STAR WARS: REBELS Season 2 Blu-ray Review

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When we last saw our heroes they were getting deep into the good fight alongside the Rebellion against the evil Empire.  The Empire has been increasing their grip on the galaxies and expanding further into the Outer Rim territories.  The crew of The Ghost has made a name for themselves by complicating The Empire’s plans time and time again.  Aboard The Ghost are Ezra, Kanan, Hera, Sabine, Zeb and Chopper and with the Rebellion gaining strength, they have a few new helpers Like Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex of The Old Republic.  With this team, they can fight back and win.

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STAR WARS: REBELS is the continuation of the Cartoon network’s STAR WARS: CLONE WARS series but the time period is after REVENGE OF THE SITH and before A NEW HOPE.  Most of the voice actors have plenty of experience but the few that aren’t do not stick out like a sore thumb.  I will say that there has been an overall improvement since the previous season, especially in Taylor Gray as Ezra Bridger.  He seems to understand putting emotion into his voice a little better and has more range.

It was also really nice to see Ashley Eckstein reprise her role as Ahsoka.  It was a big question on fan’s minds as to what happened to her after the CLONE WARS.  It was good that the series makers addressed that and Darth Vader existing in the same time as well.  Vader is a character that people love to hate and him showing up at key moments in the series was awesome.

I think what I like about the series is that it has plenty of freedom to do pretty much whatever they want, even to the main characters and still stay in cannon.  This is due to Disney basically saying that the old movies are as they are and anything new is the new universe.  People do have some gripes about this but there really shouldn’t be.  It just means more Star Wars in the future like the upcoming ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY.

Cast
Taylor Gray – Ezra Bridger
Freddie Prinze, Jr. – Kanan Jarrus
Vanessa Marshall – Hera Syndulla
Tiya Sircar – Sabine Wren
Steven Blum – Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios

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The transfer is a 1080p AVC presentation.

The transfer of this show is incredible.  Coming from an all-digital source and being CG animation, there is nothing lost in the authoring.  The brilliant coloring leaps off the screen in a lot of different scenes and characters.  Some of the best examples of this can be seen in the glowing lightsabers in both the Jedi and the Sith.  Another excellent example is pretty much every scene that Sabine is in with her wildly bright hair and armor.  The hues are never duplicated in different objects such as the orange in Ahsoka’s skin tone is a different shade that Chop’s paint.  As for the detailing, it is clean and sharp when it is supposed to be and on the softer side when its necessary.  When you’re looking at the ships especially, you can make out all of the little grooves and intricacies.  Like the previous season, Disney has done a magnificent job.

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The audio is a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix.

When I first learned that the audio was not in a newer HD mix, I Was worried but the sound feels better put together than the first season.  It really packs a punch with some incredibly strong LFEs.  They are specially heard during the fighting in space or with vehicles with loud, roaring engines.  The dialogue and effects come through clear and do sound great but there are some issues when the music is added to the mix.  This is most likely because the multiple facets in the track are as cleanly separated as a newer HD track.  Overall, the mix is done well and is adequate for the release.

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-Rebels Recon: These are short looks into each of the listed episodes below by the people who worked on the series.

Disc One
Inside The Siege of Lothal
Inside The Lost Commanders
Inside Relics of the Old Republic
Inside Always Two There Are
Inside Brothers of the Broken Horn
Inside Wings of the Master
Inside Blood Sisters

Disc Two
Inside Stealth Strike’
Inside The Future of the Force
Inside Legacy
Inside A Princess of Lothal
Inside The Protector of Concord Dawn
Inside Legends of the Lasat
Inside The Call
Inside Homecoming

Disc Three
Inside The Honorable Ones
Inside Shroud of Darkness
Inside The Forgotten Droid
Inside The Mystery of Chopper Base
Inside Twilight of the Apprentice

-Connecting the Galaxy – Rebels Season 2: This is a look at how the show will bring together the entire Star Wars universe eventually.

-From Apprentice to Adversary – Vader vs. Ahsoka: This is an extra of how the show brought the epic battle between Vader and Tano together.

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Disc Details
3-disc set

Running Time
484 mins

Edition Ratings
Rated TV-Y7-FV

Region Coding
Region A

Video Resolution
1080p AVC MPEG-4
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Audio Mixes
English Dolby Digital 5.1
French Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0
German Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles
English
English SDH
French
Spanish

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STAR WARS: REBELS has come a long way in stepping it up in a lot of areas that I’ve covered already but there is one place I’d like to talk about: The tone.  The tone of the show still feels with keeping on a younger level but as the episode increase, it seems like the show is growing up.  A lot of the issues that the antagonists have aren’t always something that children can relate to. Like the second half of season 2 explores the dark side of the force and how it can control Ezra’s fears.  There are also some other issues addressed like slavery, prejudices, and some more.  The Blu-ray looks incredible and it’s exactly what I was expecting from Disney.  The audio is better than I thought it would be but it is still pretty solid.  Overall, this show is still good for younger kids to adults even with the tones that can be on the serious side but it’s a good way for families to talk about these things.  I highly recommend this release.

 

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About the author

MEDIA JOURNALIST | Michael is a fanatic about all both cinema old and new. He collects anything from 1:6 Scale, 1:12 Scale, and vinyl Collectibles plus Slipcovers and Steelbooks. He loves pop culture, writing, reviewing films & collectibles, and journalism. An avid Batman, The Joker and anything comics junkie, he will also chat it up about pretty much anything. Go ahead and ask...