Fun with Jedi Younglings

Young Jedi Adventures delivers a colorful Star Wars series for the preschool crowd.

By Jeff Spry

George Lucas’ original Star Wars trilogy was conceived as a nostalgic, family-friendly space opera appealing to 12-year-old kids, or at least the sci-fi-loving child inside us all. Later prequels and sequels skewed towards an older audience, especially in the animation corner of that universe with Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: The Bad Batch

Now with the launch of Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures on Star Wars Day (May 4), preschool children finally have a little piece of the Star Wars galaxy to call their very own. The aim here is to deliver a fun, brightly-hued series using relatable Star Wars stories to introduce children to the IP’s imaginative worlds and inhabitants.

Glory Days

Young Jedi Adventures takes place in The High Republic period centuries before the Skywalker saga, when the Jedi Knights were at their zenith as galactic guardians of peace and justice. It centers on a group of Jedi younglings studying the mystical ways of the Force under the tutelage of Master Yoda at a temple outpost on the planet Tenoo. The new aged-down series delivers 25 animated episodes of outer space escapades offering Jedi-making themes of friendship, compassion and teamwork while being instilled with a genuine Star Wars spirit.

Produced by Lucasfilm Animation for Disney+ and Disney Junior in partnership with Wild Canary, Young Jedi Adventures is executive produced by Lucasfilm’s James Waugh, Jacqui Lopez and Josh Rimes. Michael Olson (Puppy Dog Pals), a 20-year veteran of children’s television, is the show’s writer, showrunner and co-executive producer, alongside Elliot M. Bour (Elena of Avalor), who serves as supervising director.

Bringing these fresh characters to life are vocal stars Jamaal Avery, Jr. as Kai Brightstar, Juliet Donenfeld as Lys Solay, Dee Bradley Baker as Nubs, Emma Berman as Nash Durango, Jonathan Lipow as RJ-83 and Piotr Michael as Master Yoda.

During the project’s infancy, Waugh hoped to organically create the right young Star Wars animated expression.

“We veered into a place we hadn’t before and knew we were taking a risk and a big swing because the aspirational quality of Star Wars animation is so important,” he says. “Over 2018-2019 we incubated a new era in publishing called The High Republic that allowed for the promise of the Jedi at their height. That’s what we needed to unlock this, to see younglings and Jedi at their height, not a dark dire circumstance facing a galaxy in change. Michael Olson’s take felt like a perfect marriage of our Star Wars expertise and his experience writing for that demo. It ended up becoming a great fusion.”

Waugh, with Bour and art director Madi Hodges, then began the process of taking concept art from acclaimed illustrator Joey Chou and translating those designs into 3D.

“In talking with Kathy Kennedy about the show, we started reading a lot of kids’ picture books. I had a book on my shelf called Monster & Son, which is Joey’s book! We found out he’s done work for It’s a Small World and tons of things for Disney. We loved his 2D shape language and graphical style and bright colors — shapes that felt like you were stepping into a storybook.”

Animation duties fell upon Canada's Icon Creative Studio, and it’s their artistry and ambition which helped bring Young Jedi Adventures into fruition.

“Icon’s first pass test was lightyears above the others that we got in,” Waugh recalls. “It felt like their dedication to all aspects of what was on the frame, from rough textures to the animation quality and attention to detail, made it an easy decision. They’ve been a terrific creative partner and they’re always pushing their quality bar. Icon wants this to look as beautiful as we do and they understood the creative challenge of Star Wars and had great solutions.”

Michael Olson reveals that getting to make Star Wars characters destined to belong in the vi- brant canon of Star Wars was a huge challenge and opportunity.

“I felt a tremendous responsibility because I wanted these characters to feel fresh but also familiar,” he tells Animation Magazine. “So that when kids are being introduced to Star Wars through this show and they progress to the next shows and the movies, they catch similarities between these characters and those in the rest of Star Wars

“Kai Brightstar, who is the lead of the show, I made him for my younger cousin Stefan, who is half-Norwegian and half-Haitian and a massive Star Wars fan. He’s never seen a Star Wars character lead a show or a movie that looked like him.”

For the spunky character of Lys Solay, Olson patterned her after his own daughter. He recalls, “I had this incredible opportunity to make a Star Wars show and she’s now nine, but when I was developing this she was five and six. My daughter has a big heart, she’s very funny, but she’s also someone to be reckoned with. She’ll defend and protect just the way a Jedi would.”

To create the gang’s space pilot Nash Durango, Olson conjured her up for all the gearheads and rebels out there, because she’s a rebel at heart.

“George Lucas was a big gearhead and I really wanted to honor that spirit,” he adds. “For our audience who are just being introduced to Star Wars, they don’t know all the lore or what the Jedi are or what the Force is. Nash provides that opportunity to have a character in the show ask those questions and have them explained in a way that connects with kids.

“And then Nubs, I just wanted to see an adorably fierce blue teddy bear swinging a lightsaber. He’s a really fun character, but he also speaks to the younger end of our audience because he wears his heart on his sleeve and is very expressive.”

Adding to the memorable droids in the Star Wars universe is Young Jedi Adventures’ RJ-83, the domed robot companion to Nash Durango that also transforms into a cool backpack.

“Part of Star Wars is that your pilot character has a sidekick like with Han and Chewie. Knowing that Nash was a gearhead and she’d be working on her ship, it felt right for her to have a droid who was small, but had a big personality. The two of them have a fun dynamic together where she’ll want to do crazy stunts and he’ll roll his eyes at her, but then go along with it. He’s the Jedi’s biggest champion and is always there to help them out in a pinch.”

Balancing Light and Dark

Regarding the new planet of Tenoo and its sacred Jedi temple, Olson was inspired by an old illustration by legendary Star Wars artist Ralph McQuarrie.

“I wanted the temple to represent the communion between civilization and nature,” he notes. “It’s a balance of light and dark and felt like a big treehouse from a kid’s perspective. You can see roots and branches growing inside as you walk around. It’s the best hangout a kid could ever want! There’s a history that we explore a bit in the show. We discover it’s an ancient temple with secret places long forgotten that the Jedi may or may not uncover.

“We’re trying to make a show that’s an introduction to Star Wars that’s passionate and optimistic and colorful,” Olson concludes. “Parents are excited to have something they can finally share with their kids. To be a part of that, there’s no greater gift.” ◆

Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures arrives on Disney+ and Disney Junior on May 4.