Line #9 Theatre/Ani


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ani.png]]
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3	Another parody musical by Creator/TeamStarKid, this time focusing on ''Franchise/StarWars'' and 80s sports movies, ''Ani: A Parody'' focuses on Darth Vader between the original and prequel trilogies. Vader (who goes by the name "Ani" here) is going through a midlife crisis, missing his time as a podracing champion in his youth. When he is offered a chance to leave the Empire, he leaps on the chance to return to Tatooine. Cue obscure Star Wars jokes and more [=StarKid=] {{Invoked\|Trope}} AlternativeCharacterInterpretation. It was staged using about half of the [=StarKid=] cast, with the other half doing ''Theatre/TheTrailToOregon'' on alternating days at the same theater.
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6	!!''Ani'' provides examples of:
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8	* ActuallyIAmHim:
9	-->'''Tarkin:''' Say, do you know an Obi-Wan Kenobi?\
10	'''Obi-Wan:''' Of course I know him, he's me.
11	* AdaptationNameChange: Of a sort. All the characters still have their real names, but most have preferred nicknames: Vader still goes by his childhood nickname Ani, Jar Jar Binks goes by J.J., Boba Fett goes by Bob, and Emperor Palpatine goes by Pappy. Played straight with Tarkin, who gets the first name Jeffrey.
12	* AdaptationalHeroism: Variation. Vader, the Emperor, and Tarkin are still evil, but their villainy is heavily downplayed, and they're portrayed as more lovable, sympathetic characters.
13	* AdaptationalVillainy: [[spoiler:Obi-Wan. He kills Jar-Jar, blaming him for Qui-Gon's death and admits that he plans to raise Vader's son in ignorance so he can kill him later on.]]
14	* AerithAndBob: In a galaxy with characters named Anakin Skywalker, Mara Jade, and Jar-Jar Binks, there's Grand Moff "Jeffrey" Tarkin and Emily the Stormtrooper.
15	* TheAlcoholic:
16	** [[spoiler:Obi-Wan.]] ''Big'' time.
17	** [[spoiler:Jar-Jar]] also.
18	* AllKnowingSingingNarrator: An extreme example -- all of the songs are sung by Clark Baxtresser and Pierce Siebers from offstage, as part of the band. WordOfGod was that rather than a Broadway musical this show was meant to evoke the style of a film soundtrack with pop songs playing over montages (à la "Gonna Fly Now" in ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' or "Eye of the Tiger" in ''Film/RockyIII'').
19	* AscendedExtra: Eric Kahn Gale, whose acting in Starkid productions had previously been limited to cameos, is part of the ensemble here, playing such characters as Sebulba, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Jabba the Hutt. Also qualifies as DescendedCreator, as he's one of the group's most prominent members behind-the-scenes.
20	* BadBoss: Ani and Pappy, of course. Just like in the main ''Star Wars'' universe, they're prone to [[YouHaveFailedMe torturing and killing subordinates who disappoint them]]. The trope is played with a bit, though: both of them make real attempts to be genial, and no one on the Death Star is even sure if Ani ''is'' their boss.
21	* BigBadEnsemble: Sebulba and [[spoiler:Obi-Wan]].
22	* BigNo: From Ani after [[spoiler: Jar-Jar dies]]
23	* BreakingTheFourthWall: The characters frequently interact with the band.
24	* CanonImmigrant: Mara Jade, who only appears in ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'', is treated like she's just as important as the movie canon characters (and anyone who doesn't recognize her "doesn't know dick about ''Star Wars''").
25	* CannotTellAJoke: No one gets any of Ani's Star Wars jokes.
26	* TheCastShowOff: Denise Donovan is a dancer in RealLife and has worked as a choreographer on several Starkid shows. Her self-choreographed dance audition as Mara Jade is a highlight of the show.
27	* CelebrityParadox: Ani's dead wife Padmé is never seen, but he does show people a photo to prove she "looks just like Natalie Portman".
28	* CharacterTic: Whenever Ani becomes particularly emotional, the way he talks starts to sound like his character portrayal by Creator/HaydenChristensen in the prequels. [[TakeThat It causes everyone around him to wince in disgust]].
29	* TheCloudcuckoolanderWasRight: Ani's dumb joke about making two Death Stars so they can pose as boobs turns out to actually be the reason the Emperor commissioned them.
30	* ADayInTheLimelight: One reason for the controversial "non-musical musical" concept was to give stage time to Creator/TeamStarkid members more known for their acting than singing ability, most notably Chris Allen and Nick Lang. (On the flipside, this musical also allowed Starkid's longtime musical director and band leader Clark Baxtresser to sing in a show for the first time instead of just providing accompaniment.)
31	* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler:Jar Jar]] is shot and killed by [[spoiler:Obi-Wan]] near the climax.
32	* {{Deconstruction}}: The show deconstructs Jar Jar's role as TheScrappy, and how it affects him emotionally. The universal hatred towards him had completely obliterated his self-esteem, causing him to develop alcoholism, depression, and suicidal thoughts.
33	* DontExplainTheJoke: "It's a humourous play on words, and that's where the comedy comes in."
34	* DisproportionateRetribution: Pappy kills a man for not finding his boob joke funny.
35	* TheFaceless: Emily and the other stormtroopers, Boba Fett, and the Emperor (whose eyes and forehead are InTheHood). In Emily's case the helmet even stays on ''during TheBigDamnKiss with Tarkin''. Averted with Ani, who, unlike his canon incarnation, wears a helmet that reveals his face.
