NOTE: This an article about the 2003 series from the Star Wars Legends continuity, for the 2008 film see: Star Wars: The Clone Wars. In the Disney Wiki see the animated TV series of the same name like the film.
Star Wars: Clone Wars (also known as Vintage Star Wars: The Clone Wars 2D - microseries)[1] is an animated television micro-series that chronicles the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Produced by Cartoon Network Studios, the series originally aired from 2003 to 2005, and was intended to serve as a bridge between the films Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. The series consists of twenty-five chapters; Seasons 1 and 2[2] (Volume I) are made up of three-minute installments, while Season 3[2] (Volume II) is made up of twelve-to-fifteen minute installments. The success of Star Wars: Clone Wars led to production of the similarly titled Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
The series aired on Cartoon Network for three seasons totalling 25 episodes from November 7, 2003, to March 25, 2005, and was the first Star Wars television series since Ewoks (1985–1986). The first two seasons of Clone Wars, released on DVD as Volume One were produced in episodes ranging from two to three minutes, while the third season consists of five 12-minute episodes and was released on DVD as Volume Two. The two volumes were released on DVD by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.[3] Since its release, the series has received critical acclaim and won multiple awards, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program for both volumes. Its success led to it being spun off as the CGI series The Clone Wars in 2008. The show is available to be streamed on Disney+.
Plot[]
The series begins shortly after Attack of the Clones, as the failing Galactic Republic and the Jedi are under siege from the Separatist Confederacy of Independent Systems and the Sith. As the war rages on, more and more planets start to slip from Republic control.
Synopsis[]
The main storyline of Volume One features the Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi leading an assault on the planet Muunilinst. This is the home of the Intergalactic Banking Clan, benefactors of the Separatists wishing to break away from the Republic. The Banking Clan have hired a bounty hunter named Durge to command their droid armies on the battlefield. Obi-Wan's apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, is personally appointed to lead the space forces in the battle by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Meanwhile, Separatist leader Count Dooku takes the Force-sensitive Asajj Ventress as his Sith apprentice and sends her to kill Anakin. On Yavin 4, Anakin manages to defeat Ventress in a lightsaber duel by drawing on his anger.[3]
Surrounding this storyline are various battles focusing on other Jedi and their wartime exploits. Master Mace Windu faces a droid army unarmed on Dantooine, Master Yoda travels to the ice world Ilum to save Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee, the amphibious Kit Fisto leads an aquatic regiment of clone troopers on the waterworld Mon Cala, and a group of stranded Jedi encounter the dreaded Jedi hunter General Grievous on Hypori.[3]
Volume Two picks up right where Volume One ended, with Obi-Wan sending his team of ARC troopers to Hypori to rescue the Jedi from Grievous. The Republic is now desperate and, after much consideration, the Jedi Council decides to promote Anakin to the rank of Jedi Knight.[3] The series then jumps ahead to nearly the end of the war, when Anakin has become a much more powerful Jedi.
Anakin and Obi-Wan are assigned to search for Grievous on the planet Nelvaan, but instead end up liberating a group of Nelvaanians who had been enslaved and mutated by the Separatist Techno Union. While rescuing the Nelvaan warriors, Anakin sees a cryptic vision of his eventual transformation into Darth Vader.[3] Meanwhile, Grievous leads an assault on Coruscant and, despite the best efforts of Yoda, Mace Windu, Shaak Ti, and others, he kidnaps Palpatine. Anakin and Obi-Wan then set out to rescue the Chancellor over Coruscant mere minutes before, and leading directly into, the beginning of Revenge of the Sith.
Continuity[]
Several attempts were made to maintain continuity within the overall saga, most notably bridging Attack of the Clones to Revenge of the Sith. Anakin appears with his new lightsaber (as it appears in Episode III) after his previous one was destroyed in the previous film. In "Chapter 21", C-3PO makes his first appearance in gold plating and Anakin is knighted. He sends his Padawan braid to Padmé, who stores it with the necklace he gave her in The Phantom Menace. In "Chapter 22", Anakin appears with the facial scar he has in Revenge of the Sith, and it is implied that Anakin and Padmé may have conceived the Skywalker twins on Naboo.
The series is notable for introducing one of Revenge of the Sith‘s villains, General Grievous (in "Chapter 20"), although some of his personality traits had yet to be finalized. According to Genndy Tartakovsky, George Lucas initially pitched Grievous to him and his crew as "this ruthless, totally capable Jedi killer," but later developed him into "one of those old B-serial villains who does something bad ... twirls his mustache and then he runs off." The character was given a severe cough in Revenge of the Sith, intended to emphasize his organic nature and the flaws of his cyborg prosthetics. His depiction in Clone Wars lacked a cough until the concluding episode, in which Mace Windu Force-crushes the chestplate housing Grievous's internal organs. This was intended to create continuity with the film and was mentioned in its novelization. However, the CGI The Clone Wars series (2008–2014, 2020) depicts Grievous as already being in this weakened state.
