A new animated show aimed at introducing preschoolers to a galaxy far, far away is debuting May the Fourth on the Disney Junior cable network and Disney Plus streaming service. STAR WARS: YOUNG JEDI ADVENTURES has Jedi Master Yoda guiding younglings as they study the ways of the Force, explore the galaxy, help citizens and creatures in need, and learn valuable skills needed to become Jedi along the way. The stories in this series' episodes take place during the High Republic era of Star Wars' canon long before the immergence of the Empire and Clone Wars' Order 66 which wiped out the Jedi.
Disney has released a series of shorts that are available to view for FREE now on YouTube and can be streamed on Disney+ beginning April 26 to promote the animated series before its May 4, 2023 premiere:
Meet the Young Jedi -- Kai, Lys, and Nubs work together to battle a training droid at the Jedi Temple on Tenoo.
Lys’ Creature Caper -- Lys follows the clues to retrieve an adorable creature running amok through the Jedi Temple.
Kai’s Daring Droid Rescue -- When her droid RJ-83 is in trouble, Nash calls on Kai to help rescue him.
STAR WARS: YOUNG JEDI ADVENTURES 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. This new show is sure to be a fun way to make Star Wars Day stand out. I'm sure a lot of kids and their Star Wars fan parents will be geeked to see it. May the Fourth be with You!
**A Geek Daddy received the featured product for free to review **
Learn the ways of the Force with Spin Master'sLEGENDARY YODA interactive animatronic toy. Experience being a padawan training to be a Jedi knight under the guidance of Master Yoda with this 16 inch high toy that is one of the most realistic Star Wars toys A Geek Daddy has ever seen. Our family has enjoyed hours of fun playing with Legendary Yoda as he demonstrates light saber dueling skills, imparts Jedi wisdom and teaches you how to use the Force.
We've enjoyed practicing handling a light saber on our back deck with Legendary Yoda on multiple occasions and the toy has worked really well though the instructions very clearly state "not for outdoor use." I believe this warning is primarily for two reasons. First, the toy is powered by 7 motors that provide for it to operate with an incredible 360 degree level of motion and there is the risk that water, dust and other outdoor elements could damage these mechanics. Secondly, sunlight hinders your ability to see Yoda's light saber illuminate which takes away from the play experience when using the toy outdoors. Though I do have to say it is still fun to play with outside!
As you can see indoors, Legendary Yoda's light saber is clearly visible as he engages into Warrior Mode. Equipped with his signature green light saber, Legendary Yoda will share with you advanced techniques any Jedi will need to know in order to defeat an evil Sith opponent. He also shares some of his Jedi Master humor with padawans. Don't despair from Yoda's mocking as with continued patience and practice he will provide you with the wisdom of a Jedi.
Legendary Yoda's Wisdom Mode provides voice recognition to six key phrases allowing any Jedi want-to-be to converse with the toy and trigger a variety of mechanical actions. In Wisdom Mode, Yoda will utilize the Force to answer any Yes or No Question you may pose to him. Yoda is programmed with more than 100 phrases to keep his banter from being too repetitious during continuous use. Just like Santa Claus knows if you have been bad or good so does Yoda with his built-in Dark Side sensor that becomes activated during Wisdom Mode. Spin Master has also included a walking stick accessory that can be switched out with Yoda's light saber to provide a scholarly appearance for the Jedi Master while engaging in Wisdom Mode.
Once you've experienced Warrior Mode and Wisdom Mode, utilize the toy's Force Mode to use this mystical power for yourself. Legendary Yoda really moves when you use the Force to control pushing him back across a room. Who hasn't wanted to mimic using the Force from a Star Wars movie scene in real life?! Legendary Yoda gives you that chance, but beware if you see his hand light up because he may respond against you with his own glowing "force blast."
