stringtranslate.com

Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures

Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures is an American animated children's television series created for the streaming service Disney+ and the television network Disney Jr.. It is part of the Star Wars franchise and follows a group of younglings as they learn to become Jedi Knights during the High Republic era, centuries before the main Star Wars films. The series is produced by Lucasfilm Animation and Wild Canary Animation, with Michael Olson as showrunner and Elliot Bour as supervising director. It is the first full-length animated Star Wars series targeted at young audiences.

The series stars Jamaal Avery Jr., Emma Berman, Juliet Donenfeld, Dee Bradley Baker, Jonathan Lipow, and Piotr Michael. It was announced in May 2022, with Olson and Bour already attached to the project. Casting was revealed in February 2023. Six shorts were released on YouTube ahead of the series premiere, before also becoming available on Disney+.

Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures premiered on May 4, 2023, and was positively received, with critics praising the show for being an engaging first Star Wars experience for young viewers. The second season is set to premiere on August 14, 2024.

Premise

Set during the High Republic era, centuries before the events of the main Star Wars films, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures follows a group of younglings as they learn the ways of the Force, including compassion, self-discipline, teamwork and patience, to become Jedi Knights.[1]

Cast and characters

Episodes

Shorts (2023)

Season 1 (2023–24)

Production

Development

Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, the first full-length animated Star Wars series targeted at young audiences and their families, was announced at Star Wars Celebration in May 2022. It is set during the High Republic era, centuries before the events of the main Star Wars films, which was already being explored through a series of books and comics at the time. The series was announced by executive producer James Waugh, executive producer and showrunner Michael Olson, supervising director Elliot Bour, and consulting producer Lamont Magee.[1][7] Lucasfilm's Jacqui Lopez and Josh Rimes are also executive producers.[3] Waugh said the creative team were aware that the series could be the first introduction to Star Wars for some children. Though they wanted the "characters, tone, and the life lessons" in each episode to be aimed at the younger audience, they also wanted to stay true to the expectations of people familiar with Star Wars.[4]

The series' second season was produced by Lucasfilm in collaboration with Wild Canary while Icon Creative provided production services. Lamont McGee also joined as consulting producer for the series.[5]

Casting

At the D23 Expo in September 2022, Jamaal Avery Jr. and Emma Berman were announced as cast in the series' lead roles of Kai Brightstar and Nash Durango, respectively.[3] In February 2023, it was announced that Juliet Donenfeld was cast as Lys Solay, Dee Bradley Baker as Nubs, Jonathan Lipow as RJ-83, and Piotr Michael as Yoda.[4]

In January 2024, Marcus Scribner, Justine Lee and Liam O'Brien were announced as new cast members for the roles of Bell Zettifar, Republic Supreme Chancellor Lina Soh and Jedi Master Maru for the final batch of the first season episodes released on February 14, 2024. In addition, JeCo Swain was announced to be playing Kai Brightstar alongside Avery Jr.[2]

In June 2024, Gunnar Sizemore was cast as Wes Vinik, Jedi Master Zia's new Padawan for the second season, which premieres on August 14, 2024.[5]

Music

Matthew Margeson was hired to compose the score for the series by late July 2022.[8]

Release

Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures premiered on the streaming service Disney+ and the television network Disney Jr. on May 4, 2023, Star Wars Day.[4] The first two episodes premiered at Star Wars Celebration Europe on April 8, 2023.[9] Three animated shorts introducing the characters of the series premiered on the Disney Jr. YouTube channel on March 27, 2023,[10] with an additional three releasing by April 24,[11] before all six were released on Disney+ on April 26.[10]

Six more episodes were released on Disney+ and Disney Jr. on August 2, 2023;[12] further episodes were released on November 8,[13] with the final six episodes being released on February 14, 2024.[2] The first season consisted of 25 episodes.[12]

A further digital shorts series, titled Fun with Nubs, were released on June 14, 2024.[14] The second season is set to premiere on August 14, 2024.[5]

