Imagine if George Lucas, in 1977, teamed up with Disney animation studios to film his space opera “Star Wars” as a full-length animated movie. How awesome would that be?
Well, you don’t have to imagine it. You just need to read Alessandro Ferrari’s brilliant graphic novel adaptation of “Star Wars: A New Hope”, which is basically the original ’77 classic film revamped as a comic book for young readers. Each panel lovingly, and colorfully, feels like a still scene from Disney’s “Star Wars”, the animated film that never was.
Fans without kids may be confused by this, and perhaps justifiably so. This is not meant for die-hard “Star Wars” fans. This is meant for “Star Wars” fans’ kids who have maybe never seen the films and/or are reluctant to watch the films yet for whatever reason.
My daughter, for several years, refused to watch them because they looked “scary”. She did, however, devour this comic book in one night and loved it. She finally expressed an interest in “maybe” watching it with mom and dad one day soon. Hey, it’s baby steps…