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Wednesday, September 23, 2015

LEGO STAR WARS: The New Yoda Chronicles DVD Review

Reviewed by Sean Ferguson
Your favorite Star Wars heroes are back with four complete episodes (plus a bonus alternate ending!) that unleash the lighter side of the Force. After headstrong Luke nearly delivers the good guys into Palpatine’s clutches, Master Yoda and the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi unearth the Holocrons – last remnants of the secrets of the Jedi – to further Luke’s training. But Darth Vader also seeks the Holocrons, and he’ll stop at nothing to get to them first! Meanwhile, courageous superclone Jek-14, a Force-sensitive clone, comes out of retirement to help bolster the Rebels. Share all the action-packed thrills of these interlocking, intergalactic adventures in LEGO STAR WARS: The New Yoda Chronicles!
Show (4 out of 5 stars)
After becoming the first commercially licensed property in LEGO history, Star Wars in its LEGO-ized form proved to be a massive hit. Between popular animated shorts, a collection of really fun video games, and television movies, LEGO Star Wars has been a force to be reckoned with. The latest offering has been a television series known as "The Yoda Chronicles," which has just completed its second season (which is collected on this disc). Now known as "The New Yoda Chronicles due the move from Cartoon Network to Disney XD, this series continues its playful reinterpretation of the Star Wars galaxy.

While the original videos kind of riffed on events that happened in the movies, this new series jumps around in between the events of the movies. For instance, the episodes this season show us how Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi had originally planned to train Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Force by using Jedi Holocrons. The search for those Holocrons makes up this entire season with everyone from The Emperor to Jawas trying to get them before Luke and his friends. This season includes the following episodes:
  1. Escape from the Jedi Temple 
  2. Race for the Holocrons
  3. Raid on Coruscant 
  4. Clash of the Skywalkers 
My son and I have enjoyed this series as they've done a good job at including humor that appeals to both adults and kids. It also helps if you are as big a fan of Star Wars as we are too, but I think a lot of the humor is pretty universal. I also enjoy how the series tries to fill in some missing pieces of the overall story of the saga with their plots, sight gags, and throwbacks to the previous movies. The more you are familiar with the Star Wars saga, the more inside jokes you will get and there's plenty of funny ones. 
Video (4 out of 5 stars)
The video quality for the New Yoda Chronicles looks fairly sharp for a DVD presentation. The colors are bright and there's a good amount of detail on display. The black levels are a bit murky and not as solid as I'd like, but for a DVD this is an above average presentation.
Audio (4 out of 5 stars)
The New Yoda Chronicles' Dolby Digital 5.1 mix sounds pretty good for a television show on DVD. The dialogue is clear and the iconic music from John Williams is delivered well without overshadowing the voice work. All of the Star Wars sound effects are also here and sound great. While I wish that this was a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix, this still sounds pretty good.
Extras (1/2 out of 5 stars)
I wish there were more extras than just this one as they could have included interviews with the director, writer, and cast at least.
  • Alternate Ending: Clash of the Skywalkers - This alternate version offers a different ending, but I have to say that I like the one that was chosen over this one.
Summary (3 out of 5 stars)
This is a fun series that all ages can enjoy and it continues the trademark humor of the LEGO movies. The video and audio quality are pretty good for DVD, but the extras could have been a lot more extensive. At this price, this is an easy DVD to recommend!

Order your copy today!


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