

LucasfilmĪs is often the case with anthological shows, not all of the adventures that Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 has to offer are particularly memorable. More than anything, the episode’s singular character designs and aesthetic work in tandem with its folkish story to create a Star Wars adventure that feels like it truly could have only been made by those who originally conceived it. One standout installment, titled Aau’s Song, comes from the Cape Town, South Africa-based Triggerfish Animation Studios, and it visually and narratively embraces a level of gentleness that feels like a genuine first for the Star Wars franchise. The greater diversity of its Volume 2 artists ensures that all of Star Wars: Visions’ latest shorts look, sound, and feel distinct from each other. Another episode, meanwhile, was created by the stop-motion artists over at Aardman, and it boasts the same heart and uniquely British sense of humor as the studio’s previous films ( Chicken Run, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and many others). While the episode feels like it could conceivably exist in the Star Wars world, too, its studio’s French origins are apparent throughout, so much so that The Spy Dancer often feels like a World War II-era French resistance story. One installment titled The Spy Dancer, for instance, was written and directed by Julien Chheng, the CEO of Studio La Cachette, a French animation house. That means there’s not only greater visual variety between the show’s newest episodes, but even more diverse cultural touches and perspectives. However, unlike the series’ first nine episodes, which were created by seven animation studios based solely in Japan, Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 features work from artists from all around the world.

Its episodes all tell self-contained stories that have little-to-nothing to do with each other outside of their shared, galactic setting. LucasfilmĪs was the case with the show’s first batch of shorts, there isn’t a plot description to give for Star Wars: Visions Volume 2. There are, in fact, a handful of adventures contained within Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 that are among the most thrilling and original that Lucasfilm has delivered in recent years. While not all of the series’ new installments are as successful as others, it should come as a relief to fans that Star Wars: Visions still feels like the worthwhile creative gambit that it did two years ago. Nearly two years after its 2021 premiere, Star Wars: Visions returns this week with its long-awaited second volume of episodes.

ANIMATIONS STAR TV
The series, which gives different animation studios from all over the world the chance to tell their own short stories set within Lucasfilm’s most prized fictional universe, embraces the wonder of Star Wars’ sci-fi world better than almost any other film or TV show that Disney has produced over the past eight years.
ANIMATIONS STAR SERIES
When Disney originally acquired Lucasfilm back in 2012, few could have predicted that one of the studio’s most exciting projects would turn out to be an anthology series of animated shorts, but such is the charm of Star Wars: Visions.
ANIMATIONS STAR MOVIE
The “Smurfs” movie hits theaters February 14, 2025.A few shorts feel less substantial than others “The Smurfs 2” was released in 2013, followed by 2017’s “Smurfs: The Lost Village.”Īs for her acting career, Rihanna starred in 2012’s “Battleship” and appeared as herself in 2013 comedy “This Is the End.” She also appeared in “Ocean’s 8,” among television show appearances. The “Smurfs” film franchise kicked off in 2011 with “The Smurfs,” starring Neil Patrick Harris. “I’m usually front and center with everything with my likeness…but this was fun, I got to imagine, I got to show up in my pajamas in my third trimester, and be a blue badass.”Ĭhris Miller and Matt Landon will co-direct the movie. “Getting to do animation is a fun journey for me,” Rihanna said. On Thursday, Paramount Pictures announced the news during their CinemaCon presentation, revealing that the singer will create and perform original music for the film. Not quite, but superstar Rihanna is set to play Smurfette in the upcoming “Smurfs” animated film.
