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Friday, 7 November 2025

Fire And Water: Making The Avatar Films TV Series Review


We are just under a month away from the release of the latest Avatar film Avatar: Fire And Ash and well the production team have done something that was rather unexpected. That being the fact that they'd released an entire two part documentary series in Disney+ just about the making of the previous film Avatar: The Way Of Water and well this was something that did catch my eye as the series was all about the effects in that film and I love behind the scenes documentaries and so you all just knew that I have to check this show the very first chance that I got and so then join me as I review the show that has very little fire but a whole lot of water in it with the show in question being called simply just "Fire And Water: Making The Avatar Films" enjoy.

The whole idea behind this show does seem to be to give people a behind the scenes look at not only how The Way Of Water was made but also how the first Avatar film was made as well. With this kind of being lost in translation as the show doesn't really touch upon the first film at all and it doesn't even mention the third film apart from one brief introduction by that films director James Cameron at the start of episode one and that's really it and that is something that does kind of make as he can't really say much about the third film especially as lose to the release date of that film that this show is coming out on but at the same time the show has the world films i the title and yet it only focuses on the second film which fair enough makes a whole lot of sense as that film did put Avatar back on the map but at the same time there should have been some love shown to the first film as with that film being as good as it still as almost twenty years later then there wouldn't be a second or even third m fourth and possibly even fifth film but there is one thing that's perfectly clear tho with the idea behind this show and that's the fact that the whole crew and cast really do have a deep love for these characters and for this world so much so that they all willingly took free diving lessons for the film with them all performing all of the underwater scenes in the film themselves with that love and passion for The Way Water really coming through in the shows final product something which is more evident by how much time the makers of that film spent just doing research on ways to film underwater scenes as that is a passion that you really just don't see anymore in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Starring in this show is Zoe Saldaña , Kate Winslet , Sigourney Weaver , Britain Dalton and Trinity Jo-Li Bliss. Also starring in this show is Garrett Warren , Brendan Cowell , Margery Simkin , Steve Brown , Ben Procter , Joe Letteri , Richard Baneham , Luke Freeborn , Peter Zuccarin , Stephen E. Rivkin , Dylan Cole , Rae Sanchini , Maria Battle-Campbell , John Garvin , Ryan Champney , Eric Saindon , Jamie Landau , Kirk Krack , Brigitte Yorke , Richard Schwalm , Nick Epstein , William Trubridge , Rob Innes , Joey Natale , John Landau and James Cameron.

To give this film some credit it does stick to only including those who are involved directly with the making of the Avatar films and not having people from outside of those films be interviewed for the show much like what Who Killed WCW did. Whilst this does rather present a warped view on things as they are of course going to praise everything that James Cameron does it is also something that makes alot of sense as this show does look like it was filmed during the production of The Way Of Water with there even being appearances from more of that films cast then what was credited with it really being helped by the fact that all of those that are starring in this show don't cover the same points as each other something which they very easily could have done given the fact that none of this shows actors were interviewed together with them all all really adding something to the show that makes it look like that they really did enjoy making Avatar's 2 and 3 but at the same time tho the show is more focused on giving us information from the films technical team which who don't really add alot to the show and are kind of boring to listen to alot of the time where as the actors from the film all come across as being really star struck in a way when they are put in these rather unique circumstances and while it is understandable why the makers of this show focused more heavily in featuring the people who did the behind the scenes work on The Way Of Water then the films actors they should have been more a fairer balance between featuring the people who did the behind the scenes work and the people that are starring in the film as like it or not people aren't going to know or even care for that matter who is working behind the scenes in the film and what they have to say but they will know ad care about what someone like Zoe Saldaña or even James Cameron has to say as there more well known to mainstream audiences.


Whilst this show really doesn't cover as much of the films VFX as the shows trailer would make you believe it does cover enough of it to make the people who did the VFX for that film in a way feel like rockstars. With the show going into quite alot of detail just about the motion capture process alone which is a nice little touch as it is something that does get over looked alot of the time as people do treat it like it's just a cartoon without realizing that there's a whole performance behind it and to see the effects team get the recognition that they really do deserve is a great thing to see but at the same time tho it would have helped the show out quite alot if they went into more detail about over aspects of the films effects like for example the water effects in the film which was something that did get alot of praise back even when the first trailer for The Way Of Water was being released barely got a passing mention in the final moments of episode two when something like that should have been front and centre and when people think of effects they usually think of people sitting behind a computer making the impossible possible so why not show the thought process behind the some of the films landscapes and character designs for example as they are a huge part of the world of Avatar then anything else so much so that the land Walt Disney World Resort as is called Pandora: The World Of Avatar is James Cameron knows that part of what's makes these films so visually interesting is the fact that the world of Pandora feels alive and feels real so why not show the thought process behind creating some of the landscapes and character designs for these films as that is something that alot of people would genuinely want to see. 


