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"Star Wars: Clone Wars" coming to Cartoon Network
Androclese writes "E! Online News reports - 'Star Wars: Clone Wars, a series of animated shorts featuring the epic battles often mentioned but never seen in the Star Wars films, is being prepped for
its fall premiere on the Cartoon Network...helmed by Genndy Tartakovsky of Samurai Jack and Dexter's Laboratory fame.
Each Clone Wars adventure will run two-to-three minutes and focus on Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and their cohorts as they lead the Galactic Republic against evil armies of cloned troopers created by the Separatists.'"
I've seen the previews, and there's no way it could be as bad as Episode 1 or 2.
Hoist Number One and Number Six.
I still say that Lucas missed out by having Episode III pick up after the Clone Wars. It's something that Star Wars fans have wanted to see for decades now, and I have a feeling that a series of animated shorts--no matter how well-produced they may be--just won't do the Clone Wars justice.
DecafJedi
my weblog: apropos of something
The Star Wars universe officially collapsed with the release of AoTC. Anything put out now whether it be good, bad or fair will be met by an apathetic fan with an itchy remote control finger.
Anakin Skywalker and their cohorts as they lead the Galactic Republic against evil armies of cloned troopers created by the Separatists.'"
Nice. Only problem is that the Clones are on the side of the Jedi and the Republic, not the Separatists. The Separatists use droid armies. Someone really was doing their job over at E, weren't they?
"Right now, somewhere in this world, Scott Baio is plowing a woman he doesn't love," - Peter Griffin, *Family Guy*
This is a clone of the animatrix idea.
In a great galaxy, many years ago
The desire for more money took over the universe...
for these Clone Wars cartoons to be cut up and overdubbed on "Adult Swim"....
Obiwan looks terrible! It looks like the folks from clone high drew him! (Which worked great for clone high, but not attack of the clones)
will the Star Wars Kid be in it?
(ok, ok, it's old now:)
...does Star Wars (still) deserve an own slashdot logo? I don't think that Star Wars is something special anymore. The old fans didn't watch Ep1 and Ep2 (or say they haven't). Star Wars is dead.
Deal with it. (I do.)
"Each Clone Wars adventure will run two-to-three minutes..."
Nothing like blipvids to make your brain explode, eh?
Why? Cheap stylization != good animation. Tartakovsky needs to be modded down by Time-Warner. Dexter's Lab was amusing... for a few months. Samurai Jack has never been anything but overrated!
I suppose the best thing about 2-3 minute shorts is that you can only pack so much bad dialogue and so many plot loopholes into them.
blog |
I loved every minute of them, i wish they would do made for tv movies based on all the starwars books out there, ive only read a few.. but they all ruled.. or even better yet, made for internet divx movies.
wud
Hmmm, so each one will have as much plot, humor and character development crammed into it as Episode 1 did!
Lucas isn't getting another penny of mine after that sad commercialized ripoff.
Intolerance for ambiguity is the mark of the authoritarian personality.
Yes, I too.
I thought the cloned wariors were created by the republic, and worked for the Jedi? Thats what it seemed like from episode II, anyway.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
it has Jedi Master Porky Pig.
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
Let's overlook the racism and the poor acting, for a moment. (True fans are busy awaiting Episode1 and aren't still making excuses for AoTC.) On a much deeper level, StarWars sends a shocking, frightening, and sickening message to America's youth.
StarWars portrays space as a site of warfare between different species and even between rival human factions.
When A New Hope was released to theaters thirteen years ago, America was at peace. The Vietnam War had recently been brought to a close, and Americans were looking forward to a new era of prosperity and at friendly relations with their neighbors.
But within a few short years, America invaded Grenada, Nicaragua, Panama, Iraq, and Haiti. What had happened? What had become of our message of peace? What could have transpired in the interim to bring about this cruel turn of events?
I'll tell you what: StarWars was released to thronging masses of American youths. In their orgiastic rush to imbibe their new-found cultural icons, they discarded all the wisdom we had acquired through the blood and sweat of our recent military conquests.
It's no surprise, of course. Even the name "StarWars" itself conveys a message of conflict and carnage. A New Hope is, at bottom, a story about armed rebellion by rabble against a benevolent legal order, precisely the sort of communistic message we had come so close to defeating in Vietnam.
Perhaps it would've been different if we had won the Vietnam War. Perhaps then we would've witnessed the fall and destruction of communism and all its bastard progeny (socialism, yuppyism, the Home Shopping Network, etc.). Unfortunately, the world will never know.
George Lucas, I think I can speak for everyone here on slashdot, and indeed with the entire breath of humanity: you should be ashamed of yourself for what you have wrought.
Disgraceful.
