This Thursday, Disney+ took advantage of the famous celebration May The Fourththe international day of Star Warsto premiere volume two of the series of shorts Star Wars Visions. After dedicating the first installment only to Japanese animation studios, the franchise has now been opened up to animators from India, United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Chile, France, South Africa, South Korea and the United States. Each took advantage of the blank canvas of the universe created by George Lucas to give his own artistic vision.
Throughout nine short films, each study put its visual and narrative imprint to tell a story based on Star Wars but without having to submit to the restrictions of that universe and its other products. As in the first installment, each artist was able to do what they wanted without limitations and that shows in the result: the themes that Lucas instilled in his work take on new life and feel renewed, fresh and current while the beauty of different styles catches you every second.
Some as “Sith”, by El Guiri Studio in Spain, transfer the concept of the balance between “the dark side” and “the light side” of the Force to something more interior, emotional and even psychological. Topics like depression feel represented in a very intelligent way with an open idea in the visual where “art” itself is a way of finding light.
Many take the opportunity to give a bit of their own cultures as “Golak’s Bandits”made by 88 Pictures of Indiaor “The Spy Dancer”, where the french from Studio La Cachette transfer ideas from the revolution and the first world war, how Kill hari, to the Star Wars universe. The latter will touch ua sensitive fiber of us Argentines and our story about the crimes of the last dictatorship and the baby appropriation.
star wars visions volume 2 – 3
Disney+
“I am your mother”, was one of the most awaited to be made by Aardman Animationsthe British studio creator of Psniffles on the run either Wallace & Gromit. The comic look at the universe takes the idea of family, central to Star Wars, but from a much closer side than the other studio productions. The short film has the same pros and cons as the Aardman films: he jumps between being funny, cute, cheesy, awkward and a little silly.
One of the most impressive is “En Las Estrellas,” created by the Oscar-winning Chilean-based studio Punkrobot. The short film made in stop motion It is not only surprising for its skilful handling of this animation technique but also for its excellent filmmaking, as if it were a movie. The narrative takes as its core the concept of “fear” in two characters that represent the extremes of this emotion and their need to be brothers. Also, move “The Empire” how George Lucas conceived it in a more modern form of this: the system that steals the planet’s resources and poisons the environment.
Guillermo del Torowinning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature this year, asked that consider, trust and invest in animation, which is not a genre but a medium. Star Wars: Visions reinforces that message and goes further: it is an art form. With this series, Lucasfilm uses the most popular franchise in history and a massive platform like Disney+ to show that all over the world, from Asia to Latin America, there are people putting their culture on beauty formats.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
