Robot Chicken : Star Wars [DVD]

By Adam Frazier

It’s no surprise that Seth Green and Matthew Senreich are huge ”Star Wars” nerds. Their hit stop motion animation show, Robot Chicken, thrives off references to George Lucas’ monumental film franchise. Some of the show’s funniest sketches have featured toys or characters from the Star Wars universe, and it was only a matter of time until a special was released to celebrate the film’s 30th anniversary.

”Robot Chicken: Star Wars” is double-sized episode jam-packed with over thirty shorts and spoofs paying tribute to that galaxy far, far away. Being as the writers and creators of Robot Chicken are vastly obsessed with the franchise, this special is laced with esoteric jokes and obscure references at every turn. The best of these sketches typically poke fun at silly characters, such as Jar Jar Binks, and gaps in reasoning that the Prequel Trilogy presented.

Take for instance, a sequence that parodies the classic moment in ”The Empire Strikes Back” where Vader reveals that he is Luke’s father. Luke (voiced by Mark Hammil) follows through with “That’s not true, that’s impossible!” But that’s where the similarities end. Vader goes on to announce more shocking revelations. “And Princess Leia is your sister!” Luke finds that revelation to be improbable. “And the Empire will be defeated by Ewoks!” At this moment, if Luke had two hands he would scratch his head. “That’s very unlikely.”

“And as I child, I built C-3P0!” This seems to be pretty far-fetched to the Luke Skywalker who can only muster up, “Huh?” in return. Moments later, Vader is having a cup of coffee and Luke is taking a drag off a cigarette. “And the Force? Well that’s just microscopic bacteria in your bloodstream called Midichlorians.” Luke tosses his cigarette down the bottomless reactor core and walks over to Vader. “Look, if you’re not going to take this seriously, I’m out.”

Other completely random sketches include an Admiral Ackbar cereal commercial, a Cloud City weather report, and a “Yo Mamma” fight between Luke and the Emperor. One of my favorite sketches has Jar Jar Binks being reunited with “Ani,” who has become Darth Vader. In typical Jar Jar fashion, the Gungan bumbles around screaming annoying phrases until Vader puts him in the airlock and shoots him into space. We then see Vader going to sleep in his Star Wars bed when a ghostly apparition of Jar Jar appears to announce that now he and Ani can be together forever.

If you’re a fan of ”Robot Chicken” or just ”Star Wars” in particular, this special seems to do what Family Guy’s Blue Harvest couldn’t, truly pay homage to George Lucas’ space fantasy saga. Whereas Blue Harvest was mostly ”Family Guy” jokes in the dressings of Star Wars, ”Robot Chicken: Star Wars” gets deep into the characters and mythology and explores the humor and whimsical nature of the universe itself.

Extras

An Adult Swim Sampler among other choice bonuses.