I think clone wars is the perfect name for a cartoon series that is based on a series of five movies.
Wow this is just what I've been waiting! An animated Clone Wars! Lucas you genius you've done it again! I'm sure through watching 2-3 minute cartoons all the battles will be completed and the plot will be golden. I can't wait to watch the battles to see an animated Anakin Skywalker, because animated is so much better than CG and real live actors! Damn Lucas is a genius!
[/sarcasm]
Thanks a lot spolierboy.
Not that I was going to see the 3rd movie, but if they had been any good I would have been pissed about reading this. Oh well.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
Uh, Have you ever seen these SOMEWHAT related movies called "Star Wars", "The Empire Strikes Back", or "Return of the Jedi"? They make this shit blindingly obvious. Like how can you miss that Palpatine is played by the same actor as the Emporor, and (except for the ageing makup) they look identical? Same thing goes for the clones. Didn't you notice they looked a WEE bit like stormtroopers? Jeez, are you like the least observant person in the UNIVERSE?
Hey! It's the George Lucas' Reality Distortion Field! Similar to but legally distinguishable from the Steve Jobs' Reality Distortion Field.
BOO! TERRO
The script writers must have improved over AoTC...
This has been up here before, and even then it was a month old.
Those of us in the know, know that Lucas has but a small part in Immanentzing the Eschaton. Fnord !
Interesting. I saw StarWars aged 6. It had a massive impact on me and my entire lifestance to see such an awesome film at a formative age.
... wait for it you know whats comming.... I support pretty much anyone labled a 'terrorst' against America.
The hero of the film is the son of a poor farmer from some back-of-beyond craphole planet who lives in a hole in the ground. His family are murdered by stormtroopers. They are 'collateral damage' at the hands of a huge machine.
The seemingly invincible bad guys, who are eventually defeated by invoking the mystical power of the 'Force', are a bunch of black leather clad proto-Nazis, clearly based upon a police/military paradigm who weild vast resources and super weapons of mass destruction.
Now ask me why I support the Palestinians against the Isrealis, the Tibetans against the Chinese, the Chechnyans against Russia and why
Lets face it, in "A New Hope" the Rebels were 'terrorists'. Damn good ones too. They harnessed the elements of suprise, swiftness and small firepower exploiting a weakness in the mighty Death Star to destroy it. And make no mistake about it they blew the fucker to bits, I saw it and the whole theatre cheered, we actually stood up and whoooped! It was like being at a football match. Do people even still do that in movies? I don't think I have ever experienced anything quite like that since.
So, how many people were there in that Death Star? 3,000? 10,1000? more? All of them blown to smithereens while we cheered and spilled our popcorn in joy!
Do I need to press the analogy any further?
Did I ever question that maybe murdering all those people was wrong? No. We all know they deserved what they had comming right?
Maybe Lucas did send the wrong message. He certainly tried to atone for it in episode II by showing the ugly side of terrorism, but that is sidelined by the bigger message.
If StarWars induced a war like attitude in my generation of Americans they missed the prophecy and the real message. Remember Regans SDI?
Next time you are glorying over how your Imperialist Predator Droids blew up some dumb towel head in a third world desert just remember what happened to the Death Star
Nightmares of the Christmas Special!
V
Tartakovsky definately has a passion for action (yep, that's what the VH1 show said [repeatedly]). My best example is this: just listen to an episode of Samurai Jack and hear how much of it is dialogue, and how much is noises (slash, grunt) and music? (I think the split's around 25/75). Tartakovsky's action is not only constant, but it's fun to watch -- it's beautiful eye candy. Colorful, animated, comedic at times. (so don't just listen to that episode, watch it, too!).
However, I'm an English major; when I notice a weak plot or a missing link, I get the subconscious "yellow flag." Jack's weak on plotline. Episodes are usually strung together with lots of action revolving around a weak premise. It's fun to watch, but not fun to get involved in.
But Star Wars, on the other hand, is. ;) The animation itself should be good, but the storyline is going to need some good writers. I think here is where we'll see whether this is just a Marketing-schemed Animatrix-clone, or a quality investment.
(Oh, and PLEASE resist the temptation to spinoff Clone Wars:2021)
Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
I saw the commercial for this... And it reminded me of South Park... but with Lightsabers...
You need a FREE iPod Nano
"7. George Lucas stated in an interview back in 1979 that Darth Vader fell into a lava pit during his duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi which is why he is more-man-than-machine."
Yes I read what appeared to be an extremley early version of the Episode III script (circa 1983) and that was stated, that Anakin Skywalker falls into a pit of lava while fighting Obi Wan Kenobi. He is then rescued by a cult of crazed Sith idiots and made into Darth Vader.
