Expanding our Star Wars universe with Star Wars Rebels #SparkRebellion

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#SparkRebellion #CollectiveBias

Around here, Star Wars is serious business. When Max was starting to get to the age where we thought he'd be ready to see the movies, Jamie insisted that we find the original theatrical releases of the original trilogy for Max's first viewings. Max has since seen all six of the movies, and we were all anxiously awaiting the release of Star Wars Rebels, a new cartoon series based in the Star Wars universe we love so much.

Max knew about the upcoming Star Wars Rebels from talking to kids at school and ads we'd seen on TV, so he was thrilled when I told him that we were going to be able to get the premier of it, Spark Rebellion, on DVD to keep. Exclusively available at Walmart from now until Oct. 13, he couldn't wait to get home and rip it open and watch it, and brought his favorite pool noodle lightsaber into the store, just in case we happened upon the Imperial Army in the shampoo aisle or something.

Along with the new cartoon series, there's a whole bunch of awesome new toy and dress-up options to go with Star Wars Rebels; as much as Max would love the amazingly gigantic Rebels Millennium Falcon, we already have a giant Millenium Falcon toy! They also had a cool Star Wars Command Destroyer, but in the end we chose two smaller sets of action figures, the Final Battle and Sandtrooper Strike sets.
When we finally got home from the Walmart trip, Max was torn between playing with the new toys and watching the movie. (Mean mom that I am, I made Max wait until after we went swimming at a friend's house in the afternoon! I know, I don't know how he survives!)
He wanted to prepare for the viewing, and unsure what that meant exactly, I told him that was fine. Next thing I knew, he'd set up a whole theater's worth of toys alongside him on the sofa to watch the movie.

I hadn't realized it when we picked them, but the Command sets we chose are more than just Star Wars-shaped army men, they're actually a little game, where some of the vehicles roll and crash into the “armies” and knock them down. Nothing like a little rivalry to bring father and son together, right?

Another cool thing about the DVD is that it included, much to my surprise, a paper model of the “Ghost,” one of the ships from the show. It requires glue and patience, but looks really cool once it's done! Max and Jamie did it together, and it turned out awesome.

I think that Spark Rebellion, which has a run time of about 45 minutes, is well on its way to being a family favorite… perfect for when we don't have time for a whole movie. Have you checked it out yet? What do you think about Star Wars outside of the original trilogy?