The toy requires 6 C batteries to operate and doesn't utilize its own rechargeable plug-in battery which is a bit of a drawback as I hate buying and replacing batteries for toys; but it does provide a lengthy amount of play time with the 6 C batteries as our family has played with the toy for several days without having to replace them. Just be prepared to have to buy batteries for this toy as they are not included. Legendary Yoda's motion works well on flat surfaces such as cement, tile and hardwood floors and thin carpet but avoid shaggy rugs which will hinder its wheels not allowing it to move or spin.
Legendary Yoda has earned A Geek Daddy nod of approval because it is a dynamic toy that has provided our family with a tremendous amount of enjoyment playing with it. The interactivity, iconic phrases, and mechanical motions that are incorporated together to bring Yoda to life truly makes this a wonderful toy to play with. Any Star Wars fan, no matter if they are young or old, will enjoy playing with Legendary Yoda from Spin Master Toys. Are you ready for Legendary Yoda to teach you in the ways of the Force?
Legendary Yoda is available from Toys R Us and can also be purchased directly from Spin Master Toys. Legendary Yoda is recommended for Jedi 6 years old and up.
** A Geek Daddy received the featured product for free to review **
My kids explored what it is like to be a Jedi on May the Fourth as we had some Star Wars Day fun with Uncle Milton's THE FORCE TRAINER II: Hologram Experience. Who hasn't watched a Star Wars movie and dreamed of being able to move physical objects through the power of concentration? Utilizing a tablet, special Bluetooth headset, and a holographic display, The Force Trainer from Uncle Milton provides users the feeling of using the Force by allowing you to move holograms with the power of your mind.
The Force Trainer II creates holographic images that are impressive to observe then enhances the fun to another level of awesomeness by allowing these holograms to be controlled through the power of your mind mimicking a Jedi's use of the force. This really is impressive, most impressive!
These holograms are created by downloading a free app that works with most current iPads (iPad 2 and newer)and Android tablets (Samsung Tablet 10.1 recommended)onto a device which is placed on top of an included theatrical display and projects images upon special panels to create a three dimensional illusion. My kids were really delighted by these holograms with my daughter yelling out in excitement when she saw her first image "it looks just like the pictures R2-D2 shows in Star Wars!"
While simply viewing these holograms is thrilling in itself, amazingly The Force Trainer also allows you to move them with your mind. Instructions from Master Yoda will guide you through a variety of Jedi Challenges ranging from constructing a light saber to knocking down battle droids. Both my son and daughter agreed that their favorite challenge was recreating the scene from Empire Strikes Back where you raise an X-wing space ship out of a Dagobah swamp.
The Force Trainer harnesses the power of your mind through the included headset which uses advanced dry neural sensor technology that monitors your brainwaves. As people concentrate they generate Beta brainwaves. The headset can detect these Beta brainwaves and send a measurement of their intensity via Bluetooth to the tablet which controls the holograms movement based upon your level of concentration. The higher the level of concentration the quicker you will complete a challenge. There are 10 levels to conquer to move up the Jedi ranks from Padawan to Master. Each level requires an escalating intensity of Beta brainwaves to complete challenges and continue moving on. Can you demonstrate to Yoda the concentration needed to obtain the rank of Jedi Master? Do or do not. There is no try!
The entertainment value of the Jedi Challenges combined with the educational insights that can be gained from its scientific elements earns THE FORCE TRAINER II: Hologram Experience a nod of approval from A Geek Daddy. Incorporating music and sound effects from the Star Wars movies with real life holograms that look like they jumped right out of a sci-fi film is a great way to combine learning with having fun. Parents can jump right in and compete with their children to see who can earn the rank of Jedi Master first making this a great experience for the whole family to enjoy together. It also comes with a science learning poster to reinforce the educational aspects of this game. This really is worth checking out!
