Disney+

[Julius]

So, just finished Part I of the final arc of The Clone Wars. Having it open up with the start of the Main Title theme and then the old Lucasfilm opening (nice nod, I'm guessing, to this being the last production from Disney that GL was directly involved in)...

...made it very, very clear to me that these aren't just four episodes; this is a feature length production split into four "episodes", and I've just checked the runtime of the episode, and it came in at 30 minutes (including credits) vs the typical 22 - 24 minutes. Production quality was clearly a step above previous episodes, and the music is fantastic (there's a pretty subtle nod to the Imperial March which had me grinning from ear to ear). I had goosebumps most of the time. 

Now this being the case shouldn't be too much of a surprise, because this arc has a lot of work to do (ending The Clone Wars in a plot running alongside Revenge of the Sith, and with ties to Rebels and The Mandalorian), and it's been hinted at in the past plenty...but yeah, I'm giddy with excitement right now 

Can't wait until Part II next week! 

[Ronnie]

The Disney+ UI is SLICK a f

Easily the nicest of all the streaming services

[bob]

The Disney+ UI is SLICK a f
Easily the nicest of all the streaming services

I don't like the way they put the 'continue watching' bit further down the page. It should be top!

[Ronnie]

49 minutes ago, bob said:

1 hour ago, Ronnie said:

The Disney+ UI is SLICK a f
Easily the nicest of all the streaming services

I don't like the way they put the 'continue watching' bit further down the page. It should be top!

I'm glad it's further down the page. If you could remove individual stuff from Continue watching then I'd say sure put it at the top but until then...

[Ashley]

Have they fixed the search functionality? Heard a lot of complaints about that during the American launch (eg 101 didn't return 101 Dalmatians).

Seems we got saved a lot of teething problems from having to wait several months!

[bob]

Having had any issues finding things yet, but then i haven't been searching for 101 Dalmatians.

[Ashley]

21 hours ago, bob said:

Having had any issues finding things yet, but then i haven't been searching for 101 Dalmatians.

What are you doing with your life bob?

[Happenstance]

Finally signed up for the 7 day trial yesterday. The Xbox One app is terrible. Crashed on me 3 times and was pretty laggy.

Rewatched some Mandalorian episodes but I dunno what else I would really get into that I haven't already seen. Doubt i'll carry on past the 7 days.

[Julius]

:Trailer and poster for the BTS series of The Mandalorian:

Edited April 23, 2020 by Julius

[bob]

Finally signed up for the 7 day trial yesterday. The Xbox One app is terrible. Crashed on me 3 times and was pretty laggy.
Rewatched some Mandalorian episodes but I dunno what else I would really get into that I haven't already seen. Doubt i'll carry on past the 7 days.

Have you watched 101 Dalmatians yet?

[Julius]

Just finished Part II of The Clone Wars' Siege of Mandalore arc.

HO-LY SMOKES.

The music, the animation (the worry conveyed by Kenobi when he reveals what happens at the start of ROTS...has happened (, the character development, the plot?! The ties to Episode III's events, the mirroring of The Last Jedi's throne room, the ties to Solo. He might still have some things to learn about directing in live-action, but Dave Filoni nails great storytelling combined with absolutely justified fan service. 

There are two episodes left of this arc, Order 66 and its aftermath to go, but I'm pretty confident that if it continues on this course, when it's finished and the Siege is all viewed as one cohesive "movie", it might be my favourite thing that is Star Wars besides the original trilogy. Forgetting the rest of the show for a moment, the layers that this arc alone has added to Revenge of the Sith are meticulously crafted and complex. I was worried that it would feel forced, but once Maul reveals his plans...oh man. 

Roll on next Friday and the following Monday. Might need to rewatch Revenge of the Sith before I watch this thing as a whole again once the last episode drops that following Monday. 

I'm not ready for Order 66 to go out 

EDIT: Forgot to mention the voice acting. Everyone was stellar, but Sam Witwer as Darth Maul in this episode delivered one of my favourite performances in Star Wars - period. 

Edited April 24, 2020 by Julius

[Ronnie]

Mid-season finale 4 of Rebels finished.

