Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a 2008 American animated space opera film directed by Dave Filoni and produced by Lucasfilm Animation. The voice cast includes Matt Lanter, Ashley Eckstein, James Arnold Taylor, Dee Bradley Baker, Tom Kane, Catherine Taber, Nika Futterman, Ian Abercrombie, Corey Burton, Matthew Wood, Kevin Michael Richardson, David Acord, Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Daniels, and Christopher Lee. It is the first animated film in the Star Wars franchise and takes place shortly after Attack of the Clones (2002), at the start of the 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, and was released in the United States on August 15, by Warner Bros. Pictures. It received generally negative reviews from critics, and grossed $68 million on a budget of $8 million, making it the lowest-grossing film in the Star Wars franchise. The film serves as a pilot to the television series of the same name, which premiered two months after the film's release. It was also the final Star Wars film in the franchise to have the significant involvement of its creator, George Lucas, who sold Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Company four years later.
Plot
Early in the Clone Wars, Galactic Republic forces find themselves stranded across the Outer Rim as the Separatists gain control of more hyperspace lanes. Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker leads the Republic against a droid army on Christophsis with his master Obi-Wan Kenobi and clone captain Rex. However, the clone army is soon overwhelmed by reinforcements. A young Jedi named Ahsoka Tano is sent by Grand Master Yoda to become Anakin's Padawan, much to his dismay. Obi-Wan stalls the leader of the Separatist forces while Anakin works together with Ahsoka to secure victory for the Republic.
Meanwhile, Count Dooku, looking to secure a partnership with the Hutts, has kidnapped Rotta, the infant son of Jabba the Hutt. Obi-Wan, negotiating with Jabba regarding trade routes, promises the safe return of his son. Anakin leads a clone army to the planet of Teth to rescue Rotta, who is being held inside a monastery. He and Ahsoka rescue Rotta, who is falling ill, as they discover that Dooku, who staged the kidnapping himself, has led the two Jedi into a trap. Dooku intends for the Hutts to blacklist the Jedi to allow the Separatists to gain the support of the Hutts, while hiring assassin Asajj Ventress to retrieve or kill Rotta. Ventress neutralizes a group of bounty hunters Jabba sent to retrieve his son and shows him footage of Anakin expressing his distaste with the Hutts.
Anakin and Ahsoka, beginning to respect each other, escape the monastery with Rotta and R2-D2. En route to Tatooine, the two tend to Rotta's illness. Obi-Wan arrives at the Teth monastery, where he retrieves the stranded clones and engages in a duel with Ventress. Meanwhile, Padmé Amidala goes to Coruscant to confront Jabba's uncle Ziro, who she finds out has conspired with Dooku to engineer the downfall of his nephew, which would allow him to seize power over the Hutt clans. However, Padmé is soon discovered and detained. With the help of C-3PO, she escapes, and Ziro is arrested.
Anakin and Ahsoka arrive on Tatooine to return Rotta to his father, though their ship comes under fire from Separatist forces and crash-lands far away from Jabba's palace. On his way to Jabba's palace, Anakin is intercepted by Dooku, and the two engage in a lightsaber duel. Dooku realizes that Anakin is not in possession of Rotta; inside the palace, Ahsoka delivers Rotta to Jabba, but he orders their execution. Padmé tells Jabba of his uncle's duplicity, and he reassures her that the Hutt Clan will punish Ziro harshly. A treaty is signed that allows Republic forces to pass through Jabba's territory.
