IGN Movie Review: LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian

0:00This is IGN. Hey there, I'm Travis Hoyam, one of the hosts of Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing. Each weekday on Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing, we talk through the business news you need to know and the story is moving stocks on Wall Street. On weekends, we play in personal finance strategies and dive into the industry shaping tomorrow and host the experts, authors and executives that understand them. Tuning for insights and a long-term perspective on investing and of course stock ideas, plenty of them. To quote a listener, it pays to listen. Check us out and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Lego My Mando. This is your IGN review of Lego Star Wars The Mandalorian by Jesse Skadeen. At this point, it's anyone's guess as to whether or not we'll ever see the Mandalorian season 4 on Disney+. The tepid response to the Mandalorian and Grogu and theaters shows that this branch of the Star Wars franchise doesn't carry the same weight it once did.

1:01It's entirely possible that Lego Star Wars The Mandalorian is the last hurrah for this particular series with Din Jardin and his little buddy relegated to appearing in Dave Falonie's Mandoverse crossover movie. If so, fans are left with a fun but ultimately forgettable tribute to a show that was once the bright center of the Star Wars universe. Lego Star Wars The Mandalorian is essentially a tribute to and recap of all three seasons of the live-action series, along with the book of Boba Fett for good measure. There's some new material here in the form of a framing device involving Mando's friends throwing him a party, but for the most part, this animated special focuses on having various characters recount the exploits of Din played by Gavin Hammond and Grogu played by David A. Cord with a suitably goofy Lego flourish. Why Disney didn't release this special before the Mandalorian and Grogu hit theaters is beyond me? You'd think they'd want to throw their cowboy hat into the ring of the many YouTube recaps of the series, especially since this one has the benefit of being both so in-depth and

2:05so embellished, but to be fair, the Mandalorian and Grogu is such an aggressively straightforward and simple film that no recap was ever really necessary in the first place. In any case, fans of the series should get a kick out of seeing those events retold and distorted through the cutesy Lego lens. The special is good for more than a few chuckles as it dives into the show's big moments and lamp hoons them with loads of self-aware humor. And as you'd expect, there's no shortage of visual jokes to be found as the special takes full advantage of the fact that this is a universe where characters move like clunky toys and everything is constructed of plastic building blocks. It all makes for a silly and entertaining way to relive the original series. Adding to the fun is the fact that much of the live-action cast returns to voice their Lego cells. The lineup includes Amy Sederis' Pellimodo, Bill Burz' Mix Mayfield, Timowair Morrison's Boba Fett, Katie Sackoff's Boca-10 Crees, Rosario Dawson's Assoca Tano, and Giancarlo Esposito's Malfchidian.

3:06Only Mando himself and a handful of other minor characters have been recast. The absence of Pedro Pascal in the voice cast is certainly disappointing and probably the biggest knock against the special. Lego Star Wars The Mandalorian delivers exactly what was promised. It offers a goofy, cutesy recap of the live-action series with plenty of Lego-flavored humor. It's certainly an entertaining way to experience that story all over again, even if the absence of Pedro Pascal does weigh on things a bit. Ultimately though, as fun as this special is, it's hard not to wonder what would have been possible if it had focused on telling a brand new story within the Mandalorian universe. Lego Star Wars The Mandalorian's IGN score? Seven out of ten? Thanks for listening to IGN. My name is Tony Jackson, and for the latest updates on Lego Star Wars The Mandalorian, visit us at IGN.com.