THE FORCE TRAINER II: Hologram Experience is recommend for ages 8+. It does require a compatible iPad or Android tablet (not included), Internet access to download an app (though not needed to operate the app), and 1 AAA battery to power the neural sensor technology. It is important to achieve a good fit with the adjustable headset because if the sensors don't maintain a good connection the game will be interrupted and paused because the game needs to be detecting Beta brainwaves for the challenge modes to function. The sensors must be flush against a person's skin on his or her forehead and behind each ear. Be aware it may take some adjustments and trial and error before a good connection is established but once you get it working the headset works very well when it comes to interacting with the holograms. The Force was awakened in our house with this great product from Uncle Milton as my children really had a blast pretending to be Jedi and interacting with the Star Wars holograms.
CLICK HERE for more information about THE FORCE TRAINER II: Hologram Experience from Uncle Milton.
Hot Wheels has a new lineup of toy cars racing to store shelves just in time for the holiday shopping season that have designs inspired by the characters from Star Wars. We recently picked up the Darth Vader Mobile that both my kids and myself agree is just pretty darn cool.
The back of the packaging for the diecast car reads:
As powerful and menacing as Lord Vader himself, this jet black sports car commands the road with a force befitting a Dark Lord of the Sith.
Vader's iconic helmet, mask and chest plate create an ominous design that can intimidate even the fiercest drivers, while his Lightsaber side trim indicates he's always ready for battle.
If you only knew the power of the dark side, you'd steer clear of this sinister speed machine!
To help market this new line of Hot Wheels toy manufacturer Mattel actually commissioned the creation of a real life #DarthCar that has been driving around the country making promotional appearances. It looks like a fierce ride!
The Darth Vader Mobile was fabricated from a Chevrolet Corvette with a 526 horsepower GM LS3 V-8 engine featuring a six-speed manual transmission and has been road-tested at speeds at up to 80 miles per hour; though it has the capability of reaching a velocity of 150mph. The car has illuminated side pipes that are styled to look like red lightsaber and special audio effects that include Vader's breathing and the sound of light sabers igniting which can be controlled by an iPad. Plus the helmet styled roof lifts off to provide access to the vehicle utilizing a smoke machine to add dramatic effect to the process. Impressive, Most Impressive!
Check out this video on the making of the Darth Car:
There are five models of the Star Wars Hot Wheels Toys - Luke Skywalker, Yoda, Chewbacca, R2D2 & Darth Vader unless you get the exclusive collectors pack at Target which features a sixth car: the Stormtrooper.
My wife's favorite car is the Yoda version which she says is adorable. I personally like the Luke Skywalker fighter pilot car the best. Interestingly, my twins actually agreed on something for once and both like the Darth Car the most. We all came together though to agree that these cars were awesome...well except for the R2D2 buggy which we all felt was pretty lame. These Hot Wheels cars are available at Toys R Us, Walmart, Target and Amazon.com.
Friday, July 25th through Sunday the 27th will be "Out of this World" as the DISNEY CHANNEL features a weekend filled with SciFi themed programming. The Disney Channel's "Out of this World" promo will be showcase the premiere of PHINEAS & FERB: STAR WARS and also feature a lineup of shows that feature scripts revolving around aliens, outer space and science fiction inspired topics. You know I am going to be popping a big bowl of popcorn and watching these shows throughout that weekend with my kids!
PHINEAS & FERB: STAR WARS will be on Saturday, July 26, 2014 at 9pm and is a one hour television special that is a comedic mashup of the Disney Channels popular animated television show, Phineas and Ferb, with the Star Wars universe. The story involves Phineas and Ferb living just one moisture farm over from a guy named Luke Skywalker on the planet Tatooine. When R2-D2 and the Death Star plans inadvertently fall into THEIR landspeeder comedic adventures ensue. Meanwhile chaos erupts on the Death Star when Perry the Rebelpus is trapped in carbonite while trying to stop Darthenshmirtz from using his new "Sith-inator."
