Star Wars Animated Slates International Debut

Star Wars: The Clone Wars will make its international premiere on Cartoon Networks across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America on February 13.

The series, set between Star Wars: Episode II and Star Wars: Episode III, features the untold stories within the epic battle. Star Wars: The Clone Wars launched in the U.S. on Cartoon Network on October 3. The new Lucasfilm Animation series clocked in as the most-watched series premiere in the network’s history.

“The Clone Wars is really a continuation of the feature films, and I wanted it to have the same look, feel and depth of the movies,” said George Lucas, who serves as executive producer. “I think we’ve succeeded in making it visually very different than anything else on TV. We’ve put a lot of emphasis on the story and character, because we wanted to make a series that everyone could enjoy. Young people can enjoy the characters, the action and the humor; older kids will like the depth of the story and the quality of the animation. For parents and adults, and for people who have been Star Wars fans for a long time, the series is exciting because it’s one-of-a-kind—a dramatic, action-oriented animated series, done in an interesting style.”

THE CLONE WARS: MIDSEASON RECAP

“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” is a unique and interesting beast, for many reasons.
For starters, it’s the biggest and most commercial attempt by creator George Lucas to bridge the gap between any two Star Wars films. Sure, there’ve been books and comics and video games written and designed to expand the scope of the series, but they’ve never been able to reach and reclaim that massive audience the films enjoy.
Not like “The Clone Wars.”

And, in some ways, that reach feels just a bit short.
The idea behind “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” was to lift the veil on the legendary war waged between the Galactic Republic and Confederacy of Separatists, chronicling the final days of the Jedi Order. But while each episode represents an unknown chapter in the Star Wars bible, most of the book has already been written and read.
The series focuses around characters like Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, General Grievous, Count Dooku, and other staples of the Prequel Trilogy. The problem is: these characters’ stories have already been told, thus, eliminating almost all tension, drama, or conflict. Almost every character meets their end or destiny in “Revenge of the Sith,” leaving many of the story arcs and battles feeling anticlimactic.
One would be hard pressed to find someone unaware of Anakin Skywalker’s fall from grace or the massacre of the Jedi or the totalitarian regime of the Galactic Empire. The only real question lingers around the fate of Anakin’s young apprentice, Asoka Tano, who never appears in the feature films.
Simply put, the show puts us on a path to a place we’ve already been.
But it’s a hell of a fun ride.
While the Prequel Trilogy only gave us a taste of what the Jedi can do, Master Yoda’s reputation as a great warrior, and the combat skills of the Clone Troopers, “The Clone Wars” makes it the main course. Each episode centers on a different threat, skirmish, or mission undertaken by the clone troops and their Jedi generals, from launching all out space battles against massive battleships to rescuing downed soldiers.
And though the series doesn’t change the course of the franchise, the action keeps you on the edge of your seat with its surprisingly brutal fight scenes and cinematic space battles in line with Lucas’ original vision.
Plus, having the room to take the camera off the main characters and put it on, say, a small group of rookie Clone Troopers trying to defend a strategic base against an invasion of droids not only shows that war wasn’t just a series of epic space battles and lightsaber duels, but gives the often faceless, nameless clones a touch of humanity, and enhances their roles in Star Wars universe.
In the end, “The Clone Wars” might not be redefining the Star Wars legacy, but does a good job of keeping the fun and adventure Star Wars brought to the silver screen going on the small screen.

Source: Sci-Fi