Star Wars returns to CG animation with My grandfather’s tales, a series of six short films released simultaneously on Disney+. Despite the short form, everything Dave Filoni and Lucasfilm Animation have mastered Star Wars: Clone Wars And the Star Wars Rebels Still intact and on display. Compared to that series, My grandfather’s tales It is a bleak experience, lacking in the exciting outcome, epic wartime battles, and secret sabotage missions. Instead, he sets a tone that perfectly fits his character-centric story, touching on the Jedi blind spots that allowed the Dark Side to thrive in the years leading up to the empire’s rise through the lives of two Jedi who saw and experienced those failures and responded to them in different ways. .
My grandfather’s talesThe six episodes divided their focus equally between Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku, earning three episodes each. Since Lucasfilm has ordered the episodes in chronological order, Dooku’s story is framed within Ahsoka, interwoven in a way that creates a cohesive narrative.
The first episode, ‘Life and Death’, shows Ahsoka’s birth and her first ceremonial hunting expedition with her mother, which reveals her sensitivity to force. It’s the quieter episodes, as it doesn’t feature a single lightsaber, opting instead to reconnect the concept of force with inspiration from Eastern philosophies and religions like Taoism that shaped its portrayal in the original Star Wars trilogy. The episode achieves this in a way that moves the viewer and resets the baseline of what it means to balance the force, something Jedi and Star Wars fans sometimes forget, setting the stage for upcoming episodes.
after this, My grandfather’s tales It begins with a three-ring arc charting Count Dooku’s fall into the dark side. Each episode is located years apart at key points in Dooku’s descent, from his first dissatisfaction with the role of the Jedi in the Republic to his first exposure to separatist politics to his crossing of the threshold at the point of no return. Each time he is paired up with another Jedi – Qui-Gon Jinn, Mace Windu and Yaddle – to compare his thoughts and behaviors with theirs. The episodes form a reflection on the “hero’s journey” that served as the narrative basis for the original Star Wars trilogy, with Dooku eventually responding to the call of the Sith.
My grandfather’s tales It concludes with two episodes focusing on Ahsoka, condensing a similar story from three arc events into two episodes via allusions to events from Star Wars: Clone Wars. “Practice Makes Perfect” may inspire a debate about Ahsoka’s master training style, Anakin Skywalker, as thoughtful viewers will look to what’s beneath the surface: Who sent a 14-year-old girl to be a wartime leader in the first place? And why is Ahsoka among the only Jedi to have survived Order 66?
The final episode hints at what comes next for Ashoka in the Age of Empire, giving her a moment similar to Obi-Wan Kenobi’s duel with Darth Maul in Star Wars Rebels Episode “Twin Suns”. This moment briefly sums up all her growth and all the strength she has gained through her training and experience in one moment of fluid, fast, casually precise yet intense movement that may surprise viewers.
Ashley Eckstein and Corey Burton lead the series as Ahsoka and Dooku and deliver more of the same excellent performances they did in the previous animated series. They also provide subtle variations to match the eras of each episode, whether it’s Eckstein slightly lowering her record when portraying the old or weary Ahsoka or Burton giving Dooku more of the youthful intensity of his earlier days. The supporting cast mostly gives stellar performances, including Bryce Dallas Howard as Yaddle. It’s a performance full of dignity, strength, and sudden vulnerability befitting a Jedi Council once you get past the shock of, “Oh, that’s what you look like, not like Yoda?” The only performance that missed the mark was Michelle Richardson as Qui-Gon Jinn’s little character, whose natural speech was misplaced among the grittier renditions of cartoonish storytelling veterans.
All these references to the philosophical underpinnings of Star Wars and other anime shows might make it seem like that My grandfather’s tales For audiences only and a network of cross-references impenetrable for beginners. This is not the case. Similarly, the small scale My grandfather’s tales Compared to other anime entries in the franchise, it might stymie established fans, but they’d also miss the mark. Showtimes of 10 to 15 minutes for these six episodes, set moments away from the grand trotting of Star Wars space operas, allow Filoni and his team to use a more elegant narrative style, based more on atmosphere and mood than action. It showcases the group’s storytelling art in a way that even a beginner to Star Wars can appreciate while presenting stories that, while subtle, are still deep enough to penetrate Star Wars’ backward defenses.
These six My grandfather’s tales Beautiful, animated, and deceptively layered for brevity while packing some surprises and amazing moments along the way. Lucasfilm Animation has managed to squeeze a lot of Star Wars magic into these shorts, and viewers will only be disappointed there aren’t any more of them.
Ratings: 4 out of 5
Star Wars: Jedi Tales Streaming now on Disney +
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