4/5
WonderVision.
9 Episodes. Animators: El Guiri, Cartoon Saloon, Punkrobot, Aardman, Studio Mir, Studio La Cachette, 88 Pictures, D'Art Shtajio & Triggerfish. On: Disney +.
Visionary 'Star Wars' stories have given us a good batch of animated characters that have connected strands of story from Tatooine to the droids that you were looking for. 2021's Season One of the anthology series of shorts like 'Love, Death + Robots' on Netflix took us to a galaxy in the far, Far East for Disney +. Now the second season of 'Star Wars-Visions' lands in the land of the rising sun, but also many other galaxies far, far away. From Spain to France, and India to South Korea amongst many other globe trots. Right after we finally got a short with the legendary Studio Ghibli and those lovely little Dust Bunnies for a moment of 'Zen' with 'The Mandalorian's' Grogu. This Englishman living under the rising sun may miss the Japanese anime, but it's great to see how much the Star Wars world builds...especially closer to home.
The opening episode by El Guiri and writer/director Rodrigo Blaas is pure art for the cosmic canvas. Featuring droids, Sith's and double lightsabers like you've never seen them before. Going through episode II like an 'Attack Of The Clones' (and a Talib Kweli reference) we are taken to the caves of 'Screecher's Reach' and a perfect pastel portrait of more Sith slithering in like a 'Harry Potter' sorting hat gone bad. You are crazy if you don't see how these dark designs are mirroring how much that side haunts us in today's world.
Thank the stars for the stop-motion animation of a Punkrobot that brings us back to the light and the stirring force that resides in all of us, beginning with the ghosts of our heartfelt home life. If claymation is your mould of choice then you'll love the next chapter, and it's classic title 'I Am Your Mother'. If you're left wondering why they look like Wallace and Gromit that's because the amazing Aardman animation studio is behind these figures that look like cheese, Gromit. Nick Park x George Lucas. The fun-filled collaboration you never knew you needed. These trousers are not wrong.
The best of the pack belongs in Asia, but this time with South Korea who show they are just as adept at the animation art as their Japanese neighbours. Just like the 'Seoul Station' animated prequel to the monster movie hit 'Train To Busan' and its 'Penisula' sequel. Here Hyeong Geun Park's 'Journey To The Dark Head' for Studio Mir features formidable fight scenes by air or electric sword and possibly the most profound fable foretelling of our collective futures in Star Wars lore. Just make sure you switch to those one-inch subtitles and the native language like originally intended.
The same goes for all the animations in this anthology and where they reside in this galaxy. Especially when the cantina is taken to the Moulin Rouge in 'The Last Jedi' casino like the fancy French short of Studio Cachette's 'The Spy Dancer'. Itself vying for the most amazing animation (look at those Storm Troopers and say oui to that parachute dress, on fire like 'The Hunger Games') and beautiful backstory in these self-contained episodes that still feel richly connected to this wider universe too. Your eyes will be taken by this one. Just like the railroad of an even tenser train than Dev Patel's 'Slumdog Millionaire' and 'Lion' combined from Studio 88's 'The Bandits Of Golak' written and directed by Ishan Shukla. Even in this day and age, nothing beats original animation. Yet the computer generated one of this is the most impressive we've seen since we caught 'The Polar Express' with a lifelike Tom Hanks.
The profound penultimate episode urging us to "follow the light" finds us in a pit sized for a Sarlacc, digging for kyber crystals. Making points to today's societal divides with a cyberpunk city beyond the limits of this 'Dark Knight Rises' like climb, this truly gripping story carries you over. From D'Art Shtajio, an American studio based in Tokyo using authentic Japanese animations, this is the most reminiscent of the first 'Visions'. Starring 'Hamilton' and 'Snowpiercer' star Daveed Diggs, who has already crossed over to Disney + narrating a new basketball creation on court ('The Crossover'). And if that registers on your Richter scale, then the cute conclusion from Triggerfish in the mines could trigger everything to cave in. 'Aau's Song' is the perfect ode and stitched swansong to this season we hope see's an Autumn and Winter. Now can we add The Simpsons' Maggie Simpson in 'Rogue Not Quite One'-also released in conjunction with May the 4th-to the batch? TIM DAVID HARVEY.
Further Filming: 'Zen: Grogu and Dust Bunnies', 'Star Wars-The Bad Batch', 'Love, Death + Robots'.
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