For whatever reason even tho this show is called Fire And Water this show seemed to be more focused on showing us the water aspect of the films then the fire aspect of them. Which fair enough might be because of the fact that the fire element might not come into a bigger play until Fire And Ash but then why have a title that suggests it will be a big part of this show as all this show does is show you how they made alot of the underwater scenes for this film and fair enough James Cameron is obsessed with going underwater and so having that be a key element of one of his films does make sense as does showing us how he wanted the films actors and the films cameramen to actually go underwater when filming those scenes de to the fact that there physics at play during those underwater scenes that you just can't replicate and that is something to behold but to base an entire two episode mini-series around that just doesn't work as people would becoming to this show to find out how these movies where made from alot of the aspects of production that goes into making a film and not just one thing and while finding out how much research they did for The Way Of Water and possibly Fire And Ash is truly astounding with James Cameron himself even taking the crew to both Hawaii and the Bahamas to test out some of the filming ideas that they came up and the fact that they even hired someone to teach the cast and crew how to free dive in water does say that there was alot more that went into making the first Avatar sequel then what we know but it also feels like it's just reaching the top of the ice berg when it comes to making these Avatar films when it would have been so much more better if the show went more in depth into the making of these films and told us things that we wouldn't really have known otherwise.

This show is the last project that long time Avatar producer Jon Landau contributed to with the show even being dedicated to him. While he doesn't get mentioned by quite literally any of the cast and crew he does provide interviews for the show which was a nice thing and while people might not know his name they will know him as the producer of these movies and several other movies as well with it being clear that he and the rest of the crew had no idea of just how to pull of the vision that James Cameron had for these films which oddly makes him feel more human as producers do nine times out of ten come across as being a bit super human in behind the scenes featurettes with them knowing right away how to pull of things that the crew are trying to figure out alot of the time but nope in this show he pretty much admits that he had no idea how they were going to make this movie which was a nice thing to see and the fact that the show as a whole and possibly even the next Avatar movie are dedicated to him does show that he was a beloved person of the crew and that everyone involved with the making of these films even if they did just one day of filming really was made to feel like they were apart of this family which is something that really isn't said in the show itself but it's something that you can tell was the case from how they are all behaving when around each other and how other members of the films cast talk about each other with actor Trinity Jo-Li Bliss even stating that Zoe Saldaña was a great off screen mother to her much like how her character was a great on screen mother to her character as well as that's how much these films actors really do care about each other.


What was shocking to see in this show was just how much innovation truly went into the making of these Avatar films. With the makers of these films even building an underwater wind tunnel for some of the films action scenes which took place in the water and with them even modifying what was basically a water jetpack so that not only can two people now ride it but also so that it can now go underwater something we then do see in the final film when the characters are riding these underwater creatures with the makers of this show really going to great lengths to show off just how much water stuff that they came up with just for The Way Of Water alone all of which are things that do make you appreciate just how much time , work and effort went into making that film alone but even then the one thing that they always bring up in this show is the fact that hey never wanted to loose the actors performance in the midst of it all which is were they came up with the idea of doing everything in motion capture but due to the fact that they were filming mostly in water for this film they had to use to different types of camera one for when the characters were above the water and one for below just due to the different light exposure on both cameras all the time the actors were in there motion capture suits trying to act and when they ran into a problem with how to film something then they just worked out how to do it with out loosing what there actors were doing performance wise so when you see Sigourney Weavers character go underwater that's not a fully CGI character doing it that was actually her doing it with it being that little touch that really does ground the film in some form of reality and it's something that did rightfully get alot of attention in the first episode of this show.

Now then this show has / had an exact grand total running time of no longer then forty eight minuets and fifty eight seconds. With that being episode ones running time with episode two having a grand total running time of exactly thirty three minuets and eight seconds which to be fair is a perfectly solid amount of running time for both of these episodes to have as even the show itself doesn't have a plot to speak of due to the fact that's a documentary it still does manage to get across all of the information that it wanted to get a cross in a more manageable time frame but the only thing that really could have made this all the more better was if this was a film and not a two episode miniseries as then with the feature film format the makers of this show could have gone into more detail about the making of the first Avatar sequel and maybe even included a few no spoilery bits of behind the scenes footage for Fire And Ash and gone into more detail about the making of the first Avatar film as that is something that the shows title does suggest would be the case but at the same time tho it could have been done like this due to the fact that we might be getting another two episodes a long time after the release of Fire And Ash which would be cool as the show does end with a tease for that film but at the same time tho this show can be a bit boring at times due to the fact that it does focus so much on how the crew came up with inventions for filming some of the underwater scenes when those are thing that would have been better left on the cutting room floor as they really do add nothing to the show as a whole even tho they are things could be seen as being interesting to people who like James Cameron are really interested in things about water but I really will admit that this show really does have some really good pacing to it tho.


So now then as this is a drama that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual drama that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual drama that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show was in all honesty really good. With the show not really being as drama heavy as you'd might as expect from a drama with this show being more feel good then anything else as we get to see the crew of these films reach a problem with making the films and then find a way to overcome it in more often then not a bunch of really creative and inventive ways all of which do show us the audience just how creative that these Avatar films can be when it comes to the making of them with the films best example of feel good drama being when we find that actor Cliff Curtis actually touched a manta ray when the crew was out doing a night time dive in Hawaii and hearing how that made him feel due to the fact that one of them is also his spirit animal was something that whilst it was dramatic as it could be seen as making people very teary eyed it was also a piece of a feel good drama as well with the show even telling us that Sigourney Weaver would actually spend alot of time underwater when filming because she would just love it under the water much like her character in The Way Of Water did so much so that she actually did an entire scene underwater whilst holding her breath for three minuets which might not seem like much but when your underwater those minuets could seem like hours and yet she pulled it off which just goes to show you just how feel good that this shows drama could really be in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Overall whilst Avatar: Fire And Ash has yet to blow us away with how good that that film looks this show alone does a perfectly good job of not only bridging the gap between the two films but also getting us excited for Fire And Ash as well and also making us realise just  how much work and effort went into just ONE of these films in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very show in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very show really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images hat I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official Disney fandom wiki page , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very show that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very show with alot of them being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Wednesday, 5 November 2025

