[7.6/10] It’s really interesting revisiting this after watching the successor Clone Wars series (the 3-D version) and three and a half seasons of Rebels. This Clone Wars series was officially wiped from canon after Disney’s takeover in 2014, and in a lot of ways it makes sense. Some of what’s depicted here directly contradicts details that get established in TCW and other later canon material.
But it’s interesting because it feels like it has a semi-canon status. Even if it’s not the official story anymore, we see how Ventress becomes Dooku’s apprentice. We see Barriss Offee getting her lightsaber and the planet where that happens. We see the first appearance of General Grievous (who seems far more badass and far less comical than he did once Ep. III hit.
And there’s even segments that feel like blueprints for settings and set pieces that The Clone Wars would try out later. The assault on Munilis feels like any number of city-wide sieges the Republic forces waged in the later series, and the Kalamari rescue feels of a piece with a similar adventure with that species in TCW. Even the clowning around with Padme and Threepio on Illum seems like the vein of comedy the successor series would employ.
Despite those canon connections, Star Wars: Clone Wars is officially in the “Legends” category now, and in some ways, that feels like the right designation for it. The Jedi were never necessarily realistic, but they seem particularly larger than life here, in a way that makes it feel like the scenes we’re witnessing are stories being retold in a cantina somewhere rather than the events as they truly happened. Obi Wan gets into a wild brawl with a taffy-based droid. Kit Fisto makes sure things go swimmingly with Kalamari in underwater splendor. Mace Windu single-handedly takes out a battle droid/superweapon convoy. It’s all beautifully stylized, but realism isn’t exactly the order of the day.
To that end, Genndy Tartakovsky’s hand is evident here. These sequences are gorgeously animated, with a sense of energy, motion, and flexibility that make the Jedi and their battles worthy of the mystical veneration they’ve received. The character designs are a bit ugly at times, but once he sets his characters in motion, the strikingness of the visuals takes over.
That’s a good thing, since this is pretty much all spectacle. There’s hints at a story here or there -- the assault on Munilis, tension between Anakin and Palpatine on one hand and Obi Wan and Yoda on the other, and other little character moments -- but for the most part this is all Tarakhovsky showing off with his magnificent set pieces.
Admittedly, with the minimal dialogue or story, my mind can occasionally wander despite the splendor, but when I focus and let the way Tartakovsky chooses to tell his stories visually, rather than with dialogue wash over me, the experience is a superb one. That’s particularly true for the conflict between Anakin and Ventress, where the amazing story being told of the back-and-forth of the fight, of Anakin feeling the rage and potential of the dark side, of lightsabers sizzling in rain and clone troopers being swung around like rag dolls and magnificent swing and sways between the extraordinary force-sensitive warriors, all done with hardly a word.
But It’s also not hard to believe that many of these sequence were previously just three-minute shorts that aired as bumpers or interstitials. (I actually remember watching the originals on Cartoon Network back in the day, not to date myself.) Stitched together the pacing feels a little off, as there’s so much action and so little cool down that it can be a little exhausting. Still, all of the action is well done, and just the way Tartakovsky and his collaborators manage to visualize the Jedis as these impossibly talented fighters, weaving through danger like it’s ballet, and slicing away the competition, is outstanding.
At the end of the day, I’m glad that Star Wars: The Clone Wars Vol. 1 isn’t canon. The powers are a little too much, it clashes with a bit too much of what comes later, and feels more like a riff on the prequel era than an extension or redemption of it. But I’m also glad that exists, as a sense of tall tales told about this period, with familiar figures, dazzling sequences, and amazing scenes that thrilled far more than the cinematic efforts this series bridged could muster.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2017-12-04T05:28:44Z
[7.6/10] It’s really interesting revisiting this after watching the successor Clone Wars series (the 3-D version) and three and a half seasons of Rebels. This Clone Wars series was officially wiped from canon after Disney’s takeover in 2014, and in a lot of ways it makes sense. Some of what’s depicted here directly contradicts details that get established in TCW and other later canon material.
But it’s interesting because it feels like it has a semi-canon status. Even if it’s not the official story anymore, we see how Ventress becomes Dooku’s apprentice. We see Barriss Offee getting her lightsaber and the planet where that happens. We see the first appearance of General Grievous (who seems far more badass and far less comical than he did once Ep. III hit.
And there’s even segments that feel like blueprints for settings and set pieces that The Clone Wars would try out later. The assault on Munilis feels like any number of city-wide sieges the Republic forces waged in the later series, and the Kalamari rescue feels of a piece with a similar adventure with that species in TCW. Even the clowning around with Padme and Threepio on Illum seems like the vein of comedy the successor series would employ.
Despite those canon connections, Star Wars: Clone Wars is officially in the “Legends” category now, and in some ways, that feels like the right designation for it. The Jedi were never necessarily realistic, but they seem particularly larger than life here, in a way that makes it feel like the scenes we’re witnessing are stories being retold in a cantina somewhere rather than the events as they truly happened. Obi Wan gets into a wild brawl with a taffy-based droid. Kit Fisto makes sure things go swimmingly with Kalamari in underwater splendor. Mace Windu single-handedly takes out a battle droid/superweapon convoy. It’s all beautifully stylized, but realism isn’t exactly the order of the day.
To that end, Genndy Tartakovsky’s hand is evident here. These sequences are gorgeously animated, with a sense of energy, motion, and flexibility that make the Jedi and their battles worthy of the mystical veneration they’ve received. The character designs are a bit ugly at times, but once he sets his characters in motion, the strikingness of the visuals takes over.
That’s a good thing, since this is pretty much all spectacle. There’s hints at a story here or there -- the assault on Munilis, tension between Anakin and Palpatine on one hand and Obi Wan and Yoda on the other, and other little character moments -- but for the most part this is all Tarakhovsky showing off with his magnificent set pieces.
Admittedly, with the minimal dialogue or story, my mind can occasionally wander despite the splendor, but when I focus and let the way Tartakovsky chooses to tell his stories visually, rather than with dialogue wash over me, the experience is a superb one. That’s particularly true for the conflict between Anakin and Ventress, where the amazing story being told of the back-and-forth of the fight, of Anakin feeling the rage and potential of the dark side, of lightsabers sizzling in rain and clone troopers being swung around like rag dolls and magnificent swing and sways between the extraordinary force-sensitive warriors, all done with hardly a word.
But It’s also not hard to believe that many of these sequence were previously just three-minute shorts that aired as bumpers or interstitials. (I actually remember watching the originals on Cartoon Network back in the day, not to date myself.) Stitched together the pacing feels a little off, as there’s so much action and so little cool down that it can be a little exhausting. Still, all of the action is well done, and just the way Tartakovsky and his collaborators manage to visualize the Jedis as these impossibly talented fighters, weaving through danger like it’s ballet, and slicing away the competition, is outstanding.
At the end of the day, I’m glad that Star Wars: The Clone Wars Vol. 1 isn’t canon. The powers are a little too much, it clashes with a bit too much of what comes later, and feels more like a riff on the prequel era than an extension or redemption of it. But I’m also glad that exists, as a sense of tall tales told about this period, with familiar figures, dazzling sequences, and amazing scenes that thrilled far more than the cinematic efforts this series bridged could muster.