Rey leaves her friends to prepare for Life Day as she sets off on an adventure to gain a deeper knowledge of the Force. At a mysterious temple, she is hurled into a cross-timeline adventure but will she make it back in time for Life Day?
In the Star Wars universe, Life Day is the celebration of family, joy, and harmony. When George Lucas released the “Star Wars Holiday Special” in 1978, which supposedly took place between the events of “A New Hope” and “The Empire Strikes Back,” instead of his creation being accepted and loved by the legions of Star Wars fans, it was mocked and ridiculed and as of today, there is no official release of it anywhere. You can probably find it online somewhere but Lucas pretty much disowned it and later claimed if he could find every copy of it on tape, he would use a hammer to destroy every single one of them. Cut to 2020 and with Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner, Disney has decided to release a new holiday special utilizing LEGO characters instead of live-action actors, and the result, thankfully, is that of pure fun and entertainment.
On the jungle world of Ajan Kloss, Rey has taken on the role of master as she tries to train her new apprentice Finn in the ways of the Force. Unable to successfully teach him the way Luke Skywalker taught her, she retreats to her quarters on the Millennium Falcon to read the sacred Jedi texts, feeling like she missed something. Using the Force, a page opens and reveals to her a secret Jedi temple far away that will help her become more advanced in understanding the Force. Finn, Poe, Chewie, Rose, and the droids are getting the Falcon ready for Life Day as Chewie’s family are on their way but Rey leaves in her X-wing, promising to be back in plenty of time for the celebrations. BB-8 accompanies her on her quest and they manage to safely reach the temple. Once there, she discovers an ancient key that will allow her to travel across time and space, giving her the opportunity to witness the Jedi masters and apprentices that came before her.
She observes Yoda teaching Luke on Dagobah, manages to literally land on Luke’s lap inside his X-wing just as he is about to blow up the first Death Star, joins in the fight alongside Obi-Wan and Anakin on the lava planet of Mustafar, momentarily connects with Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan just as they are about to battle the Trade Federation’s droids above Naboo, has a lightsaber battle with Darth Vader inside the rebel base on the ice planet of Hoth, and finally lands in the middle of the throne room on the second Death Star, surrounded by Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader. Palpatine manages to retrieve the key from Rey and after traveling to the future and learning that Vader will throw him into a reactor shaft, he brings back Kylo Ren as his new apprentice and plans on changing the events of everything that have transpired up to this point, altering history in the process. With Palpatine, Kylo, and Vader in her way, will Rey and BB-8 be able to defeat them?
The “LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special” works because it is animated and as anybody who enjoys LEGO movies knows, they can be quite hilarious, and this often is. There are plenty of shots of a shirtless Kylo Ren dancing in his quarters and in one time jump, Rey and BB-8 wind up on Tatooine, just as Luke watches the iconic twin suns set. During this scene, a young and old Han Solo stand beside each other as Greedo appears in front of them, and with no time to waste, they both shoot first! The special is peppered with hilarious one-liners and as Palpatine is eventually thrown into the reactor shaft, on his way down, he questions himself as to why he has always been so evil and unpleasant and declares that he will, in fact, be the galaxy’s best emperor. We all know how that ends. Naturally, Rey, with a little help from ghost Yoda, realizes that both master and apprentice have to become friends so that there can be trust and loyalty between them. With this new knowledge, she returns to Ajan Kloss in time for Life Day, and a newfound appreciation of the importance of family and friendship.
Premieres Tuesday, November 17th on Disney+