Volume Two shares aspects of its storyline with the novel Labyrinth of Evil, which was created at the same time. Both the cartoon and book climax with the Jedi chasing Grievous on Coruscant to save Palpatine. The book features a different final duel between Windu and Grievous, but in both titles Shaak Ti acts as Palpatine's primary guardian. In the series, Anakin and Obi-Wan investigate a possible base for Grievous on Nelvaan before being called back to Coruscant. The novel depicts the Jedi duo pursuing Count Dooku on Tythe. While fleeing to Coruscant, Dooku stops at Nelvaan to leave a false trail. While the final season of The Clone Wars references Shaak Ti being sent to guard Palpatine, it depicts Anakin and Obi-Wan in yet a different location just prior to Revenge of the Sith.
Clone Wars served as a pilot for the CGI The Clone Wars. The character designer for the latter series attempted to translate aspects of the character designs from the 2D series to 3D. It was originally reported that the 2008 series would not supersede the continuity of the 2003 series, but following Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm, in 2014, it was announced that the CGI The Clone Wars would officially be considered canon, while the 2003 series and most other spin-off works would not.
Voice cast[]
- Mat Lucas as Anakin Skywalker
- Frankie Ryan Manriquez as young Anakin Skywalker
- James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Agen Kolar
- Tom Kane as Yoda
- Terrence "T.C." Carson as Mace Windu, Saesee Tiin, and General Oro Dassyne
- Anthony Daniels as C-3PO
- Corey Burton as Count Dooku and San Hill
- Grey DeLisle as Asajj Ventress, Padmé Amidala, Shaak Ti, and Stass Allie
- Nick Jameson as Palpatine / Darth Sidious
- André Sogliuzzo as Commander Cody, Captain Typho, Captain Fordo, and all clone troopers
- Richard McGonagle as General Grievous and Kit Fisto
- Fred Tatasciore as Qui-Gon Jinn and Oppo Rancisis
- Daran Norris as Ki-Adi-Mundi, Durge, Master Barrek, Even Piell, and Tarr Seirr
- John DiMaggio as General Grievous and Sha'a Gi
- Cree Summer as Luminara Unduli
- Tatyana Yassukovich as Barriss Offee
- Kevin Michael Richardson as K'Kruhk
Development[]
In the early 2000s, Hasbro asked Lucasfilm to develop something between prequel films, which they hoped would boost action figure sales and help promote the upcoming Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. Cartoon Network—who had previously worked with Hasbro on their Transformers series—suggested Genndy Tartakovsky, who was finishing work on the animated series Samurai Jack. Lucasfilm met with Tartakovsky, who agreed to the project if the shorts could be extended from the original proposed 1-minute runtime up to 3-to-5 minutes.
Tartakovsky pitched the show as having "a Band of Brothers-feel to it—where it's episodes of different battles and strategies during the Clone Wars." After Lucasfilm and Cartoon Network approved the idea, Tartakovsky produced twenty 3-minute episodes. The series was produced using mostly traditional animation techniques. For example, Tartakovsky animated C-3PO's eyes in a way that pays homage to the animation style of Nelvana, who produced the Droids and Ewoks series and The Star Wars Holiday Special's animated segment—all of which he had grown up with.
The series's success led to the greenlight of a third season consisting of five 12- to 15-minute episodes. Cartoon Network held a poll to determine which of three new Jedi should be introduced in the series. The three choices were Roron Corobb, Voolvif Monn, and Foul Moudama. Voolvif Monn won the vote and was introduced in "Chapter 20." The other two Jedi were later introduced anyway, both of whom played parts larger than Monn's.
Release[]
Star Wars: Clone Wars ran on Cartoon Network from November 7, 2003 to March 25, 2005. The episodes were released simultaneously on television and online for members of the Hyperspace fan club. They were available the next day on cartoonnetwork.com and on StarWars.com for non-Hyperspace members. In an act of cross-promotion, Cartoon Network ran a Star Wars contest involving the 2004 DVD release of the original trilogy.
20th Century Fox released the series on home video in two phases in 2005; The first DVD was released on March 22, 2005 (one day after the third and final season began airing) and contained Chapters 1 through 20. The second DVD was released on December 6, 2005 (the same day as the "family pack" DVD re-release of the original trilogy) and contained Chapters 21 through 25. Chapters 1 and 8 were also included on a "Bonus Lightsaber Action DVD" that was packaged with Hasbro's Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader toy lightsabers.