Spoiler

 

[dan-likes-trees]

On 4/24/2020 at 11:12 AM, Julius said:

Just finished Part II of The Clone Wars' Siege of Mandalore arc.

HO-LY SMOKES.

The music, the animation (the worry conveyed by Kenobi when he reveals what happens at the start of ROTS...has happened (, the character development, the plot?! The ties to Episode III's events, the mirroring of The Last Jedi's throne room, the ties to Solo. He might still have some things to learn about directing in live-action, but Dave Filoni nails great storytelling combined with absolutely justified fan service. 

There are two episodes left of this arc, Order 66 and its aftermath to go, but I'm pretty confident that if it continues on this course, when it's finished and the Siege is all viewed as one cohesive "movie", it might be my favourite thing that is Star Wars besides the original trilogy. Forgetting the rest of the show for a moment, the layers that this arc alone has added to Revenge of the Sith are meticulously crafted and complex. I was worried that it would feel forced, but once Maul reveals his plans...oh man. 

Roll on next Friday and the following Monday. Might need to rewatch Revenge of the Sith before I watch this thing as a whole again once the last episode drops that following Monday. 

I'm not ready for Order 66 to go out 

EDIT: Forgot to mention the voice acting. Everyone was stellar, but Sam Witwer as Darth Maul in this episode delivered one of my favourite performances in Star Wars - period. 

This all sounds very exciting. I currently have disney plus and tried starting clone wars but the first episode is pretty uninspiring and the animation is preettty dated.

I'd like to watch a couple of the more recent episodes before i cancel my subscription (as I'm not interested in much on the service.)

How do the arcs work? Can i just drop in some way through the last season or would I be confused AF?

[Julius]

43 minutes ago, dan-likes-trees said:

This all sounds very exciting. I currently have disney plus and tried starting clone wars but the first episode is pretty uninspiring and the animation is preettty dated.

I'd like to watch a couple of the more recent episodes before i cancel my subscription (as I'm not interested in much on the service.)

How do the arcs work? Can i just drop in some way through the last season or would I be confused AF?

Yeah, The Clone Wars unfortunately takes a little while to get going (I'd say that Rebels has a similar issue). The animation being dated is kind of part of it in a way, with Lucas fronting a lot of the money to push CG animation, and it's processes, forward some, in order to make the process cheaper not just for Lucasfilm moving forwards, but most TV animation as a whole.

The animation and stories certainly get stronger as it goes on, though as I've mentioned here previously, I'd recommend watching the show in the canonical chronological order instead of release order, as it makes much more sense and seems to flow better that way (even if it still takes a little while to get going). 

Honestly, when all is said and done, I think that this final arc (the last 4 episodes) will be condensed into a film, and could potentially standalone as such. However, the main protagonist is a character introduced in the show's movie (again, it was a case of putting in the money there to streamline their processes and improve animation moving forwards) over a decade ago, the "antagonist" is a character returning from the films, but a lot of character development has taken place since his return in the show, and seeing as the show has done so well at fleshing out the clones and we're building up to Order 66, that moment could potentially not hit as hard for someone not as familiar with the show, when compared with someone who has experienced most/all of it. It also deals with Mandalore, which has been a big part of a number of arcs, so I'm not sure how you might feel about being unfamiliar with certain characters from there. 

Maybe my judgment is being clouded from me being around these characters for more than half of my life at this point, so maybe I'm not the best person to ask, but if you are familiar enough with Revenge of the Sith (this final arc runs parallel to the film's events) and a particular piece of information from Solo, then I think you could potentially still get quite a bit of enjoyment out of it - again, not as much as someone who has watched the whole series, but I do think that a lot of the characters are self-explanatory/hinted at enough to get a feel for them, though you might not understand and appreciate their history with one another as such...it's an odd one. 

I'd say check out the rest of the show at some point (again, some of the best Star Wars stories you can find are in this show), but if what I'm saying about the final arc in particular is making your ears perk up...I'd say go for it. The animation quality is on another level when compared with even other episodes from earlier this season, and it running parallel to one of the films might make it easier to follow than a lot of the rest of the show.