36	%%* FanDisservice: Chris Allen in a bikini.
37	* FatBastard: Downplayed with Ani. He tries to be amiable, but has his moments of jerkiness. He also doesn't seem too fazed with the Empire blowing up planets.
38	* FatIdiot: Darth Vader is very fat, and very dense.
39	* GenderFlip: All the Stormtroopers are female.
40	* GloryDays: The whole premise of the show is that Anakin Skywalker's life peaked at the moment he won the Boonta Eve Classic and has been all downhill since.
41	* HappinessInSlavery: According to this play, slavery in the ''Star Wars'' Universe isn't so much a societal ill where people are stripped of their personhood in favor of their owner's whims so much as an actual job that people sign up for like a dancing or acting gig. You can't even ''hope'' to be hired as a dancing slave-girl for Jabba the Hutt without a very thorough resume laying out your experience in the field of slave dancing.
42	* IllTellYouWhenIveHadEnough: [[spoiler:Obi-Wan Kenobi]] proves that this phrase is much more effective when combined with a JediMindTrick.
43	-->'''Bartender:''' I think you've had enough.\
44	'''[[spoiler:Obi-Wan]]:''' I'll tell you when I've had enough!\
45	'''Bartender:''' You'll tell me when you've had enough!
46	* ImagineTheAudienceNaked: Ani advises Mara to picture Jabba naked if she gets nervous.
47	-->'''Ani:''' [[DontExplainTheJoke That's a joke, because he's always naked.]]
48	%%* IncrediblyLamePun: Ani runs off of them.
49	* InsaneTrollLogic: It is brought up to Obi-wan how the Jedi's philosophy can be boiled down to "Balance between the Light Side and the Dark Side = the Light Side exterminating all of the Dark Side and leaving the Light Side to rule unhindered" by Tarkin. Obi-wan hears him out, but he's too drunk for it to stick.
50	* KnightsAndKnaves: When discussing Ani's poor chances, the pod race announcer admits he might be wrong because one of his heads tells the truth while the other always lies.
51	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: During the cantina scene the [[AudioDiegesis normally non-diegetic band]] puts on sunglasses and headpieces to make themselves look like the ''Star Wars'' cantina band, and briefly interact with Ani.
52	* MayTheFarceBeWithYou
53	* MsFanservice:
54	** Denise Donovan as Mara Jade and Meredith Stepien as Oola, reflecting their characterization in canon. Also a surprising MrFanservice with Creator/JoeWalker as Tarkin.
55	** A possible subversion with Emily the Stormtrooper, where, in defiance of genre convention, there is no DramaticUnmask or BeautifulAllAlong moment -- Julia Albain keeps the whole costume on for the whole show.
56	* MythologyGag: Ani says he's old enough to be Mara Jade's father-in-law.
57	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
58	** Ani's voice is very much based on that of Creator/PatrickWarburton's.
59	** Also, the Emperor sounds an awful lot like Creator/GilbertGottfried.
60	* NoFourthWall: Ani is constantly telling "Star Wars jokes" and telling people they "don't know dick about ''Star Wars''" even though they're, you know, characters in ''Star Wars''.
61	* PetTheDog: Pappy's relationship with Ani.
62	* PointyHairedBoss: Darth Vader's position as Dark Lord of the Sith has been reimagined as a pointless sinecure Palpatine gave him out of pity. All he does within the Imperial power structure is get in people's way and occasionally Force-choke them.
63	* RunningGag: "Don't you know dick about ''Star Wars''?"
64	* ShoutOut
65	** "You can tell that Ani that [[Theatre/AnnieGetYourGun she can go and get her gun]]."
66	** As in every Starkid show, a few lines are lifted directly from Disney films:
67	*** Ani tells Mara, "[[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDameDisney Take it from an old spectator: life is not a spectator sport.]]"
68	*** Tarkin orders Ani to return to the Death Star and "just be... well, just be... [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 miserable for the rest of your life]]."
69	* SlowMotion: Acted out onstage at dramatic moments to hilarious effect.
70	* SportsStories: The concept of this show is redoing ''Star Wars'' as an '80s sports movie, reimagining the podracing scene from ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' as the most important event in the saga.
71	* StraightMan: Creator/JoeWalker is PlayingAgainstType here with Tarkin serving mostly as a Straight Man to, alternately, Ani, Pappy, or Obi-Wan, after playing a LargeHam in a ridiculous costume in most of his past roles.
72	* TakeThat: Several to the prequel trilogy, particularly ''Attack of the Clones''.
73	-->'''Obi-Wan:''' [[Film/ThePhantomMenace The Clone Wars started when my friend Qui-Gon and I went to the planet of Naboo to settle a trade dispute that had broken out between the Trade Federation and the planet. You see, the Trade Federation had put a blockade around the systems so that... they could, uh...]] (suddenly falls asleep, then wakes up half a second later) I'm sorry, I fell asleep because that was so boring.
74	* ThatCameOutWrong: Tarkin keeps getting flustered when talking to Emily, taking this trope almost to [[{{Series/Arrow}} Felicity Smoak]] levels sometimes.
75	* ATrueStoryInMyUniverse: The Prequel Trilogy is Ani's home videos here.
76	* YouBastard: Tarkin reminds Ani that everyone hated J.J. and wanted to see him dead. Ouch.

Context Theatre / Ani