The Best Of Star Wars: Visions Season 2

We've collated all the data and ranked all of the episodes of "Star Wars Visions: Volume 2," the latest season of the Disney+ series that gives us "Star Wars" stories from different animators. It was no easy feat, either. There were no misfires in this batch of animation, and even the least among them is still something pretty special. With entries from all around the globe, each installment infuses its own unique culture and perspective into "Star Wars" in ways that bring something new to a galaxy far, far away.

We broke down the first season when it came out and stand behind those rankings. It's always the right time to go back and revisit those incredible shorts. But what about season 2?

Potential spoilers follow.

"Sith" – El Guiri Studios

El Guiri Studios offered an entry into "Star Wars Visions" called "Sith." It tells the tale of a former Sith who has tried to leave the Dark Side behind and find light in the art of creation. But her old master hunts her relentlessly and she's forced to face off against him. The designs feel like a mix between "The Knights of the Old Republic" and "Revenge of the Sith."

It has a fascinating animation style that looks like earlier seasons of "The Clone Wars," almost like hand-painted marionettes in CG animation, like they were stop motion, surrounded by beautifully rendered backgrounds.

It's a good entry but ultimately doesn't carry the gravitas that some of the other shorts hold. It does, however, carry a brilliant message, though. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. once said, "Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake." And that's exactly what we have here.

"Journey to the Dark Head" – Studio Mir

This gorgeously animated tale of the Jedi, the Sith, and the seers in between who can see visions of the future. One girl, raised in the temple on this distant planet, believes that they're not doing their job by keeping these visions hidden from the Jedi. After she grows up, she goes to the Jedi and tells them that she needs help infiltrating the temple. There is a statue of prophecy there laden with the dark and she feels that if it's destroyed, she can change the course of the future. Paired with a young Jedi, she heads back to the planet, but finds a Sith there.

Together, they learn lessons about good and evil and the folly of sensing the future.

With stunning animation that has the vibe of the Old Republic, it's more akin to the first season of "Star Wars Visions," while still offering something new.

This story might be one of the most complex and nuanced of the bunch. Most of the other installments feel like shorts, but "Journey to the Dark Head" feels as though it packs an entire feature's worth of material inside of its short running time without ever feeling overstuffed. It might be the most mature of the stories, and one worth pursuing if sequels were to be made.

"I Am Your Mother" – Aardman

Set in Hanna City (perhaps on the planet Chandrila, which became the capital of the New Republic in its earlier days), this Aardman animation revolves around a young girl who idolizes Wedge Antilles. She's entered a race for families across the planet, but she's embarrassed by her mother and her ship and doesn't want to be seen racing with her. But her mother loves her and shows up anyway. They compete in the race and end up winning. It's a charming departure from what we've known "Star Wars Visions" to be so far. It feels exactly like what would happen if the makers behind "Wallace and Gromit" took on "Star Wars." It's charming and funny, full of visual gags and wry humor. More than anything, it's touching and poignant.

The thing about this installment is that it's exactly what you expect from Aardman. I loved seeing the marriage between Aardman and "Star Wars", but it didn't offer any new surprises or revelations. That's nothing to complain about, the fact that it exists is reason enough to jump for joy.

"In the Stars" – Punkrobot

"In the Stars" tells the story of two young girls, orphaned on their world after it was colonized and taken over by the Empire. They honor their mother, who died resisting the Empire, and fight amongst each other about whether or not the Force is real and how they can fight back. But the Empire has polluted their world and they have to steal their water to survive. Together, they infiltrate the Imperial facility and escape, tapping into the Force of their family and defeating the Empire's occupation.

Punkrobot is based in Chile, which is a country that has a deep history of having been colonized, suffering for over 300 years of Spanish rule, and then surviving a military coup in the 20th century under oppression. Watching the feelings of this history come alive in this story made it feel impossibly real and touching. This is definitely a standout among the animated offerings of "Star Wars Visions."

One thing to note is how the different modes of animation blend together, whether it's the computer overlays, the stop motion core, or the 2D visions of the past (that are reminiscent of the Tartakofsky iterations of "The Clone Wars"), it's all a beautiful blend to tell a touching story. "In the Stars" evokes "Grave of the Fireflies" in many ways, and offers much more hope as the sisters come together. "In the Stars" was made using CG/digital animation, but was animated to look like it utilized stop-motion elements. Real models were made for the backgrounds of the short film, giving it an incredible look.