The two most recent episodes of Season 7 are the ones to check out if you want to do this, and seeing as we're only halfway through the arc at the moment (next one is this coming Friday, and then the final one is Monday 4th May), if you have any questions about certain things, or want to know which arcs I'd suggest checking out as vital to this arc to potentially get a better understanding of it, I'd be more than happy to let you know  

[Julius]

Episode IX is being added to Disney+ on May 4th, so they put out a little Saga trailer now that all of the films will be on there. 

So this May 4th on Disney+ we currently have:

- Episode IX debut on Disney+

- The Clone Wars S7 E12, the final episode of the show

- Mando BTS docuseries debut

 

I wonder if we get an announcement/reveal to round that day off too, such as whatever's next from Lucasfilm Animation (I've got a strong idea of what this is going to be already, so that'd be exciting) or a premiere date for the start of The Mandalorian S2? Latter seems a little less likely to me because I'm not sure how much the current situation has affected production, so I imagine the Animation team hasn't been impacted quite as drastically. With SWC, which is scheduled for August, currently being up in the air, it wouldn't surprise me if we get something new revealed on that day. Seems unlikely that it'd be related to a movie if it does happen, based on the current situation, though. 

[Ashley]

I love how this legal boilerplate really brings the mood down

 

[Julius]

21 minutes ago, Ashley said:

I love how this legal boilerplate really brings the mood down

 

Oh man, I needed that laugh after today 

[Ashley]

 

[dan-likes-trees]

On 4/25/2020 at 9:28 PM, Julius said:

Yeah, The Clone Wars unfortunately takes a little while to get going (I'd say that Rebels has a similar issue). The animation being dated is kind of part of it in a way, with Lucas fronting a lot of the money to push CG animation, and it's processes, forward some, in order to make the process cheaper not just for Lucasfilm moving forwards, but most TV animation as a whole.

The animation and stories certainly get stronger as it goes on, though as I've mentioned here previously, I'd recommend watching the show in the canonical chronological order instead of release order, as it makes much more sense and seems to flow better that way (even if it still takes a little while to get going). 

Honestly, when all is said and done, I think that this final arc (the last 4 episodes) will be condensed into a film, and could potentially standalone as such. However, the main protagonist is a character introduced in the show's movie (again, it was a case of putting in the money there to streamline their processes and improve animation moving forwards) over a decade ago, the "antagonist" is a character returning from the films, but a lot of character development has taken place since his return in the show, and seeing as the show has done so well at fleshing out the clones and we're building up to Order 66, that moment could potentially not hit as hard for someone not as familiar with the show, when compared with someone who has experienced most/all of it. It also deals with Mandalore, which has been a big part of a number of arcs, so I'm not sure how you might feel about being unfamiliar with certain characters from there. 

Maybe my judgment is being clouded from me being around these characters for more than half of my life at this point, so maybe I'm not the best person to ask, but if you are familiar enough with Revenge of the Sith (this final arc runs parallel to the film's events) and a particular piece of information from Solo, then I think you could potentially still get quite a bit of enjoyment out of it - again, not as much as someone who has watched the whole series, but I do think that a lot of the characters are self-explanatory/hinted at enough to get a feel for them, though you might not understand and appreciate their history with one another as such...it's an odd one. 

I'd say check out the rest of the show at some point (again, some of the best Star Wars stories you can find are in this show), but if what I'm saying about the final arc in particular is making your ears perk up...I'd say go for it. The animation quality is on another level when compared with even other episodes from earlier this season, and it running parallel to one of the films might make it easier to follow than a lot of the rest of the show.

The two most recent episodes of Season 7 are the ones to check out if you want to do this, and seeing as we're only halfway through the arc at the moment (next one is this coming Friday, and then the final one is Monday 4th May), if you have any questions about certain things, or want to know which arcs I'd suggest checking out as vital to this arc to potentially get a better understanding of it, I'd be more than happy to let you know  

Thanks a lot for this info! Jumping in the episode you mentioned sounds best for now, will do!

[Ronnie]

I'm watching the last three episodes of Rebels tonight, and I am excited. That is all.

