Star Wars Rebels: season 1 [Blu-ray]

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

1) BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVE! Rebels Infiltrates Star Wars Celebration (Exclusive) A virtual ticket to all the Rebls events at the highly-anticipated Star Wars Celebration convention in Anaheim. 2) Exclusive to DVD & BD! Star Wars Rebels: The Ultimate Guide – A SeasonOne Recap, hosted by Kanan 3) Exclusive to DVD & BD! Rebels Season 2: A Look Ahead Get an exclusive look at what is ahead in the new season. Rebels Leader Dave Filoni shares footage, concept art, and reveals a few inside secrets from the upcoming season. 4) Rebels Recon: Whether you experienced these fun, insightful journeys behind-the-scenes throughout the season or not, now they are all archived here as a companion to each episode from season one. 5) Plus, REBELS Shorts: · The Machine in the Ghost · Art Attack · Entanglement · Property of Ezra Bridger

I was one of the fans who didn’t want to see “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” end, but “Star Wars: Rebels” is a good enough sequel that has the potential to grow into a series that matches (and maybe even surpasses) what “The Clone Wars” did. Season 1 is a good introduction to the Ghost and its crew, and though it’s not the strongest season, I feel confident it’ll be like its predecessor and grow into a series we can all enjoy.

Pros:
-The characters. Sure, there’s room to grow, but I think the characters we’ve been provided with are unique enough to appeal to all types of viewers, and the fact that some of them have ties to “The Clone Wars” series (Hera, Ahsoka, Kanan, etc.) helps bridge the old series with the new while making room for a new generation of Star Wars fans.
-More lightheartedness. I think a few will disagree with me on this being a pro, but I’m of the belief that you can have a good story without everything being doom and gloom all the time. Sure, there are frightening moments (that scene with finding Luminara…yikes!) but it’s done well enough where you’re not overwhelmed with one type of emotion. There’s a variety-happy, sad, exciting, frightening- that will make the series not feel like the same ol’ episodes over and over again.
-The finale. This is where (I think) Rebels shines the best. Introducing Ahsoka, having the final duel between Kanan and the Inquisitor, hints of Darth Vader…it’s enough to leave the audience satisfied with the season’s end while giving them something to look forward to in Season 2.
-The Inquisitor. He was a promising villain, and Jason Isaacs did a terrific job being his voice actor.

Cons:
-Not the strongest start. I don’t like leaving this as a con, because oftentimes a really good story starts off somewhat slow because you’re setting it up. “Clone Wars” was similar, as were many other shows. There’s definitely room for improvement here though, and some of the episodes seemed more like fillers than a piece of a puzzle.
-R.I.P. Inquisitor. I really liked this villain. Though his final scenes were fitting, I couldn’t help but feel we should’ve gotten more from him. Background, why he’s an inquisitor, etc. So many questions, lol!

All in all, “Rebels” is a good start with a promising future. I highly recommend Season 1 if you’re a fan of the Original Trilogy, as the feel of this show is similar to it. It’s full of lighthearted fun and drama, and though it’s not “The Clone Wars”, it’s still a good follow-up that will doubtless grow to be a Star Wars favorite.

– Lady Orion

DVD Wholesale Main Features:

Actors: Taylor Gray, Vanessa Marshall, Tiya Sircar, Jr. Freddie Prinze, Steve Blum
Format: Blu-ray, Animated, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles: French, Spanish, English
Dubbed: French, Spanish
Region: Region A/1
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number of discs: 2
Rated: Unrated – Not Rated
Studio: Buena Vista Worldwide Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: September 1, 2015
Run Time: 331 minutes
ASIN: B00YY3NUUQ