Star Wars Rebels - Complete Season One

Disney's first foray into the animated "Star Wars" universe, "Star Wars Rebels," was a resounding success and won over fans everywhere who had been fearful that Disney would take their beloved franchise in a Disneyfied direction. But with "Star Wars: Clone Wars" folks like Dave Filoni on board, fans were able to rest easy. In fact, "Rebels" is even better than "Clone Wars," partly because the events take place about fourteen years before "A New Hope," so the nostalgia factor is high.

Following a rag-tag bunch of rebels fighting against the evil Empire, the story focuses on young Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray), a born rebel and orphan who is discovered by Jedi Kanan (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) as someone who might also have the Force within him. He teams up with the pilot of the ship Ghost -- a girl named Hera (Vanessa Marshall), warrior Sabine (Tiya Sircar), a monstrous Zeb (Steve Blum) and a droid named Chopper. They go off on a variety of missions just as the Empire starts to realize someone is working against them and sets off to stop them. Sought by Imperial agent Kallus (David Oyelowo) and the Jedi hunter the Inquisitor (Jason Isaacs) the group finds themselves on the run, but still helping the rebellion along the way.

The amazing thing about this series is how it harkens back to the fun and humor of the original trilogy, and continually makes playful nods to those films. Certain lines of dialogue pop up, the score takes cues from John Williams' themes, sets are reminiscent of the first film, and favorite characters pop up, like Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) and Grand Moff Tarkin.

All in all, the 15-episode series is a more emotional and character-based series than "Clone Wars," but doesn't skimp on the action and some great lightsaber duels.

Extras aren't too boastful, but will please fans.

Rebels Recon: 81 minutes of behind the scenes info on 14 different episodes.

Rebels Infiltrates Star Wars Celebration: a short look at the Rebels panel at this year's Star Wars Convention in Anaheim.

Animated Shorts: Four shorts used as promotion for the launch of the series.

Season 2 - A Look Ahead: A 7-minute look at what Season 2 will bring. I'll give you a hint: James Earl Jones is back...

"Star Wars Rebels"
Blu-ray
$45.99
www.disney.com