The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special

A long  time ago in a galaxy far far away there used to be a yearly celebration called Life Day. It was a day celebrated across the universe when friends and family got together and forgot about Rancors, Sarlaac pits, Krayt dragons and of course THE EMPIRE. In the aftermath of Kylo Ren's death and the second destruction of Emperor Palpatine, Rey Skywalker is still trying to find her way in the world by training Finn and all he can think about is the upcoming celebration. She's frustrated by her skills as a teacher while Finn, Rose, Chewie and Poe all want to get a start on their holiday plans. The Jedi Scrolls rescued from Ahch-To speak of a time key that will help her travel through time to learn from other Jedi masters. It goes without saying everything goes wrong. In a delightful way.

Ok, first off, there's little new here and what is new probably won't be considered canon. The vast majority of this Lego Star Wars holiday special is made up of rejigged moments from all 9 of the films from the main saga and a wee visit to a certain popular TV show. But who cares when it's this much fun? As Rey falls through time she bumps into dozens of familiar faces and each bump causes it own little ripple effect. We get to see fan faves and faces not seen since 1983. Everyone you can think of pops up apart from that one reviled character who's name you can probably guess. Pitch perfect recreations of some of the most loved scenes in cinema whizz by and the injokes come thick and fast. From laughable words heard in the latest revisions to the 4K releases to huge winks about topless bad guys and a doubling down on one of THE most infamous deaths in the entire saga. There's fun here for everyone, from the adults watching since 1977 to the kids who's first Star Wars experience will be this special.

It's nice watching Star Wars and remembering how fun it can all be. The last 2 films (Rise Of Skywalker especially) went full dark and sucked most of the fun out of the universe but this special and The Mandalorian are bringing some of the joy back and remind us of why we fell in love with it all in the first place. If you're still haunted by memories of the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special this new one will cut through them like a Sith Lord's lightsabre cutting through Ben Kenobi. (sorry)

Available on Disney + now.