Review for Robot Chicken: Star Wars Boxset

Robot Chicken: Star Wars is possibly the funniest thing I have ever seen. As a long-time Star Wars fan I fell on the floor roaring with laughter at the in-jokes, asides and things that only a true Star Wars fan would actually get. In typical Robot Chicken style, a use of stop motion animation to parody the subject is just perfect. This involves The Emperor finding out about the destruction of the Death Star and a wonderful take on the Princess Leia rescue. If you are not a Star Wars fan there's going to be a lot of the jokes and references that will go over your head, but I think that is what makes this show so special as it feels like they didn't care and it was made for the Star Wars fans, not caring whether the casual fan would get the reference to 'Naboobies' or 'Picking up Power Converters'.

This disk is packed to the hilt with extras including behind the scenes and commentaries that show just how much love was put into this episode. By not targeting just one of the films, you will have had to watch all of the films to get the jokes, but then that is the beauty of this parody. After watching this I had a desire to go watch Star Wars (Though not Attack of the Clones obviously) and if you are a Star Wars fan or a fan of comedy this is a great look at the Star Wars Universe from a comedic point of view.

Robot Chicken Star Wars Episode Two is thankfully not a remake of Attack of the Clones, though I'm sure the acting would be a lot more convincing. It is instead another half hour of sketches parodying the characters from the Star Wars Universe. There is no rhyme or reason to the sketches (unlike the Family Guy Star Wars episodes that focus on a particular film); because of this you do have to have seen all six films to get some of references. One joke involves you knowing that Admiral Ackbar's famous scream of 'It's a trap!' and if you have never seen Jedi that might have flown over your head. However, I would say that the comedy is a lot looser here than in the previous one. I found myself laughing only intermittently with the scenes with The Emperor being the ones that really got me in hysterics. Sketches feature Lando Calrissian's deal with Vader getting even worse every time, Boba Fett inside the Sarlacc and what would happen if the Empire had a 'take your child to work' day.

The DVD includes the original version and an extended version adding sixteen minutes of footage. The behind the scenes extras are immense covering everything from commentaries to a special premiere for George Lucas at the Skywalker Ranch. My only issue with all this is that as each of the featurettes are only a few minutes long it would have benefited from a 'Play All' option. Also to whet your appetite for more Robot Chicken an episode of the original series is included too.

Though the laughs are not as plentiful as they were in the first episode and I kind of get the feeling that a third will be made too, for Star Wars fans there is still a great deal that can be enjoyed from this.