LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out is the second LEGO Star Wars special to air on Cartoon Network. The story continues where The Padawan Menace left off, and covers elements from the original trilogy of films. While Leia & Han head to Hoth, Artoo joins Jedi-in-training Luke in his search for the rebel base on Theed. Chewie and Threepio were in the bathroom when everyone took off, and were accidentally left behind. Meanwhile, the Emperor has brought together Sith-lings Darth Vader and Darth Maul to help him re-build his Death Star. Can the rebels stop the Imperial forces and take back the Empire?
Much like the original LEGO Star Wars short film, this is another hilarious animated adventure that is a treat for both casual Star Wars fans but even more so for fans who know the films by heart. The creators have a lot of fun breaking the fourth wall—such as having the off-screen director give cues to Darth Vader on how he should play the scene, and having a fan run up to Luke with her Star Wars lunch box.
The film is also loaded with jokes and references geared towards the gripes and common opinions of fans—such as Han expressing relief over the fact that Jar Jar will not be in the film, and another scene where Han clearly shoots first. We also see that Darth Maul has created lyrics to his theme music, all about how awesome he is.
Speaking of Darth Maul, they have a lot of fun with Darth Vader and Darth Maul’s sith-ling rivalry. At one point they are using the Force on one another and Darth Maul taunts “Why are you choking yourself? Why are you choking yourself?”. And in another scene we hear Darth Vader screaming, “I’ve got sand up my NOOOOOOOOOOOOOse”. And Vader is constantly trying to tell Luke the truth about his father, but keeps getting interrupted before he can “rock Luke’s world”.
There are so many layers of jokes to this special that you can re-watch it over and over and find new, fun elements each time. I really enjoyed The Empire Strikes Out—even more than the original The Padawan Menace special, which was also a fun-filled 22 minutes.
Despite it only getting a DVD release this time around, the video looks great. The character voices sound just like the original cast/characters from the films, and the soundtrack is once again composed by John Williams. All of this gives viewers the full Star Wars experience. The Empire Strikes Out is definitely worth picking up for any Star Wars fan—I just wish they had included some bonus features on the disc!
What’s Included on the DVD:
- Widescreen 1.78:1, Color
- Audio: English DD 5.1, Spanish Surround DD 2.0, French Surround DD 2.0
- English SDH and Spanish subtitles
Closed Captions
Extras:
- Exclusive Minifigure
The DVD comes packed in a larger slip box that houses the DVD case and contains an exclusive Darth Vader With Medal minifigure.
Final Thoughts:
This special originally aired in HD on Cartoon Network. The original LEGO Star Wars special, The Padawan Menace, received both a Blu-ray and a DVD release. However, this sequel is only available on DVD. Even though it’s not in HD, I’m really pleased with the quality of the picture—it looks very crisp and clear. The 5.1 audio track provides a nice mix of the dialogue, sound effects and John Williams score, and evokes that full, fun Star Wars experience.
While the DVD/Blu-ray releases of the original The Padawan Menace special contained some special features, on this disc there is absolutely nothing. The only bonus is the exclusive minifigure contained in the package. While it’s a nice extra, I would have liked to see some more content on the disc than just the 22 minute special.
I thoroughly enjoyed this special, even more than The Padawan Menace (which was already great!). I would have easily given this a Highly Recommended, but I found it’s lack of extras disturbing. That said, it’s still a must-buy for any Star Wars fan.