"Star Wars: Clone Wars" (2003) TV series 2003-2005

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Writers:

Bryan Andrews (story)
Mark Andrews (story)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

7 November 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Animation | Short | Adventure

Tagline:

The Revenge Begins (Volume II)

Plot:

The events and battles of the Old Republic's last major war is recounted.

Plot Keywords:

Battle | Disguise | Good Versus Evil | Space Battle | Future

Awards:

Won 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

André Sogliuzzo	...	ARC Captain / ... (16 episodes, 2003-2005)
Mat Lucas	...	Anakin Skywalker (11 episodes, 2003-2005)
James Arnold Taylor	...	Obi-Wan Kenobi / ... (11 episodes, 2003-2005)
Grey DeLisle	...	Asajj Ventress / ... (11 episodes, 2003-2005)
Corey Burton	...	Count Dooku / ... (9 episodes, 2003-2005)
Tom Kane	...	Yoda (9 episodes, 2003-2005)
Nick Jameson	...	Supreme Chancellor Palpatine / ... (6 episodes, 2003-2005)
Daran Norris	...	Durge / ... (6 episodes, 2003-2005)
Richard McGonagle	...	General Grievous / ... (5 episodes, 2005)
Anthony Daniels	...	C-3PO (4 episodes, 2004-2005)
Terrence 'T.C.' Carson	...	Mace Windu / ... (4 episodes, 2005)

Runtime:

5 min (season 1) | 15 min (season 2) | 69 min (volume 1) | Australia:127 min (DVD)

Country:

USA | South Korea

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Singapore:G | USA:TV-Y7 | Australia:PG | Netherlands:6 | Brazil:10 (volume 2) | Brazil:Livre (volume 1) | Germany:12

Company:

Cartoon Network

Trivia:

Anthony Daniels is the only actor to reprise his role from the movies. Most of the other cast is culled from voice actors for the LucasArts Star Wars video games.

Quotes:

Yoda: Like fire across the galaxy, the Clone Wars spread.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Family Guy: Sibling Rivalry (#4.22)" (2006)

Hard to watch in one sitting, but still decent

So I watched these shorts while on my friend's couch in Seattle. This micro-series documents the events that occur between the film Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Originally, these segments were shown between other shows on the Cartoon Network in short clips, so they weren't originally meant to be seen all at once. They appear to have been put together using the "Star Wars wipe".

The shorts are directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, the Russian animator that's responsible for the look and direction of cartoons such as Samurai Jack, Powerpuff Girls and Dexter's Laboratory. They definitely hold true to the angular dark-line look of his previous works, as well as the stutter-start animation style that's prevalent in his films. Ultimately, these shorts have the Tartakovsky stamp placed on them and as I was watching, I almost instantly noticed his trademark style. This style is always threatening to overwhelm the Star Wars universe that it's presenting but Tartakovsky does a good job restraining himself enough to make Star Wars more the feature, albeit, all bent into his light.

Each short is extremely action packed, which makes watching each micro-episode one after another a little exhausting, since you rarely even get a chance to catch your breath before the next section of action begins. Nevertheless, the storyline rings true to the Star Wars mythos, even if the look makes me think that Anakin Skywalker and Samurai Jack are one and the same. The humor present in the shorts is curious and deadpan, much unlike the mugging presence of Jar Jar Binks in the first film.

And so you have a nice series of shorts that bridge between two of Lucas' lesser works. In fact, in some sense, the Tartakovsky shorts outshine Lucas in that they are more capable of telling a story directly without the stiff acting and direction present in the prequels. The dialogue in the shorts takes its cues from Star Wars mythos ("I got a bad feeling about this...", etc.), but is generally, short and to the point and not full of abysmal attempts at expression (no comparisons of skin and sand here).

So, it's a little jarring because of the heavy style of Tartakovsky, but generally well put together for the medium. Enjoyable--just don't try to watch it all at once like me. 7/10.