Star Wars: Rebels (Season 1) 720p - (2014 Lang: English)

If you happen to view any of the other "reviews" here you'll find that many have given abysmal ratings for the show because of trivial reasoning; many because they're still rather perturbed over the status of the Expanded Universe, others seem like attempts at trolling, and many are spiteful simply because they don't agree with the concept of the show and cannot accept that the Expanded Universe isn't coming back. One even seems to have gone the full-on melodramatic route and declared Star Wars to be dead and that they won't be showing their younger siblings Star Wars at all due to this horrible tragedy.

Should you view the individual ratings given to the show you'll find that the general opinion is favorable with votes generally increasing the higher up the ratings you go, save for a rather blatantly obvious discrepancy. The ratio of "1/10" reviews compared to the others has been grossly blown out of proportion by people whose anger seems to have overcome them.

The characters are perfectly fine, the animation could have been better I will admit, and the pacing for the premiere was quick and could have taken more time to breath but when all has been said and done the show has learned from the mistakes made during the early seasons of The Clone Wars and has applied those lessons much the same as the latter seasons did.

People talking about how the designs or appearances of things are off haven't been paying attention to the development of the show, as the creators have on numerous occasions cited the reasoning behind the changes and additions. The Imperial's equipment has taken a design cue from Kenner's classic line of toys adored by children who grew up on Star Wars, fans, and collectors alike. The show takes places five years before "Star Wars" and as such they wanted everything to feel extremely familiar while being off just enough to give the feel of this being a different time period. The TIE Fighters have shorter wings, the stormtrooper's helmets are more bulbous and their blasters have a small hump along the spine, and the REX droids from Star Tours serve as pilots on spacecraft. The camera remains static and far less dynamic to mimic the movement of the original movies while even switching to mimic 70mm film during space sequences. The lightsabers flicker and are flatter, green light cracks whenever two blades meet, and pulling out a lightsaber feels special again. Every single detail has been carefully considered and crafted to capture the feel of the Original Trilogy Era and movies.

It's Firefly meets Star Wars with a ragtag crew running around the edge of civilized space trying to get by and hitting the Empire whenever the chance is presented. It's classic Star Wars and exactly the kind of thing you'd like should you be a fan of Star Wars at all.

Unlike most fans of the classic franchise, I'm not gonna blast this series out of my sights just because Disney owns and distributes it. I'm also not letting the EU's loss get in the way of my thoughts on the new series. I'd also like to make it clear that Lucasfilm Animation has done the work, not Disney as so many silly fans have come to believe.

Now then, Star Wars Rebels: Spark of the Rebellion has proved itself to be a fantastic beginning to the new series. It's a much better first impression than the terrible 2008 Clone Wars movie. The characters are likable. Ezra is sneaky and charming. Kanan is cool yet mysterious. Hera is kind and motherly. Sabine is crazed and wild. Zeb is bullyish and violent. Chopper doesn't seem to like or care about anyone. Even the main villain of this episode, Agent Kallus, proves to be a badass, hellbent on capturing our heroes. Not only are these characters so entertaining to watch interact with each other but the story is loads of good fun.

It never becomes too childish for adult viewers or too graphic for very young viewers. It's as well balanced as the Original Trilogy that first started back in 1977. It's funny, clever, actiony, and intense at certain moments. It all feels like Star Wars. More so than any other Star Wars show that's ever been on TV. The interesting characters, fun story, and balanced tone make this totally worth you're time for future episodes. If you wanted to feel like a kid watching the original Star Wars again, then look no further. The Force is strong with Rebels.

Although I'm tempted to write pages, I'm going to make this short and sweet. Star Wars Rebels replaces the last three Star War films as the continuation of the original vitality and brilliance that brought us New Hope, Empire, and Jedi. If young Anikin were of the age, personality, and vigor of Ezra (the primary character of Rebels) Phantom Menace and the other Star Wars prequel movies might have had a chance. Rebels is scripted wonderfully, the animation is lively and beautifully lighted, the music is gorgeous, and the characters are just about perfect. The whole show is all the more a delight because it was a surprise to me. I expected another silly, weak product with the Star Wars name slapped on it. But this show is just the opposite. It is an excellent addition to the Star Wars legacy. Anyone that truly loves Star Wars will tremendously enjoy Star Wars Rebels.

Brilliant and so full of promise!