the background is an improvement but i think you should distribute the stars a but more evenly rather than just at the top, also i like the animation

There, I updated it.

It certianly would. You're not even using the white in the sprite, so I dunno why you went with it for the background, there are much less stark/jarring colors to choose from (like a light greenish color to offset the purple. Or a nice neutral brown). The AA could be optimized at the very least.

Meh.

Like it'd be any better even if it didn't have white background.

 You can still AA and have a different background. The white BG isn't doing you any favors.