Star Wars Visions is back with a plethora of new stories from creative teams all across the globe! These nine incredible stories show the power of storytelling through different cultures and viewpoints and why allowing different voices to tell these stories is important.
The anthology series was originally devised to offer a diverse, fresh series of stories told through the lens of Star Wars. While the first volume focused on Japanese animation studios, this new volume offers stories and visual styles from different countries around the world: Spain (El Guiri), Ireland (Cartoon Saloon), Chile (PunkRobot), the UK (Aardman), South Korea (Studio Mir), France (Studio La Cachette), India (88 Pictures), Japan/US (D’art Shtajio & Lucasfilm) and South Africa (Triggerfish).
By opening up this initiative to a wider range of storytellers, we’re rewarded with even more compelling and gorgeous pieces of Star Wars stories which are intrinsically linked to their own human experiences. Whether that’s exploring the effect that imperialism and colonialism have had on different cultures and how communities have continued to fight back or the fundamental core concepts of good vs evil and balance.
These aren’t new concepts to Star Wars by any means, but giving more voices the opportunity to explore their own cultures’ mythology, history and experiences within the realms of animation gives us an entirely new way to view these stories. And that’s the beauty of Star Wars Visions – it’s clear that the producers and teams behind this whole project LOVE stories as much as we do, and it’s reflected in the work that we see in front of us.
Storytelling is a fundamental part of being human. It’s how we learned to survive, teach, and impart wisdom. It’s universal. It transcends culture and history and brings us all together – and that’s what is great about this project. No matter where you come from, Star Wars has affected us in some way and inspired us to continue telling those stories.
The different animation styles are just joyous to behold, whether it’s classic 2-D animation, stop-motion (Wallace and Gromit fans will LOVE the short from Aardman, which features a few fun easter eggs if you pay attention!) or 3-D animation, there’s something visually stimulating about each short and helps to push back against the archaic notion that animation is “just for kids” and showcases how the medium can tell stories in so many different ways.
Overall, Star Wars Visions: Volume 2 delivers a gorgeous anthology of stories which showcases the beauty of animation and storytelling around the globe through a uniquely Star Wars lens.
I personally cannot wait to see what the next series of storytellers have to bring us in Volume 3, but until then, we’ll be diving deep into each story from Volume 2 on the podcast, so don’t forget to subscribe to hear those thoughts!
Star Wars Visions: Volume 2 is available to watch on Disney+ on 4th May 2023
