3 Thoughtful Things - "LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian"

The latest special on Disney+ dropped on September 2, and LEGO fans rejoice, it's another installment in the LEGO Star Wars series. LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian is a retelling of the first three seasons of the Mando series (with a little Boba Side Quest sprinkled in) with a fun LEGO fight unique to this special (LEGO boss fights are always a blast). All of Mando's friends get together to throw him a birthday party (but is it his birthday? Who knows) which prompts Peli Motto to start telling the story of the Mandalorian (even though she jokingly references that she was only there for a tiny part of it), complete with flashbacks and hilarious hijinks.

With that in mind, here are my "3 Thoughtful Things" about the special:

1) Like those before it, LEGO Mando is a beautiful Love letter to Star Wars (in this case, The Mandalorian series)

LEGO is the one realm where Star Wars truly lets down its hair, nestles on the couch after eating an extra plate at an All-You-Can-Eat buffet and brings the waist belt down a couple notches. Each LEGO Star Wars show is consistently chock-full of self-aware jokes and playful jabs that make Star Wars fans laugh out loud. The bigger fan you are, the more you notice and laugh along with the witty dialogue that often makes you say "they really said that!" 

LEGO Star Wars isn't shy about pointing out tropes or established norms in the Galaxy Far, Far Away, big or small - like when we see Peli Motto in a hologram message, she gets interrupted and replies, "Hey, get out of the shot!" which makes it into the hologram recording.

The writers and producers are certainly fans themselves of Star Wars and are plugged in to the "inside jokes" and commentary from fellow passionate Star Wars fans. Like when Din Djarin and Grogu prepare to part as Grogu leaves for Jedi training with Luke, Din says, "I hope I see you again... in a whole other series.... of events."

One of my sneaky favorite lines was a Phantom Menace reference: Mando is looking for a new ship and Peli is showing what she has.. she uncovers a podracer and explains, "only used once by a 10 year old on Boonta Eve... nice kid, really hated sand."

Throw in Kuiil with a very self-aware "I have spoken... again" and an Abbot and Costello-inspired "THIS is the way... This IS the way..." bit, there are so many references, one-liners and gags that keep you entertained the whole way through. Just when you're ready to find another reference, one either hits you right in the face or you discover it subtly and it makes you laugh even louder. 

2) Bill Burr steals the show

Many Mandalorian cast members returned to voice their LEGO counterparts in this special, such as Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon, Timothy Olyphant as Cobb Vanth, Temeura Morrison as Boba Fett, and Amy Sedaris as Pel Motto (Gavin Hammon replaces Pedro Pascal as the voice of the Mandalorian. He's also voiced characters in other LEGO series and a ton of popular video games including champions in League of Legends). Just like Mark Hamill with LEGO Luke Skywalker in previous LEGO Star Wars entries, it's very clear the actors have a ton of fun delivering the lines in the script. It's hilarious to hear the actor that played Gus Fring throwing out Gen Z slang.

But to me the one that gets the medal at the Great Temple on Yavin 4 for this special is Bill Burr, who brings back Migs Mayfield in an absolutely delightful way. Pretty much all of his lines are bangers. The Baw-ston accent is prominent ("wicked great story!"), he gets to throw everyone a little attitude for correcting his grammar, and he also "says the thing" about Grogu (watch the special for that one). Burr scores as much as David Pastrnak on a hot streak (Bruins Fan Bill will appreciate the reference) in this special and it's the best. 

3) There's something for Star Wars and LEGO fans alike

I would say that this special was heavier on the Star Wars jokes than the LEGO jokes. The LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild The Galaxy series had cute references like Jedi Bob, full name Bobarian AFOL — AFOL being an acronym for "Adult Fan of LEGO". One of the funnier LEGO references came when the birthday crew got ready to fight the pirates and Bo-Katan says, "You'll have to come through all of us.... but these guys first" shoving Mando and Boba Fett in front of her. She follows it up with "gotta adjust the hair for the helmet!" as she takes off her LEGO hair and swaps it out with her LEGO Mandalorian helmet.

The visuals are both impressive and fun, I find myself continuously impressed by the ingenuity of the team like the audio crew who capture different bags full of LEGO for different moments in the special.. the animations of how creations break down and reassemble in true LEGO fashion... There's enough here to make LEGO fan's hearts smile as well.

Overall, I loved the special, laughed out loud several times, it fed my nerdy Star Wars heart and it's absolutely worth your time. And we also get more LEGO blue milk! This is the WAY... This is THE way.... This IS the way... THIS is the way...