Worzel Gummidge Down Under "The Sleeping Beauty" Review


Worzel is a character that was for a long period of time a British institution with the hit Jon Pertwee show making the character move lovable then he has ever been. Yet even so with he's not remembered all that much nowadays which is a shame because when the series got it right it really did get things right it's only when the show moved to New Zealand that it start to get bad and while the episode that i'm going to be talking to you all about today isn't a bad episode persay it's also not a good one either and so then join me as I review the episode that introduces Worzel two human child friends into the show with the episode in question being called simply just "The Sleeping Beauty" enjoy.

The plot of this episode is when Worzel catches wind of just were his beloved Aunt Sally is staying he and his new human friends Mickey and Manu set off to rescue her. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really bad as while this episodes pot does have some things to set up it does also have a pretty weak plot even for this version of the show as the episode has to set up who Worzel's new human friends are and what there like as people which is fair enough but that eats up so much of the episodes run time that it leaves very little time for the episodes main plot which is something that is left more of an afterthought when compared to anything else in the episode and while this episodes plot isn't the strongest plot in this show as it is pretty weak at best due to it feeling like a typical Aunt Sally plotline from the later series of Worzel Gummidge instead of feeling like something that was more in line with the original shows first series for example but to be fair to this episode there are still moments of that first series flair coming through in the plot of this episode but he episode is bogged down by so much bad things just in it's plot alone that it makes would could have been a very passable plot seem really dull and while this episode isn't unwatchable by any means the plot doesn't do the episode any kind of favors whatsoever with the plot of this episode not really being really rather entertaining and nor is it really rather engaging either in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Starring in this episode is Doctor Who star Jon Pertwee as Worzel Gummidge and Bruce Phillips as The Crowman. Also starring in this episode is Jonathan Marks as Mickey , Una Stubbs as Aunt Sally , Olivia Ihimaera-Smiler as Manu , Gerald Bryan as Rooney , Michael Haigh as Professor Pike , Patupatu Ripley as Mrs. Te Wheke , Joy Watson as Mrs. Peacock and David Copeland as Commissionaire Gilbert.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With pretty much all of this episodes actors turning in some really good performances even the episodes kid actors which was something that was surprising as kids can usually be pretty annoying to watch and yet there the actors playing them were really good in the episode with of course the likes of Jon Pertwee and Una Stubbs being really great to watch as well which is something that does make alot of sense as they are reprising their roles from the original show and would therefor have the best knowledge on how best to perform there respective characters with both of them even being the episodes best actors as do still have a lot of chemistry with each other and are both quite clearly having a lot of fun in playing there respective characters with both characters being perfectly well cast as both of those actors bring something that's uniquely them to the roles with that being something that really does help to sell you on these characters and while both Jonathan Marks and Olivia Ihimaera-Smiler aren't as good as Jeremy Austin and Charlotte Coleman they both really good actors in this episode with the acting that's in this episode really being helped by the fact that this episodes script is just so good that all this episodes actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode.


The episode does get a little bit better when it comes to it's characters as it does pretty much round out all of the side characters for this first series of the show. As while the side characters that we get fully introduced to in this episode won't be as good as the ones from the original show they all have there own unique charm to them that make them different from the ones on the original show with the best example of this being the kids Mickey and Manu who are the complete and total opposite of Jon and Sue as while those character were the typical good kids that all British kids TV shows seemed to have at the time it's clear right from the second that we see them in this episode that Mickey and Manu are trouble makers but ones that do have a heart of gold as while they trust straight up tell Worzel that there not his friends and there not surprised that he's a scarecrow they are willing to help him go and see Aunt Sally even tho it could get them into a lot of trouble with another good example of this episodes side characters being Rooney who is best described as being a handyman of sorts for the local town as he just does every little odd job here and there that's really needed of him which is something that does bring him into contact with both Worzel and The Crowman alot of the time and while he is portrayed as being quite dumb he can also be a bit wise something which doesn't really get showcased in this episode but in another episode he does tell The Crowman that if you want succeed in this town you have to be able to do many things as there's not much call for someone who just makes Scarecrows in the town anymore.  


Speaking of The Crowman it's in one his scenes that we actually get to find out about this series main villain The Travelling Scarecrow Maker as it's revealed by Rooney that he buys up all of the Mangal Worzel's to make his cheaper scarecrows with. This was a nice touch as you can tell right from how The Crowman talks about him that he and the scarecrow maker have a past with each other and it's one that does get revealed later on in the series and while he has nothing but pure hatred for The Travelling Scarecrow Maker he does have some what of a kinder relationship with Worzel as he does go looking for him when he leaves his post and while the two of them don't really get to spend any screen time together in this episode something which they really should have done to set up there relationship more fully it is nice seeing him care for Worzel and while yews this version of The Crowman doesn't let Worzel get away with much much like the original version did with the original version of The Crowman being more of a father figure to Worzel and this one being more like someone who is forced to look after him but starts to like him anyway and that is something that makes this version of the character alot more interesting as it shows that all scarecrow makers have to like alot of each others scarecrows as they have no reason to with this even being shown when he talks about The Travelling Scarecrow Maker as you can hear in his voice that he really doesn't like him and is really holding back his anger as not to reveal the fact that scarecrows can walk and talk with him even acting scared at the mere mention of him like he knows that that character is up to no good and that is something that does add some level mystery into this shows version of The Crowman.

