Star Wars: Droids

After having sat through two seasons of "Ewoks", I must admit that my expectations for another "Star Wars" animated show wasn't really all that great. But still, with it being "Star Wars", of course I had to sit down and watch it. Oddly enough, then I never had the opportunity to sit through "Star Wars: Droids" before now in 2021, 36 years after it was released.

Well, while "Star Wars: Droids" was by no means overly outstanding, it was certainly watchable, and somewhat better than "Ewoks", I will say that much for this 1985-1986 animated cartoon.

"Star Wars: Droids" definitely feels a lot more like something that belongs in the "Star Wars" universe, in comparison to how the "Ewoks" cartoons turned out to be. And in "Star Wars: Droids" you get to meet a lot more of actual characters and vehicles that you've seen in the "Star Wars" movies, so that counts for something.

And it was of course good that they had Anthony Daniels to voice C3-P0 in this animated series, as his voice is just the one and only for this droid. And the series has listed R2-D2 as himself, sure, why not?

The animation and art style in "Star Wars: Droids" is a bit more in my liking, as in comparison to "Ewoks". However, you have to keep in mind that this is a cartoon and an animated show, so the bodies of R2-D2 and C3-P0 bends and stretched in ways they can't in the movies. And for some reason C3-P0 has pupils in his eyes in this animated show.

The voice acting in "Star Wars: Droids" is a bit all over the place. I mean, sure you have Anthony Daniels carrying the show, but then there were some dubious voicing like the one done for Govenor Koong.

It was definitely fun to watch a chubby character named Kybo Ren appear in this animated show. Even more so because he was a goofball and he looked like he was wearing a discount knock-off Darth Vader costume a couple of sizes too tight.

"Star Wars: Droids" is a children's show, certain, but it does have a broader appeal to a more adult audience in some aspect as well.

I am rating "Star Wars: Droids" a five out of ten stars. It is watchable and entertaining enough for what it turned out to be, but this was aimed at a younger audience. And while i have sat through all episodes now, I doubt I will ever return to watch this again, as it just lacks the appeal of the later animated "Star Wars" shows, such as "Clone Wars" or "Rebels":

Right now there's a DVD out with a few of the stories edited into movies, but I wanted to see it in its original form. I had one video as a kid, and the rest of the series I've only seen through low-quality internet videos.

It's interesting to see the direction the show took immediately after the original movies and before Episodes 1-3 were thought of. The character designs are fun, and even if they're sometimes cliché or annoying, they're bearable overall.

The writing style is campy for sure, but the show's a great piece of nostalgia and I'd gladly shell out the money for a good-quality set of the original episodes.

STAR WARS: DROIDS was the closest anyone had to a "prequel" back in 1985. It detailed the often light hearted adventures of C3PO and R2D2 back before they landed in the possession of Princess Leia at the start of "A NEW HOPE". In a move considered rare among cartoons of that day, DROIDS employed arcs consisting of 4 episodes each. The first saw the titular droids land in the possession of a duo of Speeder Racing enthusiasts. They have built their very own speeder called the Mach 5 The White Witch but through a series of unfortunate events land in the crosshairs of a powerful triad boss. The second arc has the droids end up helping a lost prince reclaim his throne and fend off the pirates that were plaguing his homeland. Then they join merchant Mungo Baobab on a treasure hunt to the Roon system while evading imperial patrols.

Exciting stuff for sure. Pirates and princes, space ships and speeders, even a run in with the Empire. Take the original Star Wars trilogy and watch only C3PO and R2D2 scenes. There you have what this show is all about. Lighter on action, heavier on humour with a good dose of cartoon slapstick. Anthony Daniel's humorous British accented delivery as C3PO and R2D2 as "himself" steals the show as the strongest reminder of its Star Wars roots. Basically, C3PO and R2D2 are in this cartoon as they were in the movies. If you loved them then, you would love them here. It is amazing how one actor can establish this chemistry with a sound synthesiser (which is essentially what they used to "voice" R2D2).