[Julius]

I've seen Order 66 play out tens of not hundreds of times by this point, from many different perspectives. The perspective of it in Part III of this final arc of The Clone Wars is gripping, chilling, and perhaps one of my favourites. 

Kevin Kiner knocked it out of the park in this episode with his score, my goodness. Early on, once the dust settles and we see the aftermath of the ending events of Part II, this eerie and cold background music creeps in, and it just doesn't leave for a good ten minutes or so. It's so persistent. It's so tense. It seriously feels claustrophobic. And then how it swells into Anakin's Dark Deeds when the deed goes down...wow 

Adding to the claustrophobia is some incredible cinematography, and really subtle character interactions and decisions like having what would normally be a "Yes Sir" from a clone be this slow, telling nod. The way that this episode, like the others in the arc, blend so well and effectively with the events of Episode III is just awesome. 

Again, while Filoni has plenty to learn about directing live-action and is already well in his way in learning how to do so (being on set for the three sequel films, the spin-offs, being surrounded by a great cast of directors on The Mandalorian - I know he's going to be fine), he is easily the man that gets Star Wars the most still working at Lucasfilm.

I don't want Monday to come around for this show to be over. 

[Julius]

So after instinct told me something might be up, I check Disney+ a bit over half an hour ago and, surprise surprise, the final episode of The Clone Wars is up at 12 AM vs the 8 AM slot we've had for the final season to this point. 

Goodness gracious me Filoni, you beautiful, beautiful man. I definitely need to rewatch the entire arc in one go to see how well it's paced stitched together (or, you know, they could work their magic and release a movie cut? Please?!), and I'll guess I'll gather more cohesive thoughts then, as this definitely had the pacing of a conclusion, but boy is it special.

The whole arc has been special, but the imagery, the level of animation, and Kevin Kiner's Blade Runner-esque soundtrack married to previous themes from the show and John Williams classics in this final episode...man oh man, what a show! The mirroring of the Rebels finale in certain shots, the satisfying conclusion to certain character arcs, tying up loose ends and any outlying "continuity errors", if you would go so far as to call them that, from other shows or books. 

And that final scene. That final shot. That helmet in the snow, and the reflection in the visor. The Clone Wars ended at long last. My mouth was literally agape the entire time. That might be one of the most powerful and tasteful shots in the entire Star Wars pantheon. 

There are certainly since arcs which have been shown or teased to this point which I would still love to see released as shorter, limited run projects under the banner of The Clone Wars, but this is more than a satisfying conclusion if this is how they want to leave it for now. If the next animated show can hit the ground running, and have this level of animation, then we'll be in for something truly special. 

Fingers crossed for an announcement soon... 

[Julius]

The first episode of the BTS docuseries Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian is up now, as is The Rise of Skywalker.

Love how the featured titles on the Disney+ hub are all Star Wars shows and films with concept art used in place of the typical poster for today, like so...

[Julius]

Just finished watching the first episode of Disney Gallery / Star Wars: The Mandalorian.

The focus on the directors, their backgrounds, and what they were like on set was much appreciated, but I'm glad they started out the episode with a bit of a focus on Filoni. I think it's important that he is more widely acknowledged for his work on Star Wars. Also, in one of the parts he wore an awesome Princess Mononoke t-shirt that I've just tracked down, the man can do no wrong 

Really enjoyed it, hope they do more things like this in the future, and I'm looking forward to next week's episode. 

Edited May 4, 2020 by Julius

[Julius]

Just finished the second episode of Disney Gallery / Star Wars: The Mandalorian. This time they focused on legacy, and to begin with there's a lot of the awesome but usual "yeah, I was astounded by Star Wars as a child, it got me into the industry", etc. - nothing wrong with that, but I always feel like it's the most awkward statement to make. I love hearing more about what it was that made people relate to the story, or the world, or what line or scene exactly made them go "wow, I need to be a part of this". 

And the show closes out with like a five minute monologue from Filoni on the throughline from The Phantom Menace to Return of the Jedi which George crafted about family. George would never say any of this, so it's awesome to hear it from Filoni, explained to how peers and an audience who, largely, don't have the greatest impression of the prequels. He really does get every stroke of the Star Wars tapestry, and fully understands the messages that George was going for in the prequels.