Finn, Rey, Poe Dameron, Rose Tico and Chewbacca in LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special. (Photo: Disney+/Lucasfilm) LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special voice cast: Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, James Arnold Taylor, Tom Kane, and Kelly Marie Tran
LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special movie movie director: Ken Cunningham
LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special movie rating: 4 stars
LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special is the second Star Wars Holiday Special after the ludicrously bad original that released way back in 1978. The LEGO movie has Rey, Finn, Poe, Chewie, Rose and their droid friends celebrating Life Day (a holiday among the Wookiees).
Rey is training Finn in the ways of the Force and the Jedi, but is unable to ignite that spark she sees in him. She hears Yoda’s voice and the legendary Jedi Master points her towards a mysterious Jedi temple. She travels through space and time, and encounters a multitude of classic characters from the franchise, including Palpatine, Darth Vader, Kylo Ren, young Luke Skywalker, among others.
LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special is a pretty good Star Wars movie in its own right. The story makes sense within the context despite all the wild stuff that happens and classic characters that pop in for a while. If this was a full-fledged live-action Star Wars movie, one might have questioned the behaviour of some of the bad guys, especially Darth Vader’s tantrum.
But here, it feels like nitpicking. The movie, after all, is just a special. The joke more often than not lands, and there is Baby Yoda, too, if only for an all too brief moment.
There is also a clear course-correction here. And not just for the original special. This movie feels more complete than Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which was the conclusion to the sequel trilogy and the nine-movie Skywalker Saga.
For one, it addresses Finn’s sensitivity with the force, which basically kicks off the plot. We also get a lot more of Rose Tico, Kelly Marie Tran’s character in the sequel trilogy, who earned the ire of Star Wars fanatics.
Overall, LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special is quite fun and a pleasant distraction from everything going on in the world, particularly for fans of the franchise.