ANI: A Parody 

This is an upside down universe where I can say, "the Jar Jar parts are the best."

I still can't believe Nick credits his cat in the ending credits

oh wow! I see what Starkid did there. ANI. like the musical Annie. But instead it's Ani, a nickname for "Anakin". A humorous play on words. That's where the comedy comes in.

You know, I just realized that Ani is basically just "Workin' Boys" with Star Wars characters

“If I had a penny for every time I thought I killed someone but they came back as a robot, I’d have two pennies. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.” - Obi-Wan Kenobi

Joe loves to have his hair dyed grey and slicked back, apparently

"He'll electrocute me with lightning or worse... I'll lose that promotion" radiates the same energy as hermoine's "we could get killed or worse expelled!"

A breakdown of the comments: 42% People who are surprised to be fond of Jar Jar 36% People who don't like the negative reaction this show got 22% People quoting AVPM 0% People actually hating on the show

obi wan's drinking problems explains why he forgets things from the prequels. thanks for fixing the prequels for me, starkid

"I loved him like a brother... so I cut him in half, and I put him in...a volcano."

Obi Wan pulling out a gun instead of his lightsaber was amazing. “When I kill you, don’t come back as a goddamn robot”

The audience's reaction to the "nobody's too old for lego bricks" comment is just more proof of the level of nerdiness we starkid fans live by. And I just love it!

I think one of my favorite lines is still "Holy smokes, look at that time!" "I can't read!"

idk why the Starkid fandom hates this. It's one of the funniest things these people have made. Combining the Star Wars prequels with various 80s movies... And they managed to put montages in a freaking play

The costuming in this show is fantastic and elevates the comedy so much The love interest is in such an unsexualized outfit while tarkin has that gorgeous crop top and booty shorts Ani’s freaking onesie and paddy/Obi wan in those bathrobe type thing That beautiful leia bikini that kept falling off

The sarcastic delivery of "I'm better now, I'm drunk" is one of my favorite lines out of any of the Starkid shows.

I think it's Team Starkid's ultimate goal for each musical to make the audience fall in love with the most hated characters

Honestly the fact that starkid made people sad about the death of jar jar binks is an example of how effective they are?? Like Starkid’s writing is genuinely so good.

Many people are talking about how amazing Brian or Joe Walker did but Chris Allen was amazing at Ani and probably the best role he had in Starkid. Chris Allen is very underrated and I wished he was in more Productions.

Can we talk about Chris Allen’s performance in this? I feel like he’s really able to pull off the comedy and some really heartfelt scenes at once?

SO THIS IS WHY THE TRAIL TO OREGON ONLY HAS LIKE SIX CAST MEMBERS. OMG.

live commenting - brian's delivery of "do you mean....... a brrRRREAST???!!" at 7:50 ish is oscar worthy

"Holy smokes! Look at that time!" "I can't read!" Makes me crack up every time without fail.

me: has never watched or been interested in star wars also me: watched a starkid star wars parody three times in a week too good to hate

My favorite visual joke in this is the giant adult onesie as Ani's costume. Also, it is my belief that they wanted the band singing over the play, as though to parody a cheesy 80's style movie. A lot of this play is parodying that kind of cheesiness, such as the underdog sports team cliche, etc. I think it's brilliant humor.

"I am Obi-Wan Kenobi and I am an alcoholic."

My favorite thing about Starkid parodies is that they feel like some people brought their fanfic to life or are just playing pretend like when they were kids and I honestly think that’s fucking beautiful.

This entire show is just an excuse for the writers to get away with all their Star Wars jokes. And that’s where the comedy comes in!

This is like the first time Joe Walker has played a serious character omg

"He'd electrocute me by lightning to death, or worse..." Me: Expelled.

Starkid sure has a thing for their actors rolling on the ground

It's another level of parody and piss take when the characters sit down in a bar and dissect everything wrong and nonsensical about the universe they're parodying in a scene that serves no other function but to represent fan criticism and theory

The emperor is giving me a grandma with a teenage grandson vibe

I'm counting this as cannon in the SW universe.

it takes a bit of getting used to that the actors arent singing, but once you get over that the songs are all bangers and this is probably my favourite soundtrack of any starkid show

i’ve watched every other starkid musical and had put off watching this one for so long because it didn’t have quite a few of the main cast (eg lauren jaime and joey) and i was never that into star wars but i can honestly say that this was hilarious: nick lang is the funniest person ever; clark is perfect in every way and cannot be faulted; the writing is impeccable and the music is amazing - one of the most underrated starkid musicals for sure

"Lord Vader, I command you to return to the Death Star and just be... just be... miserable... for the rest of your life..." I see you Little Mermaid reference! Love how often the Langs slip in subtle Disney references.

