TFN Review: LEGO Star Wars: The Freemakers Adventures - A Hero Discovered

Is it canon? Or is it not?

When it comes to LEGO, there's only one answer: Who cares?

LEGO Star Wars: The Freemakers Adventures premiered on Disney XD on Monday night, and it opened a door to a larger world for the LEGO Star Wars team.

The first episode titled "A Hero Discovered," introduced us to a family of three, The Freemakers, and took us on a fun and interesting journey. The Freemakers are scavengers who collect parts after battles and sell them for money. The youngest Freemaker, Rowan, is strong with the force and that sets up the premise for the entire series.

The series is set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and that is stated bluntly with Darth Vader and The Emperor discussing the second Death Star in the opening scene. Not only did the humor work really well, but having those two open the entire series shows us that even though the main story will focus on new characters, we will get a heavy dose of the classics Star Wars characters we know and love.

The animation in this series is probably the best I've seen from LEGO. The angles and background depth are really well done, and the dimensions they provided shows that the LEGO animation style can now provide a broader spectrum. The first battle scene between X-Wings and tie fighters was thrilling and brought you back to 1977 during the battle of Yavin.

The new characters were fresh and filled with humor. Rowan was a bright-eyed kid who reminds me of how I was as a kid looking into the Star Wars universe through young eyes. The elder Freemakers, Kordi and Zander were a nice pair and seeing them in action reminded you a lot of Han Solo and other smooth-talking characters in the Star Wars galaxy. Roger was there for pure comic relief, but Matt Wood delivers a great performance and it is a welcome sidebar to the action. Plus, who doesn't love battle droids? Naare was the most intriguing character introduced in the first episode. She is first introduced as a Jedi, and questions were immediately raised about where she came from. She instantly became a maternal figure to Rowan and was a window into the mcguffin of the whole series, the Kyber Saber.

The story in this show seems to be the strongest in all of the LEGO Star Wars department. The other specials and TV movies were filled with silliness and at times failed to establish any real story direction. But The Freemakers Adventures is an original story that actually draws you in. The humor isn't as heavy handed, and they stayed a little more serious than the previous LEGO specials. The idea that we see the origin of the first lightsaber is fascinating, and it's a fresh take on the Galaxy. There were new ships, new characters, new themes, and new ideals introduced all in the first 22 minutes. I found myself watching this and never losing interest, and by the end I couldn't wait to see what happened next.

The story ends with a twist as it's revealed that Naare is actually working for The Empire. So, now that she's a darkside force user, it sets up a thrilling dynamic for the rest of the series. As she tries to fool Rowan and the Freemakers, will she be ruthless when all of the Kyber crystals for the Kyber saber are recovered? Will Rowan's innocent attitude and outlook on life soften her darkness and test her allegiance to Vader and The Emperor? These questions and more will be answered as we move along, but my interest is definitely piqued, and that's the first time LEGO has done that for me.

All in all, LEGO Star Wars: The Freemakers Adventures nailed it in the first episode. The animation was superb, and the combination of action, adventure, and humor was delicately woven in to an intriguing story. The voice acting and original score were well done, and from top to bottom I was thoroughly impressed.



This review was done by Fan of TheForce.net Ryan Donoho. You can contact him at donohonba@gmail.com.

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