Review: ‘Light and Magic’ is a Beautifully Human Story, History Lesson, and Inspiration for Future Generations
Star Wars changed the landscape of motion pictures and cinema forever, forged by the uncompromising rebellious spirit and ingenuity of its creator, George Lucas. That same spirit bled into Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), the company Lucas created in order to make Star Wars possible. This is my review of Light & Magic, the six-part documentary series that takes you deep inside the creation and people of ILM, directed by the legendary Lawrence Kasdan.
With its ragtag group of outsiders from all walks of life, ILM embodied what made George Lucas special, a relentlessness to make dreams tangible, and using the lack of conventional experience to not know what is impossible, which made everything possible. Lawrence Kasdan’s documentary Light & Magic delves audiences into the fabric of ILM, which simply put, is its people. In my opinion, this is one of the most influential, important, and inspirational film documentary ever made. But at its core, it is a beautifully human story above all else.
This review is not going to have heavy spoilers, but keep in mind we’re talking about a documentary about the most well known visual effects company and its advent almost 50 years ago. And for those wondering, the series is six episodes, all about one hour each, so roughly six hours in total.
I think it is important to understand the lens through which Lawrence Kasdan made this documentary. We live in a world of high-competition and dwindling imagination due to unlimited resources and accessibility. At the panel for Light & Magic at Star Wars Celebration, Kasdan said he wants this series to inspire current and future generations, and on a personal level, his grandchildren, to be generous and selfless, and work together. He told us that the mind can be inspired and will be supported. As much as it is a documentation of historic events, it is for the kids of today and future generations to come.
We have all seen Empire of Dreams and a myriad of other interviews and behind-the-scenes reels of ILM and the making of Star Wars, but in Light & Magic we really get to know the individuals who made up the first iteration of ILM, and once you get to know the group and all of its members of varying personalities and backgrounds better through these episodes, they will feel oddly familiar. I did not understand why at first, but then I realized it is mostly because I recognized their collective creative DNA from the original Star Wars. That sentence might not make a lot of sense right now, but try to remember it heading into the series. I think you’ll see what I mean, hopefully! One of the more charming aspects that possesses that feeling is Joe Johnston talking about how he came up with the design of the Millennium Falcon. Sometimes the simplest thoughts and observations lead to legendary creation.
One of the most emotional moments in the entire series, if not the most, came from an unlikely place for me, stop motion animator Phil Tippett. In his current-day interview, the visual effects pioneer opened up in regards to mental health and a self-discovery that he realized quite recently. Tippett looks back on his time working on the original trilogy, and his career, and came to the realization that the specific type of work he did quite literally saved his life. I won’t get into too much more as I think it is important for people to absorb this scene from the third episode without much outside perspective, but it was absolutely not expected, and I greatly respect and thank Mr. Tippett for his bravery in revealing a lot of the things he was going through in his youth, which continues through today.
ILM’s graduation from Star Wars to The Empire Strikes Back is a very interesting parallel showcased in the series. Star Wars was where they all learned how to do it, baptism by fire. From George Lucas down to John Dykstra, (who we learn was not asked to return for The Empire Strikes Back), the crew of the original Star Wars felt immense pressure because FOX was taking a gamble on the film, and Lucas nor ILM were the trusted icons they are today, they were Hollywood outsiders that the studio didn’t fully believe in.
I like to think I am pretty well versed in the history of Star Wars, including a knowledge about the crew, specifically ILM, but this series humbled me greatly. I of course know all about the legendary artist Ralph McQuarrie, but now learned about Harrison Ellenshaw, the matte painter who in addition to McQuarrie and others, created the environments and sets, for lack of a better term, of so many shots for the films. From basic ship interiors and framework to major planetary horizons and landscapes, the franchise would feel cheap and empty without this artwork, which I’ll be honest, completely fooled me into thinking most of those shots were on real sets. This was easily one of the more “mind blown” moments of the series for me. I am in awe of what artists like that are able to do. This is just one example of many from the series that will have your jaw dropping if you are as nerdy about how these films were created as I am.
