Star Wars: The Clone Wars hitting Theaters August 15th

[SilentBob]

From Star Wars.com

A new era of Star Wars entertainment begins in 2008 when Star Wars: The Clone Wars, from creator George Lucas, premieres as an all-new feature film in August, followed by the television series debut in the fall, in a partnership announced today between Lucasfilm Ltd., Warner Bros. Pictures and Turner Broadcasting System Inc.

Produced by Lucasfilm Animation, Star Wars: The Clone Wars takes audiences on incredible new Star Wars adventures, combining the legendary storytelling of Lucasfilm with an eye-popping, signature animation style. Star Wars: The Clone Wars will open in North American theaters Friday, August 15. International release dates will be announced soon.

"I felt there were a lot more Star Wars stories left to tell," said George Lucas, executive producer of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. "I was eager to start telling some of them through animation and, at the same time, push the art of animation forward."

The theatrical debut of Star Wars: The Clone Wars is only the beginning of all-new Star Wars adventures that continue in the fall when the long-awaited television series premieres on Cartoon Network, followed by airings on TNT. Details regarding international broadcasts will be announced shortly. Star Wars: The Clone Wars showcases an entirely new look and feel to the galaxy far, far away -- combining the expansive scope of the Star Wars Saga with state-of-the-art computer-generated animation. Each week, viewers will see a thrilling, 30-minute "mini-movie" created by the talented artists at Lucasfilm Animation.

On the front lines of an intergalactic struggle between good and evil, fans young and old will join such favorite characters as Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padmé Amidala, along with brand-new heroes like Anakin's padawan learner, Ahsoka. Sinister villains -- led by Darth Sidious, Count Dooku and General Grievous -- are poised to rule the galaxy. Stakes are high, and the fate of the Star Wars universe rests in the hands of the daring Jedi Knights. Their exploits lead to the action-packed battles and astonishing new revelations that fill Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

"Warner Bros. and Turner are uniquely positioned to deliver on the enormous potential of The Clone Wars because together they offer a world-class opportunity: the theatrical and home-video distribution of Warner Bros. and the broad reach of the Turner Networks," said Micheline Chau, President and Chief Operating Officer of Lucasfilm Ltd. "This terrific combination hits the key demographic groups, ranging from kids to adults, that make up the Star Wars audience."

Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. Pictures President of Domestic Distribution, added, "This is a breakthrough project -- returning Star Wars to the big screen in a completely new way while beginning an exciting new chapter in George Lucas' legendary saga. We immediately felt that it would be a fantastic theatrical event and are thrilled to be bringing it to moviegoers."

"Nothing like this has ever been produced for television," said Stuart Snyder, President/COO Turner Animation,Young Adults & Kids Media. "For 30 years, Star Wars has shown that it appeals to a huge breadth of fans. The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network will be appointment television for everyone in the family. We're thrilled to be working with Lucasfilm again and very excited to be playing a role in bringing this remarkable adventure to viewers."With a new story each week, Star Wars: The Clone Wars continues the tradition of thrilling stories, astonishing visuals and extraordinary music that have always been the hallmarks of the Star Wars Saga.

Lucasfilm Animation, which is based in Marin County, Calif., with a studio in Singapore, has produced more than 30 all-new episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and production continues on even more exciting episodes.

[Moonraker]

Trailer is here

http://www.starwars.com/video/view/000478.html

[Rileydog]

ok, so this movie in August is a kick off to the tv show on cartoon network?

and, how does this relate to the previous clone wars stuff that were like 3 minutes each and filled the gap between AOTC and ROTS?

what is the timeline? I see that bald white and black evil jedi lady again

[Pirate]

It's sad when even I'm not excited about this.

[Taxi]

Originally Posted by Pirate

It's sad when even I'm not excited about this.

Agreed. Although, I gotta admit that after watching that trailer, my interest level went up a bit.

Ultimately, though, I'm into Star Wars movies, even if they have been moving toward "animated real life". (At least the last three...) I suppose a fully animated feature gives the Lucasfilm animation guys free reign to do whatever they want... Still, I think I prefer live action.

[Moonraker]

I find it strange that Frank Oz will not be Yoda.

[MJZ]

Weren't they planning on remaking the animated Clone Wars in CG, maybe this is that.

Are they releasing a feature in cinemas and then extra episodes on TV, or are the TV episodes actually the cinema presentation edited to single episodes?

["The Dude"]

Originally Posted by MJZ

Weren't they planning on remaking the animated Clone Wars in CG, maybe this is that.

Are they releasing a feature in cinemas and then extra episodes on TV, or are the TV episodes actually the cinema presentation edited to single episodes?

