Out today on Blu-Ray and DVD is the latest and one of the greatest Star Wars animated series around, Star Wars Rebels. The complete first season consisting of 15 episodes comes with never-never before-seen bonus material and cast & crew interviews.

Now, if you’ve been reluctant to get on board with Star Wars Rebels because it’s animated, really, you should have nothing to worry about. Under the hands of Dave Filoni, Star Wars Rebels is an extension of the groundbreaking series Star Wars Clone Wars, that I admit had a rough start (mostly because we weren’t used to it), but grew into a Star Wars that felt more like Star Wars than the prequel trilogy ever did.

What really makes Rebels a stand out is its much closer ties to the original trilogy, becoming a kind of Star Wars series that long-time fans would have loved back in the 80s. And seeing James Earl Jones back as Darth Vader, it really is something for all Star Wars fans.

In the first groundbreaking season of Star Wars Rebels, young hero Ezra Bridger joins the clever but motley crew of the starship Ghost in their resistance against the Empire. As the series begins, Imperial forces have occupied a remote planet, ruling with an iron fist and ruining the lives of its people. Ezra and his new rebel friends — Hera, Kanan, Sabine, Zeb and Chopper — embark on daring adventures in their fight against oppression across the galaxy, receiving help from familiar heroes such as Lando Calrissian, Ahsoka Tano, and Jedi Master Yoda. Pursued relentlessly by the Imperials and a Jedi hunter called the Inquisitor, this tenacious ragtag band of rebels will find itself in the crosshairs of none other than Darth Vader when season one closes in a shocking two-part finale.

Star Wars Rebels is created by Dave Filoni (“Star Wars: The Clone Wars”), Simon Kinberg (“X-Men: Days of Future Past,” “Sherlock Holmes”), and Carrie Beck. The Lucasfilm Animation production is also executive-produced by Filoni and Kinberg as well as Greg Weisman (“Gargoyles”).

Featuring the voices of Freddie Prinze Jr. (“I Know What You Did Last Summer”) as Kanan, Vanessa Marshall (TV’s “Young Justice”) as Hera, Steve Blum (“The Boxtrolls”) as Zeb, Tiya Sircar (“The Internship”) as Sabine, Taylor Gray (TV’s “Bucket and Skinner’s Epic Adventures”) as Ezra, David Oyelowo (“Selma”) as Agent Kallus and Jason Isaacs (“Harry Potter”) as the Inquisitor.

Our readers might also be excited for a small tidbit on Captain Rex from Star Tours in one of the behind-the-scenes looks.

Bonus Features:

Blu-ray:

• Rebels Infiltrates Star Wars Celebration (Exclusive to Blu-ray)
• Season One shorts: “The Machine in the Ghost,” “Art Attack,” “Entanglement,” “Property of Ezra Bridger”
• All DVD Bonus (see below)

DVD:

• Rebels Recon: 14 behind-the-scenes featurettes
• Star Wars Rebels – The Ultimate Guide
• Star Wars Rebels Season 2 – A Look Ahead

Disc Specifications:

Release Date:              September 1, 2015

Format:                       Blu-ray (2-Disc) & DVD (3-Disc)

Rating:                         TV Y7 FV

Run Time:                   Approximately 330 minutes (not including bonus)

Closed Captioned:      Yes

Aspect Ratio:              1:78 (Widescreen)

Audio:                         5.1 Dolby Digital

Languages/ Subtitles:   English, French & Spanish

Kick your September off with Star Wars Rebels!