I actually love that they did something different and had a band sing all the songs instead of the actors. It's different and maybe people didn't like that, but they dared to try something new and I think that's wonderful.

"Welcome to the meeting where should we start?" Obi:"Hi. My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi and I am an alcoholic." Everyone in unison: "Hi Obi-Wan Kenobi." Draco: "My name is Draco Malfoy and I am a racist but I am really nice now so if you could just sign my slip of paper that will get me out of-" Harry: "No, you're staying here until you learn your lesson and be a good boy." Draco with a frown: "But I am a good boy!" Mcdoon: "My name is McDoon and I make the ladies Mcswoon." Everyone in unison: "Hi McDoon." Cletus: "Hi, my name is Cletus Jones and I've killed three people."

The fact that everyone stares at Brian's eyes technically means everyone would be staring at JJ's mouth is strange

also can we talk about how Clark was pure hotness every time the camera showed the band?

-You're wife looked like Natalie Portman?! -Man that entire first scene with obi wan is actually art -And Joe Walker absolutely owned those prequel lines -Moses said that's absurd, I'm done

I would just like to say that Ani’s score is the ULTIMATE get pumped mix. Literally listened to one in a million to get me ready for my AP exams

My first time hearing the force song was out of context and I genuinely believed the lyrics were “oh you got it, oh, oh, you got it oh got divorced.” This makes much more sense

I want to be in a Starkid show so bad. For most people it's Broadway but if I was ever in a Starkid musical I'd be like damn I made it. I love watching all their stuff. It's the best. Everyone is so talented.

Turning Anikan's cheesy and stilted dialogue into a slow jam is a stroke of genius.

I'm 50 minutes in and 5+ years too late, but that sebulba impression is CRAZY good. Like I thought you were playing a recording and he was lip syncing. Man I love starkid. You guys got so many kids who weren't into musicals into musicals. What a contribution to society like wow 🙌🏻 looking forward to being a fan forever ❤❤❤❤❤

I can't believe it took me nearly six years to watch this. This musical is like a hidden gem. When this show first came out, I was not a Star Wars fan and I completely glossed over it. But after taking the time to watch the movies, I get the jokes now, and I thought this was outstanding. Heartfelt, moving, and hilarious! This might be one of Team Starkid's funniest musicals, I haven't laughed this hard in a while.

Omg Clark's face when meredith asks if they want to get her a drink

I cannot believe I'm saying this, but I wish J.J. had come back as a goddamn robot.

"You see, both the Republic and the Seperatists were secretly being controlled by the Emperor. He was fighting a war with himself for control of a galaxy that he already had control of." Prequels in a nutshell

28:00 “Ani, what I really wanna be... is a s...” Me: A Starship Ranger? “A slave girl.” Me: oh Also, is this the same actress that played February or do they just sound similar?

Nobody talks about how cute and adorable Joe Walker was in this?

You know what I think is the worst Starkid show so far? That Ani. You know what I'd give it on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best? I would give it an 8. An 8.5. Not over a 9.8. Because there's always room for perfection. I'm looking out for a 10, because I'm worth it.

WAS NO ONE GONNA TELL ME THAT JEFF AND JOEY WERE CAMERA OPERATORS

“Evil will always win, because good is stupid.”

1:22:47 “I loved him like a brother so I cut him in half and put him in a volcano.” Truer words of sibling relationships have never been spoken.

"One of us always tells the truth and the other always lies." "That's right Tom." Wait... what...

The veins in Joe Walker's neck are so pronounced when he yells at ani, it's vaguely concerning.

Soundtrack: 0:50 - 4:09 Ani 16:19 - 19:45 Long Ago and Far Away 41:37 - 44:00 Strike Back 1:02:05 - 1:05:03 With My Own Eyes 1:05:06 - 1:08:36 (The Force) You Got It 1:31:30 - 1:34:31 Haunted by the Kiss 1:46:25 - 1:49:05 One in a Million 1:52:47 - 1:54:54 One in a Million Pt. 2 1:58:25 - 2:00:54 Back On Top

I'm amazed that Joe could do the Haunted By the Kiss dance with a straight face

I feel bad not a lot of people laughed at the "I'm old enough to be her father in law" joke

Man, some of these jokes didn't land which is too bad because Starkid really did their research here. Literally no one even laughed at the "It's like poetry, it rhymes" joke. Straight from the mouth of George Lucas. As a HUGE Star Wars fan, this show has so many little Easter Eggs that I really appreciated. So fun!

