James Waugh on the Inspirations Behind ‘Star Wars Visions’ Volume 2 and ‘Young Jedi Adventures’
Star Wars fans don’t have to wait long for more fresh content on Disney Plus. May 4 will see two new shows on the streaming service: the second volume of Star Wars Visions and the premiere of Young Jedi Adventures. James Waugh, executive producer on both animated shows, recently spoke with SFX Magazine to discuss the making-of and various inspirations that permeate the series.
Beginning with Star Wars Visions, Volume 2 will go beyond the Japanese anime medium that dominated the first season. Several world-renowned animation houses bring their voices to Star Wars, and Waugh says each studio has its own cultural perspectives that make each short unique. He noted that Cartoon Saloon is bringing their signature, heavy Irish influence to “Screecher’s Reach.” He also stated that India’s 88 Pictures pitched “The Bandits of Golak” with India in mind before they even got to the Star Wars elements, saying:
“I remember when they first pitched us the idea, they showed us this amazing, dazzling art and photos of dhabas, which are truck stops throughout India. They decorate them in bright, vibrant colours to attract travellers, and so that was the reference point. Then it became, how do we build this within Star Wars? How do we take this thing that is innate to a culture and put it within the Star Wars setting?”
Waugh says that each studio brings something different to the table that hasn’t necessarily been done before in Star Wars animation. He had this to say about a few of the other highly-anticipated shorts:
“Punkrobot has this amazing fusion of 3D meets stop-motion that allows for rich texture. Triggerfish’s short, the design of those characters are completely unique. The characters have this doll-like texture.”
But quite possibly, the most anticipated short is coming from the brains of Aardman, the minds behind animated classics like Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run, and Shaun the Sheep. Based out of the United Kingdom, Waugh says they got way more than they expected from the acclaimed studio:
“Aardman is such a storied studio and we were expecting more comedy pitches, but what we really respected and admired about them is that they had something to say, and so their pitch is so relatable and universal, even from a studio that we traditionally think of as more bombastic and comedy-oriented. It’s funnier because it had that truth to it.
Animation gives us a little bit of a natural leeway for that. It’s a way of looking at Star Wars like we never had before. Seeing Aardman’s very, very British humour, it really played well.”
Waugh reiterates that Visions gives its creators a chance to explore what Star Wars can be through their own lens that doesn’t necessarily have to fall into the bounds of what fans expect it to be. That being said, Waugh says that inspiration for a lot of the studios was, of course, the Force:
“Naturally, a lot of the studios gravitated towards wanting to have some sort of Force element within their storytelling. And it expresses itself in different ways. Like with Triggerfish, the Force is expressed with a song, which is really beautiful and unique and something we haven’t seen before. But it’s that same metaphor of finding your inner calling, just with a Force ability that manifests through song.
There are also characters that are Force-sensitive on the run, and a character looking for a better life and being tempted by something that’s ultimately Dark Side-related… And there are a couple of clear Jedi stories. Because, you know, lightsabers and Jedi make everybody happy.”
Star Wars Visions Volume 2 will debut in its entirety on May 4. Young Jedi Adventures showrunner Michael Olson then joined the chat with SFX Magazine to unpack the surprising amount of love and passion that went into crafting the first on-screen foray into the High Republic era.
Young Jedi Adventures was made to be the entry point into Star Wars for its youngest fans. Olson and Waugh added that the responsibility was more than that. Waugh had this to say about the goal behind each episode:
“We’re adamant that they have to feel like authentic Star Wars stories and be deeply rooted in the spirit of Star Wars… We try our best not to be in a restrictive space and instead work with incredible creators like Michael [Olson] and find a way to help them craft the best version of what’s in their heads.”
As far as the inspiration they pulled from, the first place they looked was Lucasfilm’s publishing efforts in the High Republic era. But it might not be for the exact reasons you think. Waugh said:
“The point of that era was a hopeful time, back when the Jedi were guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy. So younglings were not wrought with the burden of a Jedi Order towards the end of its lifecycle and about to be in a massive civil war. The worldbuilding framework of the timeline allowed for bright expressions that would inform the storytelling.”
Another source the team pulled from is artwork from Joey Chou. Chou is an illustrator for Disney who’s done a little bit of everything. Olson and Waugh allude to the series’ animation style at one point, possibly being in the vein of Chou’s work, which would lead the series down a 2D path, but they switched it up. Olson said:
“I love the graphical 2D look that so many cartoons have, but it felt like we were doing something that was supposed to be teeing kids up for Star Wars… I wanted it to be in three dimensions. I wanted us to feel when the kids hop on a speeder bike and they go zooming through the forest. The challenge was to translate the 2D designs and those colourful looks into something that’s going to work for CG.”
If Young Jedi Adventures is going to draw attention away from Bluey, one of Disney Plus’ biggest 2D animation offerings for toddlers and preschoolers, they’ll have to do more than that to add bright colors. So in order to get the next generation into Star Wars, they took inspiration from the makers themselves.
Tenoo is the central hub of the series, which Olson said was brought to life from one of legendary concept artist Ralph McQuarrie’s pieces:
“It’s actually based on a Ralph McQuarrie drawing that has these giant blood orange trees where people are living on top of the trees… So we took that as our inspiration and built a whole world around that, and it unlocked narrative opportunities. There’s all these wonderful questions we get to ask ourselves and then have the fun of colouring it in. It’s a really expansive world, and there’s a lot more secrets that I can’t wait to share with other people.”
Finishing things up today, it is my personal obligation to include information on the creation of Nubs. Every children’s show needs to have that one character that steals their hearts, and Nubs is shaping up to be just that. Olson gave credit to voice actor Dee Bradley Baker for fully realizing the character, but added:
“Prior to this I was working on a preschool show called Puppy Dog Pals about two puppy brothers… I felt like this show needed some kind of energy that honoured Star Wars but also expressed the emotions that the younger end of our audience might be experiencing. Nubs is a very expressive Pooba that speaks his own language. I have two young boys, and they love him and giggle whenever he comes on screen.”
Young Jedi Adventures will air between Disney Plus and Disney Junior, beginning May 4. For SFX Magazine‘s complete coverage of Star Wars Visions and Young Jedi Adventures, check out their May issue here.
Nate uses his love for Star Wars and movies in general as a way to cope with the pain of being a Minnesota sports fan. When he's not at the theater, you can usually find Nate reading a comic, listening to an audiobook, or playing a Mario video game for the 1,000th time.
