Genndy Tartakovsky who is also the creator of Dexters laboratory the powerpuff girls and the brilliant Samurai Jack, brings us another masterpiece of stylish animation which won him the 2004 Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program.
The style of animation in the Clone Wars cartoons is very similar in style to the Samurai Jack cartoons so if you find that style annoying then you should give this a miss.
Some of the characters look like caricatures, particularly the depiction of Qui-Gon Jinn which is supposed to look like Liam Neeson but looks like the elephant man.
The cartoon takes off just after the end of Attack of the clones and finishes literally seconds before the opening scenes of Star Wars episode III - Revenge of the Sith. This DVD doesnt show the full series and only goes up to episode 20. The thing that surpirsed me and is I think a bit of a cock up on Lucas's part is that Volume 2 isnt out until August 2005. This
is long after Episode III has been on so he is missing out on sales for people wanting to get this to bridge the gap between the two films.
If you didnt get the chance to enjoy this on Cartoon Network then I would advise you to give it a watch before you see Episode III. There's a fair bit of back story relevent to Episode III which can only be found in the Clone Wars cartoon.
The original format on the Cartoon Network was a bit annoying as they only ran for 3 minutes each (excluding opening and ending credits. This did improve for the last series as they ran
This DVD is Volume 1 and contains the following.
•Chapters 1-20 of the animated series •Exclusive featurette: "Bridging the Saga: From Clone Wars to Revenge of the Sith," including new interviews with George Lucas, Genny Tartakovsky, and the Clone Wars production crew; also featuring a glimpse of Star Wars: Clone Wars Volume Two •Behind the scenes featurette •Director commentary •Hyperspace commentary •Two galleries of concept art, storyboards, sketches & more! •Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith teaser trailer •Episode III video game trailer •An Xbox playable game level of Star Wars Republic Commando
As the cartoons were only very short, this DVD only has a runtime of 69 minutes so its not outstanding value for money for just over an hour of animation. This is actually series 1 and series 2 of the cartoon. The third series which will be on volume 2 actually ran for almost 30 minutes each episode so I think is much better value for money. I think what would have been good would be to charge about £15 for a two disc set with all three series on it.
If the feature films covers the beginning and end of the war, then Clone Wars depicts the actual battles and events that made heroes into legends. Don't expect too much character development, as the episodes tend to be driven more by flat-out action than by dialogue (which can be a good thing, considering some Star Wars dialogue). The episode where Mace Windu just about wipes out a droid army single handed is amazing. We see such familiar faces as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Mace Windu in combat, and we meet the elite Arc clone troopers plus new Jedi--the amphibious Kit Fisto and two women, Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee. We also see a little more development of Anakin--showing off the best pilot skills in the army, defying Obi-Wan, and engaging in a deadly duel with Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress. But just when it's clear that the Separatist droid armies are no match for a Jedi, the tide begins to turn with the introduction of the menacing General Grievous, who plays a crucial part in Episode III. The cast mostly consists of veteran voice actors, but Anthony Daniels does appear as C-3PO.
The news that Lucas is intending to carry on with this cartoon after Episode III is fantastic news and there is also commitment to a 100 episode TV series of Star Wars. According to Rick McCallum and Lucas it will be set between Episode III and Episode IV A new hope.
Basically for all Star Wars fans this is essential viewing, it's just annoying that unless you have Cartoon Network on sattelite or Cable then you will not see the end of the series until it's release in August 2005.
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Great review, I'm going to have to buy this now. I wasn't originally attracted to it, but it actually sounds pretty good! By the way, if this series ends seconds before Episode III, when is the third series set?
dreamkin 26.04.2005 13:25
God yes, I remeber the Ewok cartoons! Still, this looks interesting -Natalie
Advantages: Excellent animation, official bridge between films, introduction of new characters Disadvantages: There are nore episodes - should have included them all on the DVD
Advantages: Excellent animation, official bridge between films, introduction of new characters Disadvantages: There are nore episodes - should have included them all on the DVD
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