"4. In 1980's EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, Vader tells Boba Fett "no disintegrations" when trying to capture Han Solo, indicating the two figures have worked together in the past."
Yep, it is actually Bobba Fett and his crew, according to this script that I read, that do most of the Jedi hunting/slaughtering. Bobba Fett is obviously a far superior warrior than his father was!
I personally loved the prequels! Of course, they were no Return Of The Jedi, but then what could be?!? If you don't like the screen versions you could always buy the books, which are quite good and give a lot more details than even the DVD commentary and deleted scenes do.
Ack! We aren't going to see the Clone Wars on the big screen?! I have to say, Lucas did have a choice: He could have chosen NOT to make these awful movies. Back when they were left to our imagination they were so much better. I always thought that was the purpose of NOT making them! It gave the originals a depth that is now erased.
Sigh... Maybe Speilberg can convince him to let him make a Clone Wars movie...
Honestly, back when I was 7 yrs old and watched Obi Wan tell Luke about his father being the greatest Star Fighter Pilot in the Galaxy during the Clone wars, that was all I could think about wanting to see. CLONE WARS CLONE WARS CLONE WARS CLONE WARS !! Gosh Darnit! I want my CLONE WARS CLONE WARS CLONE WARS CLONE WARS CLONE WARS !!!
Yes, I feel like throwing a hissy fit now that I have discovered Lucas is yet again going to soil his own series. Somehow I had been holding out hope that Episode III would save the series, now i have had that hope dashed... Which is why I try not to pay attention to any of this stuff.
Oh well... back to real life...
The Jedi are kind of on the clueless side, after all. Their tactical decisions suck.
Here are links to the quicktime trailer that's been out for awhile:
Large - 320 x 240 Small - 240 x 180
I've just gotta chime in that 2 to 3 minute toons are definately not enough, when I first heard of this I thought it was going to be a real cartoon not just filler. Too bad they didn't take the opportunity to use the savings from making cartoons instead of live action in order to actually flesh out the Star Wars universe. For the price of Ep1&2 they could probably turn every book ever written about SW into a damn cartoon. (Except "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" by Alan Dean Foster of course) Just wonderful, it'll probably be shoved in-between other cartoons during Toonami, meaning I won't see it until someone puts it up on one of the bittorrent or emule sites. Cartoon Yoda looks great tho!
Jonah Hex
Horror & SciFi Erotic Nudes
I think Genndy Tartakovsky was a great choice to make these shorts because he has a great handle on stylish animated action. Watching "Samurai Jack" also reminds me of a lot of anime notably "Rurouni Kenshin" with the split screen action and cinematic framings.
In an interview Tartakovsky said that he made "Samurai Jack" largely because there weren't enough animated shows with enough action to satisfy his tastes. And thank god for that decision because the action scenes in "Samurai Jack" are enormously entertaining with their sense of pacing and their build ups.
Since the only really interesting things that happened in Episodes I and II were the action scenes anyway I think this is definitely a good thing. We really don't need a lot of plot because it's not like that's the strongest aspect of the prequels anyway.
Kick in the Head
nice...
...And George Lucas forgot in the years between: "Wars not make one great" --Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back
...if in the middle of a dramatic fight scene between a squad of clone troopers and "separatists" over the "cloning laboratory", Dexter from Dexter's Laboratory jumps out with his super robot and cries "Ohhh nooo, myy labbb!!", followed by his kid sister DeeDee screaming "Dexter is a cookie!". |D
What about animated pants?
---
Lets face it, in "A New Hope" the Rebels were 'terrorists'.
---
Don't even joke about this. Rebels are not by themselves terrorists. Being the underdog doesn't make you a terrorist. Firebombing a restaurant in order to kill civilians in Israel is terrorism, regardless of the political intent.
The Rebels in Star Wars attacked only military targets.
If the Death Star were intended to be used as an instrument of collective punishment, then you could rationalize it in the same way we rationalized Hiroshima, as a tool to end wars, but the Empire destroyed an entire planet with no weapons on it for no apparent reason other than to terrorize the galaxy into subservience.
That would be like if North Korea decided to nuke the Swiss.
Look, I realize in the modern world that the rules of engagement are pretty much "anything that works" and that there isn't much you can do about that, but please, get off your moral relativism high-horse.
It might just be that this whole satire is entirely baseless, and wrongheaded.
It will be Senator/Emperor Palpatine who finishes Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader's training. Since there can only be two Sith, a Master and an Apprentice, Darth Maul had to die. However, at the end of Episode 6: Return of the Jedi, both Sith die. And thus the Balance of the Force is re-righted.
Stupid Lucas and his lack of leet writing skillz. This all was telegraphed way back from Episode 1.
