My Review of Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) · 3:43am Aug 24th, 2021
My TV Show Rating Score:
5/5: It is an awesome show!
4/5: It’s a good show with minor flaws
3/5: It’s overall okay/guilty pleasure
2/5: It’s bad but not awful
1/5: Look, up in the sky! It’s super bad!
0/5: MY EYEEEESSS!!!
Greetings to all my friends! This is Mr. J here with a very special treat for you all. It has been a while since I’ve made my Star Wars reviews, but I couldn’t help but look back at one of the most beloved yet underrated animated series of the franchise. This is the very show that laid the foundation of the Clone Wars—the same one that gave us beloved characters whom the 2008 iteration made even more popular amongst the Star Wars fandom. This is the one and only Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003).
In all honesty, I never grew up with this cartoon; however, I did watch the whole miniseries around two years ago to see how it all began. Guys, I must say that this show needs more attention and praise than it already has. In my opinion, this maintains the true spirit of Star Wars than the Disney sequel trilogy ever could and is even better than some of the prequels as well (although I still hold Revenge of the Sith on high regard). It is one of the best cartoons I have ever watched.
This consists of two volumes, three seasons. The episodes of volume one are about three to five minutes long whereas the episodes of volume two are longer—fourteen to sixteen minutes if I remember correctly. Each of them were quite on point and had a lot of action going on.
What I really loved about this show was how they balanced out humor and action. For instance, whenever the clones are marching to battle or are interacting with Obi-Wan or Anakin, you can see how their lines of dialogue can be both serious and humorous whenever it was necessary. Even though some of these characters are less lively than their 3D incarnations of the 2008 show, they were still entertaining and interesting to look at.
The 2D animation is so well-done and beautiful. Again, I love 2D animation more than 3D animation; it is just a matter of taste and preference to be honest. It made the action scenes stand out more, the characters more visually appealing, and so much more fluid and smooth. I wish we could get back to that nowadays.
The voice acting is on-point as well. James Arnold Taylor is always a win especially when he plays as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Corey Burton as Count Dooku was a splendid casting choice since he fits that part perfectly, and Grey Griffin was awesome as Asajj Ventress.
Now it’s time to acknowledge the best part of the miniseries—the best character who was an absolute beast of nature: GENERAL GRIEVOUS!
This is the real General Grievous we all know and love, not that pathetic, incompetent, idiotic caricature of the namesake who later on had bronchitis issues thanks to the force efforts of Mace Windu towards the end. Seriously, what the hell happened to the Grievous who always utilized surprise, fear, and intimidation on his side? Who always broke his enemies before he engaged them?
This is how you write a menacing villain. Not only did he overpower and terrorize the Jedi and best them in every way in the episodes he appeared but he also showed how he was portrayed as a character. He was a silent killer who didn’t always brag of how powerful he is and how doomed the heroes are... like a generic villain would say. He never underestimated his foes, fought with all his might, and proved how effective of a warrior he was. He never gave up and was persistent to the end.
He is one of the few animated villains who also won. No kidding, he actually succeeded in capturing Chancellor Palpatine and beating Shaak-Ti in a fight. It made him one of my top ten favorite villains of all time. Props to both John DiMaggio and Richard McGonagle for voicing him with little screen time he had throughout the series.
In conclusion, this cartoon is both amazing, well-written, and awesome all around. I give this a mighty 5/5: excellent series!
Peace!
I remember watching this with my folks when I was a kid.