Star Wars: The Clone Wars is essentially a big screen pilot for the Star Wars-themed cartoon series to premiere on Cartoon Network. And it feels like it. Its story is not complicated. If you wanted to divide it up into three individual episodes, you probably could. And visually, its style is much more along the lines of what you might find in late-night anime and weekend-long video game marathons than most full-length animated features of late.
In the Star Wars timeline, Star Wars: The Clone Wars takes place during the two to three years between Episode II and Episode III. Battles between Count Dooku's Separatists and the Republic's Jedi Knights continue as the Republic fights to restore peace to the galaxy. And when the movie opens, Anakin Skywalker and Ob-Wan Kenobi are right at the forefront of efforts to defeat the Separatist droid army.
Back in Galactic City, however, a plea for help has arrived from the crime lord Jabba the Hutt. His son has been kidnapped, and he has requested the Jedis' help in securing his return. If the Jedi can complete the mission, they stand to broker a treaty granting them safe passage through Hutt territory (an almost invaluable asset in the mostly Separatist dominated Outer Rim). If not, the Republic risks losing the territory to the Separatists and facing an even more difficult for peace.
Throughout the course of The Clone Wars' story, almost all the major Star Wars villains step into the limelight and establish the Separatist alliances that will create trouble for years to come. The missing years of Anakin's development between Episode II and III begin to fill in as he is forced to incorporate the function of teacher/mentor into his familiar role of fiercely independent and often reckless hero. And as the evil forces that must be fought reveal more of their true colors, so do the values that will eventually lead to their defeat.
Like I said, Star Wars: The Clone Wars feels more like a made-for-TV cartoon than the best in feature length animation. Its look is decidedly different, less fluid and more akin to the angular and jumpy look of video games. In fact, much of the movie is filled with action scenes that could easily be the product of a dozen or so talented gamers sitting right next to you in the theater. The dialogue and character/story development are thrown in between, not much more complex than pull-string lines that could easily fit inside its own characters' action-figure twins.
All in all, the movie, its story, and its look will primarily appeal to a decidedly younger audience. At the same time, in the character of Ziro the Hutt (Jabba's uncle) and a few scenes peppered throughout, the film hints that the series will throw in a few punches to keep its older audiences amused. And although its tales still won't rival the original trilogy, within the framework of the entire Star Wars' mythology, the missing time period that Star Wars: The Clone Wars introduces promises a story and a telling that will probably be of interest to most diehard Star Wars fans out there like me :)
While it may be simple, like the body of Star Wars' films before it, Star Wars: The Clone Wars also deals with many of the same themes. Most prominent is the battle between division and unity. It is what fuels the conflict that drives its greater story. But it is also what drives the development of many of its individual characters and the resolution of most of its smaller stories.
Within the Separatists, division is the name of the game. Not only do they seek to bring division to their galaxy, their plots are rife with betrayal and pursuit of individual power. If others can be sacrificed for your gain, they will be. If people do not prove to be an asset to your plot, then it is better to get rid of them right now. And if there are any alliances at all, let's just say that no one is in them for any other reasons but their own.
But just as the tales before and after it have shown, Star Wars: The Clone Wars reveals a world in which acts of division and selfishness always fall to acts of unity and selflessness. Through his partnership with his Padawan learner Ashoka, even Anakin's efforts become more valuable as he is forced to think beyond just himself. Ashoka's crucial role in the success of the Jedi mission proves that a partner's value can come in all ages, sizes, and experience levels. Putting her own life at risk for the sake of Anakin and her country, Senator Amidala challenges everyone to consider if we would offer our own lives for those to whom we claim allegiance. And with the best Jedi Knights in the Galaxy lending their services to their sometimes enemies the Hutts, they prove that the best way to get rid of division is not by destroying our enemies but by demonstrating our value as friends.
And so enters the value of the Star Wars mythology. As much as befriending an enemy or helping a friend may seem like an inconsequential act only influential over the two people it physically touches, the truth is that acts of union, friendship, and selflessness reach far beyond their origin. From single acts of kindness come greater movements of change. And as Jesus showed us long ago (and Star Wars points at on more than one occasion), through even one act of sacrificial love, the reality in which we live can be changed forever.
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