It’s been about a week since the DVD release of LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out, and we’ve got a couple clips for you, as well as the highlights of several reviews of this 22-minute special. Above, Luke and Leia share an awkward moment in ‘Sister’, while below, Luke runs into trouble of a different sort: giggling groupies. Also, we’ll check in with what reviewers are saying about the DVD, which came out on March 26.
Here’s how The Empire Strikes Out is stacking up:
- The Morton Report calls it a breezily entertaining treat, but cautions that at 22 minutes and no special features, the only bonus is the LEGO mini-figure of Darth Vader with medal.
- Geeky Girl Reviews gives it 3/5 and says We love Lego Star Wars cartoons but this one I think young children will enjoy it more than adults, and was a little disappointed at the lack of bonus content.
- Cinema Deviant likewise bemoans the brevity of the disc, but points out “What’s more to say other than it’s the best of two things, Legos and Star Wars…This is so funny and the humor is the type that anyone could enjoy no matter what age.”
- Scifi Mafia gave it 5/5 stars with “The writing is awesome, and the comedy is the perfect amount of gag and poking fun at Star Wars and LEGO alike. We loved it. It’s great fun for the whole family.”
While LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out is a lot of fun to watch and re-watch (I still have it on my DVR from when it first aired on Cartoon Network), the lack of any extras (besides the exclusive LEGO Vader mini-figure) makes me hesitant to trade up for the DVD, while first special, LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace did have some additional material on its DVD/Blu-ray combo release. Still, if you haven’t checked it out, or you’re looking for something fun for the whole family with Star Wars, this will definitely entertain you!
And remember, there’s more LEGO Star Wars coming this year: three specials of The Yoda Chronicles, also by writer Michael Price, with the first coming May 29.
Out today on DVD is the second LEGO Star Wars special, The Empire Strikes Out. Full of humor and voiced by some of our favorite Star Wars stars, like Anthony Daniels, Sam Witwer, and Brian Blessed, the story is set post-A New Hope, with Luke dealing with his newfound fame as a Rebel hero, Darth Vader dealing with a new rival (hint: see picture), and the Rebels taking a side trip to Naboo. 
With LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out premiering this Wednesday night on Cartoon Network, I checked in with the show’s writer, Michael Price, who also wrote last year’s LEGO Star Wars special, The Padawan Menace. That first animated show (