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Starring
The Voice Of: Anthony Daniels
Writers:
Peter Sauder, Sharman Divono, Paul Dini, Michael Rows, and Gordon Kent
Based
On Characters Created By: George Lucas
Director:
Ken Stephenson
Feature
length: 172 minutes
Languages:
English Stereo Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions
Packaging:
Amaray Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 4 Per Adventure
Sound:
Stereo Sound
Year
of Television Broadcast: 1985/DVD Release: 2004
Home
Video Distributor: Lucasfilm Ltd and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
In
1978 Nelvana Productions produced a short animated segment that first introduced
the character of intergalactic bounty hunter Boba Fett as a teaser of sorts for
Star Wars fans since the character would be featured in “Star Wars: Episode V:
The Empire Strikes Back” Similarly the character of General Grievous was
recently introduced in animated form in the last chapter of the second season of
“Star Wars: Clone Wars,” which aired on Cartoon Network earlier this year
and the character is expected to be featured in both the third season that airs
in March of 2005 as well as “Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith,”
which opens in theaters on May 19, 2005. The animated segment Nelvana produced
would become one of the memorable segments from “The Star Wars Holiday
Special,” which aired only once on CBS. The special was more like a 1970s
variety show with a “Star Wars” theme though many of actors from the first
“Star Wars” feature film make cameo appearances.
Regardless
of Mr. Lucas’ personal feelings about that program, I guess he liked the
animated segment Nelvana produced because after “Return Of The Jedi”
premiered theatrically in 1983, he commissioned a Saturday morning cartoon
series that featured a half hour adventure entitled “Droids: The Adventures Of
C3PO and R2D2” and a half hour of “Ewoks” animated adventures. Set 15
years before the events of “Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope,” the Droids
cartoons followed the mechanized duo on different adventures with various
masters during the early years of the Galactic Empire. While only the
“Ewoks” would get a second season of animated episodes, the Droids did get a
primetime animated TV film entitled “The Great Heap” and although these
stories are considered expanded universe material, Lucas has made reference in
the screenplays to places encountered in the “Droids” animated series. The
Boonta Eve pod races on Tatooine seen in “The Phantom Menace” is a reference
from one of the Droids animated adventures while the moons of Bogden mentioned
by Jango Fett to Obi Wan Kenobi in “Attack Of The Clones” are one of the
settings seen in the four part animated adventure “The Pirates And The
Prince” that is included on this double feature disc.
On
a mining world, R2D2 and C3PO along with their new master Jann Tosh discover the
heir to the thrown of Tammuz-an, Prince Mon Julpa and assist him with taking his
rightful place as the leader of his people. However before they can do so they
must defeat the evil vizier that had Mon Julpa stripped of his title and memory
back on Tammuz-an while taking on the notorious space pirate Kybo Ren. This
Droids adventure feature a number of visual cameos from the original Star
Wars Trilogy that includes the bounty hunter IG88, the Max Rebo band and a
Gamorrean guard as well as an A-Wing and B-Wing fighter, Skiffs, and Tie
Fighters commandeered by Kybo Ren aboard his “borrowed” early Imperial Star
Destroyer prototype, The Demolisher.
In
“Treasure Of The Hidden Planet,” the Droids in the service of their master
Mungo Baobab assist on a quest for precious Roon stones, which are also sought
after by the evil Admiral Screed who along with the nefarious Governor Koong
have set sights on obtaining the sought after stones for the Emperor. The Roon
system is located in a dark region of the galaxy referred to as the “Cloak Of
The Sith” in this animated adventure and in addition to the sight of an
Imperial Shuttle and Storm Troopers, the characters of Admiral Screed and Mungo
Baobab would appear again in the primetime animated special “The Great
Heap.”
These
episode collections have been modified from their original 1985 televised
versions into animated feature length adventures complete with new music. These
were produced in 1996 and 1997 respectively for home video release to coincide
with the twentieth anniversary of “Star Wars” and the 1997 theatrical
release of the Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition. To my knowledge
the only home video release of both the Droids and Ewoks cartoons that preserved
the manner of their original television exhibition was in the 1990 VHS tape
releases from J2 Communications. SCI FI Channel has aired episodes from the
series in their original format complete with the memorable “Trouble Again”
theme song that accompanied the Droids episodes in the past too. Personally I
would have preferred to have the episodes presented on DVD in the way they were
originally broadcast, but since that is not the case here, at least I can say
that the new music does not overshadow the classic Star Wars sound
effects that are a staple of the entire franchise as a whole.
Presented
in the (1.33:1) television broadcast aspect ratio, both animated adventures have
truly never looked better before than on this double feature DVD. Side A
contains “The Pirates And The Prince,” which as a running time of 84 minutes
and 44 seconds while Side B containing “Treasure Of The Hidden Planet” has
running time of 88 minutes and 12 seconds. Both episodes are presented with a
clear English Stereo Soundtrack as well as optional English Captions for the
hearing impaired. While there are no extra value materials included on this DVD,
the sales price is quite low. The menus are standard interactive still frames
that are easy to navigate.
I
like the Droids animated adventures and I hope the rest of the animated
adventures, including “The Great Heap” will be made available on DVD too. I
also hope that George Lucas will see it fit to include the animated short
Nelvana produced for “The Star Wars Holiday Special” as a bonus feature on a
future DVD since the adventure featured the voice talent of the actors from “A
New Hope” and besides being the best part of that 1978 program, it clearly
must have impressed Mr. Lucas enough to allow Nelvana to produce the Droids and
Ewok cartoons otherwise they never would have come to fruition.
“Star
Wars Animated Adventures: Droids: The Pirates And The Prince & Treasure Of
The Hidden Planet: Double Feature” is available on DVD-Video now at retailers
on and offline courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd and Twentieth Century Fox Home
Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2004 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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