Yet for all their efforts, STAR WARS DROIDS feels so far removed from the "feel" of Star Wars and more like your typical Saturday morning cartoon. Space ships like the A-Wing and a badly drawn Star Destroyer do make an appearance, as do Stormtroopers and of course the titular droids. But nothing would change if they were replaced by generic space ships, generic bad guys and a bumbling protagonist duo. The story lines are so clichéd and the new designs of never-see-before aliens, vehicles and technology so.....weird. This cartoon also throws out Skywalker Sound's fabulous audio from the movies and replace John Williams' timeless score with.....generic stuff. All the other characters act in that exaggerated cartoony manner befitting your generic.......did I just repeat "generic"? I guess I did. Because that is how you describe this show in a single word.

It is generic. Star Wars in name only. Even the visuals are groan inducing. Artwork goes off model once too often, colours are flat and lifeless, and once again the designs are just.....weird. In terms of animation, STAR WARS DROIDS was farmed out to a taiwanese studio and their work, while passable, cannot hold a candle to the superior work of Japanese or Korean studios. Movements alternate between stiff and exaggerated with character gesturing unnecessarily in conversations like they were in some stage play. Most confusing is the decision to animate robots like humans; C3PO is a heck lot more flexible than his movie counterpart, plus he is able to make facial expressions, run, jump and flex his elbows. R2D2 is now made of rubber seeing as how he can squash and stretch himself like a balloon.

Perhaps I am out of my element here. Perhaps this was made for the simpler kids of the 80s and no one else. I may have judged this more kindly if it were not Star Wars, but there it is, right there in the title. Star Wars dove in deep and revolutionised cinema. It pushed the boundaries of special effects and brought science fiction out of its B movie gutter and into billion dollar blockbuster territory. STAR WARS DROIDS chose to wade in safe and shallow, revolutionising nothing, and not even capturing the feel of its source material.

Unfortunately, I never watched Droids as a kid, I was a little bit too young at the time of the release and I never came across any re-runs later on.

So while I've heard of the cartoon in the years since, I only watched it when it hit Disney+. And I have to say, my inner child loved it. I know that I would have been all over it as a kid.

As an adult, it's a bit more of a mixed bag. The writing is a bit campy and very typical for the time. The ways in which the plot unfolds is always very convenient and the villains always cookie-cutter characters who are equally evil and incompetent.

The story arc was probably a bit special for the time. While each episode tells a self contained story, Droids features story arcs that span 4 to 5 episodes. At the end of each story arc, R2-D2 and C-3PO are transplanted into a completely new setting with a new master and new surroundings.

Personally, I think that may have been a bit too much variation. I would have preferred it for the Droids being in a more stable environment from where they launch into their adventures. That way, it would have been possible to establish the characters some more, have them grow over time, etc.

But since there only was one full season, that probably wasn't in the cards anyway, so I guess it's all right.

I do love the animation however. The backgrounds are often really well done, there's a lot of details with all the technology and widgets and I generally love that 1980s style of animation of which Droids is actually one of the better ones.

The writers often had interesting ideas and concepts that would make their way into other Star War vehicles later on: Jann Tosh's Wheel Bike looks a lot like the vehicle of General Grievous in Revenge of the Sith, the Landspeeder Race in episode 4 seems to have inspired the Pod Race in The Phantom Menace, the Rebel Spy Kea Moll from the first story arc feels a lot like Rey and we have an evil crime lord called Kybo-Ren.

Too bad that there is only one season and a 1 hour special. Apparently it was really expensive back in the day to produce one of these episodes. Maybe with the Streaming war going on, there's a possibility of reviving it again, given that compared to other content, this would probably be a relatively cheap way to bolster your content. But then kids these days seem to prefer the 3D animated stuff, so it will probably never happen. Very unfortunate.

I saw this series years ago (probably on the BBC) when I was a kid and though I remember the animation as very bland and the story's disconnection from the movies as disappointing I still watched it and presumably enjoyed it enough to waste my time doing so. Why? Well I can only presume it was the magic still associated with all things Star Wars even as the craze was becoming Transformers (now that's what I call(ed) a robot cartoon).