Movie Reviews

The Mandalorian and Grogu Review: Puppets Save This Thrilling (If Aimless) Space Adventure

Give me Pedro Pascal and Baby Yoda all day, everyday

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The Mandalorian and Grogu, the latest entry in Disney's Star Wars universe, is a lesson in contrasts. A movie that will leave you saying "Wow, that's so fun" as often as it makes you say "Is there a plot here?" The Disney+ series, following the titular adventures of the bounty hunter known as The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) debuted in 2019 and while it's amassed three seasons worth of content the streaming series certainly has a more limited appeal than the feature films. That being said, the desire to propel a feature film following the character was gestating as far back as 2023 and has certainly felt like a movie audiences has been continually told is coming.

And yet while there are a bevy of Mandalorian and Grogu items available in anticipation of this release – hell, even the movie sees Baby Grogu eating kettle corn you can conveniently buy in Disneyland – there's an overall muted feeling to the movie's arrival. It's possibly because the finished result is softer, sweeter romp than the large-scale epic undertakings of other Star Wars films.

The Mandalorian and Grogu, with its story of a bounty hunter caring for a small child, is a quiet and tender-hearted tale of love that, strangely enough, works in the hands of director Jon "Elf" Faverau. (There's a STRONG connection between this and Faverau's other family adventure, 2005's Zathura.) Add on some heavy practical and puppetry effects and a dash of weirdness, and Mandalorian and Grogu will please anyone seeking something in the vein of Ron Howard's Willow.

The Mandalorian and his child-like acolyte Grogu are tasked with reuniting the gelatinous Rotta the Hutta (Jeremy Allen White) with his estranged family. The hope is that if Mando pleases the Hutts they'll lead the New Republic to a top official they need. Unfortunately, things go sideways and the Mandalorian and Grogu must do whatever they can to save each other from all manner of bad things that are dished out.

Faverau has said that the movie plot was structured in a way that audiences unfamiliar with the original series will still understand it, and that's true. Outside of an opening text crawl laying out the New Republic, there's no political machinations or anything passing for an overarching narrative. A passing awareness of the Mandalorian as a bounty hunter will suffice, and if you don't know that he makes a point of explaining his job. Really, the only thing needed to enjoy the movie is knowledge of Yoda, of which Grogu is an off-shoot.

But that slightness extends to everything about the plot which is fairly non-existent. After a thrilling opening sequence of Mando fighting off a bunch of Imperial Walkers on an AT-AT, Sigourney Weaver's Colonel Ward – a character whose sole existence is providing exposition – tells him he must travel to the Hutt's to rescue Rotta to obtain info on an Imperial official whose face they don't know. Mando quickly finds Rotta and, in a move that just feels weirdly placed, also the official they're looking for. Plot solved and yet there's still over an hour of movie left!

Though Pascal's voice is only heard, and his face only present for a few minutes of screen time, the character can still command attention. But it's when Pascal's voice, and whomever is under that mask, is interacting with Grogu that the movie is at its sweet and sincere best. The two have a dynamic akin to Lone Wolf and Cub, with Grogu intent on learning how to be like the Mandalorian and Mando realizing that he does have someone to care for. When Grogu is in danger, even though the audience isn't seeing Pascal's face, the physicality of the person in the suit conveys the deep love he feels for the little guy.

Unlike something like Avatar, where you're aware that the A-list stars are underneath the CGI, this is a movie that does feel very devoid of humans. Weaver, and that stray scene of Pascal unmasked, are really the only actual humans on-screen and both have limited screen time. Pascal's voice is so filtered that's safe to assume he was barely in the costume, an issue reminiscent of Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool vs. Wolverine. Even White's character as Rotta sees his voice filtered so as to sound more Hutt-like, though with the character giving off a bizarre physicality and vocal cadence that makes it possible not to see him once you realize he's the voice.

In a movie with several half-followed threads and McGuffin's, Rotta the Hutt probably feels the most stunt-y. The character is all surface level, reiterating in at least three separate speeches, relatively close together, that he wants to be his "own man," not like his father, the violent Jabba the Hutt. That's really all that ever manifests in the character, who is left to be little more than a savior at the end. Really, this plot line feels like either it's part of a larger narrative left behind or the jumping off point for an additional television series.

This continues with the final hour, which presents a thin construct of plot that ends up sidelining Mando entirely and letting the incredibly expressive and darling Grogu simply cook. Those who complained about overly cutesy Ewoks in Return of the Jedi probably won't care for the second half of the movie, which becomes a visual spectacle of practical puppetry with Grogu and various Frik characters taking over. There are moments of intensity and spectacle here, specifically the Friks and Grogu fleeing a darkened house as Mando is left as the gunslinger trying to protect them.

The group is forced to save Mando with Grogu left to struggle and contemplate the possibility of a world without his bounty hunter to protect him. This subplot holds far more interest than the preceding plot, if only because the puppet is so expressive and the dynamic between Mando and Grogu is so heartening. Watching Grogu go to sleep in Mando's arms is a moment that's so tender and melancholy, you just wish the rest of the galaxy would melt away and focus on these two.

There's a lot that works against The Mandalorian and Grogu. The plot is non-existent and it really does feel like a fully CGI movie. But when it's just Mando and Grogu going from A to B it's such a sweet story. Add to that a desire to just let a lot of kooky puppets run around for a little bit – there's a real Jim Henson vibe – and it's a movie that is more than worth seeing with the kids (or anyone just looking for a cute vibe). It's a lovable mess, but it works.

Grade: C

The Mandalorian and Grogu is in theaters May 22.

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