I have spoken a lot about the stresses and pressure that went into making Star Wars, specifically within ILM, but the series also comes with a great deal of fun and humor. When you put together a group of individuals from all different backgrounds and skillsets, most of whom grew up in the 1960s, you’re inevitably in for a wild time. Lucas is even on record saying he was very angry with how disorganized and behind the team was in Los Angeles, while he was in England shooting the film. He even brought in George Mather as a visual effects supervisor, as well as Rose Duignan, visual effects producer, to get the team on track to meet deadlines. But, even Duignan admits, the crew partied hard but worked just as hard. Joe Johnston and others referred to the experience as a frat house, and I am sure there are many legends and stories to be told off the record that would never find their way into a Disney documentary series.
“Give them enough pizza and beer and they’ll do anything.” – George Lucas on ILM
The series moves beyond the original Star Wars trilogy and into the next decade and eventually the Star Wars prequel trilogy, which George Lucas started after seeing the success of the effects his ILM team (paired with Stan Winston) created for Steven Spielberg’s Jurrassic Park. During the production of the prequels, specifically the first movie The Phantom Menace, there was much more pushback and frustration with Lucas from people like Lucas’s “left hand man” John Knoll, who disagreed with a lot of the tactics and methods Lucas was implementing thanks to the availability of new digital editing technology. But as J.W. Rinzler once told me, people wanted to do their best for George Lucas. There was a universal satisfaction with successfully tangibly creating the ideas that came from his mind. I think part of this is Lucas’s approach in asking his team for things, which remained unchanged from day one until retired.
Lucas would not verbally demand things from his team when it came to finding solutions, but he would say things like, “Just try this, let’s see what happens” or, “Well just think about it for a bit,” and I don’t know this for certain, but I think it was a clever tactic to challenge them and push them. I think Lucas believed in their abilities to get things done and knew if he gave them the space to figure it out on their own, they always would, and they always did. I don’t know that I could leave with a better example of why this really is a human story more than anything, and it all stems from the personality, philosophy, and imagination of George Lucas, forged in the belief that there was no such thing as “impossible.”
“Just try it. I know you’re in pain, I recognize your pain, and I appreciate your pain…but let’s do it.” – George Lucas
I hope people feel inspired by Light & Magic, even if you are not a creative person. It is a real-life tale of dreams outliving lack of professional experience, and the ultimate array of success stories when it comes to the practice of “fake it till you make it”, even though George Lucas specifically wanted people who were not deeply rooted in Hollywood because he wanted people who were not limited by the capacity of the industry standard. And from that philosophy and approach came ILM, to which Rose Duignan poignantly said, “We WERE the Rebel Alliance.”
This series is about the creation and evolution of the greatest visual effects company in history, but underneath it all, this is really a human story more than anything. At the beginning of this review I mentioned what Lawrence Kasdan told us at the Star Wars Celebration Light & Magic panel. He made this documentary for his grandchildren, which serve as a microcosm for today’s youth and future generations. Kasdan understands the importance of learning history but more importantly passing on the spirit of what ILM was: A ragtag group of individuals who came together without egos, harboring a collaborative environment and culture of encouragement, support, and creativity.
“It all goes back to that original group that were just unpretentious, yet brilliant people.” – Ron Howard
I hope the message of this series resonates with people of all ages, we can all learn a lot from the incredible people at ILM, from its original group through today. I loved this series so much, though admittedly as a Kasdan fan I knew I would, I just didn’t realize how much I would. It is certainly a message I will try to carry with me and pass on to my own kids, to be kind, collaborative, supportive, and never believe in the idea of “impossible.”
All six episodes of Light & Magic will be released on Disney Plus July 27th. The series is directed by Lawrence Kasdan and produced by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Justin Wilkes, Lawrence Kasdan, Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, in a partnership between Imagine Documentaries and Lucasfilm.
John Hoey is the Lead Editor and Senior Writer for Star Wars News Net and the host of The Resistance Broadcast podcast
"For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is."
