Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a 2008 CGI animated science fiction film, Action Film that follows the continuing adventures within the Star Wars saga. It is set between Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones , and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith . The film premiered on August 10, 2008 at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre and was released in theaters on August 14, 2008 across Australia, and August 15 in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom by Warner Bros.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is the seventh Star Wars feature to be released in theaters in North America (the eighth in Europe, as Caravan of Courage received a cinematic release there in 1984) and is the first animated theatrical film for the franchise, and the first to be distributed by Warner Bros. instead of 20th Century Fox. It is the first theatrical Star Wars film to be directed by someone other than George Lucas since Return of the Jedi' s Richard Marquand. It is also the only theatrical Star Wars film not scored by John Williams; Kevin Kiner was hired to compose brand new music, which was combined with selected John Williams melodies from previous Star Wars movies.
The Clone Wars is intended to act as an introduction to the television series of the same name, which debuted on October 3, 2008. It is set in roughly the same time period as the earlier 2003 series.
Plot
The film begins with a narrator explaining the state of the Clone Wars instead of an opening crawl like its predecessors. The Separatists control the majority of the hyperlanes, leaving Republic forces stranded in different parts of the Outer Rim. Jabba the Hutt's son Rotta is kidnapped as part of a plan to make the Hutts join the Separatists.
Meanwhile, a fierce battle is taking place on the crystalline planet of Christophsis between the Republic's small clone army and the Retail Clan forces. With the help of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, the clones steadily advance on the Separatists' forces, gaining the Republic an early victory. It doesn't last long, though, as the droid army soon returns. With no communications or the ability to fly in reinforcements, the fate of the few remaining clone soldiers are in the hands of Obi-Wan and Anakin. A shuttle arrives, but without the needed reinforcements. Instead, it is a young Padawan named Ahsoka Tano, who insists that she has been sent by Master Yoda to serve under Anakin. The battle soon commences yet again, with the Separatist forces advancing behind an expanding shield that artillery can't penetrate. Anakin and Ahsoka succeed in penetrating the enemy lines while Obi-Wan stalls for time by holding a fake surrender negotiation with the droid army commander.
Soon after the final victory for the Republic on Christophsis, Yoda arrives and brings the Jedi up to date on the situation concerning Jabba's son. The Republic needs Jabba on their side to ensure unfettered travel through Jabba's trade routes. Anakin and Ahsoka are tasked with retrieving the child, while Obi-Wan flies to Tatooine to assure Jabba that Rotta will be retrieved.
On the planet of Teth, Anakin, Ahsoka and their clones assault a monastery that sits atop a high stone pillar. They find Rotta, but discover that he is ill, requiring them to get him help immediately. But they have been caught in a trap by Count Dooku, who hopes to frame the Jedi for Rotta's disappearance (and possible death), thereby ending any chance of the Republic striking a deal with Jabba. He has sent his assassin, Asajj Ventress, to secure fake evidence of the Jedi's supposed double dealing, then to recapture the young Hutt and return it to Jabba, putting the crime lord in the Separatists' debt.
Anakin and Ahsoka manage to escape the trap along with R2-D2 and hijack a derelict transport which they use to travel to Tatooine. Obi-Wan, alerted by Anakin, arrives just in time to relieve the clone forces and engages Ventress in a lightsaber duel where he manages to defeat her, though Ventress flees in the face of capture. On board the derelict ship, Ahsoka manages to cure Rotta by the use of medical supplies on board.
In the meantime, Senator Padmé Amidala learns of Anakin's mission and fears for his safety. She decides to contact Jabba's uncle, Ziro, who lives in a shady part of Coruscant. The Hutt refuses to cooperate, apparently believing that it is the Jedi who are responsible for the situation. Padmé, however, soon discovers that Ziro has actually conspired with Dooku to engineer the downfall of his nephew in order to seize power over the Hutt clans. Padmé is discovered and detained, but a chance call by C-3PO enables her to summon help, and Ziro is arrested.
