Star Wars recently came out with a six-episode series on Disney plus. The series is called “Tales of the Jedi” and focuses on Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker’s padawan, and Count Dooku before he turned to the dark side. Six episodes span different points in the Star Wars timeline. Ahsoka and Dooku share the episodes with an even split. three for Ahsoka and three for Dooku. Ahsoka’s story adds context and time to her life story. There are scenes of her as a baby, a young woman, and after the Jedi massacre. Dooku’s is a more linear story about his fall to the dark side of the force. This series will be judged on a few things: story, cinematography, animation, and enjoyment.
Story
The original story of Star Wars is a famous one. With dramatic twists and turns, Star Wars has always been known for its drama, its sci-fi, and its characters. Tales of the Jedi is a great addition to the greater Star Wars narrative, because it fills in pieces of the story. Star Wars fans never got to hear about Dooku’s reaction to Qui Gon’s death, but now they will finally have the chance to experience that.
Moreover, Dooku’s fall from the light and into the dark is portrayed with all the seriousness it deserves. The question as to why Master Yaddle left the Jedi high council was answered in these episodes. The stories in the Tales of the Jedi fill out some of the negative space that other creatives left unanswered. The Star Wars narrative grew even larger with the addition of the Tales of the Jedi. Even though it only had six episodes, it has left an everlasting impact on the Star Wars franchise as a whole.
Cinematography and Action
The action in Tales of the Jedi is spectacular. Star Wars is known for its large-scale animation and colorful fight scenes. Tales of the Jedi manages to make every action scene engaging, even though not all of them involve the force or light sabers. Most of them do though, because this is still Star Wars after all.
Furthermore, every action scene in Tales of the Jedi has emotional weight. Each action scene is set up by the context of what comes before and after. For Star Wars fans, knowing what happens after the events shown in the series makes the series better. There are great shots within the Tales of the Jedi. The fights are well-choreographed and it is generally very visually appealing. Star Wars is beautiful, and so this series lines right up with all beauty in a galaxy far, far away.
Animation
Tales of the Jedi is an animated series. It has the same art style used in Season 7 of “The Clone Wars”. Generally speaking, it looks good and professionally made. The art style is expressive. The animation never looks stiff, it’s fluid but not in a way that looks wrong. It’s realistic but smooth. The animation style lends itself way to the type of action scenes in the show. The series was produced by Lucasfilm Animation, the same studio that produced The Clone Wars. All in all, Tales of the Jedi is pretty to look at.
Enjoyment
As a stand-alone project, Tales of the Jedi is overall a solid show with some enjoyable scenes. It isn’t the best show ever or anything like that. It isn’t super narratively complex either. It’s a simple Star Wars story. It has lightsabers, sci-fi blasters, and a super dramatized story. If people like sci-fi, they are going to like Tales of the Jedi. As a project that adds to about 30 years worth of storytelling, it is a nice addition.
Ultimately, if a person is a Star Wars fan, then they are going to enjoy Tales of the Jedi. If they enjoy the characters of Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku and the characters associated with them, then they will enjoy this series. It’s a show that lends itself to those who know the characters and the lore, yet at the same time is something that is accessible to new audiences. Ultimately, if someone is interested in what’s going on in a galaxy far far away, then they should check out Tales of the Jedi.
Written by Kenneth Mazerat
Sources:
CNN: ‘Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi’ shows animation remains a creative force in Lucasfilm’s galaxy by Brian Lowry
Gizmodo: Dooku Was Right (Mostly) by Rob Bricken
ScreenRant: Dave Filoni’s Yaddle Comments Make Yoda’s Backstory An Even Bigger Mystery by MARCELO DE SOUZA SILVERIO LEITE
Top and featured image courtesy of Stefans02‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Second inset image courtesy of Jeremy Keith‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
