Ever since Disney bought “Star Wars,” the company has been working over time to put back the credibility in the series. Lego always has a knack for delivering some of the wittiest and most entertaining animated series, but they have a great time with “Star Wars.” Not only do they pinpoint the inherent wackiness of the universe, but they have a ball taking the piss out of the awful prequels. Set immediately after the climax of “Return of the Jedi,” C3P0 and R2 are asked by their friends to regale them with tales of the clone wars and fall of the Jedi. With C3P0’s memory conveniently in hand thanks to R2, they begin telling them the oh so inconsistent tales of how Anakin descended in to the dark side. Hilarity ensues.
The first episodes of “Droid Tales” is essentially Artoo and C3P0 telling the tales of the prequels that amount to a few scenes here and there and they make great fun out of the silliness of the story lines. Palpatine is very anxious to have Amidala sign the treaty. Why? No one really knows. Not even Palpatine knows, but it’s in the plot. There’s also a hilarious moment when Qui Gon meets Anakin while Watto is in the background selling “Red Flags” to the crowd. When Padme meets Anakin, Watto interrupts by selling them “Death Signs.” Lego’s “Droid Tales” is a hilarious and wacky satire of the series that pokes fun without looking down on the fans. It can work as a wonderful entry point for very young potential “Star Wars” fanatics, while also making older audiences laugh at the way it teases the writing and storyline of the prequels and original series. There’s the ever famous scene of Luke watching his mentors appear as force ghosts but simply doesn’t recognize young Anakin. Palpatine tries to horn in on the party, but Mace Windu knocks him in to oblivion much to Luke’s confusion. And of course, our favorite punching bag Jar Jar Binks appears quite often just to get shot out of the story time and time again.
“Droid Tales” is a fun and imaginative spin off series that handles the basics of the movie series with some excellent animation. The remarkable Lego style makes this a trademark series from the Lego brand, while keeping the events fairly simple and breezy. I especially love how child Anakin is depicted as something of a Damien Thorne presence, with glimmers of pure evil that should be obvious to everyone but simply isn’t. It’s pretty obvious that R2 and C3P0 have seen literally everything that has happened in the series, and they span the entirety of the series, coming across young Anakin, Luke before he realized his destiny, and even the Ghost Crew from “Star Wars Rebels.” For a crash course on the bare essentials of “Star Wars,” Lego and Disney’s “Droid Tales” is a raucous and tongue in cheek take on “Star Wars” that will arouse laughter from even the adults forced in to sitting through the episodes with their kids. As someone who enjoys almost everything from “Star Wars” and “Lego,” I’d say “Droid Tales” is definitely worth investing two hours in to. The DVD release comes with a pack of collectible trading cards, as well as your usual rewards from Disney to cash in.