The Film
Budding Star Wars fans (okay, and aging ones too) really appreciate being able to watch anything connected to the galaxy. However, the great thing about the Star Wars Rebels: Complete Season One Blu-ray is that it really captures the spirit of the franchise and is downright entertaining. Bonus points to Disney for launching this 2-disc set right before October's Season Two premiere, which is just weeks behind the theatrical release of Episode VII - The Force Awakens in December. Oh so much Star Wars; it's a wonderful thing!
And yes, this is wonderful too. The Disney XD series is the latest animated incarnation of Star Wars, set in between Episodes III and IV. There are familiar faces (and voices -- James Earl Jones! Anthony Daniels! Frank Oz!), but really the show is about Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray), a 14-year-old orphan and con artist, who joins the crew of the Ghost in rebelling against the Empire. You remember them right?
Just know that despite all of the nostalgia, a new set of rebels are the main characters here. Kanan (Freddie Prinze Jr.) is a Jedi survivor of the Order 66 massacre; Hera (Vanessa Marshall) is the Twi'lek owner and pilot of the Ghost; Sabine (Tiya Sicar) is a teenage grafitti artist with extensive knowledge about weapons and explosives; and Zeb (Stephen Blum) is the tough guy in the group. Of course, no Star Wars installment would be complete without a droid. Here, it's C1-10P, aka "Chopper."
Fans of the franchise will also be insanely happy to see so many cameos. (See the voices mentioned above, but how could I forget Billy Dee Williams?) Those familiar faces are a lot of fun, but there are plenty of new ones, as well as locations, weapons and stories. Yes, stories. Star Wars Rebels: Complete Season One has a total of 15 episodes, and each one has the crew experiencing a new adventure. Expect those to be pretty fast-paced and entertaining. Strap yourself in and enjoy.
The Picture
This isn't a big-budget Star Wars flick, but the 1.78:1 image is still pretty darn impressive. Is it the best looking cartoon series on Blu-ray? Well no, but it still deserves some seriously high marks. It's bursting with enough bold colors and details to keep viewers happy -- even the ones looking for issues. The CGI animation gives the image some great depth, but it's really the detail that's most eye-catching here. All of the characters, costumes, faces (even droid ones), scenery and more is just a lot of fun to watch.
The Sound
Once again, it's not a blockbuster, but you'd never know it with this track. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is pretty surprising, actually. It has a lot of fun sound effects and a great score. Even better, it manages to deliver so much action, without dimming one blip, bloop or line of dialogue.
The Extras
Final Thoughts
Even though it's geared towards kids, plenty of adults should enjoy Star Wars Rebels: Complete Season One as well. It's fun, fast-paced and pretty much captures the spirit of the franchise in bite-sized episodes. Even better, the 2-disc Blu-ray has good visuals, a surprisingly fun audio track, and enough special features to keep the entire family happy. The Force is strong with this one.
Product Details
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