Disney transforms original Star Wars movies into animated short films for kids

I am the father of a five-year-old and, like many parents, my wife and I have recently had to deal with a time-honored question: when is it appropriate to introduce your child to Star wars? Today, Disney has more easily responded to this question by announcing the launch of a new series of animated shorts for children entitled Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures it will recreate classic moments of the film franchise. The first six short films will be released on November 30 on a new website and a YouTube channel called Star Wars Kids.

The project clearly targets the youngest potential Star wars Fans. My first-generation iPad has been used extensively in recent years as a cartoon tablet for my son and I found he was much more interested in the series whose shorter episodes lasted 10 to 20 minutes. Like a Star wars Over the years, I have tried on a number of occasions to get a closer look at the live film franchise, but he then shrugged and let himself go to one of the caricatures that interest him. a little more firmly. This new series seems well calibrated for the attention of 3 to 5 years.

Image: Disney / Lucasfilm

James Waugh, vice president of Lucasfilm for the content and strategy of the franchise, tells StarWars.com the initiative is designed to be an introduction to the "child-friendly" franchise. "Over the years, many of my parent friends came to tell me how much they wanted to introduce their children to Star wars but they still did not think their kids were ready for the movies, "he says. As the show's trailer shows, the episodes will re-use some of the dialogues and scenes from the original movies, using an animation style filled with exaggerated and wild moves and actions to better draw the younger viewers. Waugh also notes that short films at the size of a bite "will really penetrate into intense moments to tell simple stories, not bothered by the needs of a traditional narrative structure."

While some segments of the Star wars Fans are increasingly reluctant to deal with projects that lead the franchise in new or different directions, so do not forget that all of these offerings are not designed to appeal to aging fans who have seen the original. Star wars 30 times in a theater. The special editions of 1997 introduced a whole new generation in the franchise, while the previous trilogy and subsequent animated series The rebels also served as new entry points. This is not the first time that Disney has created animated shorts for kids: Forces of destiny last year as part of a larger initiative focused on the female characters of the franchise.

The launch of Star Wars Kids also recalls the importance of ownership for Disney, despite the slowdown in feature film. The company produces two live TV shows for the Disney + streaming service, as well as the new animated series Star Wars Resistance. (The pilot episode is also available on the new YouTube channel.) Galaxy of Adventures This is an additional way for the studio to indoctrinate the incoming audience and to make sure that it knows perfectly who are Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker for the coming decades of movies, shows, theme parks and movies. the merchandising that he has planned for the franchise.

I appreciate the business logic that seems to be at stake here. Young children will eventually become older children and, somewhere in the future, they will have their own discretionary money to spend on everything. Star wars. But if these new short films can offer a new perspective on well-worn scenes and characters, I can not help but think that they have also missed out. The original films that these short films condense were the point of entry for fans. They were exciting, exciting and even scary in a way that did not appeal to their audience, and they remain the connective tissue that connects all the disparate elements of the franchise. Serve a number of kid-friendly remixes can offer children the main story in the most effective way possible, but at the same time, they will inevitably eliminate what has enabled movies to create such great experiences for families. I appreciate what Disney does with Galaxy of Adventuresbut I think I will stick to my plan to present the movies to my son in the same way that I saw them. Maybe we'll see these new shorts once the movies are done.