So here we are at Star Wars Rebels, the first video entry into the new Star Wars EU. So let's see where to begin. It has been 6 years since we left Kanan and Hera at the end of A New Dawn(the first novel in the New EU), and apparently they have been busy. But that is jumping ahead a little.
We really start this through the eyes of a brand new young character named Ezra Bridger. Right now I can tell you that this is going to be the 'Luke Skywalker' of the series. I really don't like this character. He's a modern twist on a Luke/Anakin-mold that is supposed to be the element to connect to its target audience, namely kids, but I find him to be a very unlikeable character, and wish they just would have gone with Kanan, Hera and their crew and been done with it. Especially since Kanan was set up as an ex-padawan in A New Dawn so we already had the force element covered. So, anyways, Ezra is this street-kid type character that apparently is good at tricking Stormtroopers but is also only out for himself and will take from the people he is helping just as much as from the Troopers, and he has all the charm of an unruly little smart-ass that needs a swift kick in the ass. But again, I digress For those that pay attention to these things, Ezra is voiced by Taylor Gray, who I have never heard of but seem to do a believable job.
Now, Ezra happens to be at the right place at the right time (which of course he takes advantage of), and we get to see Kanan and his crew, in action, for the first time from an outsider viewpoint looking in. I really liked how they were introduced, and the new additions that were not introduced in the book worked really well in this first action sequence. We have 3 main additions.
Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios who is a species called Lasat. He is basically the muscle of the team with a slightly rougher attitude then the rest but also has the "once you get to know him" type feel. He is being voiced by Steve Blum who is also doing other voices on the show like that of a Stormtrooper, for instance.
Sabine Wren who is a very cute Mandalorian, and wears a pink version of the warrior armor. Since I have a soft spot for anything Mandalorian, she already scored a win from me, even if her armor was pink. Sabine is being voiced by Tiya Sircar. Finally we have Chopper, the astromech droid of the series. This one defiantly has a personality on the level with Artoo, and he seems like he is gonna fit in nicely. As to Kanan and Hera, well, I really like what they did with them for the most part. Kanan is being voiced by Freddie Prince, Jr. and Hera is by Vanessa Marshall, who seems to be the one voice actress with the most experience in this department of the group. Although I'm not sure but Hera seems to be coming off with a bit of a British flare, using words like "luv" at the end of her sentences.
So there was definitely some great Star Wars action, but for the most part this was a setup pilot. There were some things they did great, like the speeder bike scenes, or the wookie rescue, and then there was stuff that seemed too contrived trying to grasp at the greatness of the OT like the fact that in 5 years since we left Kanan, where he was afraid and cautious of showing his powers, that now he is willing to take on a padawan, and in some sense considers himself a suedo-jedi. Similar to the Clone Wars animated series this was a decent start but has a lot of ground it needs to improve on. Oh, they did throw in an Obi-Wan "appearance" and of course it was voiced by James Arnold Taylor, who has been the voice of Kenobi for the past 6 years on the Clone Wars series, so this was a very cool nod to that as well.
Also I would suggest watching the ABC released version on their official website if you want to see the Special Guest appearance (totally awesome) that is well worth the nostalgia alone, and adds heavily to the tiny introduction of the new villain of the series, the Inquisitor (voice by Jason Isaacs, known most recently as Malfoy Senior in the Harry Potter movies). This is Disney showing how dedicated they are to making this work.
We really start this through the eyes of a brand new young character named Ezra Bridger. Right now I can tell you that this is going to be the 'Luke Skywalker' of the series. I really don't like this character. He's a modern twist on a Luke/Anakin-mold that is supposed to be the element to connect to its target audience, namely kids, but I find him to be a very unlikeable character, and wish they just would have gone with Kanan, Hera and their crew and been done with it. Especially since Kanan was set up as an ex-padawan in A New Dawn so we already had the force element covered. So, anyways, Ezra is this street-kid type character that apparently is good at tricking Stormtroopers but is also only out for himself and will take from the people he is helping just as much as from the Troopers, and he has all the charm of an unruly little smart-ass that needs a swift kick in the ass. But again, I digress For those that pay attention to these things, Ezra is voiced by Taylor Gray, who I have never heard of but seem to do a believable job.
Now, Ezra happens to be at the right place at the right time (which of course he takes advantage of), and we get to see Kanan and his crew, in action, for the first time from an outsider viewpoint looking in. I really liked how they were introduced, and the new additions that were not introduced in the book worked really well in this first action sequence. We have 3 main additions.
Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios who is a species called Lasat. He is basically the muscle of the team with a slightly rougher attitude then the rest but also has the "once you get to know him" type feel. He is being voiced by Steve Blum who is also doing other voices on the show like that of a Stormtrooper, for instance.
Sabine Wren who is a very cute Mandalorian, and wears a pink version of the warrior armor. Since I have a soft spot for anything Mandalorian, she already scored a win from me, even if her armor was pink. Sabine is being voiced by Tiya Sircar. Finally we have Chopper, the astromech droid of the series. This one defiantly has a personality on the level with Artoo, and he seems like he is gonna fit in nicely. As to Kanan and Hera, well, I really like what they did with them for the most part. Kanan is being voiced by Freddie Prince, Jr. and Hera is by Vanessa Marshall, who seems to be the one voice actress with the most experience in this department of the group. Although I'm not sure but Hera seems to be coming off with a bit of a British flare, using words like "luv" at the end of her sentences.
So there was definitely some great Star Wars action, but for the most part this was a setup pilot. There were some things they did great, like the speeder bike scenes, or the wookie rescue, and then there was stuff that seemed too contrived trying to grasp at the greatness of the OT like the fact that in 5 years since we left Kanan, where he was afraid and cautious of showing his powers, that now he is willing to take on a padawan, and in some sense considers himself a suedo-jedi. Similar to the Clone Wars animated series this was a decent start but has a lot of ground it needs to improve on. Oh, they did throw in an Obi-Wan "appearance" and of course it was voiced by James Arnold Taylor, who has been the voice of Kenobi for the past 6 years on the Clone Wars series, so this was a very cool nod to that as well.
Also I would suggest watching the ABC released version on their official website if you want to see the Special Guest appearance (totally awesome) that is well worth the nostalgia alone, and adds heavily to the tiny introduction of the new villain of the series, the Inquisitor (voice by Jason Isaacs, known most recently as Malfoy Senior in the Harry Potter movies). This is Disney showing how dedicated they are to making this work.