Star Wars animation returned to Disney+ today with Tales of the Jedi, a six-episode event featuring parables built around Jedi from the prequel era. The series takes its animation style from its predecessors The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch, and brings the return of some fan-favorite characters. While the short episodes come and go when binged, they leave you with powerful themes, messages, and learning so much more about a galaxy far, far away. Similar to our previous early Star Wars reviews, this review will be spoiler-free.
The two Jedi featured in this event are Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku, who split the series with three episodes apiece, each at different points of their lives. What these arcs present are two characters who had two distinct perspectives on the galaxy at war, and how it defined their destinies.
Each episode ranges from 10-17 minutes, and really showcases Lucasfilm Animation’s ability to tell powerful stories in short form. Despite being shorter than the average television episode, each part of Tales of the Jedi feels profound, telling stories that are succinct but impactful.
What I really appreciated the most about these six episodes is how they added to the story of the prequel era we thought we knew. For Ahsoka, this series adds a lot of really nice context to her journey in the Star Wars universe. Tales of the Jedi gives us a strong origin story for her, as well as adds to her story both during and post-The Clone Wars. Meanwhile for Count Dooku, his three episodes add to his largely untold story.
While Ahsoka’s episodes pulled at my heartstrings and nostalgia, it was Dooku’s episodes that made us walk away from Tales of the Jedi floored. Adding context to his story was needed, and arguably makes him a sympathetic character. Fans of the prequel era will likely walk away from his episodes feeling a bit differently about his character and the Separatist movement in the Clone Wars as a whole.
Tales of the Jedi is Star Wars animation at its finest. It takes beautiful animation and combines it with stellar storytelling into a compact, complete package. There’s a lot to love about the other Star Wars animated series, but Tales of the Jedi is truly something special. This anthology series could be an exciting way to see more stories of underrepresented characters from all eras, and we hope to see more of this series soon.
What did you think ofTales of the Jedi? What’re you most anticipating? Let us know in the comments below or on our social media pages.
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