| The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special | |
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| Genre | |
| Based on | Star Wars byGeorge Lucas |
| Developed by |
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| Written by | David Shayne |
| Directed by | Ken Cunningham |
| Starring | |
| Composer | Michael Kramer |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Running time | 49 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | Disney+ |
| Release | November 17, 2020 (2020-11-17) |
| Related | |
| Lego Star Wars: Terrifying Tales Lego Star Wars: Summer Vacation | |
The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special[a] is a 2020 CGI-animatedChristmas special based on theStar Wars franchise, produced byLucasfilm Animation andThe Lego Group alongsideAtomic Cartoons, and directed by Ken Cunningham from a script by David Shayne. It is a spoof on the infamous 1978The Star Wars Holiday Special. Set around the in-universe holiday Life Day,Rey trainsFinn in the ways ofthe Force beforetime travelling across theStar Wars timeline. The special was released onDisney+ on November 17, 2020, and received generally positive reviews from critics.
On the first Life Day after the defeat of theFirst Order inThe Rise of Skywalker,Rey trainsFinn to be a Jedi,[b] but becomes angry with herself for their lack of progress. While reading the ancient Jedi texts for help, Rey finds about a key on the planet Kordoku that she deduces could help her train Finn. With the key only being usable on Life Day, Rey andBB-8 leave for Kordoku, while the rest stay on the planetKashyyyk, wherePoe Dameron unsuccessfully tries to set-up a Life Day party forChewbacca's family.[c]
On Kordoku, Rey finds the "key", which she discovers is a crystal capable oftime travel to previous Life Days via a portal.[d] She uses the crystal to observe former Jedi masters and students. This includesLuke Skywalker training on Dagobah withYoda inThe Empire Strikes Back,Qui-Gon Jinn andObi-Wan Kenobi on their trade dispute mission inThe Phantom Menace, Obi-Wan andAnakin Skywalker on their way to protectPadmé Amidala inAttack of the Clones and Luke blowing up the firstDeath Star inA New Hope. After Rey sees these events she and BB-8 accidentally end-up hearing Darth Vader and EmperorPalpatine plotting inside the second Death Star inReturn of the Jedi. After overhearing them and discovering the portal, Palpatine orders Vader to follow them. Rey and Vader end up in a duel across time that ends with them and multiple parties through time clashing on theLars family farm shortly before Luke's departure. Rey and Vader meet young Luke and the three of them are transported back to Kordoku, Vader steals the crystal and strands Rey and young Luke in the planet.
After handling the crystal to Palpatine, the two use it to travel into the future, ending up inKylo Ren's chambers shortly after he named himself Supreme Leader of the First Order inThe Last Jedi There, Ren informs them how Vader betrays and kills Palpatine. Unaware of his secret survival,[e] the duo then travel back to the Death Star alongside Ren, with Palpatine planning to kill Vader before his betrayal and turn Ren into his new apprentice.
On Kordoku, Yoda'sForce spirit shows Rey how, in her frustration, she became cold towards Finn, and that she needs to treat him as both a student and friend. With help from Yoda and Luke, Rey creates a new portal and returns to the second Death Star. Rey and the Luke from that era face against Ren and Vader, before Rey retakes the crystal and reluctantly returns Ren to his time. Luke and Rey defeat Palpatine, who is thrown into the reactor shaft by Vader, as in the original timeline, due to his mistreatment after learning of their fates.
Rey returns the young Luke to the past and restores the timeline, before returning to Kordoku in the present and returning the key. She then returns to Kashyyyk and joins the party, which Finn andRose Tico managed to save by contacting their allies for help. Rey apologizes to Finn, and tells him she is ready to train him as herPadawan.
The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special was announced to be in development in August 2020. The special serves as an homage and satire to the infamousThe Star Wars Holiday Special (1978).[2] The concept for the special was conceived by director Ken Cunningham when he was requested byThe Lego Group andLucasfilm Animation to help develop content based on theStar Wars franchise.[3] Lucasfilm wanted to expand their Lego productions since they began to develop projects forDisney+. After a reunion between the executives where they reminisced of holiday specials they watched in their childhoods, they decided to develop a holiday special based on LegoStar Wars.[4]
The writers drew inspiration from several Christmas specials, such asRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer andPlanes, Trains and Automobiles, as they felt their storytelling and lessons about family were "inherent" to the Star Wars franchise, and choose to explore Rey's burden as the last Jedi and how that isolates her from her friends.[4] The producers ultimately conceived a time-travel plot that allows Rey to reflect "on her own mistakes, her own teachings, and what it means to be a mentor";[4] according to executive producer James Waugh, the concept of a time-travel story through severalStar Wars projects was inspired by how children do not regulate themselves with a particular era while playing with their LegoStar Wars sets.[5][4]
Though the originalHoliday Special served as an inspiration for the writers, they did not want it to be a remake, instead creating an original story while "honoring" certain elements from the original special that were canonized in otherStar Wars media, most prominently the Life Day.[5][4] The writers gave the character ofRose Tico a prominent role in the story after her reduced role inStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).[6]
Voice actors from previousStar Wars media who reprise their roles in the special includeBilly Dee Williams,Kelly Marie Tran,Anthony Daniels,Matt Lanter,Tom Kane,James Arnold Taylor, andDee Bradley Baker.[7] According toMark Hamill, he was not approached to voice his longtimeStar Wars role asLuke Skywalker in the special;[8] the character was instead voiced byEric Bauza. Hamill however would reprise his role as Luke in theLego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy mini-series in 2024.
Approximately 100 animators fromAtomic Cartoons worked on the special.[3] According to director Ken Cunnigham, the animators wanted the special to have as much of a cinematic quality as possible, having been inspired by the videogameLego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.[3] The animators used the LEGO Digital Designer to build models through digital Lego bricks, before being brought to Atomic Cartoons' computer software to work on the animation.[3]
The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special was released on November 17, 2020, onDisney+, marking the 42nd anniversary of the originalHoliday Special's release.[9] It is also released on the Star Wars KidsYouTube channel, for a limited time in 2024.[10]
The special's official trailer was released on November 5, 2020.[11] To promote the special, the producers worked closely with Lego to create tie-in sets that were released as part of the "LEGOStar Wars Advent Calendar".[4]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes the special has an approval rating of 75%, based on 59 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4 out of 10. The site's critics consensus reads: "The Force isn't fully with this LegoStar Wars adventure, but its affectionate franchise callbacks and self-aware humor should please fans looking to spend their holidays in a galaxy far, far away".[12] OnMetacritic, the special has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[13]
Will Thorne ofVariety wrote: "At the end of the (Life) day, The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special is a fun, self-contained adventure which feels a few bricks short of a full Star Wars load."[14]The A.V. Club gave it a B− grade, comparing it to theStar Wars Holiday Special saying it "amps up that cheesiness in the best way possible, taking all the bad with the good, in a charming ode to the 1978 television special."[15]DiscussingFilm rated it 3 out of 5[16]Ben Travis ofEmpire magazine rated it 4 out of 5.[17]IGN rated it 7 out of 10, calling it "all at once abundantly silly, cringingly corny, and marvelously meta."[18]IndieWire gave it an A− grade.[19]
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