I purposely didn’t do much homework before I saw the Star Wars: Clone Wars movie for a few reasons: First, I am—to completely underestimate the truth of the matter—familiar with characters in the Prequel era and their back stories. I feared that I would stumble across spoilers if I read too much into it. Second, I did not want to see the movie carrying any expectations; after all, an animated version of Star Wars cannot even hold a candle to the epic live action saga. I cannot say that I was skeptical about an animated Star Wars—as many of you may be. I need no reasoning when it comes to my deeply rooted bias. My exclamation that, “It’s STAR WARS” is reasoning in itself.

Clone Wars gave an adequate follow-through to my reasoning. Remembering that the animated series takes place between Episodes II and III and that this movie pilots the series, Clone Wars falls in line with the storytelling that you expect from the predecessors in the live action films with a sort of Expanded Universe feel to it. To endure the Expanded Universe, you must keep an open mind to new characters and new possibilities.

As expected, the film opens up with a conflict in space. A starship carrying an unknown source of an unknown alliance arrives on Tatooine to stage a kidnapping on Rotta the Hutt. Jabba the Hutt turns to three different sources for help in retrieving his Huttspawn—the Bounty Hunter scum, the Republic, and the Alliance. The resolution of this fiasco will effectively push the Hutts to decide whom to ally themselves with. Determined to win the alliance of the Hutts, as the Hutts control key trade routes in the Outer Rim, Chancellor Palpatine decides to use strained Jedi resources to attempt a rescue.

The film then reveals the current events of the war. The Republic forces [the 501^st Legion, in development for Vader’s Fist], led by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, are in the midst of a fierce battle on the Core planet Christophsis. Though the Republic forces are holding their own, the Separatists are slowly advancing and the Republic is running low on manpower and supplies. Generals Kenobi and Skywalker have been calling for reinforcements, but the communication systems seem damaged and inoperable. The Jedi try to communicate for help and establish a brief connection with Master Yoda. Yoda tells them that he is sending a messenger to inform them of their new priorities and approves of Anakin and Obi-Wan’s request for reinforcements. Yoda, himself, will escort the reinforcements.

A Republic transport arrives, carrying Yoda’s Messenger, youngling Ahsoka Tano, sent to serve as Anakin’s Padawan. She informs him that she will accompany Anakin through his service on Christophsis and on the rescue mission to acquire Rotta the Hutt.

At first, I was skeptical at the idea of Anakin having a padawan learner. How can Anakin Skywalker, a JEDI KNIGHT, take on the role of a mentor, when he, himself is under the tutelage of Master Obi-Wan Kenobi? And after the crisis on Christophsis and the Hutt fiasco and before the events of Episode III, how can Anakin—and the Jedi Order, for that matter—deal with having Master responsibilities, but still being just a Jedi Knight? Then, Yoda revealed his plan behind the assignment—in giving Anakin a padawan and taking her away, he hopes to teach Anakin how to let go and move on—an essential Jedi characteristic. The Jedi Council understands this as part of the learning curve for Anakin Skywalker, makes and exception for, and sanctions the act. Having tasted Master responsibilities and being denied Mastership, the Jedi only contribute to Anakin’s later resentment and distrust of the Council, as expressed in Episode III.

Ahsoka Tano is a young Jedi of the Togruta species, deliberately put into the series to show how the Star Wars production has grown in their methods to generate an audience in the upcoming generation. She has a child-like mindset—quick to anger and quick to jump at a decision and serves to both teach and learn form young Skywalker.

Anakin has no choice but to accept the Padawan and finds the assignment entirely vexing. Impatient with his padawan, he harshly criticizes her as “impulsive” and uses her lack of experience to discredit any ideas she has, effective or not, for their next course of action.

After a victory on Christophsis, Anakin and Ahsoka head to the planet of Teth to retrieve the Hutt and the audience discovers that they are caught in another one of Darth Sidious’s schemes. A startling transmission between Darth Sidious, Count Dooku, and Asajj Ventress reveal the true captors of the Hutt and the hidden agenda behind the kidnapping.

It began to bother me that the Clones referred to Anakin and Mace Windu referred to as Generals. Obi-Wan was, in fact, a General in the Army of The Republic and was officially sent to command several Clone Armies, as confirmed by Episodes III and IV. Anakin and Mace Windu have never made any significant contributions to the military that would ever warrant them as Generals. Despite its undeserved inconsistency, the military designation does create a chain of command for the clones to recognize and establishes both a sense of ownership and camaraderie between the Jedi and the Clones. This is an important setup to Chancellor Palpatine’s scheme, as it adds to the fact that the Jedi own and command the Clone Army, justifying the Order 66 and ensuring an alliance with the Clones until their accelerated expiration date. It also delivers a harsh betrayal to both the Clones and the Jedi with the Order. Anyone who has ever played Star Wars Battlefront II remembers the mourning and regret after the Order is executed.

Not hearing the 20^th Century Fox Theme Music  before seeing the Lucasfilm LTD logo and having no OPENING crawl felt like taking Linus’s blanket away and burning in front of his face. The movie itself unfolded a number of reasons as to why Fox wanted nothing to do with the film and why there were only a handful of people at the midnight showing. The new musical mis-score for the animated movie, sorrowfully compiled by Kevin Kiner, was ripe with ideas from Dollar Store Kids Sing-A-Long CDs. The cartoon animation simply does not compare with anything current. Without detailed analysis, the surface of the plot seemed inconsistent or underdeveloped. The dialogue is flat and childish, ["Sky Guy?" "Artoo-ie?" I realize the childish need to show affection, but seriously, there is this thing called creativity that goes into making a good nickname] save for the consistent gin dry humor of Obi-Wan Kenobi [although he does landmark the first swear word used in a Star Wars movie.] After this film—as any well-educated, hardcore Star Wars fan did after episodes I, II, and III—you are forced step back and overlook many annoyances and embrace the series as a whole because of its epic storytelling adventure.

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