This episode does also have the only time in which they directly reference the original Jon Pertwee show. As Worzel himself says that he's just left two little children right before he met up with Mickey and Manu and while the show would even directly use footage from the original show in a later episode and even have a photograph of Geoffrey Bayldon as The Crowman this show never really mentioned the original show all that much which I guess does make sense as you don't really want to remind people of other shows even if the show that your making is a sequel show but at the same time tho it was nice for this episode to reference Jon and Sue as they are Worzel's best friends so it does make sense he would make a reference to them in that way but it would have been nicer if we got to see them even if it was just a quick cameo at the start of the previous episode as that would have made sense given the fact that the previous episode started out in England and in the same village as the original show as well and while Mickey and Manu are good enough characters the fact that this episode does reference Jon and Sue does still remind you of the much more better show with that reference feeling like it was something that the makers of this episode felt like that they have to include as the fans of the original show would still be watching this new show as that reference adds nothing to the overall episode and felt more like fanservice but in the best way possible however what would made the episode even better was if the episode spent alot more time in fully fleshing out it's characters instead of just giving us the bare bones of characters as these are characters that we are goin to be spending the rest of the first series with and therefor we want to get to know more about them and yet when compare Mickey and Manu to Jon and Sue we got to find out more about Jon and Sue just from the first two episodes of that show alone then we did about Manu and Mickey from this episode.


In what was a bit of a shocking thing to see in this episode we don't really get to see an awful lot of Aunt Sally in this episode. Despite her being the main vocal point of the episode with her really only appearing in the episodes final five to ten minuets and that's really it which granted is mainly due to the fact that the episode also had to do some setting up for future episodes and to also introduce the shows new side characters as well but at the same time tho given that she is meant to be a main character in the plot of the episode it is weird that Aunt Sally barely shows up in the actual episode itself while yes granted they do have an in universe reasoning for that as Worzel is first trying to befriend Mickey and Manu before then being told where Aunt Sally is staying and so in that way it does make sense for her to only appear in a smaller amount of the episode but given the fact that the whole reason that Worzel went to New Zealand in the first place was to be with her it would have made sense within the episode to have Worzel find out where she's staying at the same time that he's trying to befriend Mickey and Manu and then have them bond over their expirences in this adventure instead of having them bond before it as that just makes it feel out of character for Worzel not to know where Aunt Sally is and go chasing after her however tho this episode does also mark a first in their relationship as it's the first and so far the only time that Worzel has actually successfully kissed Aunt Sally with that moment being treated as the right amount of silly and seriousness that it really needed but at the same time tho it not having her in the episode a whole lot more makes Aunt Sally feel more like an afterthought when she should have been more of the main focus of the episode.

Now then this episode has / has an exact grand total running time of exactly twenty four minuets and fifty five seconds. Which is a perfectly solid running time for this episode to have as alot of the episodes for this show do have a similar running time as well with this episode having just amount the right amount of plot there to really cover that amount of running time but in saying that tho this is an episode that really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely as the episode is more focused on setting up things for future episodes then it is in developing it's plot which does make this episodes plot also feel an afterthought when if the episode just spent more time in developing it's own plot then in setting up things for other episodes then we would have a slightly more better episode however tho this is also something that does effect it's characters as well as while it could be argued that both Worzel and Aunt Sally don't really need any kind of character development due to the fact that they were lead characters on the original show characters like Rooney , Mickey , Manu and The Crowman all needed it as alot of them are getting more screen time in this episode after just making a cameo in the previous episode with there characters really needing to be the most fleshed out due to the fact that they are new characters and while it could be argued that they get there development in future episodes which would be a fair argument to make it's something that should have started in this episode as this is our first real look at those characters but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.


So now then  as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. With there being some really cute and funny jokes in this episode which is something that this show did do really best as those allow the characters to be there usual charming selves and with this episode having two returning characters it does mean that the episode can have some fun with there relationship to each other which is something that this episode does somewhat take full advantage of as the episodes best joke is when Worzel does kiss Aunt Sally which results in him being as giddy as a school boy and her being utterly shocked and appalled that a scarecrow would kiss her which is something that does feel completely in character for both of them as we know that Worzel loves Aunt Sally with all of his heart and would do anything for her much like how we know that she hated Worzel with all of her heart and would do anything to get away from him and so to them act differently to a kiss which was done just to wake her up with anther good joke when after escaping the museum Aunt Sally finds herself working as a local attraction once again getting balls thrown at her whilst Worzel finds himself being hung up onto a chimney with both characters not really being happy with there current predicament with this episode having alot of really good jokes in it in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Overall whilst this isn't the best episode of this show it's also not the worst one either as while there is a huge drop off interms of quality when compared to the original show this is an episode that can at times be really fun to watch it just needed more of a focus on it's plot and more Aunt Sally to make it better in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly 5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co . Uk and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Wednesday, 29 October 2025

Star Wars: Visions Volume Three SPOILER FILLED Review


When people think of animated Star Wars shows they always think of shows like Star Wars Rebels or Star Wars: The Clone Wars. They do however never think of the anime show with this show being one of if not the most underrated pieces of modern Star Wars media as not alot of people talk about and well the new season of this show has finally dropped and well you all just knew that I had to check out this new season the very first chance that I got and so then join me as I give you my SPOILER FILLED review of the season that sees us catching up with old friends and making new ones with the show in question being called simply just "Star Wars: Visions" enjoy.

