by Gabriel von Grünbaum Friday 4th September 2015

Force Friday! We Review ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ Season 1 On Blu-Ray!

With the release of Star Wars: Rebels season one on blu-ray (yes, and DVD for those trapped in the previous decades), now you can make every day of the year #ForceFriday!

After getting the generous opportunity to preview the disks and dive deep into the extras, I’m finally prepared to confidently provide you with what you can expect. Here’s the quick and dirty: Firstly, if you’re a Star Wars fan, anywhere within six years of the age 12, this show is bulletproof! I would’ve sold my grandmother to Tusken raiders at that age to have a show like this! I settled for re-watching The Empire Strikes Back after school each day—which wasn’t bad. The next question is; how does it stand up for everyone else? Not bad. . . Believe it or not, the characters and dialogue is often better than the three recent Star Wars prequel films. It also does a far better job of introducing cute and/or fun alien creatures that play a part in the storyline without giving you that creepy Jar Jar effect. I still can’t get enough of these Loth-cats!—I want one! So, for adult Star Wars fans, I’d say it scratches that Star Wars entertainment itch but you’ll still be hungry for more—after all, this show is clearly geared toward kids.

Full disclosure; this is really the first non-feature film Star Wars entertainment I’ve gotten into—with like three exceptions: that ’80’s Christmas special (the main reason I got gun-shy about straying from the films), The Empire Strikes Back game for Super Nintendo (loved it!) and Captain EO in 3D at Disneyland (magical—and probably the closest comparison I can make, entertainmentwise, to Rebels; minus the music, dancing and Michael). So I can’t draw comparisons for you with Clone Wars, except to say that I’d now like to see Clone Wars.

StarWarsRebels_Loth-cat01_400x330For those that are new to the series—like me—it’s the story of a teenage punk, Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray), who’s scrounging and pilfering from the powerful Empire—now that they have taken control of his home planet—when he runs into a band of outlaws doing the same thing but with a more “Robin Hood”-style agenda of aiding those under the boot heel of the Empire. It isn’t long before it’s revealed that one of these outlaws, Kanan Jarrus (Freddie Prinze, Jr.), was training with the Jedi until they were all hunted down by the Empire and he escaped into the underground. When he recognises that “the force is strong” with our young protagonist, he feels it’s his duty to take the kid on as his padawan and train him in the ways of the force, even though he never finished the Jedi training himself(?). Many adventures ensue and the season-long story arc results in the first event that is the official formation of the Rebel Alliance.

Vanessa Marshall, Tiya Sircar, Steven Blum, Ashley Eckstein and Jason Isaacs (excellent as the Inquisitor) round out the voiceover cast, turning in some really good performances.  The character animation is likewise impressive—several times I found myself reviewing a shot or scene just to examine the excellent, and sometimes subtle, motion choices. (That said, I was surprised to find a few half-baked herky-jerky walk-cycles.) When it comes to the modeling, lighting and texture mapping, I understand much of it is done for style but I think a little more detail would’ve been fitting. It would’ve been nice to see shapes and surfaces with a little more character and lighting with a bit more range (when you’re in space, I’m sure some shadows would be fully dark and direct sunlight might wash things out a bit more). Atmospheric effects cost rendering time/money, so I won’t hold the lack of such visuals against them. . . but if they ever have the budget, it really could push the visual style over the top.

As an adult, for the first few episodes, the experience was a bit like being invited to a Thanksgiving dinner and being served Tofurky with a smile—you just sort of grin and bear it while trying to connect with what the real thing tastes like. Then, with the episode 5 (on the disks), “Rise of the Old Masters”, things suddenly seem to click into place and Rebels becomes its own distinct story. Characters, dialogue and relationships gel and become compelling on their own without the need of Star Wars features’ memories to fuel them. That said, there are some truly excellent cameos that were well worth the price of admission—including one Mr. Lando Calrissian in a revealing encounter that was a fun enrichment of my connection with the Star Wars universe.

StarWarsRebelsSeasonOneBluray_600x729If you’re an adult, chances are that you won’t find the dialogue or character arcs particularly compelling but you will get a satisfying sense of a fuller experience with the Star Wars galaxy as it continues to become more colorfully defined. If you’re physically or mentally anywhere near the age of 12, this is an absolute must-have! The character development and challenges faced are tailored to opening up the world of a young mind. For the older, more jaded and cynical brains, the connections may form around the unfortunate recognition of the tyrannical bureaucracy of the Empire and the vague memory of adolescent dreams where anything was possible. Either way, Rebels finds its way under your skin in a pleasant way. Kids will love it for years on end—adults will find it very pleasant and enjoy confidently re-gifting it to a niece or nephew. (If you’re a parent, I think you’ll both feel like winners.)

The extras are a lot of fun—shorts that inform references and sequences in the episodes; behind the scenes interviews with artists, writers and actors; summaries; overviews and excellent teases of what’s to come in the next season (lots of action, development and more fantastic appearances of vital Star Wars characters!).

Recommendations: If you’re within spitting distance of age 12, convince your parents, guardian or doting uncle/aunt/grandparent to get it for you—loads of fun. If you’re an adult Star Wars fan, find a kid in your family/neighborhood that you can sit and watch it with as an excuse to pick up this fun show.

Now that I’ve seen this, I’m looking forward this fall to season two of Star Wars: Rebels and looking forward to spending more time with my nephews as I head out to pick up Star Wars: The Clone Wars for us to watch together. That Christmas special from a long time ago in a galaxy far far away has finally been cleansed from my palate.

From Lucasfilm/Disney:

In the first groundbreaking season of Star Wars Rebels, young hero Ezra Bridger joins the clever but motley crew of the starship Ghost in their resistance against the Empire. As the series begins, Imperial forces have occupied a remote planet, ruling with an iron fist and ruining the lives of its people. Ezra and his new rebel friends — Hera, Kanan, Sabine, Zeb and Chopper — embark on daring adventures in their fight against oppression across the galaxy, receiving help from familiar heroes such as Lando Calrissian, Ahsoka Tano, and Jedi Master Yoda. Pursued relentlessly by the Imperials and a Jedi hunter called the Inquisitor, this tenacious ragtag band of rebels will find itself in the crosshairs of none other than Darth Vader when season one closes in a shocking two-part finale.

Bonus Features:

Blu-ray:

DVD: