[5.0/10] What the hell was this? Friends had warned me that the show changed between seasons, and not necessarily for the better, but I don’t think I was prepared for this.
For starters, they changed the theme song, which was catchy as all hell before and now is a big generic nothing. They changed the art style, which is cutesier and less distinctive. They changed several of the voices, which happens, but is also a little jarring. They’ve changed the score and sound effects, which are both cheesier. And most importantly, they changed the writing.
Look, Ewoks was never exactly a tightly-written show with clockwork plots or anything. But everything has been made broader and wackier. At times, the show’s cast felt too expansive, but flattening everything down to Wicket, Kneesa, Teebo, and Latara plays as overly reductive. And they’ve changed their personalities too, made each of them more one note and cartoony. Pretty much every change has been for the worse.
The story itself is no great shakes on its own terms though. There’s something kid-friendly about an evil bad guy who has the midas touch for crystals. But there’s barely any story. They go, they fight bad guys, they come back. The end. I don’t mind the show halving its runtime for a given story. Plenty of shows have succeeded with that approach, but this is so threadbare and standard, that it doesn’t even begin to graze its potential.
Overall, if this first outing, from one of animation’s best writers, is indicative of the tone and quality of Ewoks’ second season, then like Latara trying to transport home her crystal creature, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2022-05-27T18:34:28Z
[5.0/10] What the hell was this? Friends had warned me that the show changed between seasons, and not necessarily for the better, but I don’t think I was prepared for this.
For starters, they changed the theme song, which was catchy as all hell before and now is a big generic nothing. They changed the art style, which is cutesier and less distinctive. They changed several of the voices, which happens, but is also a little jarring. They’ve changed the score and sound effects, which are both cheesier. And most importantly, they changed the writing.
Look, Ewoks was never exactly a tightly-written show with clockwork plots or anything. But everything has been made broader and wackier. At times, the show’s cast felt too expansive, but flattening everything down to Wicket, Kneesa, Teebo, and Latara plays as overly reductive. And they’ve changed their personalities too, made each of them more one note and cartoony. Pretty much every change has been for the worse.
The story itself is no great shakes on its own terms though. There’s something kid-friendly about an evil bad guy who has the midas touch for crystals. But there’s barely any story. They go, they fight bad guys, they come back. The end. I don’t mind the show halving its runtime for a given story. Plenty of shows have succeeded with that approach, but this is so threadbare and standard, that it doesn’t even begin to graze its potential.
Overall, if this first outing, from one of animation’s best writers, is indicative of the tone and quality of Ewoks’ second season, then like Latara trying to transport home her crystal creature, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.