Two new seasons of Star Wars content dropped today on Disney+ in celebration of Star Wars Day, with the debut of Young Jedi Adventures and the release of the second season of Visions. And the latter series continued on the immense strengths of the first season by producing nine new episodes from animation studios all over the world.
Volume 2 featured a far more diverse range of animation styles and studios, which made each episode feel more fresh and unique. They all told different stories, too, though there were some clear thematic elements that showed up in several of them. Ultimately, the heart behind Visions is to allow a variety of styles, stories, and studios the chance to tell a fresh story in the Star Wars universe. The stories aren’t considered to be canon, which gives the storytellers more freedom in what they do, and they’re all interacting with certain elements and themes from the franchise. That’s where the name comes from: these are different visions of what the Star Wars galaxy is and means.
The nine episodes and studios that were involved include “Sith” (El Guiri), “Screecher’s Reach” (Cartoon Saloon), “In the Stars” (Punkrobot), “I Am Your Mother” (Aardman), “Journey to the Dark Head” (Studio Mir), “The Spy Dancer” (Studio La Cachette), “The Bandits of Golak” (88 Pictures), “The Pit” (D’art Shtajio and Lucasfilm Ltd.), and “Aau’s Song” (Triggerfish). As was the case with the first volume of episodes, there will be certain shorts that connect with viewers more than others, which is very much to be expected with a format like this. But while I’m not sure any of them quite reached the same heights as “The Ninth Jedi” did for me with Volume 1, I’m also very confident in saying that overall I thought these were far more consistently enjoyable and engaging. I’ll have a breakdown of my favorite episodes coming out in the next few days, but all nine episodes included some great moments that connected with me.
And though it probably goes without saying, I need to say it anyway: the animation for these shorts are stunningly beautiful, and the variety of styles highlights the particular strengths all the more. It very much leans into the visual storytelling, and that’s a big part of why it works so well. It provides the chance to explore different ways of telling familiar stories, utilizing the visuals and musical score to drive the point home. As an example, let me just mention the first and last of these episodes. The first, “Sith”, explores aspects of the Force and lightsaber duels through the main character’s artwork. The last, “Aau’s Song,” explores aspects of the Force through the main character’s music. Each of the episodes includes a unique focus like these.
I imagine that Visions won’t connect with every viewer in quite the same way, but I also imagine that most fans will find at least a few of the episodes really enjoyable and engaging, and all of them are very much worth watching. I’m thrilled that this kind of storytelling medium has been opened up by Lucasfilm in recent years, and it’s the perfect thing to binge-watch in celebration of Star Wars Day.
Star Wars Thoughts 