The Clone Wars, the latest installment of the Star Wars saga from Lucasfilm, is an animated feature that pits Jedi knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker—along with their clone army—against the Separatist droid army led by the evil Count Dooku. Following a movie newsreel-like opening and a short sequence at Jedi headquarters on Coruscant, the action quickly starts on the planet Christophsis where the Jedi army is in deep trouble—outnumbered by the Separatist army and having difficulty dealing with their enemy’s sophisticated weapons and shields.

The action shifts so quickly to this planet, in fact, that it’s difficult to follow where they are and what they are trying to accomplish other than staying alive. But that’s really secondary here to the battle sequences and the daring exploits of the Jedi and the loyal soldiers serving under them. The animation in these scenes is top notch, with dazzling color and detail. Fortunately, the technical quality makes up for what is, plot-wise, a pretty routine story with dialogue that has been uttered in various forms hundreds of times by cowboys, cops, soldiers, spacemen, and super heroes through decades of films, movie serials, television shows, and cartoons.

Of course, that is nothing new for the Star Wars franchise. It has always borrowed heavily and recognizably from these genres, and that is partly why it works so well. People love a ripping action story altered slightly, but with the basic premise—good guys battle bad guys and, after several hardships, near escapes, and fights, they finally triumph—intact. From an action point of view, The Clone Wars delivers the goods reasonably well.

The opening battle also serves as a convenient way to introduce the character of Ahsoka Tano, a teenage Jedi knight who has been assigned by Yoda to Anakin Skywalker as a Padawan learner. Ahsoka is one of the fresher, more entertaining elements of the film. While there is nothing new about a spunky newcomer who tries to prove herself to her superiors, Ahsoka is witty and charming, and provides the younger people in the audience someone to identify with.
It should be noted that a television series based on this film is expected to debut this fall on cable television. So it makes sense that the film be targeted primarily toward the children in the audience. Also, since younger viewers haven’t been exposed to decades of films and television programs with the same plots and tired dialogue found in The Clone Wars, it probably feels pretty new to them and doesn’t get in the way of the action.

The target audience will, however, enjoy it more than their older brothers and sisters—and their parents. Some adults may enjoy the film from a nostalgic perspective as they reminisce on the days they sat in the theater watching Roy Rogers in one of his horse operas or watching Saturday morning cartoons while munching a milk-soaked, sugar laden bowl of cereal. I felt a touch of (perhaps derogatory) nostalgia myself when the jerky movements of the computer-generated characters reminded me of a couple early 1960s television programs I used to watch, Supercar and Fireball XL5. Puppets, using a technique called supermarionation portrayed the characters in those sci-fi series. These programs were recently spoofed in Team America: World Police, directed and written by Trey Parker, the creator of Southpark. 

Like other Star Wars films, The Clone Wars isn’t without its moments that make you wonder—what were they thinking? Some are pretty inconsequential, some are just annoying, and one had me scratching my head. One oddity that works to some degree is the Separatists’ droid army. This seemingly inexhaustible supply of moving and fighting metal is populated by the robot equivalents of the Three Stooges. While they provide the best comic relief in the film, you have to wonder how the Separatists can possibly win with these incompetents making up the bulk of their fighting force.

One character I found somewhat annoying was the leader of the Separatist army on Christophsis, General Loathsom. He is a thick-bodied monster with a distended boar-like face complete with fangs, and, oddly I thought, speaks in a strong Scottish accent. This worked somewhat during a clever scene in which Obi-Wan Kenobi, while trying to buy time for his troops, is negotiating surrender. Obi-Wan’s sophisticated British accent plays well against Loathsom’s rough brogue. I can’t think of any other reason to equipment Loathsom with that voice.

The most unusual character and the one that really had me scratching my head was Jabba the Hutt’s uncle, Ziro the Hutt. Ziro operates a nightclub and runs the Hutt’s criminal business interests on Coruscant. Ziro is a blue and yellow tattooed vamp with a feather boa-like head accessory and Truman Capote-esque mannerisms and voice inflections. He provides several laughs, but I thought this was mostly due to the over-the-top characterization—not so much what he said or did.

The Clone Wars may be fine for kids looking for some mindless cartoon entertainment, and their parents might even join them to harken back to their own cartoon watching past, but I doubt the retread plot and dialogue will win new devotees to the leagues of Star Wars enthusiasts.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars is rated PG for “sci-fi action violence, brief language and momentary smoking.” While there is a lot of shooting of blasters and swinging of light sabers the results are not graphic and the receivers of the mayhem are mainly droids and helmeted clone soldiers. Still, for younger children the fighting and noise might become overwhelming. Frankly, I can’t recall any off-color language unless it was spoken in the Hutt dialect, and the smoking I remember was confined to Ziro’s nightclub. I believe the PG rating is appropriate.

Courtesy of  local publicist, George attended a promotional screening of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.