Star Wars Rebels Premiere Report!

With the release of Star Wars Rebels coming up tonight (the pilot movie, "Spark of the Rebellion" airs on the Disney Channel on October 3rd, with the first episode airing on the 13th) Disney has been pushing Star Wars: Rebels into the forefront of every fan's mind with "secret showings" at movie theaters throughout the US. We were able to snag tickets to one of the last showings at the AMC Metreon Cinemas in San Francisco last Saturday, and it was a very fun event.


To begin, the secret showing was only of "Spark of the Rebellion" - though we've heard that some of the other showings had the first episode tacked on at the end, we were not so lucky. Spark of the Rebellion is the same movie that I reviewed previously on Ace of Geeks, when we were able to attend the first secret showing in San Diego during SDCC. While prior to that showing we were warned that the movie was not entirely finished (so there may be some rough appearances) it did not look too different from what we saw on Saturday. I noticed several moments where it seemed shadows were added, or reflections in eyes, but overall it looked great, just like the first time we saw it.



The event itself began early in the morning and was attended by the local 501st and Mando Mercs. There was a "fun room" in the back of the theatre, where there were events and activities for children. There was also a booth giving out the Subway Rebels lunch bags, as well as a signup sheet for a secret code for a Chopper Avatar on XBox Live.

There was a booth with colouring sheets and crayons next to a very talented facepainter, who could not only paint the orange Star Wars Rebels logo onto children's faces, but was also painting elaborate space scenes with tie-fighters and other Star Wars icons and insignia.

Despite what you might think, this is not Chris Brecheen.

And in the last booth there was a local balloon artist, Mr. Shap, who had several balloon figures of the main cast of Rebels on display, and was making free balloon lightsabers for children at the show. (He also does birthday parties and other events in the bay area).

Onto the show itself, I won't go into great details since I already reviewed this movie a few months back, but for Disney's first major foray into Star Wars it does not disappoint. The animation is excellent (on par with the Clone Wars cartoon) and the voice acting is well-cast. The Star Wars that we see in Rebels is a much darker Star Wars that what many people were and are expecting to come from Disney. During the opening scenes there are a number of background deaths, not to mention the clear depictions of totalitarianism and fascism shown in the operations of the Empire. It is not a cartoon to be missed, and if you can't wait until it airs on the Disney Channel you can start getting to know the characters in Star Wars: A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller, which was just released in the US and can be purchased at Amazon.com. A New Dawn tells the story of how Kanan and Hera first met years before the start of Star Wars Rebels, and is also the first story in Disney's new Star Wars Canon.

And most of all, don't miss Spark of the Rebellion on the Disney Channel on October 3rd!

Horatio is a dorky toy reviewer in San Francisco. She also runs a Stargate Tumblr.

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