'Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy - Pieces of the Past' Review: Putting It All Together
The animated series captures the spirit of the live-action films and TV shows, simultaneously celebrating and gently mocking George Lucas' original.
Now Streaming: As an adult without children, I have skipped watching any of the films and TV shows that comprise the Lego Star Wars franchise, which includes "over 928 Lego building toy sets, 1389 Lego minifigures,[2] an eponymous video game series containing six games, and multiple animated short films and television series," according to Wikipedia.
Since one of the purposes of this newsletter is to investigate such shows on behalf of readers, however, I accepted the offer of advance screeners to watch all four episodes of Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy - Piece of the Past and was, frankly, shocked that I enjoyed it so much.
In my childhood, I cannot recall ever having Lego building blocks to play with; I believe they were out of my family's price range. In any event, I have always been familiar with the idea that Lego could enable children to build whatever crazy buildings or vehicles or people their little hearts desired. Lego movies and television shows that I have watched take some of that inherent wonder away because they are themed to whatever licensed property they can exploit; they represent the licensed characters and worlds in familiar ways -- only with Lego building blocks.
Thus, the success of an individual movie or television show depends upon the imagination of the writers, directors, and all the below-the-lines talent -- much like any live-action or original animated production. And in this, Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy - Piece of the Past succeeds, thanks to the lead taken by writers Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit, and director Chris Buckley.
The show takes place in an identifiable Star Wars world, following brothers Sig and Dev Greebling as they deal with a new threat in the galaxy. What makes the show wildly funny is not the specifics of the plot or how the brothers vanquish the threat. Instead, true joy emerges from the show's underlying strength as an action adventure that is constantly in motion throughout its four episodes, none longer than 25 minutes.
Even though the show is broken into four episodes, it's very easy to binge all four episodes and watch it as a feature-length motion picture. Beyond its strong narrative, the show continually interjects humor into the dialogue, much of it filled with gentle mocking of Star Wars conventions; they make fun, but never derisively. The humor is more along the lines of 'we all know that is silly, yet we very much enjoy it anyway.'
In a very favorable manner, the show reminded me of the classic Looney Tunes cartoons, in that they are made to be enjoyed by children, while also including material and references designed for adults. So it's very easy for me to recommend the show to adults of all ages. [Now Streaming on Disney Plus.]