Disney Channel will also be airing an episode of THE NEW YODA CHRONICLES during its "Out of this World" Weekend. The NEW YODA CHRONICLES is in the middle of a new 5 episode arc in which it has already shown episodes 1 & 2 in May and June respectively. I'm not sure if episode 3 is going to air during this weekend but based on the gap between the last 2 episodes it would fit. There hasn't been a lot of info about the NEW YODA CHRONICLES tie in to the "Out of this World" promo - it is called "New" because the previous story arc ran on Cartoon Network and these "new" episodes which feature an imaginative and amusing combination of Star Wars characters and scenarios with LEGO building blocks - other than it is included in the trailer that the Disney Channel is currently airing to promote the event. Hopefully they will show a brand new episode ... and wouldn't it be great if they showed the whole story arc up to now with all three episode during this themed weekend event. That combined with PHINEAS & FERB: STAR WARS would be spectacular!
Here's a trailer for THE NEW YODA CHRONICLES: Episode 2 "Race for the Holocrons" which aired in the Disney Channel & DisneyXD (DisneyXD is aimed at tweens, teens & young adults and is considered a competitor with Cartoon Network - one of the reasons Disney pulled Yoda Chronicles and Star Wars: Clone Wars from that cable channel).
As a long-time Star Wars fan, I have to say it is really nice that Disney has embraced the traditional trilogy and is pretty much ignoring the prequel movies since it took over the license. You'll notice that the Phineas & Ferb special and The New Yoda Chronicles (plus the upcoming Star Wars: Rebels animated television series are all tied to the original Star Wars movies versus the prequels. In fact from Disney's new Star Wars projects and marketing for the upcoming movie Episode VII you'd almost forget the Prequel movies ever existed. Hopefully that is a strategy that will continue!
In addition to the Star Wars programming for Disney Channel's "Out of this World" Weekend, the network will also be showing a number of episodes of their own original series with scripts tied to this theme.
According to the Disney Channel the "Out of this World" lineup will also include:
Jessie “Spaced Out”
Ravi’s birthday present from his parents is a trip to outer space with the rest
of the Ross kids and Jessie. Their trip takes an unexpected turn when Ravi ends
up not going. Guest starring John Rubinstein as Ivan
Dog With A Blog “Pod People from Pasadena”
Avery learns she’s been selected to create a float for her town’s parade and is
excited to spend some quality time with her father to build it. Meanwhile,
Chloe watches a sci-fi movie that leads her to believe her family is being
taken over by aliens and that the parade float they are constructing is really
a spaceship.
Liv and Maddie “Space-Werewolf-A-Rooney”
To prove to the skeptics that she is meant to star in “Space Warewolves,” Liv
agrees to do all her own stunts, not realizing exactly how complicated they
are. Guest starring Garry Marshall as Vic Defazerelli and Mimi Drew as Whitney
I Didn’t Do It “Earth Boys are Icky”
Delia is convinced boys on earth are too ordinary for her and creates a strange
device, partly developed by NASA, to communicate with outer space and attract
an extraterrestrial boyfriend. Meanwhile, Logan finds
himself in an even weirder relationship when he discovers his new girlfriend
Danica is the vice principal’s daughter. Guest starring Savannah Lathem as Danica
Austin & Ally “Eggs &
Extraterrestrials”
When Dez, Trish and Austin convince Ally to attend the annual Zaliens Convention
that’s being held in Miami, Trish and Dez happen to stumble upon real Zaliens
and the foursome must devise a plan to survive.
Additionally, there will be a brand new episode of "Girl Meets World" running during this weekend promo but the only connection I see to the theme based on the script for that episode is the word "World" in the show's title? All of the Disney Channel episodes mentioned in this post are rated G.
A few years
ago I was working 60 hour weeks and didn’t have time to watch much
television. My wife kept telling me
about this show that she thought was a hoot because it reminded her of many of
the funny geeky things in life she had been introduced to by marrying me. One night my wife heard me laughing while
watching television and asked me what I was watching. “Oh it’s this great new show called The Big
Bang Theory,” I told her. “That’s not new, I is the show I’ve been telling you to watch for a
few seasons now.” As usual she was
right, I love this show and have become a big fan. We bought the DVDs for the first few seasons
I’d missed that weekend and had a The Big Bang Theory viewing marathon. I’ve been watching the show ever since.