This is canon and I will not accept any arguments against that statement

It just occurred to me that this is probably the first time we've seen Joe Walker in the "straight man" role in a StarKid production. Not seeing him in a ridiculous costume is a bit strange, but it's definitely refreshing!

You know, Chris Allen is brilliant. But his best role, I think, is in Ani. As the slave girl.

Fun Fact!! The Emily-Tarkin thing isn’t too far of!! The Stormtrooper who Luke steals armor from in episode four (TK-421) was actually gay and had an affair with an officer that perfectly fits the description of Grand Moff Tarkin. So Emily exists, but she’s male

May I just say, this show is phenomenal. It was the show that I put off watching the longest, I’m not that into Star Wars so I didn’t think I’d understand a lot of the jokes and I didn’t really like the idea of not having the actors sing. But I finally decided to give it a chance and WOW, this show is amazing. The music is beautiful and phenomenal, it totally fits the show it’s all so catchy and the vocals are even better than normal. I love how much dance there is in this show. And this show is also genuinely funny and heartfelt at the same time, I felt so emotionally connected to the characters and so happy when they succeeded and sad when they didn’t (poor JJ). I hope that anyone who was skeptical about this show like me gives it a chance, because it’s genuinely amazing

Joseph Walker dancing in a crop top is the most beautiful thing dear god.

fun fact - the coffee shop in the lucasfilm studio is actually called Java the Hutt, no joke

OH MY GOD. WHEN JJ ISN'T MAKING SENSE HE'S QUOTING THE MOVIES!!!

To whoever is having a hard time with this: I know at first it seems weird, and if like me you have almost 0 experience with the 80s sort of movies they're making fun of (or simply are too into Vader's "Cool Mysterious Evil Dude" canon thing), it may be hard to start off with, but! This musical does grow on you. Do try to watch it at least till the very end of Act 1! It's just great!

Brian Holden deserves an award for his voices and acting. Seriously, though. He is insanely talented. I've watched all the Potter musicals, Me and My Dick and Holy Musical Batman and he just keeps surprising me more and more. Oh and that Leaky Con performance of "Stutter" by Joe Walker! Brian's dancing in the back, oh my gosh. That guy is one heck of a character!

I'm really gonna miss Joe Moses in starkid's shows

1:29:42 tarkin: *getting the piece of paper out* someone in the audience yelling: You can do it

Y’know, for the amount of crap Ani gets, it really is one of my favorite STARKID shows. I just find myself coming back to it over and over again. The jokes are funny, the songs are catchy (Clark’s always a win), and it’s just got so much heart. You can really tell everyone involved gave it their all. Ani’s just a fun show with a lot of its own unique charm, and it really gets undeservedly brushed aside in favor of some of the more conventional STARKID shows. Ani’s not a bad musical, you guys are just mean.

Am I the only one who thinks that Lord Vader sounds like Kronk?

I understand why some people have reacted negatively, Starkid has had a certain formula for their shows and when you make content not everyone is a fan of change. I personally loved some of the differences, I liked the band singing because it gave us hilarious dance sequences (and the starkid band in general is SO talented they have been needing some sort of spotlight) and the humor was a bit different but I still enjoyed it. They made a good choice doing these changes in Ani, in my opinion. I don't think I would have worked out as well in one of their bigger productions. Also, was Clark in both Oregon and Ani bands? Damn, claps for him.

Joe Walker is a gift to this world

It wasn’t until Joe said, “Be miserable for the rest of your life” that I really got invested. I said out loud, “the little mermaid, it’s Star Wars but the little mermaid!” Starkid has done it again.

Nick Lang is a gift to this earth

There's so much negative feedback. shouldn't we be congratulating Starkid for putting together 2 shows AT ONCE? because that is the shit right there. both Ani and Trail to Oregon took a lot of time, work, and emotional attachment. and they did that not only for themselves, but for us.

I love how this is a story where Vader is the hero, yet it doesn't do the "Wicked" thing where the canon is rewritten to make him the secret good guy, so the fact that you end up rooting for him is hilarious. Like, his CHARACTER is rewritten to make him a schlubby-but-lovable underdog, but also yes he absolutely definitely does things like murdering younglings or force-choking his employees to make a point.

