Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a 2008 American film computer-animated epic space opera action film directed by George Lucas and co-directed by Dave Filoni, produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the first fully animated film in the Star Wars franchise and takes place shortly after Episode II – Attack of the Clones, at the start of the titular Clone Wars. In the film, Count Dooku and Jabba the Hutt's uncle Ziro orchestrate a plan to turn Jabba against the Galactic Republic by framing the Jedi for the kidnapping of his son. While Anakin Skywalker and his newly assigned apprentice Ahsoka Tano attempt to deliver the child back to his father, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padmé Amidala lead separate investigations to uncover Dooku and Ziro's plot.
The Clone Wars premiered on August 10, 2008, at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, followed by a wide release five days later. It received largely negative reviews mainly due to its storytelling and animation style, and grossed $68.3 million worldwide, making it the lowest-grossing Star Wars film to date. The film serves as a pilot episode to the television series of the same name, which premiered on Fox Broadcasting Company and Cartoon Network two months after the film's release.
Plot[]
During the first year of the Clone Wars, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, lead a small battalion of Republic Clone troopers led by Captain Rex against Count Dooku's Separatist droid army on the planet Christophsis. Awaiting reinforcements, the two Jedi greet a shuttle carrying a young Jedi Padawan named Ahsoka Tano, who insists that she has been assigned by Grandmaster Yoda to serve as Anakin's apprentice. Initially reluctant, Ahsoka earns Anakin's respect after the two succeed in deactivating the Separatists' energy field while Obi-Wan stalls the droid army commander, allowing a Republic victory.
Following the battle, Yoda arrives and informs the Jedi that gangster Jabba the Hutt's son Rotta has been kidnapped. The kidnapping has been planned by Dooku's Sith master Darth Sidious, who hopes to blame the Jedi for Rotta's kidnapping in order to get Jabba to ally with the Separatists and fuel anti-Jedi sentiment from the Hutts. Anakin and Ahsoka are tasked with retrieving the Huttlet, while Obi-Wan is sent to Tatooine to negotiate with Jabba over a potential treaty between the Hutts and the Republic. Anakin and Ahsoka track the kidnapper and Rotta to the planet Teth, where they are ambushed by Separatist forces led by Count Dooku's assassin and former Jedi Asajj Ventress. The Jedi manage to escape along with R2-D2 and hijack a derelict transport, which they use to travel to Tatooine. Obi-Wan, alerted by Anakin, arrives on Teth and engages Ventress in a lightsaber duel. Though Obi-Wan manages to defeat her, Ventress escapes, knowing she has failed.
Meanwhile, on Coruscant, Anakin's wife Senator Padmé Amidala learns of her husband's mission. Fearing for his safety, she confronts Jabba's uncle Ziro, who refuses to cooperate, apparently believing that it is the Jedi who are responsible for the situation. However, she soon discovers that Ziro has actually conspired with Dooku to have Rotta killed, so that Jabba would execute Anakin and Ahsoka, leading to his arrest by the Jedi Council, allowing Ziro to seize power over the Hutt Clan. Padmé is captured and imprisoned, but a chance call by C-3PO enables her to summon a squadron of clone troopers, and Ziro is arrested, despite revealing Dooku threatened to execute him if he did not cooperate with the conspiracy.
Arriving on Tatooine, Anakin devises a ruse to confront Dooku carrying a fake Rotta, while Ahsoka takes the real Rotta to Jabba's palace. While Anakin fights off Dooku, Ahsoka is ambushed by the MagnaGuards, whom she defeats with ease. The two deliver Rotta safely to Jabba, who nonetheless orders the Jedi to be executed for their supposed kidnapping attempt. However, Padmé contacts Jabba in time and reveals Ziro and the Separatists' responsibility for the kidnapping. Acknowledging the Jedi's heroism and allowing the Republic to have Ziro punished for his crimes, Jabba, in gratitude, agrees to the treaty before Anakin and Ahsoka are picked up by Obi-Wan and Yoda. Meanwhile, Dooku reports the plot's failure to Sidious, who assures him that the tide of the war is still in their favor.
Voice Cast[]
- Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker, a former Jedi Padawan who has recently been promoted to the rank of Jedi Knight, and a general in the Republic's army, who leads the 501st Legion.
- Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano, Anakin's new Padawan apprentice and commander of the 501st Legion.
