Web Animation / Trick Moon

Pocket and Trickshot, with Prince in the Magic Moonstone.

The Prince was stuck in the Moonstone he swore to defend!
With none of his powers, he's gotta depend on... (Trickshot and Pocket!)
His brother and sister! (Are bad at their jobs!)
They just wanna play all day and live like kings,
'cause Trick and Pocket pull the strings on...
Trick Moon! (Trick Moon! Trick Moon!)

— The short's Expository Theme Tune

Trick Moon is an animated short pilot created for Cartoon Network by Geneva Hodgson, a former writer and director for OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes. It was released on YouTube on July 21, 2020.

Prince and his loyal crew are defenders of the land and protectors of the Magic Moonstone... until one of them betrays them. Now trapped in the Moonstone, Prince must rely on his younger siblings Trickshot and Pocket to lead the group and protect the Moonstone (and himself), which, due to being two young kids, they'd much rather goof off and have fun instead.

On October 16th, 2020, Geneva announced that the pitch was rejected due to restructuring at Cartoon Network under its new AT&T administration.

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This short provides examples of:

• Always Second Best: Mage joined Dr. Bleak because he was tired of being in Prince's shadow. His comments also imply he didn't like being considered as on the same level with the more inexperienced Trickshot and Pocket.
• All in the Manual:
  • The names of Grotto, Buffer, and Tarot, as well as information about them, have so far only been given in their model sheets, which Geneva has shared on her Twitter account.
  • According to the pitch bible, Trickshot, Pocket, and The Prince's parents were the former protectors of the Moonstone, who are currently on vacation.
• Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Tarot and Buffer are a purple fox and a yellow rabbit respectively; especially notable when compared to the rest of the cast, who have colors accurate or semi-accurate to which animals they are supposed to be.
• Barefoot Cartoon Animal: Pocket wears a hoodie, a shirt and shorts, but no shoes.
• Big Brother Mentor: Prince tries to teach Trickshot and Pocket how to be Moonkeepers. As he's stuck in the Moonstone, he can't really make them listen, however, and in one case his attempts to guide Trickshot nearly led to Pocket getting hit with an arrow.
• Brother–Sister Team: Trickshot and his sister Pocket work together to protect the Moonstone.
• Blush Sticker: Pocket always has pink, circle-shaped blush on her cheeks.
• Bag of Holding: Pocket's bag can hold anything inside — apparently by making it smaller, as when she stuffs the dragon's gemstone inside, it bloats the bag before shrinking back down to its normal size.
• The Blacksmith: Tarot runs a blacksmith shop called "Tarot's Arrows"; she's the one who crafts the magical arrows Trickshot uses.
• Cheerful Child: Pocket has a sunny disposition, loves stickers, and is fascinated with shiny things.
• Comic Trio: Trickshot is the cocky leader, Pocket is the happy-go-lucky follower and Prince, despite how much he tries, is quite literally powerless to stop them.

• Crystal Prison: The previous guardian of the Moonstone, Prince, got zapped into said McGuffin and had his powers taken away. The current guardians of the Moonstone are now Trick Shot and Pocket.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Both Prince and Mage are only ever referred to by their respective titles.
• The Faceless: The villain Dr. Bleak is seated on a throne with his entire body in silhouette.
• Face–Heel Turn: Prior to the events of the short, Mage trapped Prince in the Moonstone and left the group to join Dr. Bleak.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Prince is the responsible one, but as he is trapped he has to rely on his foolish siblings Trickshot and Pocket. Despite his obsession with looking "cool", Trickshot takes his job more seriously than Pocket, grabbing her when she stops to save her game after Mage steals the Moonstone.
• Freudian Trio: A brief glimpse at the show's pitch bible shows this was the dynamic the siblings were designed to have. Pocket serving as the Id, Trickshot the Ego, and Prince as the Super Ego.
• Inexplicably Tailless: Pocket appears to have a stubby (barely visible) tail underneath her cape, while her brothers Trickshot and Prince have much longer tails.
• Meaningful Name: Trickshot likes to perform trick shots with his bow and arrows, and Pocket has a magic Bag of Holding that she uses to carry things in, no matter how big they are. A magic pocket, so to speak.
• Noble Wolf: Prince, Trickshot and Pocket are all heroic wolves who protect the magical Moonstone from evildoers.
• Only Sane Man: Prince is the the only one who takes protecting the Moonstone seriously while his younger siblings tend to be too focused on having fun to care unless it's actually in danger.
• Portmantitle: The show's title comes from combining Trickshot and Moonstone.
• Sealed Good in a Can: The powerful Prince is trapped inside the Moonstone without any of his magic or abilities. Unlike most examples, he's fully able to communicate with the outside world.
• Shadowed Face, Glowing Eyes: Dr. Bleak's entire body is coated in shadow, with his yellow eyes visibly glowing out of the darkness.
• Shout-Out: The monster Dr. Bleak sends after the Moonstone is a dragon with crystalline features and a gemstone in its chest, mimicking the Corrupted Gems of Steven Universe. When Pocket removes the gem from its chest, the dragon's body turns to smoke, similar to what happens to Corrupted Gems when they're defeated.
• Trick Arrow: In addition to normal arrows, Trickshot has magic arrows that turn into bursts of ice and acid.
• We Used to Be Friends: Mage used to be part of Prince's group before joining Dr. Bleak. Prince considered him a friend, but when brought up Mage remarks "then I guess that makes one of us". Whether or not he meant it is left ambiguous.
• World of Funny Animals: The world the show takes place in is populated almost entirely by anthropomorphic animals, though there still exist non-anthropomorphic monsters, such as the dragon Trickshot and Pocket fight.

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