For many people, a familiar pastime in the weeks leading up to major winter holidays is gathering with family members and watching holiday movies, be they in a theater or on television. This year, such plans will have changed for individuals not living with the people they often spend time with during the holiday season, and curfews and lock-downs have forced movie theaters to close. However, this shouldn’t stop us from enjoying holiday movies with friends and family.
During the month of December, therefore, the Falls Free Press will present “The 12 Films of Christmas,” focusing on new holiday movies for the year 2020—a year that can do with plenty of spirit. We will review each film, whether naughty or nice, and let you know where to watch it.
In 1978, one year after the release of Star Wars: A New Hope (then known only as the series title), newly enamored fans were greeted by what they expected to be a new adventure with their favorite characters, which they could enjoy from the comfort of home. For many, this two-hour holiday special from CBS was in no way what they had hoped to watch. The special surrounded Chewbacca’s family awaiting his return home for Life Day, a Wookiee holiday of peace and joy that includes television shows, virtual reality programming, and the added bonus of distracting the Empire. All this takes place without translation and with multiple interjections from popular entertainment stars.
After the special’s release, it was lost to the masses, never to be re-shown on the network. All copies of the special were even rumored to have been destroyed by Star Wars creator George Lucas, who had no involvement in its production. Forty-two years later, new Star Wars franchise owner Disney has chosen to acknowledge the existence of Life Day while choosing to ignore what made the original special abhorred by fans. The story is set in the world of LEGO, where anything can be rebuilt with fun.
The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special follows the events of The Rise of Skywalker, with Rey choosing to leave the Life Day party aboard the Millennium Falcon to seek out a key that might help her train Finn as a Jedi, which can only be found during the hours of Life Day. Upon finding a mysterious key resembling a LEGO recreation of a crystal doorknob, she and the droid BB-8 travel through time and space to points in the series’ timeline, including Luke Skywalker’s training with Yoda, Anakin’s final podrace, and the original defeat of Emperor Palpatine. Meanwhile, Poe Dameron, Finn, and Rose work hard to create the best possible Life Day party without their friends.
While the focus of the original special was to promote The Empire Strikes Back—which would be released two years later—as well as add to the careers of stars like Art Carney, Harvey Korman, and Jefferson Starship, Disney understands neither their product nor LEGO are at a loss for marketing. Simply by referencing Life Day—an idea many fans had thought permanently vanished upon the Disney-Lucasfilm merger until its reference in an episode of The Mandalorian in 2019—this special will be anticipated if for not other reason than to see what Disney chose to incorporate into the story. This, unfortunately, is where the special falls flat.
Overall, the moral of this holiday “block-buster” is a retelling of Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, showing Rey that the ability to teach Finn was within her the entire time, as he had already learned a lot about using his senses. Although a wonderful story to tell, dropping it at the end of the show after a plethora of mismatched action scenes involving multiple characters (and multiple versions of each of those characters) could make the incorporation confusing to follow for adult viewers. For children, whom the show is geared toward, there so much action, hilarious music, and dad-joke comedy—par for LEGO programs—that the motto is an afterthought, not unlike its voice casting.
Reprising their roles from the recent films are Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian, Anthony Daniels reprising C-3P0, and Kelly Marie Tran (who has more lines as Rose Tico than she had in the entirety of the sequel trilogy). The remainder of the cast, including the main stars of the show, are voiced by new actors. This does not take away from the story, but instead brings a sense of wanting more. While this is not the 1978 special, its very name yearns for the introduction of current popular artists portraying LEGO versions of themselves as aliens. Or better yet, the reincarnation of Bea Arthur as a LEGO minifig, once again closing down the cantina after a busy night, wondering what Disney will release next Life Day.
The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special is available on Disney+. For more information, visit disneyplus.com.
