Star Wars: Droids

Droids follows the adventures of R2-D2 and as they face off against gangsters, criminals, pirates, bounty hunters, the Galactic Empire and other threats. During their adventures, the droids find themselves in the service of successive new masters and in difficult situations as a result. The series was retroactively placed 4 years after Revenge of the Sith and 15 years before the events of A New Hope. In the latter film, tells Luke Skywalker that his and R2-D2's "last master was Captain Antilles." The droids are placed in Antilles' care by Bail Organa at the end of Revenge of the Sith, creating an apparent continuity error. This is explained by the droids being accidentally separated from Antilles during the events of the animated series. ==Cast and characters==

Series cast • Anthony Daniels as C-3PO • Jan Austin as Auren Yomm • Long John Baldry as Proto-1 and The Great Heep • Melleny Brown as Darva • Donny Burns as Zebulon Dak and Kleb Zellock • George Buza as Boba Fett and Doodnik • Graeme Campbell as Lord Toda and Admiral Screed • Milan Cheylov as Jann Tosh • Rob Cowan as Gaff and Krox • Jamie Dick as Coby Toda • Lesleh Donaldson as Kea Moll • Cree Summer Francks as Princess Gerrin • Don Francks as Kybo Ren and Governor Koong • Maurice Godin as Tig Fromm • Marvin Goldhar as Vlix • Graham Haley as BL-17 • Dan Hennessey as Jord Dusat, Uncle Gundy, Vinga, Yorpo, Captain Cag, and Announcer • Pam Hyatt as Bola Yomm • Taborah Johnson as Jessica Meade • Michael Kirby as Sise Fromm and Bun-Dingo • Michel LeFebvre as Kez-Iba and Mon-Julpa • Peter MacNeill as Nilz Yomm • J. Gordon Masten as Mr. Slarm • Don McManus as Jyn Obah and IG-88 • Eric Peterson as Noop Yeldarb • Ken Pogue as Narrator • Winstom Rekert as Mungo Baobab • Andrew Sabiston as Thall Joben • John Stocker as Sollag, Zatec-Cha, Greej. Old Ogger, and LIN-D • Toby Tarnow as Demma Moll • Chris Wiggins as Captain Stroon • Noam Zylberman as Fidge ==Production and broadcast==

The series was produced by the Canadian studio Nelvana for Lucasfilm. Several episodes were written by Star Wars sound designer Ben Burtt. Hanho Heung-Up Co. was the Korean studio hired to animate the series. In the UK, this series, along with Ewoks, was released on VHS as part of a promotion with Dairylea Cheese. Families could send in empty packages of the cheese and in return get one of six VHS tapes. These videotapes are now rare and sought after amongst collectors. ==Episodes==

Over the course of the series, the droids team up with three different sets of masters. The series falls into three cycles or arcs; ==Merchandising==

In 1985, Kenner produced a toy line based on the series, including action figures, ship models, and other items. Two action figures, Boba Fett and A-wing Pilot, were repackaged figures from the main Star Wars line. Vlix was the most valuable Star Wars action figure (at about $6,000 carded or $1,200 loose), Between 1985 and 1987, a number of episodes were adapted into children's storybooks. A computer game was released in 1988 for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 by Mastertronic. In 2021, for Lucasfilm's 50th anniversary, Hasbro released a Target-exclusive line of action figures based on the series, featuring the titular droid duo and Boba Fett. Fett was also released as a larger Black Series figure. Comic book series In 1986, Marvel's Star Comics imprint published a Star Wars: Droids comic series spun off from the cartoon. The series ran for eight issues. The last three issues are part of an arc recounting the original Star Wars film from the droids' point of view. Additionally, Spanish comics publisher Editorial Gepsa produced two-page Droids comics as part of an anthology series. Other Star Wars comics subtitled Droids have featured C-3PO and R2-D2, but not in direct connection with the series. ==Home media==

Almost all episodes of the series (except "Coby and the Starhunters") were released on VHS in the 1980s and 1990s, most notably the UK PAL releases over four cassettes (Droids 1–3 and The Great Heep), which had the opening sequences and credits edited out. In 1996, Rick McCallum produced The Pirates and the Prince, a direct-to-video film compiled from four episodes. In late 2004, McCallum and Lucasfilm produced a DVD titled Star Wars: Animated Adventures – Droids, which featured The Pirates and the Prince and Treasure of the Hidden Planet, a new compilation film including narration from Mungo Baobab (voiced by Alex Lindsay). This was released by 20th Century Fox in 2005. Both titles included some soundtrack changes. On April 2, 2021, it was announced that the entire series would be released on Disney+ later in 2021. All 13 episodes, along with the special, were added on June 18, 2021. ==Reception==

According to David Perlmutter, compared with Ewoks, Droids "was rudimentary, with short enough story lines for as many as four narratives in a single episode. Obviously, neither Lucas nor the animation studio had enough faith in the characters to trust them as anything other than second bananas." SyFy Wire writes that "Droids struggles to find a way to make the duo's live-action antics as entertaining on the small screen as they are on the silver one; the show tries to serve up a very, very kid-friendly take on that galaxy far, far away and it doesn't always hit the mark." ComicBook.com calls it a "must-watch". ==Legacy==

Ben Burtt wrote liner notes for the Shadows of the Empire soundtrack, which referenced the Roonstones he had written about in Droids; Burtt made a cameo appearance in Episode I – The Phantom Menace and named his character after the Baobabs. Several references to the animated series are made in the prequels, such as the Boonta Eve Classic in The Phantom Menace, the planet Bogden and a four-armed cook in Attack of the Clones, and General Grievous' wheel bike design in Revenge of the Sith. Genndy Tartakovsky gave C-3PO moving, expressive eyes in Clone Wars (2003) to pay homage to his previous animated appearances in Nelvana's Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) and Droids. While Droids was excluded in the 2014 rebranding of Star Wars canon, recurring villain Admiral Screed—whom A Guide to the Star Wars Universe describes as "the Emperor's right-hand man during the early days of the Empire"—makes appearances in canon novels such as Tarkin (2014) and Aftermath: Life Debt (2016). Additionally, possible sources of inspiration for sequel trilogy main characters Rey and Kylo Ren have been noticed. ==References==