about the founding of Mewni suggests there were four founders, but the Stump has five signatures on it. This could, however, merely be an artistic reinterpretation of historical events.
  • The mirror in Star's bathroom doesn't create an exact reflection of Star.
  • Queen Butterfly's hands aren't covered in the black veins that Eclipsa's "Darkest Spell" caused to them.
  • The sign over the mariachi says Feliz Cumpleanos instead of Feliz Cumpleaños. Anos and Años are two completely different things.
  • In one scene, the details of one of Tom's boots are gone.
  • When captured by the stump, Tom could be seen captured between Kelly and Ponyhead, but when the gang starts holding hands, he's between Marco and Janna.

References[]

  1. Star vs. the Forces of Evil : Stump Day; Holiday Spellcial. Screener. Retrieved on 2017 November 10.
  2. Star vs. the Forces of Evil: Stump Day/Holiday Spellcial. DisneyABCPress. Retrieved on 2017 November 23.
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