As with both of the previous seasons of this show this show is an anthology show and therefor doesn't have one main plot as all nine of the shows episodes all have different plots to them. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plots that are actually featured / presented to us in this very season well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plots that are actually featured / presented to us in this very season was in all honesty very mixed. With there being some plots that worked really well like for example the plot for episode two "The Song Of Four Wings" was a really decent plot and one that really did fit well within the short film format of the show but on the flip side of that we have episodes like "BLACK" and "The Lost Ones" with Black not even having a plot as it's just a collection of animated images and that's really it and the plot to "The Lost Ones" just being kind of dull not bad persay but not good either but when we do get an episode with a good plot like episode four "The Bounty Hunters" it really does shine and stand out because it shows us just how good that this show could be when it has some decent plots to it and while we do get glimpses of that all throughout this season this is a case where the bad episodes really do bring the season down due to how bland or just OK that there plots are alot of the time and yet if the season had more good plots in it or just improved upon the episodes with the bad plots then the season as a whole would be a whole more stronger with the plots that are in this show also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Starring in this show is Brian Tee as Ronin , Emma Myers as Chita , Karen Fukuhara as F and Kimiko Glenn as Kara. Also starring in this show is Aki Toyosaki as Woopas , Anna Sawai as Sevn , Kenta Miyake as A Stormtrooper , Liam Karlsson as Yuko , Ronny Chieng as IV-A4 , Sonoya Mizuno as Nakime , Stephanie Hsu as Crane , Tsuyoshi Koyama as A Stormtrooper , Andrew Kishino as Juro , Frank Todaro as Unda , Freddie Highmore as Teto , Gary Littman as CZ-D16 , George Takei as The Toad , Harvey Guillén as BILY and Darth Bear , James Sie as Master , Jodie Turner-Smith as En O , Jonathan Lipow as Oyabun Que Dama , Joseph Lee as Jin-Sim Canbelon , Judith Light as Gleenu , Julian Paz Fedorov as Sola , Kimberly Brooks as Joona , Lincoln Bonilla as Leon , Major Attaway as Anda , Mark Strong as Shad-Rah Varcanella / Zero , Masi Oka as Ethan , Patrick Seitz as Homen and A Yakuza Trooper , Ryan Potter as Ron , Simu Liu as Zhima , Steve Buscemi as Fox Ear , Suzy Nakamura as Anée-san , Tanner Buchanan as Arloo , Trevor Devall as Admiral Kiucee , Victoria Grace as Aman , Will Sharpe as Grand Master and Zoe Rux as Karin.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show was in all honesty really good. Which is something that does make alot of sense as not only are a bunch of actor reprising their respective roles from Volume 1 of this show and there for have somewhat of an idea of how best to portray there respective characters but alot of this shows actors are a bunch of really good actors in their own right as well be from acting in front of the camera or voice acting with that skill really coming though in this season as all of this shows actors really do know how to turn in a good performance with there not really being a single bad actor in this show and while yes some actors are better then others in this season as Liam Karlsson is pretty wooden as Yuko but at the same time with an anthology show that was always going to be the case as your always going to get actors that are better in other episodes and that are better then other actors in this show with perhaps the best actor in this whole entire season being Freddie Highmore as Teto as he turns in a performance that can have you laughing one minuet and then in the very same scene he'll say something that is utterly heartbreaking and it is something that does come through in his performance as the character with it even making Teto one of if not the best character in the whole season with the acting that's in this very show really being helped by the fact that this shows scripts are just so good that all this shows actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very show.


Doing the animation for this show is Kamikaze Douga , ANIMA , Project Studio Q , Production I.G , Wit Studio , Kinema Citrus , Studio Trigger , Polygon Pictures and David Production. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show was in all honesty really good with the animation for the show as a whole being of a really standard but in saying that tho there are some episodes that don't have the best quality animation in them like for example "Yuko's Treasure" where the animation does look a little bit flat almost as if it's trying to copy Toei Animation's style instead of just being it's own unique thing but one things for sure tho and that's he fact all of this episodes animation is of a better quality then the animation seen in One Punch Man season 3 as here there's actual motion with things moving all of the time with all of the episodes having a lot of detail be it in there backgrounds in the character designs with newcomers to the series Polygon Pictures proving why they are the go to studio in Japan for 3D CGI animation as there episode "The Bird Of Paradise" is perhaps the best animated episode in this batch of episodes and while the studios that you expect great work from like Trigger , Wit and Production I.G it's the more lesser known studios really do shock you with how good that there animation is and while the bigger studios do still indeed have high quality animation in their respective episodes you expect it from them and therefor it's not all that surprising when it turns that there episodes have high quality animation but with the lesser known studios that's where you get to some truly wonderful piece of animation.

