Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) Review

 Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003-2005) 8/10

Hello and welcome to another Star Wars review. Why is it that every time I get sick, I always get nostalgic of the things I watched and played from when I was a child? I know the real reason, but every single time I get sick, I get the hankering to watch anything old Cartoon Network. As I’ve been revisiting one of my favorite franchises, I decided to take a slight detour from the movies and check in on a series that I have fond memories of. Back before the 3D animated Clone Wars series was a thing, we had this. Clone Wars is a micro-series that aired on Cartoon Network and the official Star Wars website from November 7, 2003 - March 26, 2005, with the series being directed and produced by Genndy Tartakovsky, who made Dexter’s Laboratory and Samurai Jack. The series clocks in at 25 episodes long, 3 “seasons” total. For the first two seasons, each episode is roughly 3-5 minutes long, while with season 3, each episode is 12 minutes long. It’s best to watch this whole thing in one run, treating it like a movie. Because of the nature of this being a micro-series, I have to give the show some leeway. With that said, revisiting this was a blast from the past and I enjoyed every minute of it. Let’s begin.

Taking place in between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Clone Wars will follow our main heroes Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, as well as other prolific Jedi. The series will focus on a handful of battles and events of the time period, such as the Battle of Muunilinst, Battle of Dantooine, Destruction of the Jedi Temple on Ilum, Anakin vs Asajj Ventress on Yavin IV, Battle of Mon Cala, Rescue Mission of Hypori, Anakin’s final Jedi trial on Nelvaan, and of course the Battle of Coruscant and the kidnapping of Chancellor Palpatine. The series will end with Anakin and Obi-Wan entering Coruscant’s orbit, leading into the beginning of Episode III.

What makes this series so special is how Tartakovsky handles the entire Clone Wars in such a short period of time. There is a lot going on in this time period (not even accounting for what happens in the 3D Clone Wars series) and to be able to focus on so much of it without the impact of the war faltering makes this all the better. Tartakovsky handles this series like how he handled Samurai Jack: less talking and more showing. There were ample opportunities to do lots of info dumping and exposition, but he uses this time to instead show us this war on many fronts. Show us the destruction of the battles, the wins and losses of both sides, and the struggles that both the Jedi and the Clones have to deal with. The show will also showcase Anakin’s temperamental disobedience towards Obi-Wan and ease him towards the Dark Side. The fact this show was able to do so much in so little time truly shows Tartakovsky’s masterful brilliance, and that alone deserves its own award.

However, because of the nature of this being a micro-series, the show has its issues. I’m not expecting 8 seasons to fully flesh out this war, but I couldn’t help but feel that certain things could’ve been handled better. The Battle of Mon Cala is an excellent example of this. You have one of the most unique battles of the entire Clone Wars and all we get is a quick 3 minute segment of Kit Fisto fighting underwater. In itself, this is dope as fuck (and the main reason why I like Kit Fisto so much), but I was hoping we got to see more. Although I would love to see more of these “minor” battles, ultimately, this show only goes over the major events of the war, and how everything leads up to the beginning of Episode III.

Speaking of, this show sets up so many plot points for Episode III and I love how this story progresses (and how it progresses our cast of characters). Anakin’s development is just awesome. He’s still temperamental by the end of the show, but you can tell he learned a lot from both his fight with Ventress and his final trial on Nelvaan. We get to see the Clone armor go from Mark I to Mark II (honestly one of my all time favorite armor designs ever), and we even get to see Commander Cody, Shaak Ti, Aayla Sekura, and General Grievous for the first time. Anakin and Obi-Wan are excellent characters, but I also need to bring attention to some other people. Shaak Ti, Captain Fordo, and Grievous are the fucking GOATs of this series. Shaak Ti seriously handled herself well against Grievous on two different occasions and a large group of his bodyguards. Captain Fordo is a beast simply because he held the line on Coruscant for as long as he could all by himself. He took a gun in each hand and went ham on those clankers lmao. And Grievous was a fucking menace here; I fucking love it. That scene where he takes on SIX Jedi at once will forever be one of the best moments in all of Star Wars. The show also perfectly explains some details that seemed to be missing from Episode III (or not necessarily missing, but also some details that were changed from Attack of the Clones). I’m talking about when exactly Anakin and Padme conceived Luke and Leia, how Anakin got both the scar over his eye as well as his new robotic arm. When C-3PO got his gold plating and how R2 got into Anakin’s hands. We also get to see Grievous’s costume change (specifically his new cape) as well as Anakin being knighted. It just amazes me how Tartokovsky was able to squeeze in so much plot details in such a short amount of time; it’s truly astounding. And the best part, the show has excellent pacing and even had enough time to show off three lesser conflicts (Battle of Mon Cala, destruction of the Jedi Temple on Ilum, and the Battle of Dantooine).

There were a few key parts (or entire episodes) that I want to point out. Anakin’s incredible piloting skills above Muulinist (which leads into his fight with Asajj Ventress on Yavin IV), Obi-Wan vs Durge (both encounters), Dooku training Grievous, Fordo and the rest of the Clones on Coruscant, Grievous chasing Palpatine, Anakin’s vision in the cave (teasing him becoming Darth Vader), the giant stamper on Dantooine, and Grievous vs 6 Jedi (and the Clones popping up and rescuing the remaining Jedi).

As for production, the show SCREAMS Tartokovsky. It’s literally Samurai Jack but with bold outlines with Star Wars paint, and I am here for it. I am such a sucker for the shows and styles that I grew up with and Clone Wars does not disappoint. I love the art style (yes even with all of the weird faces lol) and the designs for everyone. Animation is really good too, with the perfect blend of 2D and 3D (and the 3D animation does not look out of place). Some of the music from the movies came back and we got some original tracks too. All music is solid too.

Voice acting is surprisingly decent. It took me some time to get used to both Anakin and Obi-Wan. Best performances go to James Arnold Taylor (Obi-Wan), Mat Lucas (Anakin), Grey DeLisle (Padme, Ventress, Shaak Ti), John DiMaggio (General Grievous), Tom Kane (Yoda), Corey Burton (Count Dooku), Nick Jameson (Palpatine, Darth Sidious), Daran Norris (Durge, Ki Adi Mundi), TC Carson (Mace Windu), and so many other great performances.

Clone Wars (2003) is a testament to great storytelling in such a small amount of time. This serves as the perfect bridge between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, even with some of the ridiculous moments. There’s a reason why I’ve been so reluctant on checking out the 3D animated Clone Wars as this serves as the perfect bridge. Could some of the events of the Clone Wars be filled in? Yes, but as the main story for Anakin and Obi-Wan, this is great. I’m definitely going to be rewatching this again in the future as this is a prime example of Peak Cartoon Network back in the day. I will be going over Revenge of the Sith next, so stay tuned.

Thanks for reading.

This is Zorgak, signing off.