by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
I’ve always had a soft spot for animation. More years than not, at least a couple of animated features find their way onto my top 10 list. So with Animation Celebration, I’m setting out to shine a light on some films that may have passed you by. The idea here is to take a look at some underseen gems—so no Toy Story or Frozen here.
Let’s get started.
To celebrate Star Wars Day (May the 4th), Disney+ has started a fun little tradition of the last couple of years of dropping some animated treats for fans.
Two years ago, it was Star Wars: Visions Volume 2. Last year, they dropped Tales of the Empire. This year, they’re continuing on the path of the latter, dropping the third in the series with Tales of the Underworld, following the aforementioned Tales of the Empire and Tales of the Jedi.
This third “season” of this particular show sees six episodes split between two characters made popular by Star Wars: The Clone Wars (just under an hour for each story). We’re treated to tales about Asajj Ventress (Nika Futterman) and Cad Bane (Corey Burton). Let’s start where they did.
The first three episodes follow Sith assassin Ventress (who got her start in the Clone Wars micro-series), after being brought back to life upon returning to her home world of Dathomir (a death I somehow remembered 10 years after reading the novel). She tries to live a quiet life, before finding herself dragged back into another skirmish.
Ventress begrudgingly forms a connection with Tyco Strata, a young Jedi on the run (Lane Factor), and ends up ferrying him to the Path for Jedi in need of safety, helmed by Ventress’s former lover, Quinlan Vos (Al Rodrigo).
The best part of the trio is the dynamic between Ventress and her young companion. Having seen enough of the assassin-turned-Sith deserter over the years, we know that while she’s got a tough exterior, she’s a bit of a softy at heart. That makes for such fun exasperation from her, as the kid slowly melts her heart and she reluctantly finds herself bonding with him.
Aside from the main character dynamics, there are some fun action sequences that the Star Wars animators could do with their eyes closed, but my favorite episode of the arc is the final one, as we see the duo meet up with a former Separatist veteran who can’t seem to stop fighting a war wherever he goes. I thought it had the most interesting thing to say.
The final three episodes follow my favorite Star Wars animated character not named Ahsoka Tano. I love me some Cad Bane (Corey Burton). Essentially The Man with No Name but Star Wars,is awesome, and anytime it was a Cad Bane episode, it meant you were in for a good arc of The Clone Wars. Heck, he even manages to be one of the best parts of The Book of Bobba Fett.
In this trio of episodes, we get some background for Bane’s now iconic look, as we follow a tragic tale of friends-turned-enemies with Bane and his childhood companion Niro (Artt Butler). Whereas the first trio of episodes take place over a number of mere days, this one time jumps a bit to give us the key crossroads in the relationship as it tragically splinters. It’s a classic tale with a new skin, but because I’m so invested in Bane as a character, I found myself engaged.
On top of that, the Western motifs are always so on point when it comes to Bane, but with one of the snippets from this being the Cad Bane caricature origin story, they really lean into them with some fun results.
While it’s probably my least favorite of the Tales of the… animated series, Underworld focuses on characters I’m always interested in seeing more about, so I still enjoyed my time. If you’re a fan of Star Wars animation, it’s a low-stakes entry that won’t suck up a ton of your time.
I’m excited to continue to geek out on some great animated work you may not have had a chance to catch. Next month, I will attempt to salve my soul for the live action How to Train Your Dragon’s release.
You can read more from Jake Bourgeois, and follow him on Bluesky and Letterboxd