SPOILERS START HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



If you were expecting a sequel episode to the episode The Twins then prepared to be let down as that's one of the episodes from Volume 1 that actually doesn't get a sequel episode this season with there being sequels to "The Ninth Jedi" , "The Duel" and "The Village Bride" with the rest of this season being new stories. However tho the fact that a good chunk of this season is made up of sequel episodes does say that the makers of those episodes either A couldn't be bothered to come up with original stories and so just went back to what they knew would work or B just didn't have the time to come up with original stories which is something that does seem to be case for "The Duel: Payback" and "The Lost Ones" as they both feel like there original episodes almost to a fault with even The Duel's sequel episode even having kind of a similar plot to it just with a different set up as in this new episode Ronin has to team up with a Sith when a Jedi seeking revenge for something that Ronin did in his past comes hunting him down with the only thing that sets this episode apart from The Duel being the fact that it has an action scene inside of an At-At and that's really it but with the sequel for The Ninth Jedi tho there is somewhat of an excuse as to why that episode is basically a pilot episode as there is going to be a spinoff show airing next yea called Star Wars Visions Presents with The Ninth Jedi being turned into a full length anime series with this seasons sequel episode basically being a pilot episode to that show with the episode even ending on a To Be Continued as well but for the other two episodes there really was no excuse for them to be as similar to the original episodes as they ended up being as all that does is remind people of the original episode.

Whilst the first Volume of this show is so far the best one due to the fact that it has the more engaging stories in it. This season does have some really good episodes as well with the likes of "The Bounty Hunters" for example being a really good example of that due to the fact that episode not only has a really good plot but also has some really good characters in it as well with Sevn being a good example of just how to do a modern strong female character as she does have a past where she was a slave only to be freed by a Jedi but when it turns out that in the eyes of the people that she was a slave for they saw it as her betraying them something which she denies with her even having this attitude where she thinks that she knows everything when in fact she knows nothing being something that does come back to bite her in this season as she and her robot companion get hired to take on what they think are a bunch of rebels causing harm to this one person's business but it turns out that the person that hired them is the true evil one all along and seeing her work that all throughout the episode and have this back and forth with her robot companion is something that does help to make the character seem alot more likable then what she really had any right and while Teto is the best new character for me just due to how entertaining that he was this is the character that could very easily lead a series of her own as there's so much to explore with her character that it really would seem like a waste to just have her in this one episode and then never hear from her again where as if the character was given more episodes in the future or perhaps even a full anime series of her own then she very easily could become one of the best new characters that Disney has ever introduced into the world of Star Wars


Episode was we do have alot of really good episodes this year with there really only being two episodes that aren't that good with those oddly enough being the last two episodes of the season. As those episodes "The Bird Of Paradise" and "BLACK" just aren't that fun to watch with "The Bird Of Paradise" being a confusing episode that is bor9ng at the best of times and confusing , hard to follow and just flat out boring at the worst of times as very little actually happens in that episode that advances what could have been a really good premise with a Padawan learning what it truly means to be a Jedi which is a really good premise it's just one that needed to be handled alot more better then what it actually was and that's it. With "BLACK" on the other hand despite it's really unique premise with it trying to tell the story of a stormtrooper going into battle but how it's done makes it feel like your high as a kite as none of the visuals barely make any sense whatsoever which does make that episode hard to follow with that episode being one that is better of being dropped from the show as a whole as much like with "The Bird Of Paradise" not much actually happens only here you can barely make it what's actually meant to be happening in the first place which is something that really does make that episode alot more hard to follow with "The Bird Of Paradise" being an episode that might have been better served being earlier on in the season as having to bad episodes released back to back does make the season come to an end on a bit of a bad note and while that would still be a case with "BLACK" at least then it would just be the one episode that ends it like that and not the two of them.

Now then these episodes has / had an exact grand total running time on no longer then twenty three minuets. With episode running times ranging from the shorter thirteen minuets with the longest one being twenty two minuets with alot of these episodes having just about the right amount of running time to cover there respective running times however tho in saying that tho alot of these episodes don't really use there running times all that wisely as alot of them don't take the time that they really do need to fully develop there plots and whilst this is understand for "The Ninth Jedi: Child Of Hope" as that episode is of course the pilot episode to The Ninth Jedi anime it's not excusable for an episode like "The Smuggler" where despite it having a really good premise and one that does hold alot of promise it's plot is one that could have benefitted from being alot more fleshed out then what it already was with the same thin being true for alot of this shows characters as well as all of the characters barring Sevn aren't that well developed but they all do have alot of promise to be really good characters they just needed to be alot more well thought out with characters like Yuko and BILLY being very one dimensional characters that were done better in early eighties family sitcoms but given that these episodes don't have alot of time to fully develop either the plots or there characters and still tell a good story it is understandable why alot of them aren't that well developed and it doers mean that we have to really get behind the characters that are really well done like Ronin and Sevn for example as those are good examples of just how to do good characters in a short amount of running time but I really will admit that these episodes really do have some really pacing to them tho.


So now then as this is an action show that really does mean that I av e to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show was in all honesty really good. With this shows action apart from it's animation being the part of the show as its in this shows action that we get to see alot of really cool pieces of animation all of which do look really good with all nine of this shows episodes having some really good looking action in them and while none of them will match the action from the films these episodes are still worth watching just for the action alone with the best action in the whole show going to "The Bounty Hunters" as we not only get to see a really cool chase scene in space with our main heroes trying to out run a bunch of other spaceships while only just getting by herself but we also get to see a really cool fight in the end when she and her robot companion team up with the rebels to take on the evil boss who fights them whilst wrapped in robot armour which is just such a cool fight scene as it shows of not only how much of a bada*s that Sevn really is as we get to see her thinking on her feet alot of time whilst trying to keep her new friends safe but we also get to see that she can really hold her own in a fight something which is important for a bounty hunter to do and with her episode being done by Studio Trigger her action scenes do have that Trigger flair to them that makes them stand out from all of the action scene in this season which are also really good in their own right as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

