In a way, I’m surprised that Lucasfilm and Disney haven’t released a series like this Skeleton crew much sooner, considering that the House of Mouse aims much of its content at younger children. It seems to be a good fit. star Wars for children, starring children, under the Disney banner.

The question, of course, is how much viewers will actually enjoy this particular show star Wars Audience, both children and adults. Finally, star Wars Fans are used to adult heroes, and the few times children were involved – young Leia, for example – didn’t go particularly well. It’s arguable that many younger viewers may even prefer watching full-grown heroes like Luke Skywalker and Han Solo rather than following the misadventures of a group of children their own age.

Very mild spoilers for the first two episodes of Skeleton crew consequences.

Skeleton crew was billed as “The Goonies meets Star Wars” and that’s certainly the case in the first two episodes of the series, at least on the surface. The Goonies was a wonderful childhood coming-of-age story of a group of children who embark on a dangerous adventure to find lost treasure when their parents face the loss of their home due to the unscrupulous dealings of a wealthy land developer and save the day.

It’s full of curses, sexual innuendos, and some very scary antagonists. In 1985, there were still a few splinters when it came to films made for and about children. There was a little less hygiene and a lot less fear of showing children how to deal with more adult situations (think of the scene in AND when ET drinks beer and Elliot gets drunk at school).

There is a scene The Goonies In it, the boys have broken off the genitals of a replica of a Roman statue that belongs to Mikey’s mother, just as she shows up with Rosalita, a Mexican woman they brought with them to help them pack for the move. Since Rosalita doesn’t speak English, she asks the boys to translate. Corey Feldman’s character Mouth says he speaks Spanish fluently and follows Mikey’s mother as he “translates” for her. His translation is a prank. “The marijuana goes in the top drawer,” he “translates” as Mikey’s mother rattles off instructions. “The cocaine and the speed in the second one.” Rosalita’s expression is a mix of confusion and horror. “The heroin downstairs,” he continues. “Always Separate the drugs.” Cut to a scene in which the boys are gluing the privates back to the statue the wrong way round. . . .

“Rosalita,” says Mikey’s mother, “this is the attic. Mr. Walsh doesn’t want anyone ever going up there.”

Mouth’s translation: “Never go up there. It’s full of Mr. Walsh’s sexual torture devices.”

So when I hear “The Goonies meets Star Wars” in the year of our Lord 2024, I know it will only be superficial. I don’t expect sex jokes, insults or drug references. And in fact, you won’t find anything like it In Skeleton crew.

That’s fine, although I wish the kids were a little more raw. Children, in case you haven’t noticed, are quite similar to boys this year The Goonies if they are left to their own devices and avoid the prying eyes of parents and teachers. And Skeleton crew‘S Kids argue and argue and play silly games like “Unclaimsies” and so on, make stupid decisions and get themselves into dangerous situations.

(I should note here that there are ’80s films that stray into deeply uncomfortable territory even for me, and yes, I’m thinking of a particular scene from them Ghostbusters).

In Skeleton crew Our four main protagonists are Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), KB (Kyriana Kratter) and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith), the only alien of the group. The children are all bright, restless, adventurous and quick – to varying degrees – to break the rules.

Wim dreams of leaving his idyllic, suburban home planet of At-Atan (a planet we later learn is only a myth elsewhere in the galaxy) and setting off on an adventure. Fern bristles at the pressure her parents put on her to stay at the top of her class and ultimately follow in their footsteps. Neel is a loyal sidekick and KB is basically the Geordi La Forge from the series Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The story takes place in the New Republic era, around the time of The Mandalorian, and at least one crossover character – the pirate Vane – makes the jump from the third season of that series.

Without giving too much away, Wim’s wishes for a more adventurous life come true at the end of the first episode, and soon our heroes embark on a space adventure that takes them to a dangerous pirate port city on a distant planet. Here they experience a dangerous adventure that soon takes them to the prison cell, where they meet a mysterious prisoner, played by Jude Law. This is Jod Na Nawood, a man who may or may not be a Jedi, but is certainly a pirate and a rogue who has fallen foul of his former crew.

This is where the story really gets interesting. Unfortunately, this is also where the first two episodes end. It’s a shame it’s taking so long to get to the good stuff, and a shame we have to wait a week to see what happens next. So far I’m still in the decision making process, which is better than I can say for many others star Wars At this point, Disney Plus will appear.

The characters are good, but the show lacks the humor it made The Goonies Tick. Maybe everything is a little too polished. Maybe it’s my age or my nostalgia for those older films of my childhood, but I’d like to see some rougher edges. I think a child forward star Wars is also a bit difficult to sell. It’s rare that you can put together a group of children so well The Goonies, finally. However, that’s just personal taste.

I think what threw me off the most was how hard the first episode was to sit through. It’s 45 minutes long and there’s just way too much time spent creating the world and characters, when a lot more could have been done with a lot less to bring the story up to speed. I don’t like to be bored right from the start, but by the end of episode 1 I was definitely bored. The second episode definitely picks up the pace and the third – which I saw but won’t cover in this post – continues to pick up the pace.

It’s still too early to tell how the whole season will turn out, and I appreciate that for the most part it’s just a fun, straightforward action-adventure star Wars Universe and doesn’t try to be anything else. There is none Acolyte Sermon and no old characters to undermine Obi Wan Kenobi did with its titular hero. There are also no references to a megavillain or any real attempts to connect this story to the Skywalker saga or subsequent films. I suppose this could all change, but for now Skeleton crew seems to be its own little adventure, hidden in a pirate-filled corner of the galaxy with likeable, if somewhat generic, heroes and a fairly entertaining pirate robot, SM-33, voiced by Nick Frost. If the show continues to indulge in bravado, then I think we might be in for a treat, especially with more Jude Law.

I enjoy the little nods to Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment films. I love films like this Hook And Indiana Jones and showrunners Jon Watts and Christopher Ford have certainly captured some of that magic here. Our heroes’ suburban home feels like it was ripped right out of the world AND They managed to give the show that flavor without diving too heavily into the deep but overly dredged pool star Wars Nostalgia that so many Disney star Wars Offerings are possessed. In a way, it tries to do its own thing while borrowing from the tropes of a bygone era of cinema. The results so far are mixed.

I’m also curious what role the planet At-Atan plays in all this. The twist seems to be that the kids set out to find adventure and treasure across the galaxy, only to discover that the big “X” that marks the spot is actually right where they started. There’s a very interesting mystery to solve here, and while the first two episodes aren’t perfect, I’m really excited to see where it goes. Sometimes star Wars can be deep and heavy and full of brilliant, weighty dialogue – you think Andor—and sometimes it can just be a fun frolic in space. Hopefully Skeleton crew delivers where it counts, even if it’s a little jarring that a bunch of kids take the lead roles.