Star Wars animation returns on Disney Plus with, Tales of the Jedi. Even at their short length, these six stories bring a surprising amount of depth and emotion.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Star Wars stories in animated form (except for the canon-adjacent LEGO specials). Hell, it’s been over a year since Star Wars Visions, and even longer since The Bad Batch hit. Thankfully, the drought ends with the arrival of Tales of the Jedi. While they consist of only six short films (ranging from 10 minutes at the lowest and 17 minutes at the longest), they pack a whole lot of punch.
When Tales of the Jedi first leaked out last year, thanks to images of a Lucasfilm Company Christmas gift, I was hopeful the series would be akin to the old Expanded Universe comics it borrows its name (and logo styling) from. Something that would take a look at the Jedi order from different periods of time rather than stick with familiar faces/eras. As such, I admit to be a little disappointed when we learned the shorts would all take place around the Prequel era (both a little before and a little after).
Thankfully, the shorts rule regardless of how I initially felt.
Tales of the Jedi puts the focus on two familiar faces: Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku. They both get three episodes a piece that serve to show new, never before seen, stories about their adventures. I won’t be going into each individual episode as they’re too short, nor do I take away from some of the cool surprises that pop up in some of them.
Through these shorts, we get a little bit more insight into these characters and parts of their lives we’re not as familiar with. True, we probably know more about Ahsoka, and have followed her story, almost as much as any other main character in Star Wars, but Tales manages to find crucial moments in her life that clearly impact the decisions/moments we’ve already seen.
I won’t talk too much about her stories, but it was neat to learn more about her original family and get a glimpse to her doings in the events following Revenge of the Sith and the final season of The Clone Wars. Also, without hyperbole, the final short contains one of my all-time favorite Ahsoka moments. I’m not entirely sure how the sequence will play out with others, but I loved it and literally pumped my fist and shouted, “holy shit.”
As for the Count Dooku shorts, I think these impressed me the most. All of these take place at earlier points in Dooku’s life. One as he is training a young Qui-Gon Jinn, another as he embarks on a mission (likely his last with the order) with Mace Windu, and a final one as he completes his journey to the Sith.
It’s a side of Dooku we’ve never really seen before, and only touched on here and there in books/comics. Getting to see him younger on screen is refreshing and gives a bit more insight into how he ended up leaving the Jedi Order and the process behind his turn to the dark side.
More, it really hammers home how the Order itself struggles during this period of time and how they’ve lost their way. While this, obviously, doesn’t excuse Dooku’s villainous turn and the atrocities he later committed, it certainly provides a deeper context, expanding him well beyond a simple one-dimensional villain.
Yaddle also rules incredibly hard. It’s a legit treat to see her get some action and dialog, even better considering Bryce Dallas Howard provides the voice for her. While her role in Tales of the Jedi is shorter than I’d hoped, it was impressive and portrayed her in a way I’ve long been hoping to see.
Even though you can look at the series as connecting to a larger overall story (even within themselves), for the most part, the shorts work incredibly well on their own. They’re succinct stories that work as standalone adventures you can watch individually. There’s only one that doesn’t quite work that way, but the connection it makes to a previously released show/episode is one hell of an emotional gut punch.
In fact, I was surprised at the amount of emotional depth present in almost all the shorts. If you had told me I’d find myself getting choked up/feeling sorry for Count Dooku just a couple days ago, I’d have called you a liar. Yet, here we are.
Sure, a big part of it comes from the benefit of these shorts pulling from characters we’re already familiar with. Even so, the pacing of these shorts deserve plenty of credit as well. While things move quickly, for obvious reasons, and feature some impressive action moments, the episodes also make sure to take time for the quieter moments. It’s not afraid to slow things down to highlight specific character beats. Not once does it feel like an episode was rushing to finish, or skipping over important stuff to focus on the action.
It’s an impressive bit of storytelling. Between this and last year’s Star Wars Visions, I’m floored by the ability of a franchise known for its BIG stories to work so well in short-form media.
Overall, Tales of the Jedi is great Star Wars storytelling. It brings impressive action, epic moments, and adds a surprising amount of depth and emotion to characters we already know. The feeling I had most when I finished up all six of the shorts was, overwhelmingly, a desire for more. I hope this is but a taste of more to come (and perhaps something that will delve into new eras).
If you’ve been missing Star Wars animation, Tales of the Jedi does a great job of scratching that itch. Fans and newcomers alike will find plenty to enjoy in these quick stories. I suspect a few of these will find themselves on repeat in fans’ homes.
All six episodes of Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi hit Disney+ on October 26, 2022.
