Star Wars: Clone Wars

This has got to be Genndy Tartakovsky's crowing achievement. Taking place between Star Wars II & III, and using state-of-the-art animation, Clone Wars is truly a masterpiece from the creator of `Samurai Jack' and `Dexter's Laboratory'.

The story picks up right where `Attack of the Clones' left off; the clone wars have begun, with Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi leading the clones into war. The show introduces many new characters including an amphibian-warrior named Kit Fisto, and Asajj Ventress, the first female Dark Jedi to date, and also brings back many familiar faces from the previous movies, such as Skywalker's secret wife Padmé Amidala and of course, everyone's favorite droids, C-3PO and R2-D2.

The battle scenes are really great for animation, living up to the famed animator who brought us `Samurai Jack'. It basically seems to be George Lucas's version of `The Animatrix', answering almost any question we could have about the series until the final chapter comes out. I also had to laugh when I first saw Skywalker on the show: just as whiny as Hayden Christensen, and just as flat-acted as in Episode II!

This is definitely a series worth checking out, though I have a sneaking suspicion that the whole series will be released on DVD before Episode III hits theaters. Enjoy, and may the Force be with you.

Star Wars: Clone Wars the animated series is an awesome series! The animation is unbelievably clear. The voices are excellent for the characters and the characters are as cool as they are in the films! I am so amazed by all of the authentic sound effects and action this series has! The music is awesome and fits the cartoon greatly. The stories in the cartoons are good. All of the characters have great personalities like their counterparts do in the motion pictures. Asajj Ventress is a beautiful character and Durge is neat! Its really cool to see characters from the SW Expanded Universe in animated form especially the characters that have limited screen time in the pictures. It so interesting and fun to watch. I received the Volume 1 DVD as gift and I am so thankful that I did! If you are able to watch this on television do so because this is one of the greatest animated shows of all time in My opinion so i f you want to see action including space battles and epic light saber fights that are arguably more epic than the ones seen in the films and love Star Wars then I strongly recommend that you head over to Amazon.com and purchase Star Wars: Clone Wars Volume 1 today!

This is a short and quick review, and my personal opinion. This show to me is without a doubt, the best thing ever, that has the Star Wars name on it. Period.

After watching this, I was all excited to see the final movie, Episode 3. And... Obiwan kills Grevious in like 5 seconds in a lame ass fight. I was traumatically disappointed. Whats the point of the cartoon series, where they hype up the villain to be a major threat, only to just kill him off like a total wuss?

Im not a big Star Wars fan, or even a fan at all. But this series was great. If you haven't seen it, then you owe it to yourself to check it out. Its very worth it, much more than any of the movies.

With strong animation by Tartakovsky, the Star Wars world has been able to open up even further while also implanting more doors that we (the lowly nerd) could easily escape to and spend hours upon hours exploring. I am talking about the sheer brilliance of Star Wars: Clone Wars released by the Cartoon Network. I walked away from the first two prequels wondering if we were ever going to see any decent action or adventure. While there was some in the films, it was nothing like what I experienced here in the animated versions. Finally, we have gripping Jedi battles, lightsaber moments that will have you grimacing from your couch, and our first glimpse into the dark cloud that will surely begin to cover the third and final episode of this gripping mythology. This was exactly what I needed to bring a stronger feeling as to what these Clone Wars were going to be like. Now, I know that I haven't seen Episode III yet, and I know that more of my questions will be answered, but this was the PERFECT segway. These animated cartoons are for the most avid fans, as well as those just looking to catch up before entering into the doorway of nerdom that opening weekend. It is powerful and visually beautiful, just how Mr. Lucas would have wanted it.

I will be honest, I am one of those poor saps that had never seen a full episode of Dexter's Laboratory or Samurai Jack due to having no cable at the house, but after a viewing of what Tartakovsky has done with this simple task, I cannot wait to get my hands on more of his work. To say that his work was visually beautiful would be a dark understatement. His work on this project fully embodied the feel and emotion of the Jedi's during these battles. A "war" does take place between more than one person, and I gobbled up the idea of watching the smaller battles being won by the smaller heroes (if there is such a thing). The Windu battle is one of my favorite, as the battle between the female Sith and Anakin will flashback you to early Star Wars moments. Lucas did right by placing his stamp of approval on this project, which shows that this war is more than just his imagination, but that of thousands.

While I will agree with most critics that there was very little character development, I do not see this as a negative towards the film. In the first two episodes, we have enough to familiarize ourselves with the characters as well as understand their purpose in life. We do not need that here, this animated film is designed to give us a great range of the war, the impact that it has on more than just our "popular Jedi". This opened up that proverbial "door" that I mentioned before that literally opens several hundred different stories and adventures. It pulled this war from the mere shadows of the bigger films and gave us these haunting images that may seem rather poignant in today's culture. It is sad, exciting, and intense all at the same time.

Finally, I would like to say that I cannot wait to see where these artists take this series. I know that there is already a "Volume II" preparing to be released, and I will be very excited to get my hands on that to see where our next battle will take place, or whose lives in the Star Wars universe it will effect. It is like a Pandora's box that is going to release some darkness on the world, and it is up to us to open it. I cannot wait, and again, suggest it to anyone that has kept this galactic story close to his or her heart.

Overall, if you couldn't tell already, I loved this "short" film. While I remember watching them on my computer when they were first released, I felt that the three minutes they were handed were not enough, I wanted more and I didn't want to wait. Thankfully, this is released in a full 65 minute run which will give you the full effect of the power behind this universe. I am a Star Wars fan, and I am not afraid to admit it. I thought that this disc did a great job of blending the episodes together and giving this ultimate war, the Clone Wars, some depth and humanity (if you can call it that). I suggest it to anyone looking to get a leg up on the recently released episode, while constantly impressing your friends and loved ones at a party. Don't worry, I do it all the time!

Hurrah!

Grade: ***** out of *****

A lot of people are turned off by the art style and/or lack of in-depth storytelling in the Star Wars: Clone Wars micro-series. There's also the odd fact that each episode is merely 3 minutes in length. Before cursing this cartoon, however, there are a few things to take into consideration...

Most fans complained that Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones did not feature enough of the "Clone Wars" mentioned back in Episode IV of the original trilogy. The fans wanted more grand battle scenes. They wanted more lightsaber duels. They wanted to see more of the obscure Jedi. Star Wars: Clone Wars delivers all of these things in abundance.

The art style is well-known to fans of any of the Cartoon Network series, including Samurai Jack, etc. The image of extremely stylized characters may be jarring at first to Star Wars fans who are used to only seeing their favorite characters portrayed in live-action film. This style, however, allows for very fluid animation and beautifully rendered battle scenes (on a relatively small budget!).

Yes, this series is all about the action. It's not meant to be "Episode 2.5," but instead a small treat for the fans to enjoy while waiting until Star Wars Episode III is released in 2005. What's more, Star Wars: Clone Wars lets fans see some brand new characters that didn't make the cut into the feature films, as well as the first-ever appearance of the main villain for Episode III: General Grievous.

Anyone who complains about this cartoon is simply ungrateful and impossible to please. Myself not being a hardcore Star Wars fan, I found that Star Wars: Clone Wars actually got me more excited about the Star Wars series in general. I would recommend the micro-series to any fan of action and science fiction.