Two new drops on Disney highlight the diversity of what kind of content they’re streaming, the common denominator is how they both have the children very much on their minds, while trying to interest a broader audience.

Obi Wan Kenobi (Disney+) - For any fan of the Star Wars franchise, this will obviously be a must-see, as it’s situated ten years after the events of Star Wars Part III, Revenge of the Sith, and before the events of Rogue One and Star Wars Part IV: A New Hope transpire. Plus, it promises Obi Wan (Ewan McGregor) discovering that Anakin (Hayden Christensen) is in fact still very much alive, but now as Darth Vader. So that’s some promising premise that should get everyone excited. And it’s a six episode adventure, with the first two episodes having dropped on May 27. As I see it, there’ll be those who’ll love this no matter what, just overjoyed to see new Star Wars content that’s firmly connected to the film franchise. But I’m going to play devil’s advocate, and try to objectively weigh if it’s worth all the fuss.

Based on the first two episodes, they’ll have to still convince me this was even worth the effort. I know a first episode is for establishing character and so on, but this one was slow to the point that I felt I was being lulled to sleep. Nothing happens until Rewa (Moses Ingram) as a new Inquisitor shows up, and betrays that she has her own nefarious agenda. As for the second episode, things pick up considerably, but the one portraying a young Princess Leia could have taken more acting lessons, so she’s not just annoying. Her lines - which foreshadow the adult Leia - are delivered with no sense of irony whatsoever. Wonder what Ewan McGregor was thinking, having to interact with this child actress. At the very end of Ep. 2, we finally see Darth, so let’s hope the next four episodes can live up to the promise, and be our ‘new hope’. 

Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers (Disney+) - With the creativity and fertile imagination being displayed in the world of animation over the last five years, it wasn’t long before Disney would take the bull by the horns, and throw us an animated film that’s meta, that utilizes different types of animation in a single frame, and tries to prove to the world that Disney knows how to poke fun at itself, and acknowledge the wealth of IP’s (intellectual properties) that other studios and entities have generated. The strange thing for me as that Disney would do all this with Chip ‘N Dale as the hook you’ll hang the concept film on. Funny choice. And so we have this shaggy dog product that works in spurts, and is watchable and likable, but for me, falls very short of what I think Disney was aiming for. 

The premise is based on showing us how the two met in 1982, and how Rescue Rangers the TV series was the culmination of the two working together. And that when the show was cancelled, Chip went into the ‘real world’, working in an office; while Dale hung on to the illusion of fame, and is now reduced to coming out in ComicCon-type events. And that Dale, in keeping up with the times, is now a CGI creation, while Chip remains a cell animation product. Then there’s the multitude of cameos by cartoon characters from across the spectrum. Soon, it becomes a contest of spotting the new IP, but nothing is really done with them, other than having them appear. The only ones given more weighty exposition are other Disney IP’s, and while there is something funny going on, it isn’t that sustained. Enjoyable, but definitely lightweight.