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. Hayden Christensen was considered to reprise his role as Anakin from the prequel trilogy before Lanter was selected. Lanter replaces Mat Lucas, who voiced the character in the 2003 micro-series, Star Wars: Clone Wars. 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. Ewan McGregor was considered to reprise his role as Obi-Wan from the prequel trilogy before Taylor was selected. Taylor reprises his role from the Clone Wars micro-series. Taylor also voices 4A-7, a droid spy. Dee Bradley Baker as the clone troopers, Captain Rex, and Commander Cody. Baker replaces André Sogliuzzo, who voiced the characters in the Clone Wars micro-series. Tom Kane as: Yoda, the Jedi Grandmaster and leader of the Jedi Council. Frank Oz was considered to reprise his role as Yoda from the prequel and original trilogies before Kane was selected. Kane reprises his role from the Clone Wars micro-series. The Narrator, who explains the film's events and plot. Admiral Yularen, an admiral of the Republic Navy assigned to Anakin. Nika Futterman as: Asajj Ventress, a Sith assassin, a former Jedi and Count Dooku's disciple. Futterman replaces Grey DeLisle, who voiced the character in the Clone Wars micro-series. TC-70, Jabba's protocol droid. Ian Abercrombie as Chancellor Palpatine / Darth Sidious, the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic who is secretly a powerful Sith Lord in disguise, Count Dooku's master, and the mastermind behind the Clone Wars. Ian McDiarmid was considered to reprise his role as Palpatine from the prequel and original trilogies before Abercrombie was selected. Abercrombie replaces Nick Jameson, who voiced the character in the Clone Wars micro-series. Corey Burton as: Ziro the Hutt, Jabba's uncle and a member of the Hutt Clan who is secretly in cahoots with Count Dooku and the Separatists. Whorm Loathsom, the commander of the Separatist Droid Army occupying Christophsis KRONOS-327, an assassin droid working for Ziro. Catherine Taber as Padmé Amidala, the queen and senator of Naboo and Anakin's wife. Natalie Portman was considered to reprise her role as Padmé from the prequel trilogy before Taber was selected. Taber replaces Grey DeLisle, who voiced the character in the Clone Wars micro-series. Matthew Wood as the battle droids. Kevin Michael Richardson as Jabba the Hutt, a powerful and notorious crime lord, the leader of the powerful Hutt Clan, and Rotta's father. David Acord as , Jabba's son. Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu, a Jedi Master, senior member of the Jedi Council, and general of the Republic. Jackson reprises his role from the prequel trilogy. The character is voiced by Terrence C. Carson in the subsequent television series, reprising his role from the Clone Wars micro-series. Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Anakin's protocol droid. Daniels reprises his role from the live-action films and also voiced C-3PO in other media. Christopher Lee as Count Dooku / Darth Tyranus, a Sith Lord and the puppet leader of the Separatist Alliance. Lee reprises his role from the prequel trilogy and for the last time before his death in 2015. The character is voiced by Corey Burton in the subsequent television series, reprising his role from the Clone Wars micro-series.
Production Development
Star Wars: The Clone Wars was made to serve as both a stand-alone story and a lead-in to the weekly animated TV series of the same name. George Lucas had the idea for a film after viewing some of the completed footage of the early episodes on the big screen. Those first few episodes, originally planned for release on television, were then woven together to form the theatrical release.Force-Cast Clone Wars Roundtable , interview with Dave Filoni and Henry Gilroy, October 3, 2008 Warner Bros. Entertainment had tracked the series' development from the beginning, and Lucas decided on a theatrical launch after viewing early footage declaring "This is so beautiful, why don't we just go and use the crew and make a feature?" This decision helped convince WB parent company Time Warner to distribute the movie, and to encourage its subsidiary Cartoon Network to air the series. Lucas described the film as "almost an afterthought." Howard Roffman, president of Lucas Licensing, said of the decision, "Sometimes George works in strange ways."Quenqua, Douglas. "The Force lives on, as do the toys." The New York Times, July 1, 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2008. Producer Catherine Winder said the sudden decision added to an already large challenge of establishing a show "of this sophistication and complexity,"Lupick, Travis. "Clone Wars proved a galactic task for production team." The Georgia Straight, August 21, 2008. Retrieved August 21, 2008. but she felt it was a good way to start the series, and thought budgetary constraints forced the production team to think outside the box in a positive way.
The story of the kidnapped Hutt was inspired by the Sonny Chiba samurai film Shogun's Shadow.Star Wars: The Clone Wars Interview With Henry Gilroy GalacticBinder. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
Actors Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels, and Matthew Wood vocally reprised their respective roles as Mace Windu, Count Dooku, C-3PO and the B1 Battle Droids. However, Jackson and Lee did not reprise their roles in the television series.
Animation Lucasfilm Animation used the Maya 3D modeling software to animate both the film and the series. Lucas chose a distinct, stylized look for the film that was inspired by Japanese anime and manga, and the Supermarionation used in British 1960s series such as Thunderbirds.Weprin, Alex. "George Lucas Talks 'Clone Wars'. Broadcasting & Cable, April 3, 2008. Retrieved August 17, 2008. 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." Animators also reviewed designs from the original 2003 Clone Wars series when creating the animation style for the film and the new series. In charge was Steward Lee, working as the storyboard artist during filming.
Music
The musical score for Star Wars: The Clone Wars was composed by Kevin Kiner. The original motion picture soundtrack was released by Sony Classical on August 12, 2008. The disc begins with the main theme by John Williams, followed by more than 30 separate music cues composed by Kiner. Kiner is known for his work on such television series as Stargate SG-1, Star Trek: Enterprise, Superboy and CSI: Miami. The soundtrack uses some instruments never heard before in a Star Wars score, including erhus, duduks, and ouds.
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