by Jon Wolk

I am all about the Empire. As a card-carrying member of the 501st Legion I wear my Shadowtrooper and Stormtrooper armor with pride. I saw Star Wars in theaters in 1977, I saw the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi at least two dozen times in their initial theatrical release, I owned most of the first generation Kenner toys and I literally wore out two VHS copies of the original Star Wars in my youth. I’m one of those fans that was initially quite disturbed and upset by the prequels but, while they do not come close to the grandeur, excitement and style of the Original Trilogy, I will grudgingly admit that they have aged okay and grown on me in certain areas.

 

I have often said that the best thing about the prequel era was the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series. Masterfully guided, from beginning to end, by Dave Filoni, Star Wars: The Clone Wars had the elements that had brought some of the success to the original trilogy; it had the guidance of Uncle George (sometimes too much), but the day-to-day creative control was generally in the hands of people who had a real passion for the subject matter, and new how to tell a story in that galaxy far, far away. It had its fans and its detractors, its ups and downs, and I don’t know anyone who is happy with how it ended, but that being said it is (allegedly) over and done with and we were left wondering, what will Dave Filoni and his team do next? With Disney at the reins, what was the direction that Star Wars animation would take and would it be any good?

 

What is next is “Star Wars: Rebels”… and the answer to being any good? I absolutely love it so far. It achieves the feel of the Original Trilogy (OT), both in obvious things like Star Destroyers, Stormtroopers, all of the clear visual cues taken from the early concept art of Ralph McQuarrie and Joe Johnston, and musical cues taken directly from John Williams’ amazing original orchestrations, as well as more subtly and tonally in the introduction of our main characters, Ezra, Kanan, Sabine, Zeb, Hera, and little Chopper, the R2 unit with a foul mouth and an attitude, which takes place on this sad little planet, Lothal, in this seemingly unimportant corner of the Outer Rim we start out on. I’m not going to go on into extensive intros to the personalities of all the characters. There are a million places you can find that kind of information. I’m here to give you my impressions of the show, as a SuperFan. And those impressions are pretty damn good. Throughout the episode they were innumerable visual cues, some smacking you right in the face others subtler, to the original concept art of McQuarrie. There is C1-10P, AKA Chopper, with his arms and such that is directly from the original art for R2-D2, while Zeb, now of the “Lasat” race, comes straight from the original designs for Chewbacca. Their ship, The Ghost, is taken from some of the early designs for what would eventually become the Millennium Falcon. The AT-DE Pilots come from early Stormtrooper and Snowtrooper designs, and there are numerous smaller cues in characters living on Lothal. Some have already complained about the art style or character designs being too different from The Clone wars, but that is the point. It is a completely different era, with its own look, and I think it will grow on most everyone. The animation will also grow and improve as the animators get to know their characters, Just as The Clone Wars did.…

 

Our first episode, “Star Wars: Rebels, The Movie” (AKA Spark of Rebellion Parts I and II), begins a Little over five years before the events of Episode IV: A New Hope, and one of my first impressions, right off the bat, is that it felt right. We are 14 years into the Empire and its growing tyranny throughout the galaxy. The Jedi are all but gone, the Empire is now a huge military bureaucracy, using its iron fist to take advantage of smaller systems to feed, clothe, house, and grow the ones it deems more important, controlling every little part of daily life for as many as possible on a galactic scale. Harassing simple farmers trying to make a living and feed their families, locking up anyone who so much as dares to breathe even the slightest word of dissent. This is the world, this is the place in time and in space, we are dropped into.

No rebellion ever springs forth fully imagined, completely organized, armed, and ready to fight the good fight. It starts with a few good people, here and there, that sees the evil and knows that they must, whatever the cost, do SOMETHING. It’s hard to say, in real time, when and where that spark may ignite but in this show we get that rare opportunity to truly see the beginning, the first stirrings, of a great and powerful rebellion that, we of course know, will one day lead to the fall of the Empire.

 

Previously released animated shorts aside, it’s too soon to say how and when we will see the characters in the show intersect and interact with some of the other characters we have come to know and love. There’s a brief appearance, sort of, of one of our favorite Jedi Masters and it is done in a way that makes sense and does not seem forced. This first ”Movie “ or  double episode seems to roll and flow like something that stepped right out of the OT. The pacing is perfect; the dialogue feels spot on and, unlike so many animated series just starting out that stumble around trying to find their chemistry and figure out who they are and how they relate to each other, everyone feels like they are who they are supposed to be in relation to each other. These people, the voices behind the characters, the writers behind the script, the producers and directors shaping the action, are a team that has been doing this together, In this universe, for over a decade now and it shows. Filoni and his team know this galaxy far, far, away as well or better than nearly anyone besides Lucas himself. Coming into this I can say that I had reasonably high expectations due to Filoni’s track record but he far surpassed them and I could not be more excited for what’s to come. And may the Force be with you, always…

So be sure to tune in Monday nights at 9PM Eastern/ 8PM Central on DisneyXD, or check your local listings!