The Force Is Strong With This Star Wars 7 Fan Film

Mixing together the worlds of Disney and Star Wars has practically become a national pastime for us geeks, but this one is kinda special. It’s got live action, animation, CGI effects, and a hilarious tongue planted in its cheek.

Star Wars VII: Return of the Empire remixes and reimagines the classic Star Wars films as if Disney had produced them from the beginning — with some serious corporate synergy at work. It never takes itself too seriously, but it has surprisingly high production values. The Obi-Wan stuff didn’t do much for me, but putting R2-D2, C-3PO and WALL-E in the same scene is pure genius, and Threepio’s reaction to him is laugh-out-loud funny. Vader gets in some good stuff, too.

Return of the Empire comes from YouTube star Sam Macaroni, who’s already scored more than one million views of his parody in a single week.