Product Description

The saga continues with the Emmy-winning "Star Wars: Clone Wars," available for the first time ever on DVD. This animated micro-series, directed by Genny Tartakovsky, captures George Lucas' vision in a dynamic animated style that is a visual delight for all ages. "Star Wars: Clone Wars" Volume One reveals the epic adventures that bridge the story arc between Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. Follow the valiant Jedi Knights and the brave soldiers of the Republic's clone army as they battle against the droid forces of the Separatists, led by the evil Sith Lord, Count Dooku. Witness the battles that made galactic heroes out of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and along the way get a first look at the new menace from Episode III, General Grievous. This is a must-have for any Star Wars DVD collection.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9106 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-03-22
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Extra tracks, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 69 minutes

Amazon.com
Make no mistake, Clone Wars is honest-to-goodness authentic Star Wars. The animated series takes place between Episode II, Attack of the Clones and Episode III, Revenge of the Sith. If the feature films covers the beginning and end of the war, 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). We see such familiar faces as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Mace Windu in combat, and we meet the elite ARC (Advanced Recon Commandos) 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.

Clone Wars was created by Genndy Tartakovsky, whose resume includes such stylish series as Samurai Jack, Dexter's Laboratory, and The Powerpuff Girls, and the program won a 2004 Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or More). These 20 episodes, which played on the Cartoon Network (and were originally designated seasons 1 and 2), can be viewed as a seamless 69-minute whole or as individual chapters. DVD features include two commentary tracks, a making-of featurette, video game and Episode III trailers, and an Xbox playable demo of the stealth game Republic Commando. If you're a fan who can't wait for Episode III, Clone Wars is essential viewing. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Better than the prequels?
Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky of Dexter's Laboratory, Powerpuff Girls, and Samurai Jack fame, this series of 20, 3 minute shorts was created to bridge the gap in story between Episodes 2 and 3 of the Star Wars prequels. This is vol. 1 of a 2 vol. series; the second will be in a slightly different format (15 minute episodes) and will animate the opening scrawling text of Episode 3. These shorts, though brief, are a lot closer to what the fans have expected out of the prequel films but haven't gotten. There is a lot of action and the characters, for the most part, are much better realized than in the films. In fact, there is more character development in just the one 4 second scene between Anakin and Amadala in this series then there is in the entire second Star Wars prequel. Lucas gave Tartakovsky reign to tell original stories for this series and he has chosen to focus on the various Jedi and their skills, something the films generally lack. Once again, we learn more about Mace Windu and the entire order of the Jedi through these 3-minute shorts than we do in the hours of Prequel footage released so far. What's really nice about this DVD is that the shorts have been edited into one 69-minute feature that helps keep the story much tighter than when they aired on the cartoon network, broken up into 3-minute chunks. The extras are nice as well, though just as short as the original cartoons were. All in all, between this volume and the next currently in production, I think these cartoons will eventually find their way to becoming part of the Star Wars film series and not just a diversion from it.

A New Hope
I'm a big nerd.

I don't want to be excited about Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, I really don't. Lucas' last two movies have dulled what was a bright spot of my childhood.

So why am I watching the old movies (yes, even Episodes I & II), reading Labyrinth of Evil and playing Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy?

Somehow excitement about Star Wars stuff is just hard-wired into me, no matter how much Jar Jar you throw in.

Thankfully, Genndy Tartakovsky and crew have given me a new hope (pun intended) with the beautifully conceived Clone Wars, Vol. 1.

Airing originally on Cartoon Network and bridging Episodes II & III, Tartakovsky's animated shorts have the goods. Twenty episodes follow Anakin, Obi-Wan and a host of other Jedi as they wage the long awaited Clone Wars.

There's plenty to keep Star Wars aficionados happy. Memorable quotes include a few "I've got a bad feeling about this" and a nice homage to Vader with Anakin commenting "I have you now" with an enemy in his ship's sites. I'd have loved to have seen a nice stormtrooper head bumping, but what are you gonna do.

The episodes that impressed me most included the Kit Fisto underwater battle (this makes Aquaman look like a punk), the Mace Windu sequence (although I could have done without the doe-eyed anime child onlooker), and the hissing lightsaber duel in the rain between Anakin and Asajj Ventress.

George, buddy, take a cue from Clone Wars! Less political wrangling about separatists and more cool stuff like this that made Star Wars great in the first place.

(BTW, check out the latest episodes on Cartoon Network and at StarWars.com. You get to see C3PO showing off his new bod!)

A fun treatment
This series is strictly a filler, being more about action and less on plot... and that is totally fine considering the format it was presented (3 minutes at a time, which I found annoying actually). But it was just incredibly fun to watch. I can tell that Tartakovsky is a fan and I doubt that anyone else could have done a better job. His imagining of Jedi power is precisely what I had imagined and, more importantly, what I think it should have been portrayed as in the movies.

For an action cartoon, he did it absolutely right. Very little dialog, no mindless banter and interjections that you'd see on other action cartoons. I especially love the long sequences of fighting choreography. Nice framing for the action and very stylized, while not being flashy. The cartooning was quality and the characitures were fun, particularly the facial expressions on Yoda.

While I think that a comparison to the movies, as so many other reviewers have done, is inappropriate I do believe that this is an incredibly worthy production that deserves to be fully blessed as part of the Star Wars canon.