In March, 2021, it was announced on Disney's website D23.com that the entire series would be available on Disney+ starting April 2.
Merchandise[]
A PhotoComic adaptation of the entire series was released on May 21, 2008. Dark Horse released a comic book series based on the artwork and atmosphere of the show, in some cases with direct plot tie-ins. Hasbro released three waves of action figures—one for each season. The first two were initially available exclusively at Target, and then later at StarWarsShop.com, whereas the final wave was released at multiple retailers. In July 2021, following the Disney+ release of the show, StarWars.com announced that Hasbro would be producing Clone Wars figures for its Black Series and Vintage Collection lines.
Reception[]
Clone Wars was one of the first online series to win an Emmy Award, due to the fact that it was released on television and the internet simultaneously. Seasons one and two won an Emmy award for "Outstanding Animated Program" in 2004, and season three won in 2005 for the same category. Background key designer Justin Thompson also won in "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation" for his work on season three. The series was also a nominee and winner, respectively, of the 32nd and 33rd Annie Awards for "Best Animated Television Production."
Critical response[]
As of 2019, the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes lists four out of five critics as giving season 1 a positive review. In 2009, Clone Wars was ranked 21 on IGN's Top 100 Animated Series list.
Various articles have been written about the series since its 2021 release on Disney+. ComicBook.com writes that it "is worth a watch for any fan of magnificent animation". SyFy Wire's Phil Pirrello rated the series as the best Star Wars television production ever produced, writing that Genndy Tartakovsky "gave Star Wars its most dynamic visuals ever as he tackled all the Clone Wars action and conflict Lucas left out of his big-screen prequels." Pirrello continues: "[W]hat Clone Wars lacks in intricate storytelling it more than makes up for with stunning animation and stirring action scenes. The mini-episodes are bare bones by design, as Tartakovsky employs a pure visual storytelling execution ... The franchise has only taken such a bold stylistic risk this one time." Collider's Liam Gaughan calls the series "ahead of its time" and says it "better utilized the environments, planets, and tech designs [than] the prequels" as well as "side characters better suited for a brief adventure", concluding that it is "a striking piece of standalone animation that doesn't require comprehensive knowledge of the universe" and "a groundbreaking work of art". Elijah Beahm of The Escapist states that the series "took effectively everything people loved and hated about the prequel films – and made it work."
In a list of "Best Animated Star Wars Moments", /Film credits the series with marking "the arrival of a new era for animated storytelling that seriously expanded the canon of the galaxy far, far away", specifically praising the dialogue-free scenes of Mace Windu fighting battle droids without a lightsaber (calling it "a dream seeing the legend in action") and Anakin's premonitory hallucination of Vader's helmet on a cave wall (drawing a parallel to Luke's vision on Dagobah in The Empire Strikes Back).
Home media[]
Both volumes were released on DVD by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, making it one of the few Cartoon Network original shows not to have their home releases released through Warner Home Video. Both volumes were released on Disney+ on April 2, 2021.
Merchandising[]
A series of Hasbro action figures was released between 2003 and 2005, including four Walmart-exclusive "Commemorative DVD Collection" 3-packs (which did not include a DVD). Between 2004 and 2007, Dark Horse Comics published a ten-volume comic series titled Clone Wars – Adventures, which utilized the style of the 2D animated series and depicts original stories set during the era. In 2021, more toys were released to promote the series, as part of Star Wars: The Vintage Collection.
Legacy[]
Elements of the series, including the regenerative villain Durge, are mentioned in the 2005 novelization of Revenge of the Sith. According to the (now-defunct) Star Wars Databank, Durge has a vendetta against Mandalorians and extends this to the clones of Jango Fett. Durge was considered for inclusion in The Clone Wars, but was dropped in favor of the new bounty-hunter character Cad Bane. Durge also appears in a 2021 issue of the canon Marvel comic book series Doctor Aphra, as part of the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover event, set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The 2023 video game Jedi: Survivor features Rayvis, a member of Durge's species, the Gen'Dai.
Nelvaan has been mentioned in canon reference books. Versions of the medieval-style Jedi knighting ceremony have appeared in canon works such as Star Wars Rebels and Jedi: Fallen Order. A 2022 Comic Book Resources (CBR) article opines that certain elements of the series which do not conflict with more recent works "are good enough to deserve canon status", such as the duel between Anakin and Ventress, the introduction of Grievous, and the knighting ceremony. The 2022 Clone Wars novel Brotherhood establishes a new origin for Ventress, which CBR interprets as definitively demoting the series to non-canon status, calling the implication "a shame". The book's author, Mike Chen, explains that he viewed Ventress and Skywalker's duel from Clone Wars as "kind of canon", like animated Republic propaganda of Anakin's encounters with Dooku's agents (as referenced in the novel). A 2022 issue of Obi-Wan references Mace Windu's battle on Dantooine.