The show follows
the lives of Cal Tech scientist with a comedic focus on the scientific and geek
culture aspects of their lives. Over the
last few years, the characters have appeared in shows with comic book and
science fiction themes, sometimes even dressing in costumes associated with Star
Trek or Super Heroes.
This season,
The Big Bang Theory is going all out by creating an extensive replica of the
Empire Strikes Back Dagobah swamp set for a special episode to celebrate STAR WARS DAY “May the 4th”. The Proton Transmogrification episode of The
Big Bang Theory is an episode that any Star Wars fan isn’t going to want to
miss. It won’t be airing on May the 4th
though, but rather on the Big Bang Theory’s regularly scheduled broadcast night
of May 1, 2014.
**SPOILERS** I haven’t
seen the upcoming episode yet myself but have gathered the following information
from several sources about its script. In “The Proton Transmogrification” , while
planning Star Wars activities for May
the Fourth two of the show’s main characters Sheldon and Leonard discover their
childhood hero, PROFESSOR PROTON, has passed away. Bob Newhart played the role of Professor
Proton in an appearance last season which won him a Prime Time Emmy Award. Professor Proton’s (aka Arthur Jeffries Ph.D.)
funeral is going to be held on May the Fourth (be with you) Day. Leonard decides to put off his Star Wars
plans to attend the funeral while Sheldon says mourning for someone is a waste
of time and refuses to go to the memorial service.
While
Leonard is at Arthur Jeffries funeral, Sheldon is holding a Star Wars movie
watching marathon with his friends Amy, Bernadette, Howard and Raj. Sheldon becomes upset about Professor Proton’s
death as they begin to watch the movies and storms to his room where he falls
asleep. In Sheldon’s dream he is
transported to Dagobah where he encounters Professor Proton as Bob Newhart makes his third and possibly last guest appearance on the show. I hear that The Big Bang Theory’s producers
teamed up with Disney’s LucasFilm division
to go all out in recreating the original movie set. Bob Newhart appears in normal clothes, but
when questioned by Sheldon on whether he is supposed to be his mentor “like Obi
Wan”, his clothes transform into Jedi robes. A funny sketch comedy scene is supposed to
follow involving Professor Proton and a light saber. I was somewhat surprised with the Obi Wan
outfit as with the Dagobah set and Bob Newhart involved I’d thought they would
portray Dr. Proton as Yoda. Maybe
Newhart vetoed that idea as he didn’t want to be too silly in his
appearance.
Sheldon starts to talk with Professor Proton about death and how he lost his father. Professor Proton tells Sheldon that people may leave us, but he should cherish and appreciate those who are still with us. Sheldon says he does appreciate his friends, but the Professor questions him on whether that really is true.
When Leonard
returns from the funeral, he wakes up his friend. Sheldon gives Leonard a big hug. They proceed to watch their Star Wars movie
marathon. The show wraps up with a final
appearance by Bob Newhart giving Sheldon some Professor Proton sage words of
advice. With this episode ending the Bob
Newhart Professor Proton story arc and including a Star Wars theme it looks to
be one of the best shows yet. The Big
Bang Theory showrunner Steve Molaro seems to agree telling CNET that LucasFilm
contacted the show about doing a May Fourth themed show and saying “We knew
that Bob (Newhart) was coming back and LucasFilm called us, and we realized
that this might be an opportunity to mix both stories and come up with
something special.” Molaro added that Lucasfilm’s own SFX company Industrial Light
& Magic will be recreating the “Star Wars” swamp planet of Dagobah where
Yoda hid from the clutches of Darth Vader and the evil Empire. “Bob is going to be swinging a lightsaber
around and they sent us a real one to use.