Upon their arrival on Tatooine, Anakin and Ahsoka are attacked and shot down. Faced with a long trek across desert sands and relentless opponents, Anakin devises a ruse: he confronts Dooku while carrying a decoy Rotta, leaving Ahsoka and R2-D2 to take the real Rotta to Jabba's palace. While Anakin fights Dooku, Ahsoka is ambushed by three Magnaguards. As Anakin and Dooku fight, Dooku activates a mini holo-image projector, showing Ahsoka nearing defeat. Dooku then explains that the Magnaguards are to kill Rotta, and bring Ahsoka to Jabba for punishment for Rotta's murder. Believing that Ahsoka's life is in danger, Anakin abandons the fight to help her.
Anakin arrives at Jabba's palace, to find that Ahsoka did not yet arrive with Rotta. Frustrated, Anakin activates his lightsaber, holds it at Jabba's throat, and demands Jabba tell him what he has done with Ahsoka. Just as Anakin is about to be shot down by the guards, Ahsoka enters, with Rotta, having defeated the Magnaguards. After Rotta is handed over to Jabba, Jabba orders Anakin and Ahsoka to be executed. Just before they can be shot down, Padmé contacts Jabba with the news that Ziro has agreed to admit working together with Dooku in having Rotta kidnapped, and the Jedi framed for the crime. With the truth now revealed to him, Jabba agrees to allow the Republic to use his trade routes. With their mission accomplished, Anakin and Ahsoka are triumphantly retrieved by Obi-Wan and Yoda.
Cast
This film does not feature the original cast from the prequel trilogy. However, Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew Wood, and Anthony Daniels reprise their roles from the films.
Production
Star Wars: The Clone Wars was designed to serve as both a stand-alone story and a lead-in to the weekly animated TV series of the same name. George Lucas had the idea for a film after viewing some of the completed footage of the early episodes on the big screen. Those first few episodes, originally planned for release on television, were then weaved together to form the theatrical release. The story of the kidnapped Hutt was inspired by the Sonny Chiba samurai film titled "Shogun’s Shadow".
Warner Bros. had tracked the series' development from the beginning, and Lucas decided on a theatrical launch after viewing early footage, and deciding, "This is so beautiful, why don't we just go and use the crew and make a feature?" Lucas described the film was "almost an afterthought." Howard Roffman, president of Lucas Licensing, said of the decision, "Sometimes George works in strange ways." Producer Catherine Winder said the sudden decision added to an already large challenge of establishing a show "of this sophistication and complexity," but she felt it was a good way to start the series, and she felt budgetary constraints forced the production team to think outside the box in a positive way.
Lucasfilm Ltd. and Lucasfilm Animation used Autodesk software to animate both the film and the series, and the Maya 3D modeling program to create highly detailed worlds, characters and creatures. The film's animation style was designed to pay homage to the stylized looks of both Japanese anime and manga, and the supermarionation of the British 1960s series Thunderbirds . At a Cartoon Network-hosted discussion, Lucas said he did not want the Clones Wars film or television series to look like such movies as Beowulf because he wanted a stylized look rather than a realistic one, and he did not want it to look like the popular Pixar movies such as the The Incredibles because he wanted the film and characters to have its own unique style. Lucas also decided to create the animated film and series from a live-action perspective, which Winder said set it apart from other CGI films because it "meant using long camera shots, aggressive lighting techniques, and relying on editing instead of storyboards." Animators also reviewed designs from the original 2003 Clone Wars series when creating the animation style for the film and the new series.
The film's music was composed by Kevin Kiner. Steward Lee is a storyboard artist. Some actors from the live-action films, including Anthony Daniels, Matthew Wood, Christopher Lee and Samuel L. Jackson, returned to vocally reprise their roles of their respective characters.
Reception
Critical reaction
The film received negative reviews from critics. Entertainment Weekly listed Star Wars: The Clone Wars as one of the five worst films of 2008, with critic Owen Gleiberman saying:
It's hard to tell the droids from the Jedi drones in this robotic animated dud, in which the George Lucas Empire Strikes Back — at the audience. What wears you out is Lucas' immersion in a Star Wars cosmology that has grown so obsessive-compulsively cluttered yet trivial that it's no longer escapism; Because
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