LEGO Star Wars: Revenge of the Brick is a short, humorous film crafted from LEGO bricks, a parody inspired by Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith[/article/star_wars:_episode_iii_revenge_of_the_sith). This brick-based movie first aired on the Cartoon Network channel on Sunday, May 8, 2005, at 7:00 p.m. EST. Furthermore, it was available for viewing in QuickTime format on the LEGO official webpage or as a direct download. A preview for the mini-movie was also included as a special feature on the Clone Wars Volume 2 DVD. The movie was screened at the Woodstock Film Festival on October 2, 2005, within the "Animation for Kids" category.
Treehouse Animation, the production company, later collaborated with Lego again on Batman mini-movies with similar style. The mini-movie could be streamed in QuickTime format via the LEGO website or downloaded directly. A "making-of" featurette, narrated by Mark Hamill, was also available for viewing on the same site.
Mark Hamill, famous for his role as Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy of Star Wars movies, participated in this project. Hamill stated, "Being the original Luke Skywalker, I feel I have a solid understanding of crafting Star Wars stories. Therefore, aligning with Treehouse [Animations] felt like a natural fit."
The film commences with an initial scene set above Kashyyyk. Obi-Wan and Anakin, piloting a Jedi Starfighter and an ARC-170 respectively, are poised to attack the Trade Federation droid control ship originating from The Phantom Menace. The scene then transitions to the interior of the control ship. Count Dooku utilizes a remote control to swivel a chair, revealing General Grievous seated within. Grievous then rises to carry out his master's commands. The scene then returns to the space battle where enemy ships make their appearance.
The viewpoint switches to Anakin Skywalker's ship (an ARC-170), which is being co-piloted by a clone trooper, with another clone trooper manning the rear gun. Anakin executes a left turn, inverting the ship, and the camera then reveals Anakin and his frightened clone pilot flying down the trench to engage the enemy fighters, a reference to Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. A shot from a droid tri-fighter aimed at Anakin misses its target. Anakin moves away, and the two flanking fighters are destroyed by friendly fire.
Another enemy fighter targets Anakin's ship and launches a projectile that hits. A crazed buzz droid emerges from the projectile and attaches itself to the ARC fighter. The rear gunner deploys "Buzz Spray" to ward it off, but the coughing droid simply flies to Anakin's window. Anakin presses a small blue button, activating the windshield wipers to eliminate the pesky droid. However, the buzz droid dodges the wipers and attaches itself to the fighter's starboard engine, beginning to cut into it.
Count Dooku is watching a TV screen but gets only static. General Grievous acts as an antenna. Dooku points his LEGO finger at Grievous to Grievous at the exact position that shows a clear picture of the battle outside. The scene shifts to another sequence. Obi-Wan Kenobi's Jedi interceptor comes into view as a vulture droid fighter fires two missiles at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan uses the Force to disassemble his starfighter into separate bricks to avoid the missiles. The projectiles hit two other vultures instead.
The viewpoint then switches to Anakin. Turbolaser fire from the control ship destroys Anakin's ARC fighter. Anakin exits the wreckage of his ship, floating in space. He uses the Force to rebuild his fighter. Upon realizing that he has created a bi-plane, he destroys it and rebuilds it again into a speeder-like fighter (while still exposed to the vacuum of space). One of the clones is onboard as well. (There is no sign of the other who probably died.) Anakin uses the Force to control the buzz droid to cut an opening into the Trade Federation droid control ship. Inside the flagship, droidekas stationed on a platform fire at Anakin, attempting to halt his progress. Anakin uses his lightsaber to destroy the platform the droidekas are standing on, while the clone trooper desperately clings to the side of the fighter.
The scene transitions back to Obi-Wan's ship. A tri-fighter attacks Obi-Wan, destroying his starboard wing. Obi-Wan uses his Force powers to destroy the enemy ship. Obi-Wan then pulverizes another tri-fighter and two vultures. He then uses the pieces to remodel his fighter into a Y-wing. Obi-Wan advances on the control ship and destroys some of communications devices the on top. The scene then switches to Anakin exiting the flagship, with the clone trooper still holding onto the side. The flagship explodes. Anakin and Obi-Wan then proceed to Kashyyyk.
On Kashyyyk, Yoda observes some battle droids. The droids also spot him and surround him. Yoda disassembles several droids with the Force, mixing their parts in the process. Yoda then brandishes his lightsaber and destroys more droids. A Turbo Tank arrives, carrying Mace Windu and clone troopers. The Wookiees join the clone army in the fight with Chewbacca leading them. Anakin and Obi-Wan soon arrive and join the battle.
The clone troopers and Wookiees continue to fight bravely. A Clone AT-RT is destroyed in the battle. Chewbacca is attacked by a Confederate tank droid and is nearly run over. He assembles a rocket launcher from shattered bricks just in time to fire a rocket just as the tank turned around to run over him. The damaged vehicle skids to a stop near him, and he faints from the shock of it.
Almost all the clones and Wookiees have been neutralized. Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Mace, and Chewbacca are the only ones remaining, surrounded by battle droids. One of the droids exclaims "Uh oh" as Wookiee reinforcements arrive in a Wookiee Catamaran and destroy the droids. They launch missiles, destroying many droids and tanks, forcing the droid army to retreat.
The following scene is reminiscent of the bar scene in Mos Eisley Cantina from A New Hope. Everyone is here (Grievous is the bartender, apparently having quit his general job. Ponda Baba and some Jawas are present, and although you only get a fleeting glimpse of him, so is Count Dooku and a Droideka. R2-D2 rolls past Yoda who uses the Force to steal the drinks R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) is carrying on a tray attached to his back. Mace, Obi-Wan, and Anakin are at the bar. Chewbacca takes a photo of Anakin and Obi-Wan. Chewbacca sees the picture of Darth Vader and Old Obi-Wan in a lightsaber battle (reference to A New Hope) instead of Anakin and Obi-Wan standing together, happily. Chewbacca collapses. Greedo, who is playing darts and has missed 5 times despite standing 2 feet away from the board, is standing behind him, and watches him fall and the mini-movie ends. The end credits roll while Darth Vader uses his lightsaber as a baton to conduct a stormtrooper orchestra, playing The Imperial March.
While Count Dooku attempts to adjust his television, the screen briefly displays a test pattern similar to the Indian Head test card, featuring the phrases "Please stand by" and "Treehouse," along with bullseye images and horses.
The mini-movie is a comical take on the key events of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, presented in a 3-D computer-animated style, which is Treehouse's signature.
When Chewbacca uses the camera to take a picture of Obi-Wan and Anakin, the picture comes out as Darth Vader in a lightsaber duel with Ben Kenobi, referencing Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
The parody features stylized versions of the LEGO Star Wars Episode III building toys in fantasy situations, portraying the interactivity of LEGO in various hilarious scenes. LEGO classic mini-figures are also made more 3-D in their detail, with more flexibility in movement portrayed to facilitated the film's action sequences.(i.e squash and stretch.)
Apart from its television broadcast and internet availability, the short film was distributed on a promotional disc in Europe. The trailer was included on the Star Wars: Clone Wars Volume Two DVD on December 6, 2005, for the rest of the world. Additionally, it was included on the "Bonus DVD" inside Trends International LLC's: "The Art of Star Wars: A 16-Month 2008 Wall Calendar." It was later uploaded to the LEGO Club YouTube channel.