DVD Review: Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales

THE SET-UP

The Star Wars saga is retold through
the eyes of C-3PO and R2-D2. Featuring the voice of Anthony Daniels,
Tom Kane, and Billy Dee Williams. The DVD features all five episodes
of the Droid Tales miniseries: “Exit from Endor,” “Crisis on
Coruscant,” “Mission to Mos Eisley,” “Flight of the Falcon,”
and “Gambit on Geonosis.”

THE DELIVERY

Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales strikes a
rare balance, entertaining both kids and adults with a unique and
funny take on the Star Wars movies. The miniseries, which premiered
on Disney XD last summer, follows C-3PO as he searches for R2-D2, who
has been kidnapped after the events in Return of the Jedi. Along the
way, Threepio recounts his experiences, retelling the original and
prequel trilogies as only he can.

I’m not exactly a fan of the recent
rash of Lego versions of pop culture properties like DC Comics and
Marvel. I found The Lego Movie only mildly amusing, so I didn’t have
high hopes that Lego Star Wars would hit the right tone for me as a
die-hard original trilogy fan. Thankfully, I was wrong.

I was pleasantly surprised with Droid
Tales, however. Not only did it pay proper homage to the original
films, the jokes were clever and fun. It also did something I didn’t
think a Lucasfilm production would actually do: poke fun at the many
failings of the prequel trilogy. When Threepio starts waxing
nostalgic about The Phantom Menace’s taxation of trade routes and
Naboo politics, he puts the characters to sleep. Other characters
openly question the logic and plot holes of the prequels in a way
that’s actually funny, on a level that’s more than just fanboy
whining. There’s plenty of in-jokes for the old-school trilogy
crowd, to let them know there are true fans telling these Droid
Tales.

The five episodes of the miniseries
jump around across the first six movies, and while the original
trilogy stories resonate better with the viewer, all of the episodes
are entertaining. That is thanks in large part to a silly sense of
humor that mixes slapstick with smart callbacks to the films. Young
kids will enjoy the broad humor, while adults will enjoy the
nostalgia. There are few liberties taken with the retelling of the
stories, but it is mostly to make it a bit more kid-friendly and fit
within a thirty minute time-frame.

If you think you’ve heard every new take
on the films or possible inside joke about midichlorians, Droid Tales
manages to feel original and entertain. It helps that the original
John Williams music is used liberally, and familiar voices Tom Kane,
Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams are along for the ride. It
also helps that the writing is genuinely funny; the tongue-in-cheek
humor is perfect. The Force is strong with Droid Tales. In all the
right ways.

VIDEO AND AUDIO

The video transfer for Droid Tales on
DVD is surprisingly sharp, with excellent detail and bright colors.
Even though it’s not in high definition, the image translates the
CGI image well. The audio is a 5.1 Dolby Digital mix, and it sounds
great on a multi-channel system. Hearing the John Williams score (and
Anthony Daniels’ iconic voice) in 5.1 is always a good thing.