Star Wars: The Clone Wars

First off, the movie begins...it just begins.  It begins right in the middle of some sort of conflict and the viewer has not a clue until well into the film.
 
No long introduction with credits crawling up the screen.  I'd chosen this movie because it's animated with a PG rating.  I figured my four year old granddaughter would love the movie.
 
It would turn out that Kaitlyn did enjoy the movie but I am quite sure she had not a single clue as to what was going on.  That abrupt start didn't help.
 
Indeed this movie "ASSumed" that the viewer knew its history.  The movie assumed the viewer knew that there is a galaxy far, far away where space battles were constantly ongoing, where heroes fought the dark side and where good always triumphed.
 
To get even more nuanced about it, the "hero" of this movie was one Anakin Skywalker and I knew, though Kaitlyn surely did not, that this was the Skywalker who eventually went over to the "dark side".
 
Knowing that the hero of a movie I was watching turned out to be a bad guy in a future sequel made me not quite enjoy the movie as I would have had I only known him as a continuing force of light and good as portrayed in The Clone Wars.
 
"Star Wars" was a cultural phenomenon when the stories of good versus evil in a mythical galaxy exploded on the movie screens across the fruited plains.  The entire story was told via a trilogy of movies and I must say I was never a great fan of this sort of cinematic fantasy.  But I was alive and anyone living that hasn't seen at least one of the Star Wars movies and more likely two or more, well they had to be dead.
 
Or not born, as is the case with Kaitlyn Mae.
 
Kaitlyn is good about sitting through movies but for this one she was a bit restless.  Some popcorn and Skittles calmed her down and for the most part she watched it mesmerized.
 
I wanted so bad to explain the history of the movie to Kaitlyn, how this Annikin Skywalker was Luke Skywalker's father in a future tale, how Jabba the Hutt returns again, how the "space night club" characters became such funny icons of the culture.  I felt an urge to warn Kaitlyn not to get too attached to this Skywalker character, that one day he would become the epitome of evil on the big screen.
 
Yet Annikin Skywalker was very likeable in this Clone Wars movie as he fought to rescue Jabba the Hutt's son while training a young cadet how to fight evil by his side.
 
The movie featured intriguing animation that was almost a cross between cartoon and real life.  The action was constant, loud and mesmerizing, much like the earlier Star Wars movies.  Good does triumph over evil as is always the case.
 
I think Kaitlyn enjoyed the movie but I know for sure that Kaitlyn did not understand a single thing about that movie, its history and cultural impact long before she was born.
 
More's the pity.

Basic Premise:

I can't really say much for the premise since the previews don't show much and I don't want to give away the plot. There are clones and there are droids and they are given an excuse to fight so we can see Anakin while he's not Vader.

Review:

Gee, did my basic premise sound lackluster? There's probably a reason. It'd be the same reason that kept me from writing a review on this movie even though I saw it over a week ago.

It was cute and had some funny parts and was well made and probably was a great addition to the Star Wars saga. That said, I wish I hadn't paid theater prices to see it. It should have been shown on Cartoon Network along with the last animated Star Wars movies that came out.

I hear tale this was supposed to be a lead-in to Cartoon Network doing a series. More power to them on that. I'd love to watch, but I'll be very hesitant to see any more animated Star Wars flicks in the theaters.

And one major gripe I had about the movie -- why were Samuel L. Jackson and Christopher Lee the only people they could get to do voice acting? You're telling me everyone else was busy? *shakes head* Just sad.

D. Renee Bagby<br />
Building New Realms of Passion<br />
http://dreneebagby.com