Review: 'Freemaker Adventures' takes 'Star Wars' to a new level

Posted Tuesday, December 6, 2016 at 5:09 PM Central

by John Couture

When Disney bought LucasFilm, I'm pretty sure that Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures wasn't even on the radar. And yet, now it's pretty obvious that this was precisely the reason that Disney invested in the Star Wars franchise.

Combined with the very successful Star Wars Rebels, Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures provides a nice one-two punch that Disney is hoping will drive the next generation of Star Wars fans. And if my son is any indication, Disney has hit another home run.

When I brought this Blu-ray home, my son's eyes lit up like Christmas morning. We had seen a few episodes over the Summer, but to be honest, I had forgotten to record the series. I know, I know, it's time for me to turn in my Star Wars fan club card. So, having access the entire first season at his fingertips, my son was ecstatic and I'll be honest, I was quite excited myself.

You see Disney had experimented with a couple of Lego short miniseries such as Droid Tales and The New Yoda Chronicles, but this was their first full-length series in which they introduced new characters to carry on a complete story arc.

Set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures follows a family of scavengers as they set off on an adventure around an intriguing new artifact called the Kyber Saber. Over the course of the 13 episodes, we see a bunch of familiar faces from the films and the animated series that will help to connect this new installment to the Star Wars franchise.

Better yet, there is something magical about the whole Lego brand that hit its zenith with The LEGO Movie. Already, The LEGO Batman Movie is at the top of my kids must-see in 2017 list. So, when you combine that brand with the Star Wars franchise, something magical happens, you are able to explore some of the sillier sides of Star Wars that you couldn't even fathom touching with the live action movies.

Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures was a nice self-contained series, but it will interesting to see where they take the series in season two. There is a vast galaxy out there that is ripe for the Lego treatment.

I should also point out that the Blu-ray version comes with six exclusive magnets that my son seemed to enjoy as much as the Blu-ray itself. All of them currently reside on our refrigerator, when my son isn't using them to recreate his own Freemaker adventures.