Make no mistake, Clone Wars is honest-to-goodness authentic Star Wars. The animated series takes place between Episode II, Attack of the Clones and Episode III, Revenge of the Sith. If the feature films covers the beginning and end of the war, Clone Wars depicts the actual battles and events that made heroes into legends. Don't expect too much character development, as the episodes tend to be driven more by flat-out action than by dialogue (which can be a good thing, considering some Star Wars dialogue). We see such familiar faces as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Mace Windu in combat, and we meet the elite Arc clone troopers plus new Jedi--the amphibious Kit Fisto and two women, Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee. We also see a little more development of Anakin--showing off the best pilot skills in the army, defying Obi-Wan, and engaging in a deadly duel with Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress. But just when it's clear that the Separatist droid armies are no match for a Jedi, the tide begins to turn with the introduction of the menacing General Grievous, who plays a crucial part in Episode III. The cast mostly consists of veteran voice actors, but Anthony Daniels does appear as C-3PO.

This is the Clone Wars

The actual Clone Wars are presented in this series of short cartoons, originally shown on Cartoon Network as 3 minute shorts before the Friday night prime time line up. There isn't exactly a cohesive story, just a lot of the early battles that the Republic Army clone troopers (led by Jedi Knight generals) are fighting all over the galaxy. All in all, it still gelled well together as one linier movie (although a 70 minute movie). The relationships between characers are not fleshed out any better than they are in the movies; but they still act like they should. Anakin is still brash and impulsive; Obi-Wan is still a great warrior and worrier. And we have at least one really interesting bad guy Durge, who seems able to regenerize after he has a piece cut off. Also female Sith sent to kill Anakin (or help push him further into the Dark Side, however you look at it) was really cool idea. Other film characters are back; Count Dooko, Chanceller Palpatine, Mace Windu (he never says a word, but by compensation, he has the coolest fight with a huge world destroyer or something), and Yoda. The lightsaber duel between Anakin and the Sith; Obi-Wan and Durge; and of course the explanation of how General Grieves got all those lightsabers. The animation is '80s style, a lot like "Transformers" and "G.I. Joe", which is the style I really like. There are a wealth of behind the scenes footage, which is pretty cool as well.

prequels should've been animated, too

Reminiscent of Francis Ford Coppolla's experience filming his first "Godfather," George Lucas encountered tremendous difficulty megging Episode IV. But in both cases, adversity seems to have helped these directors produce great movies; both were far better when they were starving artists.

Indeed, it seems that full artistic and financial control as well as superior technological capabilities haven't helped Lucas make better movies. As a fan of the original trilogy, I fully expected to embrace the prequels, but was bitterly disappointed: "The Phantom Menace," "The Attack of the Clones," and even "The Revenge of the Sith" are cartoonish films which wasted the talents of its stellar cast of actors. Can't really do much with that dialogue. It made me wish that Lucas had left well enough alone and never attempted to make the prequels.

But "The Clone Wars" was completely different. I thought these cartoons were amazing and justified revisiting the saga. After seeing how well the story worked in this medium, I am convinced that, given what Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher describe as Lucas's "impatience with the acting process" (see special features of the original trilogy on DVD), the prequels would've been better off being completely animated, too.

Rent it!

After watching the SITH I was excited about seeing this DVD as it promises to bridge Ep II and III. I was very disappointed with it as it didn't do that. I would not see this unless you are a Star Wars fanatic and even then I wouldn't spend money buying it.. rent it at your local video store..

I would recommned reading "Labyrinth of Evil" by James Luceno which ties in Ep II and Ep III very nicely.