DVD Review: Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales

I have been a fan of Star Wars since 1977, but I have to say that the idea of Lego Star Wars cartoons struck me as rather silly. After all, the toys are representations of characters from the films. And so these animated shows are representations of representations of characters, and seem needlessly one step further removed. That being said, Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales is a completely delightful series of five episodes. I enjoyed every moment of this show. It basically recounts the events of both trilogies (as well as a bit from the Star Wars: Rebels animated series), as told by C-3PO. Though most of the characters are voiced by actors not associated with the films, Anthony Daniels does reprise his role as C-3PO, and Billy Dee Williams once again plays Lando Calrissian.

Each episode begins properly with “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….” and includes an opening crawl (which is read aloud for the very young in your family). The first episode, “Exit From Endor,” begins at the end of Return Of The Jedi, with the destruction of the second Death Star. It does poke fun at one of the horrible changes that the series has suffered in the last couple of decades: When the ghosts appear to Luke, he doesn’t recognize Anakin. Anakin tells him: “I’m Anakin Skywalker, your father.” Luke replies, “Oh, you didn’t look like that five minutes ago.” That’s making fun of the DVD release replacing Sebastian Shaw’s head with that of Hayden Christensen (a change that has kept me from ever watching the Return Of The Jedi DVD). Well, after the celebration comes the clean-up. And guess who is assigned that duty? Ah yes, poor C-3PO. Luke, Han and Leia ask 3PO to tell the story of the complete saga, and after R2-D2 gives him a computer cartridge containing his wiped memories, C-3PO begins his tale.

There is a lot of humor in this animated series. It does poke fun at Star Wars, but it’s clear that it’s done with an incredible amount of love for the films. As C-3PO begins to recount the story of The Phantom Menace – “The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems was in dispute,” he says – the others who had gathered to hear the tale are suddenly asleep. That’s hilarious, and I love that it deals humorously with one of the criticisms of that movie. Even funnier is the shot of Jar Jar Binks being shot off of Amidala’s ship, and then shot again in space, causing R2-D2 (and anyone watching) to laugh. (In a later episode we see Jar Jar Binks floating in space near the second Death Star.) And as C-3PO recounts Attack Of The Clones, the show makes fun of the CG Yoda, with C-3PO saying that Yoda “was very agile in those days. Remember, he wasn’t nine hundred years old then. He was only eight hundred seventy-four.” Padme’s list of names for their unborn son in the show’s second episode is funny. At one point, the show even makes fun of the collecting of Star Wars trading cards.

The third episode includes a bit from the Star Wars: Rebels series, with C-3PO and R2 encountering Hera, Zeb, Sabine, Ezra, Kanan and Chopper. That leads to the droids ending up on the blockade runner at the beginning of A New Hope. By the way, I love that Leia wants to do a second take of her message to Obi-Wan. And the purchase of the droids is hilarious, as is the meeting of Luke and Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan tells him: “I am Obi-Wan Kenobi. I changed my name to hide from the Empire.” Luke understandably asks, “You didn’t change your last name?” Obi-Wan blurts out, “You didn’t change your last name!” That leads Luke to utter a confused “Huh?” Great! There is also a little joke about why Chewbacca doesn’t get a medal at the end of A New Hope.

There are of course some wonderful jokes about the poor aim of Stormtroopers, even with snowballs, as in the fourth episode. Also in that episode there is a funny moment with the Wampa. And Vader suggests that if Bossk gets the reward he should use it to purchase some shoes. And in the fifth episode, there is actually a Monty Python gag, which came as some surprise.

There is a story in the present as well, in which R2-D2 is kidnaped by a mysterious figure on Endor, a figure who also steals Admiral Ackbar’s ship. And so C-3PO and Ackbar go after him, thus giving 3PO opportunities to tell his tale to various characters over the course of the five episodes. My favorite is in the fifth episode when he talks to an enthusiastic group of Stormtroopers. By the way, that episode also pokes fun at the repetition of the Death Star in Return Of The Jedi (something which shockingly is rehashed yet again in the newest movie, the utterly disappointing The Force Awakens).

The show does take advantage of its Lego-ness to add some other humor, as when Amidala disguises herself as her servant on Tatooine – a really funny moment. And the crashing of the ship after Anakin “rescues” Palpatine is great. The show even pokes a bit of fun at Legos themselves. There is a scene with two workers adding pieces to the second Death Star. One tells the other: “No, not a black one. Dark grey.” The other responds, “They both look the same in the manual.” And when Luke lifts Vader’s helmet off of Anakin, the head comes off with it. Anakin tells him, “It’s a little tricky.” Anyone who has played with Lego bricks can attest to that.

Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales is scheduled to be released on DVD on March 1, 2016. As for special features, the package includes a small exclusive trading card set. The DVD itself has no special features other than a trailer for Star Wars: Rebels.