SPOILERS END HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Overall with The Mandalorian And Grogu coming out next year it is save to say that we still able to get some quality Star Wars content with this season being a good example of that and even tho its not as good as Volume 1 was its still alot more better then what Volume 2 is in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that re in this very show in this very review and that really does mean that this very show really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly an 8 out 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official Disney fandom wiki page , the official Star Wars fandom wiki page and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very show that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very show with alot of them being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Friday, 24 October 2025

Star Wars Visions: The Ninth Jedi Review


We are less then a week away before not only the return one of the most really underrated Star Wars TV shows be it live action or animated but also the return of seeing Star Wars done in anime form. As Star Wars Visions Volume 3 will see the show be an anime again and with possibly the first three episodes of that new batch episodes all being sequel episodes to episodes from volume 1 it only really made sense that I check out one of those episodes and so then join me as I review the episode that sees alot of Sith really trying to kill this one girl with the episode in question being called simply just "The Ninth Jedi" enjoy.

The plot of this episode is when her father is kidnapped his young force sensitive daughter must take six lightsabers to a temple in the hopes of finding six jedi who will help her rescue him the Sith. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad as the plot of this episode is one that does work in he short film format with it being epic enough to be apart of the Star Wars universe but also small enough that it doesn't overtake what was done in the movies either with this episodes plot being one of the more underrated plots of the show as it shows how a father and daughter can and was effected by the Sith which was something that the movies never got into at least directly and because of that this episodes plot does come across as being more weird and quite out there as a plot which is something that is great as Star Wars can now be this thing that given the right show and the right plot can go to those weird places with the only thing that doesn't really work about this episodes plot being the fact that nothing is really set up with it just feeling like that these characters are just doing these things for no reason and while that is something that could get fixed in the upcoming spin off series next year for this episode it was something that does make the episodes plot seem more like one of the weaker plots of Volume 1 of this show with the plot of this episode also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Starring in this episode is Kimiko Glenn as Lah Kara , Simu Liu as Lah Zhima and Andrew Kishino as Margrave Juro / Steward Droid. Also starring in this episode is Heroes star Masi Oka as Ethan , Greg Chun as Roden , Eva Kaminsky as Niizo , Patrick Seitz as Homen , Michael Sinterniklaas as Hen Jin and A Jedi Hunter , Adam Sietz as Hanbei , Kyle McCarley as Toguro and A Jedi Hunter , JP Karliak as The Boatman Droid and Neil Kaplan as The Narrator.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With all of this episodes actors turning some really good performances which was something that was kind of really surprising as alot of this episodes actors haven't done voice acting before and are most well known for doing live action work and yet they did still manage to turn in some really good vocal performances in this episode and while they won't ever be topping the episodes trained voice actors that's more due to the fact that those actors have had more experience in doing voice roles then what the more experienced live action actors have had and that's really it with the episodes best actor being Kimiko Glenn as she brings a warmth to the character that might have been lost in translation somewhere down the line whilst still managing to make her a bit of a cheeky character that audiences might like and while her character could be seen as being a bit bland her acting as the character was one that really good and was something that does show that when given the right script actors is a Disney Star Wars project can act really well with the acting that's in this very episode really being helped by the fact that this episodes script is just so good that all this episodes actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode.


Doing the animation for this episode is the legends and the greats that are currently over at Production I.G. Now then interms of what I( personally thought / felt abut the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in thus very episode was in all honesty really good with this being something that's not really all that surprising given that the fact that both the studio and the writer and director that worked on Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex worked on this episode with Production I.G. being one of the best animation studios in Japan due to their high quality output something which was proven yet again in this episode as while this episodes animation wasn't as good as the animation in any of their feature films it was still top notch stuff with them blending 3D CGI animation really well with 2D backgrounds and 2D characters with there being a phenomenally well done chase scene through a forest and onto a frozen lake that is a good example of just how well done the 3D and 2D elements are in the episode with all of this episodes characters having some really nice and fluid movements to them with the episodes backgrounds being as highly detailed as they could have been given the fact that this episode mostly takes place in locations where it would have been hard to get the backgrounds to be highly detailed with the only thing that lets the episodes animation down the being the fact that there's nothing really done animation wise that makes the episode stand out from alot of the other episodes in this particular volume as alot of the other episodes have something in them that makes there animation stand out whereas this episode was lacking that despite the fact that the animation itself was of a really high quality.


Like alot of the episodes of this show this one does take place at a new point in the Star Wars timeline with this one being set thousands of years after the events of The Rise Of Skywalker. Which is a really solid idea as it then means that the episode won't be bogged down by either what's to come in the Star Wars timeline and nor would have it follow the continuity or what's come before it in the Star Wars timeline as this is an era that really hasn't been explored at all with it being discovered that in the years after that film the jedi had become basically extinct again with the sith once again raising up to take power and lightsabers basically falling into myth and legends which would be a good idea where it not for the face that the sith themselves are still using lightsabers which does defeat the point of them becoming myths and legends with this being something that could have been fixed if it was stated at the start of the episode that the sith now operate in hiding as to avoid loosing there power to the jedi once again as then it would be understandable why no one has heard of a lightsaber but because they don't do that it now makes you wonder why someone making lightsabers is meant to be a big deal as there still things that people know about in the first place but to give the episode credit the very idea of setting up thousands of years after the events of the last film is a good idea as now it means that the makers of this episode could do anything that they wanted and it could all possibly happen as this is meant to an episode that is potentially canon to the main films which is something that does make it exciting as anything could happen in this part of the timeline and it would all be fresh and new and if done right it would also be good as well.