Gallery[]
Promotional images[]
Concept art[]
Screenshots[]
Trivia[]
- For its premiere on the Disney+ platform in Latin America on July 6, 2022, the series was renamed "Vintage Star Wars: The Clone Wars 2D - microseries."[1] For unknown reasons, the series premiered on the platform without dubbing, which would not be added until August 17 of the same year.
- Due to the health complications that Jesús Colín faced during the broadcast of this series, his character was assigned other actors to cover him, so that Chancellor Palpatine was played by Ismael Castro and Darth Sidious by Javier Rivero on some occasions.
- In the Star Wars: The Clone Wars series, the character maintained the modality of having different voices for each facet and Colín did not resume any due to his retirement from dubbing. Javier Rivero took charge of Chancellor Palpatine and Carlos Segundo of Darth Sidious.
- Due to his mature voice, Hector Emmanuel Gomez does not take on the role of young Anakin Skywalker, so he is played by an unidentified actor.
- Although the conflict called "Clone Wars" remains as "Clone Wars" in continuity with how it was adapted in Episode II, the title of the series is left as "Clone Wars." * This detail is corrected in the 3D animated series, where the title of the series and the war in question have the same name.
- Luminara Unduli's name is pronounced "Lumanara."
- Anthony Daniels is the only actor to reprise his role from the movies. Most of the other cast is culled from voice actors for the Star Wars video games from Lucasfilm Games.
- General Grievous' voice is significantly different in this, rather than his voice in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) because his actor in Episode III had not been chosen yet. The ending of the final episode allowed for this as Mace Windu crushed Grevious' lungs leading to a possibly changed voice.
- The series spawned a movie, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) and a sequel series of the same name. Instead of being a complete reboot the new series expanded upon the original series as it provides backstory for reoccurring characters, and added new elements to the Star Wars Universe. However, in 2014, Disney updated the Star Wars timeline making the new series official canon. Some have argued this series is considered canon as it takes place directly after Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) and ends at the beginning of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005).
- James Arnold Taylor and Terrence 'T.C.' Carson return to voice Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu (respectively) in the 2008 series.
- During the third season, most of the story takes place on the planet Nelvaan. This is a nod to Nelvana Studios, the company responsible for Star Wars: Droids (1985), Star Wars: Ewoks (1985), and the animated sequence from The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978). Also, the species of Nelvaan resemble the dog-like characters from Rock & Rule (1983), a movie made by the studio.
- In Chapter 24, Anakin sees a cryptic message detailing a Nelvaan warrior who lost his hand in battle, was given a new one and nearly wiped out his own village. This is foreshadowing of Anakin's turn to the darkside in Revenge of the Sith.
- Each chapter of the series was initially broadcast before the first show of Cartoon Network's primetime lineup. It would then be available for download the next day on Cartoon Network's Clone Wars site.
- The third season of the series details the last days leading up to end of the clone war.
- The art design of Threepio and Artoo is a nod to Star Wars: Droids (1985) and The Story of the Faithful Wookiee (1978).
- Chapter 20 introduced General Grievous, a character who features prominently in Revenge of the Sith.
- Became available on Disney+ in April 2021 as two episodes/volumes, with Volume 1 combining Chapters 1 to 15 and Volume 2 combining Chapters 16 to 25.
- The DVD release of the first two seasons is the final release to feature the Lucasfilm byline on the THX Cavalcade trailer, while the DVD release of the third season is the only Region 1 DVD release to feature a re-rendered version of the THX Tex 2: Moo Can trailer (with a TM symbol replacing the Lucasfilm, Ltd. byline, and the THX website URL at the end of the trailer, replaces "The Best Sound, The Best Picture. You're Watching A THX Certified Feature" that appears on all other home media releases with this trailer.) It is also the final DVD release from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment to feature the trailer.
See also[]
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 film)
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 «'Clone Wars' 2003: The best Star Wars series is finally on Disney+»
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 ""Clone Wars Season 2 on Hyperspace". StarWars.com. March 23, 2004. Archived from the the original on June 22, 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Star Wars on TV: The Original Clone Wars - Page 2". IGN. October 3, 2008. Archived from the original on May 19, 2024. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
External links[]
- Star Wars: Clone Wars on Wookiepedia, the Star Wars Wiki
- Star Wars: Clone Wars on Wikipedia, the free enciclopedia
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