They’re going to help make it look and sound right. It’s an amazing crossover for us.”
I’m going to
be watching to see how closely the spoilers I found actually pan out and will
also be on the look out to see what other future May 4th’s may hold for
us. With LucasFilm reaching out to
promote the day with The Big Bang Theory and new Star Wars movies in the future
it looks like May the Fourth may become a regular franchise promotional tool supported
by Disney. We’ll have to see if it eventually hosts annual events and promotions as interesting and fun as Free Comic Book Day has become.
I really appreciate how The Big Bang Theory makes geek jokes and references without really making fun of geeks. You can laugh at the geeky culture rather than degrade it which this comedy does a nice balancing act with. I enjoy lots of things about the show, its comedy, references to comic book and science fiction, and that its theme song is sung by one of my favorite bands. Did you know it was written and performed by The Bare Naked Ladies? Check out this surprise performance of the theme song by the band at Comic Con a few years ago:
The Force is
with us all too because a few weeks ago it was announced The Big Bang Theory
was renewed for 3 more seasons.The Big
Bang Theory airs at 8pm EST Thursdays on CBS: http://www.cbs.com/shows/big_bang_theoryEnjoy May the Fourth my friends!
Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 6 "The Lost Missions" coming to Netflix March 7, 2014
Star Wars: The Clone Wars spent 5 seasons on Cartoon Network portraying the adventures of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and their fellow Jedi Knights during the time period set between Episodes II and III of the Star Wars movie franchise. Of course the resolution of the tv series was somewhat of a given with Anakin Skywalker becoming Darth Vader, Kenobi and Yoda going into exile, and the rest of the Jedi massacred by the Clones they spent fighting alongside that gave show it's name . Yet some mysteries and cliffhangers remained that many fans hoped would be answered in a sixth season. Than Disney purchased the Star Wars franchise and it was announced that the series would be concluded with Season 5 on Cartoon Network.
Production on Season 6 had already been begun by the animated series creative team at the time the show was cancelled. Where any of these episodes completed? Would fans of the show ever be provided resolution to some of the series story arcs that hadn't been closed and movie mysteries that had yet to be answered? Well we'll know on March 7th as Disney has recently announced that The Clone Wars will be moving to Netflix for its sixth and final season. It appears there are 13 episodes of The Clone Wars that have been produced to makeup this sixth season. All 13 episodes will be available starting March 7, 2014 on Netflix streaming video service for U.S. and Canadian subscribers.
In one of the story arcs for Season 6 "The Lost Missions", Yoda will be visited by the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn, played by Liam Neeson in a reprisal of his Episode I - The Phantom Menace movie role. This story arc may provide some answers to how Obi-Wan Kenobi disappeared in Episode IV - A New Hope yet stayed in contact as a spiritual adviser to Luke Skywalker after his death in that movie and its sequels. Another story arc will reportedly focus on the mysterious Order 66 that killed off the Jedi told from the Clones perspective.
One story that won't be concluded is that of Darth Maul. The episodes that had been planned to wrap up his character's role in the series never made it to production. That has been addressed though by the series' creative team through a partnership with Darkhorse Comics. Darkhorse will be producing a 4 issue mini-series that will tell that story arc as had been intended to air on television but through comic books instead. Look for Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir on retail shelves this summer as it adapts the screen plays drafted for the season 6 Darth Maul episodes that weren't produced.
In addition to the newly released 13 episodes of The Clone Wars, Netflix will also have the first 5 seasons of the show, never seen before footage/deleted scenes from the series, and other special content available for streaming viewing through a multi-year deal with Disney. While The Clone Wars will be available for an extended period of time for viewers to enjoy, I hope the Internet doesn't crash with people rushing to see "The Lost Missions" all at once becauseI know I'll be visiting Netflix on March 7th myself for a Star Wars watching marathon.
UPDATE: Here's a more detailed trailer posted by IGN on youtube:
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