STAR WARS: REBELS Full Series (PG) COMPARED

03/10/2021

Star Wars: Rebels is another popular animated Star Wars tv show. The show is set during the time between Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. It follows a group of rebels as they fight the evil Galactic Empire and the challenges they encounter.

Star Wars: Rebels ties into a lot of what is seen in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and is created by the same people, however, the animation style is very different and Rebels never became as popular as The Clone Wars. Why is this and what makes the two series similar but also different?

Credit: Lucasfilm Animation
Credit: Lucasfilm Animation

The first thing that I desired from The Clone Wars while watching Rebels were the continuous arcs. The Clone Wars would have arcs that were essentially a movie that was split across multiple episodes. This made the episodes feel more continuous however, the arcs did not always connect well with each other. Rebels on the other hand didn't have arcs which made the episodes feel more individual than I would have liked. However, the series as a whole felt more planned and continuous and the episodes connected better than the arcs did in The Clone Wars.

One thing that stood out to me while I watched Star Wars: Rebels was that the whole show was more consistent in quality. The Clone Wars would have some pretty terrible episodes but other episodes that were works of art. Rebels did not have this problem: all of its episodes were for the most part consistent in quality. Of course, some episodes were better than others but there wasn't the big gap that can be seen in The Clone Wars. Rebels didn't have episodes as bad as some of the ones in The Clone Wars but its greatest episodes didn't reach the heights of the best in The Clone Wars.

Credit: Lucasfilm Animation
Credit: Lucasfilm Animation

Both The Clone Wars and Rebels were better at different things. The Clone Wars always made me excited to watch the next episode. Whereas Star Wars: Rebels was much better at emotional moments and I found myself on the verge of tears more times than I ever was in The Clone Wars. I think that this was one of the best things about the series as a whole; how it dealt with death and emotional moments.

The first season of Star Wars: Rebels was mainly focused on introducing characters and settings. But in later seasons, the series reintroduced characters and concepts first seen in The Clone Wars. I personally loved seeing the return of Captain Rex and Ahsoka Tano.

Credit: Lucasfilm Animation
Credit: Lucasfilm Animation

I think that I would personally be able to rewatch Star Wars: Rebels more than The Clone Wars. For starters, the series is almost half as long as The Clone Wars but the emotional moments also pull me to rewatching Rebels over The Clone Wars. But if I am asked which of the two series I prefer, I will somehow say The Clone Wars. I am unsure what it is about the series that I prefer when I have discovered so many good things about Rebels whilst writing this review.

It was very hard for me to decide on a rating for Star Wars: Rebels. I eventually settled on 8.75 out of 10, a mere quarter of a point less than The Clone Wars. Once again, I can't decide what it is that I prefer more about The Clone Wars than Rebels but I listened to my gut instinct to rate The Clone Wars higher.

STAR WARS: REBELS Full Series (PG)

Creator: Simon Kinberg, , Dave Filoni, Carrie Beck

Starring: Taylor Gray, Vanessa Marshall, Freddie Prinze Jr., Steve Blum, Tiya Sircar, Dave Filoni

Years: 2014-2018

Number of seasons: 4

My Rating: 8.75/10


Compared with...


STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS Full Series (PG)

Creator: George Lucas

Starring: Tom Kane, Dee Bradley Baker, Matt Lanter, James Arnold Taylor, Ashley Eckstein

Years: 2008-2020

Number of seasons: 7

My Rating: 9/10

Read my full review of Star Wars: The Clone Wars Full Series (PG)

Review by Tristan Carr

Last edited: 03/10/2021

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