I just realized that this is like the Star Wars version of the Cats musical. A vague recreation/parody of the source material that incorporates the dance abilities of the actors with an insane plot

Can we talk about how supermegafoxyawesomehot the band is?

i am so enraged by the negativity ani has gotten. this show was genuinely so beautiful and so great. and it annoys me that the fans of starkid have started to judge the value of a show based on who is in it. how fucking childish is that? starkid is not the people involved but the stories they tell. the fact that so many people are disappointed by the lack of quality in the production??? what, did you expect this to be the next avpm? did you expect that team starkid, a theatre COMPANY, would create a new series of free shows? nick and matt spend so much money as well as time on shows that don't receive any income because if they sold tickets, they would be sued for infringing copyright. and i'm pretty sure ani was a show that couldn't sell tickets. if nick and matt and anyone else had spent so much money on the set and costumes etc..., they would lose money and that is not how a company works. also, as members of starkid get older, many of them receive more jobs outside of performing in these productions. i think the fans need to realise that all members have a life outside of starkid and not all of them can find the time to perform in musicals where they most likely, aren't going to see an income of money. this brings me to albums and other merch sold by starkid. this is one of the main ways they get their income if they can't sell tickets. the problem is, it's easy to get a hold of their music without having to pay for it. again, they lose money. it frustrates me that so many fans couldn't see past the quality of the set design, the costumes, the people involved, to actually watch the story. i'm going to admit, i have never seen a star wars movie. the only way i know anything about star wars is through playing lego star wars. despite, that the jokes are easy to understand BECAUSE THEY EXPLAIN THEM. i didn't know who mara jada was but ani saying 'i'm old enough to be her father-in-law'. THEY MAKE EVERYTHING SO OBVIOUS AND EASY TO FOLLOW EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT A HUGE STAR WARS FAN. they could have just kept people who weren't star wars fans in the dark about these jokes and i'm so grateful that they explained them. the jokes were still funny. the story itself is so beautiful. when jar jar binks was attempting to commit suicide, i was on edge because i was worried they would make a joke of it. but they didn't. they handled it relatively well and the jokes in the situation were not aimed at suicide and i'm so grateful and happy that they didn't make fun of it. the conversation between the emperor and ani at the end is also so incredibly important for anyone who wants to do something their parents wouldn't be proud of. when the emperor said 'if you wanted to pod race so bad why didn't you tell me?' i was so happy because i never knew how to respond to something like that. i loved the 80's themes, the music was incredible! just because no one in the cast sang, doesn't mean this show was awful? like where the hell did you get that from? the music in ani is probably one of the best of all their performances. to think that starkid is getting worse? no they're getting so much better (and this is not to devalue past performances. i've thoroughly enjoyed every production!!). i'm so mad that the people who call themselves fans of starkid are so quick to put down a production that had so much love and effort put into it just because their favourite starkid member wasn't in it, or it 'looked crap'. starkid, to me, has never been about the quality of the costumes, or the sets, but the beauty of the stories they tell - the real life situations that they handle so brilliantly. and it also saddens me that nick and any other member who reads these shitty comments have to be brought down by them because Ani: A Parody was definitely one of the best.

Lol I love how at 1:29:42 you see Joe pull the flash cards out to begin his Haunted by the Kiss speech and you can hear someone in the audience yelling "DON'T DO IT!" 🤣🤣🤣

Did Joe Moses just say “why that’s absurd” like Snape!

The collective gasp in the audience when Moses said "That's absurd" 😂😂😂

me: Dear God, please just kill off Jar Jar Binks. (J.J. dies) me: God is a vicious, two-faced prick.

Ani, better know as "Starkids bashes the Prequels for two hours"

HAPPY MAY THE 4TH EVERYONE!

DID JOE MOSES JUST SAY "THAT'S ABSURD"

"he'll electrocute me to death with lightning, or worse- I'll lose that promotion" to get us killed or worse, expelled

That yoda man joke shouldn’t have made me laugh as hard as it did. Dad jokes get me every time

In my opinion ANI is the funniest musical and has the best soundtrack. Even though I have never watched Star Wars, the jokes are still funny without knowing the reference. The characters are played by perfection - JJ is adorable and hilarious and Tarkin is cute and a big mood, and that’s just two of them! This musical has got a lot of negativity but I don’t see why to be honest. It is just brilliant and the dance moves are really fun to learn and yeah.

Mara: "What I really wanna be..." Me: "Is become a Starship Ranger!" 😀

Why is nobody talking about how amazingly Sebulba was acted like h o w like the voice the vibe errything

I don’t think that the Lang bros have even watched Star Wars because this is SO inaccurate... Tarkin isn’t wearing slippers.

ok while this one isn’t my favorite starkid show, it’s definitely up there. i think it’s so underrated!! i’m not a huge Star Wars fan, I’ve only seen two movies, but it’s solid fun, good humor, hilarious acting, and has music that slaps. PLUS CLARK HAS LINES SOOO. anyway I think it deserves more appreciation :))