- James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Jedi Master, Anakin's mentor, and general of the Republic, who leads the 212th Attack Battalion.
- Taylor also voices 4A-7, a droid spy.
- Catherine Taber as Padmé Amidala, the princess and senator of Naboo and Anakin's wife.
- Tom Kane as Yoda, the Jedi Grandmaster and leader of the Jedi Council.
- Kane also voices the Narrator, who explains the film's events and plot, and Admiral Yularen, an admiral of the Republic Navy assigned to Anakin.
- Dee Bradley Baker as the clone troopers, Captain Rex and Commander Cody.
- Christopher Lee as Count Dooku / Darth Tyranus a Sith Lord and the leader of the Separatist Alliance. Lee reprises his role from the prequel trilogy.
- Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu, a Jedi Master, senior member of the Jedi Council and general of the Republic.
Production[]
Development[]
Animation[]
Lucasfilm and Lucasfilm Animation used Autodesk software to animate both the film and the series using the Maya 3-D modeling program to create highly detailed worlds, characters and creatures.[14] The film's animation style was designed to pay homage to the stylized looks of both Japanese anime and manga, and the supermarionation of the British 1960s series Thunderbirds. At a Cartoon Network-hosted discussion, Lucas said he did not want the Clone Wars film or television series to look like such movies as Beowulf, because he wanted a stylized look rather than a realistic one. He also felt it should not look like the popular Pixar movies such as The Incredibles and Cars, because he wanted the film and characters to have its own unique style.[15] Lucas also decided to create the animated film and series from a live-action perspective, which Winder said set it apart from other CGI films. Essentially, it "meant using long camera shots, aggressive lighting techniques, and relying on editing instead of storyboards."[11] Animators also reviewed designs from the original 2003 Clone Wars series when creating the animation style for the film and the new series.[16] In charge was Steward Lee, working as the storyboard artist during filming.[7]
Music[]
- Main article: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (soundtrack)
Release[]
Theatrical[]
The Clone Wars premiered on August 10, 2008, at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, followed by a wide release five days later. It received largely negative reviews for its story, animation and repetitive action sequences and grossed $68.3 million worldwide, making it the lowest-grossing Star Wars film to date, but still a financial success due to its small budget.
Home media[]
- Main article: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (video)
The film's two-disc DVD and Blu-ray Disc was released on November 11, 2008, in the United States and on December 8, 2008, in the United Kingdom.[31][32] The film was released as a single-disc DVD, two-disc Special Edition DVD, and Blu-ray Disc, all of which are here, The DVD release consists of widescreen and is THX certified.This two-disc set contains one disc with the film and the other one with bonus features. The first disc features three randomized selected menus, which are Coruscant, Christophsis and Tatooine. There is an Easter egg in the options menu. When the THX Optimizer is highlighted. The standard-definition versions include the film in widescreen format with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX sound, and with feature-length audio commentary.
The film is also available on the Disney+ streaming service, which launched on November 12, 2019.
Box office[]
The Clone Wars earned $68,282,845 worldwide, including $35,161,554 in North American domestic box office grosses and $33,121,290 in international grosses. The film earned $14,611,273 on 3,452 screens in its opening weekend, including $6,228,973 on its opening day, August 15. It was the third-highest earning film of the weekend in spite of negative critical reception, behind Tropic Thunder and The Dark Knight, which earned $25.8 million and $16.3 million, respectively. Dan Fellman, head of distributor for 20th Century Fox., said that the box office performance met expectations because two-thirds of the audience were families and the budget for the film was $8.5 million, frugal considering it was a CGI film and because the film was meant to introduce the animated series. Fellman said, "It was targeted to a specific audience for specific reasons. We accomplished that mission, and it will continue in another medium." When The Clone Wars dropped to $5.6 million in its second week of release, ContactMusic.com described it as "the first bona fide Star Wars flop." The film also earned $23,428,376 from DVD sales in the US.
Accolades[]
The film was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award in the category "Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel", but lost to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.[1]
References[]
- ↑ Wilson, John (2009). "29th Annual Golden Raspberry (Razzie) Award "Winners"". Home of the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation. Golden Raspberry Award Foundation.
Gallery[]
External links[]
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars at StarWars.com
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars at Lucasfilm.com
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (film) on Wookieepedia: a Star Wars wiki
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (film) on Star Wars Canon Wiki: a Star Wars Canon wiki
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (film) on IMDb
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