BTW the Clone Wars shorts kick ass. I saw the first one at Comic-Con this year.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
The parent post only used the most superficial similarities to construct an analogy equating a liberal democracy defending itself to an evil empire mainting control so I can't understand how people would think it is insightful. The Pentagon is no Death Star. I have friends in the JAG corp who were among the 5,000 lawyers sent to Iraq specifically to make sure that US forces followed the Geneva Conventions on the rules of war. Contrast that to the Empire, which destroyed an entire planet just to set an example. It's Islamic terrorists who would do that to us if given the chance. And consider the cause those terrorists are fighting for; they would have everyone live a medieval lifestyle dictated by some ancient texts and desert tribal customs devoid of any sort of meaningful personal freedoms. If you were trying to compare the Rebel Alliance to terrorists, you were also off base. The Rebels never attacked civilians like the terrorists purposely do.
... can be found courtesey of David Brin, science fiction writer and one of the more unusual and thoughtful pundits out there. This series of articles began with an article in Salon following the release of TPM: beginning with the original article, "Star Wars Despots vs. Star Trek Populists" and its side article, an addendum in response to the emails, and a later AOTC update.
---If you can't trust a nerd, who can you trust?
by Anonymous Coward on Sat October 11, 3:42 (#7187215)
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Marge Gentry of Cambridge, Minnesota participated, and the next day she received a large fruit basket outside of her door from a secret admirer. Unfortunately, Marge was hit by a truck the next day, so she didn't get to the Granny Smith apples.
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So if you want to get the fruit basket and not get poked in the bread basket, just copy this troll onto two of the discussions threads of your choice. We could have this place blanketed by sundown!
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Coz Samurai Jack reminds me a lot of that old PC game, "Another World", published by French Infogrames: angulous lines with a dark, somber background. Main character is essentially lone, just as of that game. Minimalistic background sound & music.
Was the fact that the climactic portions were told in eps iv-vi.
Filling in the backstory is usually not quite as exciting, is it?
These shorts are further proof of the stupidity of George Lucas. Cartoons are for kids. Star Wars is for jaded, nit-picky former kids who squashed all sense of adventure, imagination and wonder the day they decided they were cooler than everyone else.
When will you learn, George?!
does anyone remember the star trek cartoon based on the original series? they should brign that back. do they show that anymore?
"Oh my God! They killed Jar Jar!"
"You bastards!"
But a prequel-Sea Lab 2020 tie-in might work.
I wonder what Natalie Portman will look like in animated form?
*drools*
If Cartoon Network want to spend some money, why not make some more episodes of Futurama?
I don't care about the Star Wars universe anymore.
"Kittens give Morbo gas!"
ya you heard me!
Mind you, I'd much rather have a live action Knights of the Old Republic series.
Return of the Jedi was the worst of the original three. I mean, Ewoks? Why not just have Teddy Ruxbin beating on the Storm Troopers? Bad azz troopers impose the will of the Emperor across the galaxy, but get the crap kicked out of them by midgets with pointy sticks.
Give me sliced open Tauntauns and Ugnaughts any day.
I doubt it.
I didn't even exist in 1976. Despite that, I did know that palipitane becomes the emperor, anikin becomes vader, etc.
What I didn't know was the chain of events that led up to it. And now I pretty much know the outline. Thanks.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
Samurai Jack has some of the best artistic styles going. Action, story, passion, oh, did I say action? I mean to say, AACCCCKKKKKKKKK-SHUN!
*Yes I read what appeared to be an extremley early version of the Episode III script (circa 1983) and that was stated, that Anakin Skywalker falls into a pit of lava while fighting Obi Wan Kenobi. He is then rescued by a cult of crazed Sith idiots and made into Darth Vader.
Yep, it is actually Bobba Fett and his crew, according to this script that I read, that do most of the Jedi hunting/slaughtering. Bobba Fett is obviously a far superior warrior than his father was!*
Good points, but that script (actually, a treatment) is bogus. You are referring to "Fall of the Republic." Many fans have been sucked into purchasing it at many different fan conventions over the years. The lava pit imagery predates the bogus script by several years. There's actually an early draft of JEDI where the Emperor's throne room is surrounded by magma and Luke confronts Vader and the Emperor. Obi-Wan returns in the flesh (ala in Gandalf style) and Yoda also joins in the battle royale. Vader has a change of heart at the end, and leaps toward the Emperor and they both plunge into the magma. Quite interesting. Anyways, back to Fall of the Republic. Its completely bogus; the only thing the author got right was that the Storm Troopers are clones...
Do a Google search for the treatment; I'm sure you'll find it on the web somewhere.
"Right now, somewhere in this world, Scott Baio is plowing a woman he doesn't love," - Peter Griffin, *Family Guy*