Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III   Starring (voice): Seth Green, Seth MacFarlane, Breckin Meyer, Abraham Benrubi, Bob Bergen, Keith Ferguson, Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams Revolver Entertainment RRP: £12.99 REVD2678 Certificate: 15 Available 04 July 2011

It was the late blooming spring of 1977. I was sat in the dappled sunlight, playing with a plastic cow, merry and contented with the world and all it various machinations. Punk was knocking at the back kitchen window of the world and snarling at your grandmother and somewhere in the world Danny Dyer was waiting to be born. My father entered the room and announced that we were "off t'pictures" (I'm Northern, you see. We all talk like that). Having taken a glance through the local rag he informed me in his dulcet mumble that there were two films worth watching; Captain Nemo and the Lost City or, a film neither of us had heard of, Star Wars. At that pivotal moment I glanced towards the telly and John Craven (Google him; that's what its for) was reporting record box office for the latter movie. The choice was made.

Having quite enjoyed Captain Nemo, the next week we went to see Star Wars.

And that is a true story, insomuch as anything I remember is true seen through my miasma of alcohol and misery. To this day I still consider myself a strapping six footer with a swimmers build and film star good looks. Self delusion helps get me through the day.

But I digress. Star Wars is one of those movies which pretty much defined a generation's childhood. It brought us all together. Before Star Wars the only other universal childhood memories were the war and the invention of rock and roll. It is our touchstone to endless summers and playing football in a park littered with broken glass and dry white dog sh*t.

Robot Chicken must feel the same. To those without the knowledge, Robot Chicken is an animated series of sketches using toys. This is not a feature length parody of the movies, for that you need Family Guy, but a series of light-hearted laughs. And the affection for the subject is clearly there. No joke is poked with much venom (good old George Lucas and his strange neck beard is around to protect his baby) and that may be a weakness. Without cruelty there is no humour.

Most of the sketches are amusing but you get bigger laughs retelling the concept behind the jokes to your cronies at work rather than "in the flesh" as it were.

Tons of extras added if that's your kind of thing but not a DVD I'd blow up Alderaan to see.

7

Dean Lester Smales