"The Pit" – D'Art Shtaijo and Lucasfilm

"The Pit" was a cooperative effort between Lucasfilm and the 2D animation studio D'art Shtaijo in Japan. Starring Daveed Diggs of Hamilton fame, it tells the story of a group of Imperial slaves digging a bottomless pit for the Empire. No one in the city believed they were down there and when told of their plight, it felt like some wouldn't listen. Eventually, they were roused to action and helped rescue those folks at the bottom of the pit. This has the most potent symbolism and metaphor work of all of the shorts. The story culminates in one of the biggest themes of "Star Wars": the idea that we can see injustice and can band together to fight against it still feels like it belongs in a fantasy/sci-fi world like "Star Wars," but stories like this remind us that we need to do it in real life, too.

"Aau's Song" – Triggerfish

The second season of "Star Wars Visions" is capped off with a film called "Aau's Song" from the African animation company Triggerfish. It's set on a peaceful planet full of kyber mines, where the Sith have corrupted everything. Locals like Abat mine the kyber and hand it to the Jedi so they may purify it. Aau is a local whose voice is deadly when she uses it near the kyber and her father warns her against it.

This is the softest of the episodes, and exactly the right short to follow up the brutality of "The Pit." It's full of sunshine and hope in exactly the right ways and feels very "Star Wars." I would love to see more of this particular species of character in the "Star Wars" universe proper as well.

More than anything, this particular short has a beating heart that rises from its center that just makes you feel good inside, and that makes it one of the best of the bunch.

"The Bandits of Golak' – 88 Pictures

"The Bandits of Golak" is the seventh installment of the second season and comes from the Indian animation company 88 Pictures. The story, told in vibrant colors, is about a boy and his sister, touched by the Force. It's the Dark Times and Inquisitors hunt Force-sensitives and he just needs to keep his sister safe. Traveling through treacherous territory by train and on foot, he delivers her to a community that is supposed to protect her when an Inquisitor arrives. That's when he discovers the entire community is Jedi on the run. 

This entry is sad and sweet and feels like it would fit in perfectly with the canon between the prequels and the classic trilogy, set on a far-off planet. It's also brimming with Indian takes on classic aliens and creatures, but looks like Lucasfilm Animation and the creators of "The Clone Wars" could have been involved in the production. I'd love to see more from this studio, in this iteration of the "Star Wars" universe, and this story in particular. This one is sure to be a favorite.

"Screecher's Reach" – Cartoon Saloon

"Screecher's Reach" is the entry from Cartoon Saloon, the studio behind "Song of the Sea" and "The Secret of Kells." It brings Irish folklore to the world of "Star Wars" and tells the tale of a group of child laborers and orphans all hoping for a better life. One in particular, Daal, is driven to Screecher's Reach, which everyone knows is haunted. There, she and her friends face off against a shrieking, ghostly hag with a red lightsaber. Daal is able to kill her and save her friends, but that's when the secret of her plan has been revealed. In order to secure a better life for herself, she made a bargain with a Sith witch (Anjelica Huston) and agrees to become her apprentice, leaving her childhood friends behind. Could you argue with her? At one point in the narrative, one of her friends mentions that things could be worse, and she fires back at him that they could be better, and that says all there is to say in this short.

"Screecher's Reach" has echoes of Anakin Skywalker, his slavery, and his joining the Jedi while leaving his mother behind, but this feels so much more heartbreaking. The working conditions for child laborers are so bad that it's no wonder a child would make a deal with the devil or a Faustian bargain like Anakin Skywalker to escape it. The haunting music, the Irish accents and lore, and the poignant ending make this one of the best entries in the second volume of "Star Wars Visions."

"The Spy Dancer" – Studio La Cachette

The Art Nouveau flourishes of "The Spy Dancer," made by the French Studio La Cachette, are nothing short of breathtaking. The entire story feels like it could have been pulled out of French history of World War II, had the war lasted another decade, making French history and culture a fertile place to set stories in the "Star Wars" universe. Everything about this short fires on all cylinders, from the animation, the fashion, and the choreography, right down to the tragedy at the heart of the story and the history at its core, it makes this one come out on top.

This story packs so much punch into its short running time and tells such a complicated and mature tale. It takes that cabaret culture and spirit of the French Resistance and pours its heartbreak and charm across a galaxy far, far away in equal measure.

There are so many details that tell so much story that you can watch this installment over and over again and find something new every time. Think about how much story is packed in the simple visual of the Imperial Officer's shorn horns at the end of the piece. What had he gone through? What had he lost? What did the Empire do to him? There are small details like this in every facet of this short, making it the richest of this "Visions" outing.

"Star Wars Visions: Volume 2" is now streaming on Disney+.