Reception

Critical response

Arezou Amin of Collider gave the series an "A" rating, stating that it "captured the Star Wars spirit for younglings of all ages". She described the main cast members as being relatable to children and praised the series for relying on a character-focused approach, which explored new characters as opposed to depending on long-established characters to advance the story.[15] Brett White at Decider gave the series a positive review, describing it as a "fun show and a fine introduction to Star Wars" for the preschooler demographic. While noting its low stakes plots, White praised the series for emphasizing life lessons and described the action sequences as "feeling like Star Wars" rather than a "preschool approximation" of the franchise.[16]

Accolades

Notes

  1. ^ Tied with SuperKitties

References

  1. ^ a b Rosario, Alexandra Del (May 28, 2022). "Disney+ Bolsters 'Star Wars' Lineup With Younglings Series 'Young Jedi Adventures', Animated Anthology 'Tales Of The Jedi'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 28, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures Returns with New Episodes". StarWars.com. January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Petski, Denise (September 10, 2022). "'Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures': Jamaal Avery Jr & Emma Berman Cast In Disney Preschool Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 13, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Leite, Marcelo (March 19, 2023). "Disney Bumps Up Star Wars Animated Series Release Date". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Jenkins, Carolyn (June 11, 2024). "'Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures' Season 2 Gets an Exciting Update". Collider. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Shows A-Z - star wars: young jedi adventures on disney plus". The Futon Critic. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  7. ^ "SWCA 2022: Gather Your Younglings for the Young Jedi Adventures Series". StarWars.com. May 27, 2022. Archived from the original on May 27, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  8. ^ "Matthew Margeson to Score Disney Junior's 'Young Jedi Adventures'". Film Music Reporter. July 20, 2022. Archived from the original on July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  9. ^ "Plan Ahead with the Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023 Panel Schedule". StarWars.com. March 7, 2023. Archived from the original on April 3, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  10. ^ a b McCall, Kevin (March 27, 2023). "First Three 'Young Jedi Adventures' Shorts Arrive on YouTube". Collider. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  11. ^ Star Wars [@starwars] (April 24, 2023). "Incoming transmission! A new Young Jedi Adventures short is available now. Watch Taborr's Pirate Showdown and all six shorts on the official Star Wars Kids YouTube channel" (Tweet). Archived from the original on April 24, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2023 – via Twitter.
  12. ^ a b StarWars.com Team (July 13, 2023). "Explore New Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures Episodes This Summer". StarWars.com. Lucasfilm Ltd. Archived from the original on July 13, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  13. ^ "New Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures Episodes Coming Soon". StarWars.com. August 18, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  14. ^ "Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures Returns for Season 2". Starwars.com. June 14, 2024. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  15. ^ Amin, Arezou (May 4, 2023). "Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures' Review: Slice-of-life stories for Younglings (and Younglings at Heart)". Collider. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  16. ^ White, Brett (May 4, 2023). "Stream It or Skip It: "Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures" on Disney+ gives preschoolers their own Grogu in Nubs". Decider. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  17. ^ Cordero, Rosy; Pedersen, Erik (June 30, 2023). "TCA Awards Nominations: 'Succession', 'The Bear' & 'The Last Of Us' Lead; HBO/Max Laps Field With 20 Noms". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  18. ^ "Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures Honored with 5 Children's & Family Emmy Nominations". StarWars.com. November 2, 2023. Archived from the original on November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  19. ^ Schneider, Michael (December 17, 2023). "Children's & Family Creative Arts Emmys 2023 Full Winners List: Netflix, Disney, 'Sesame Street,' Jack Black and More". Variety. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  20. ^ Dickson, Jeremy (December 20, 2023). "Disney dominates the 2024 Kidscreen Awards nominations". KidScreen. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  21. ^ Dickson, Jeremy (February 5, 2024). "BREAKING NEWS: Announcing 2024's Kidscreen Awards winners". KidScreen. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  22. ^ Pedersen, Erik (January 16, 2024). "Motion Picture Sound Editors Reveal 2024 MPSE Golden Reel Nominations; 'Oppenheimer' Leads Movie Field". Deadline. Retrieved January 22, 2024.

External links