Star Wars Clone Wars Animated Series
Often when a blockbuster action movie hits big with a younger audience, animators are commissioned to ride the wave in order to push the brand. Men In Black, The Mummy, Ghostbusters, even Jumanji have made the transition from the big screen to hand drawn small screen. None were particularly award winning, although I loved the Ghostbusters cartoon. When George Lucas commisioned the artist behind The Powerpuff Girls and Samurai Jack to take the helm on an animated series of the Star Wars universe however, something special was born.
The Emmy award winnning series of shorts aired on Cartoon Network consisted of 20, 3 minute length adventures that ultimately help to bridge the story of the Clone Wars, events that occur between Episodes 2 and 3 in the theatres. Creator Genndy Tartokovsky fuses his pseudo-anime style visual storytelling with the Star Wars universe to produce an exciting hour of entertainment, recently renewed for a second volume. The shorts feature familiar characters from the prequel films as well as introduce new characters central to story progression. The story primarily focuses on Anakin Skywalker, the future Darth Vader, and his experiences fighting alongside his teacher, Obi-Wan Kenobi. The various battles take place on a number of alien worlds, whose inhabitants will be familiar to hardcode fans. The cartoons are an excellent addition to the saga and can be enjoyed by children and parents alike.
The DVD contains all 20 episodes edited together in a solid hour of programming, but can be accessed individually by chapter through the menus. The series was created in a widescreen format and is beatiful in its digital form. Sound is presented is sadly only in Dolby 2.0 Surround, but can be expected from a series created for television. French and Spanish tracks are also provided. The menus come in two flavors, randomly chose when the disc is started up, Light and Dark side of the Force.
Though not jam packed with bonuses, another couple of hours can be had watching behind the scenes featrures and listening to commentary. “Bridging the Saga: From Clone Wars to Revenge of the Sith” is a 30 minute featurette that includes interviews with George Lucas, Genndy Tartokovsky, Paul Rudish and crew. You’ll get an idea for the intent of the series and some of the creative decisions that took place as well get a sneak peak of Volume Two of the animated series, currently playing on Cartoon Network. An additional behind the scenes featurette goes a bit further back to when production began on the series. Two commentaries are included, director Genndy Tartakovsky offers his thoughts on the scenes but his comments are sparse and a bit dull. The second “HyperSpace” Commentary is Tartakovsky again, but considerably more lively and reveals how much of a fanboy he really is. Skip the first, listen to the HyperSpace. It escapes me why the included both.
Two art galleries are included that display storyboards, concept sketches and production art. An Xbox playabale demo of Star Wars Republic Commando will keep gamers busy for about 20 minutes but the rabid fans will certainly enjoy the included Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith teaser trailer can be found on the disc as well.
Overall, the toons are incredibly entertaining, humorous and certainly action-packed for just about any viewer. Add to that a value, priced below $15, make it a no brainer for animation fans, Star Wars buffs and just about anyone.