While Star Wars has lets be honest here had a lot of trouble with making female characters recently one of the ones that it seems to be sleeping on is this episodes main character Lah Kara. As while she's not as strong as how Disney and Lucasfilm wants us to believe that Rey Palpatine is what she is on the other hand is street smart with her having to outwit Jedi Hunters using nothing more then her wits and a lightsaber that her dad built for her to use and that's it as she's had no Jedi training and yet she still comes across as being this really lovable character that you want to see more off and that you want to spend more time with with her even being someone who does deeply love her father so much that she willingly goes on this highly dangerous mission to give these supposed Jedi in this temple some lightsabers even tho she knows deep down tat they might not even help her track and down and rescue her dad anyway but she does it because of the love that she bares for her father with this love being something that was never shown in any of the recent Star Wars movies as Disney and Lucasfilm think that the only way to make a strong female character to make her stronger then every other character there is and make her faultless when all that does is make the character boring as there's no were to go but down when you do that and yet here with Lah Kara she has her faults as she is to trusting of people and she isn't the smartest bulb out there and yet it's seeing her overcome those faults and make them into her strengths that makes her a strong female character and while yes she could have been done alot more better then what she was given the fact that this was only what is basically a short film she turned as well as she was ever going to be.


Whilst there are alot of pluses to be found with this episode there was one thing that doesn't really work with the episode and that's the fact that not only was a bunch of the Jedi that we meet at the start of the episode actually sith posing as Jedi to gain Kara and Ethen's trust but they also couldn't defeat just a small handful of people despite them having a huge numbers advantage. In fact Kara , Ethen and the hidden Jedi Juro end up defeating five of them whilst taking the sixth one with them after it's revealed that they were imposters influence when really FIVE trained sith should be able to take done to jedi and one force sensitive little girl if the makers of this episode were going to have our heroes in that kind of situation in the first place then at least make sure it's a fight with numbers that they could feasibly win against otherwise all that does is not only make you wonder why the sith didn't beat them handily as nothing in the episode is said about any of our heroes being a particularly strong jedi or force sensitive person and it also makes your villains look weak as they just got beat by a little girl who's only just worked out how to handle a lightsaber in the first place but tho the idea of the having the sith hide in the shadows is a good one as it does mean that any character they we meet in any piece of Star Wars media could be a bad guy and we just wouldn't know it yet which is a great way of creating tension as it means that are heroes could get attacked at any moment and it's an idea that could work so well in either the movies or other TV shows but in saying that tho it does run the risk of becoming played out if it's done to often and is really only something that would work if it's done well.

Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly twenty one minuets and forty one seconds. Which is a perfectly fine running time for the episode to have as alot of the episodes in this show have very strikingly similar running times to them with this episode have the right amount of plot there to really cover that amount of running time in the first place but in saying that this episode really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely in the first place as the plot of the episode isn't that well developed which is something that does make sense when you take into account that this episode was originally going to be a two parter with one episode focusing of Kara getting the lightsabers to the Jedi and the other focusing on the Sith with it being decided to put both plots together which is something that does make the episodes plot more epic but at the same time tho it does mean that that the episode can't develop it's plot as it has to squeeze two stories together and can't really focus on just one of them which is something that would have allowed for the episode to develop it's plot alot more instead of just focusing on the one plot with this episodes plot at best feeling like a pilot episode to a TV show. With the episodes characters not really being that well developed either with this also being as a result of the fact that the episode is squeezing two of it's plots together as we know nothing about any of the characters in this episodes coming out of it then we did going on but this is the risk you take when your doing something that's a part of an anthology series but to be fair tho this episodes characters do come across as being alot more better then what they really could have been but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho. 


So now then as this is an action episode that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt tat the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With the episode having some really good looking action scenes in it all of which do take as full advantage of the fact that this is an animated show as is humanly possible but sadly tho this episode only has two action scenes and while both of them are really good it would have been nice if we had at the very least one more with the best action scene in the whole entire episode being the bike chase scene through the forest as even tho it's not something that lasts very long it is something that gives us a chance to see just how inventive that Lah Kara is as she spins her bike round on a frozen lake and runs towards her foe not aiming at her foe but rather his bike as that's something that will slow him down and will stop them from chasing her which whilst it is a small thing is something that does go to show you just how smart that she is a character and while the big fight scene at the end with her , Ethen and Juro being attacked by the five sith is a pretty cool action scene in it's own right it also something that could be seen as a being really generic whereas the bike chase scene is something that does make this episode stand out from all of the other episodes as it's not really something that was done in all of the other episodes of this show despite the fact that it is something that could have worked for any of this shows episodes due to how simple the basic set up of the scene is in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Overall it's not hard to see why this episode along with The Duel and The Village Bride are due to be getting sequel as the ending of the episode itself does make it feel like a pilot episode to a TV show with this episode being one of the most underrated episodes of this show despite the fact that this episode really is a good episode in it's own right and is a good example of just how weird that Star Wars can be in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review and a such that really does mean that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all pf the images that I personally used in this very review from the official Star Wars fandom wiki page , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.