Yeah, this is exactly what it is. The series will also be airing on cartoon network. I imagine that the first 3 or 4 episodes will be edited together to bring it in at 1 1/2 hrs + and then the series will continue where the film left off on cartoon network.

I'm a SW fan as well, but I'm not looking forward to this as much as any of the live action films - PT included. I will go see it though. I guess it's better than nothing since who knows when the 3D films will see the light of day.

What I'm interested in is how Lucasfilm Animation's work compares to Pixar's, Dreamworks, etc.

[mtcarmel00]

Tonight at 7:58 pm Cartoon Network is airing the trailer for Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

[SilentBob]

Originally Posted by mtcarmel00

Tonight at 7:58 pm Cartoon Network is airing the trailer for Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

OR

You can catch it on the big screen with SPEED RACER

[mtcarmel00]

Originally Posted by SilentBob

OR

You can catch it on the big screen with SPEED RACER

I missed it because I forgot that DirecTV gives us the east coast feeds on cable channels. So now I have to go see that garbage of a movie called Speed Racer? I'll just try to find it online.

[plissken99]

Is it just me, or does the animation look a bit retarded? I'll catch this when it comes to HBO HD.

[Brikar99]

Originally Posted by plissken99

Is it just me, or does the animation look a bit retarded? I'll catch this when it comes to HBO HD.

Well, the character designs are highly stylized... and it was never really intended to be a movie, either. This is a TV series that's being released theatrically.

[gachamann]

Just saw the trailer. The animation doesn't appeal to me at all. It also feels as though any sense of danger has been mostly erased. Call it a gut feeling, but I think we're in for more 80s cartoon (He-Man, GI Joe, etc.) antics, where there's millions of lasers flying by, yet no one ever gets shot. And if you see a plane go down, there's always a parachute close behind. I know, some of the soldiers in the trailer were being taken down, but it still felt sanitized.

Should be good for the kiddies, though, which is where the primary target audience is now, anyway.

[umainebearman]

Anybody go to see this yet. I was excited about it but after hearing all the screams of horror that are the reviews I'm thinking I'll just forget it exists.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - Critics Reviews - Yahoo! Movies

[Pirate]

I saw it. One word: "Artooie."

Sometimes it sucks being a Star Wars fan.

[Son of Nothing]

Originally Posted by Pirate

I saw it. One word: "Artooie."

Sometimes it sucks being a Star Wars fan.

Skyguy?

[Monterey Jack]

Great, Lucas is letting his kids name his movie characters again...

General Loathsom?!

[Pirate]

And was there a clone named "Oddball," or was I hearing things?

["The Dude"]

I have no desire to see this, or even the upcoming live action tv series for that matter, and this is coming from a SW fan. It's not because of the bad reviews, but more or less, how I see the SW world, which is the 6 live action films, the good with the bad, and that's it. This expanded universe stuff just doesn't interest me at all. That, and I just wish that Lucas would leave SW and Indy alone already and move on to his art films. I have alot more interest in those than I do anything SW/Indy.

[thomashton]

Just got back from the matinee of this with my 7 year old son.

Liked it more than I expected. I went with pretty low expectations though. I will DVR the show when it shows up on CN in October.

But, yes, Artooie. SkyGuy. Have to go. The Master/Padawan relationship in film/cannon should have followed what was presented by Jude Watson in the Jedi Apprentice series that came out after Episode I. Excellent series.

[MooglePorn]

Originally Posted by "The Dude"

I have no desire to see this, or even the upcoming live action tv series for that matter, and this is coming from a SW fan. It's not because of the bad reviews, but more or less, how I see the SW world, which is the 6 live action films, the good with the bad, and that's it. This expanded universe stuff just doesn't interest me at all. That, and I just wish that Lucas would leave SW and Indy alone already and move on to his art films. I have alot more interest in those than I do anything SW/Indy.

Same thing here, and I feel the same way about most "universes" I follow. I am a big Star Trek fan but the books don't interest me much... they're not cannon, they will almost surely be contradicted later, and mostly not many are very good.

[umainebearman]

Originally Posted by MooglePorn

Same thing here, and I feel the same way about most "universes" I follow. I am a big Star Trek fan but the books don't interest me much... they're not cannon, they will almost surely be contradicted later, and mostly not many are very good.

Well the expanded Star Wars universe is much different. None of the books hit the shelves without Lucasfilm approval. It may not all be canon but theres alot of very very good stuff. First and foremost of course is the Zahn Thrawn series (the original 3 and then the 2 books that came out a year or so ago.), Kevin J. Andersons trilogy I thought was quite good. If your really a Star Wars fan you really should read the Thrawn trilogy.

[Brikar99]

Originally Posted by umainebearman

Well the expanded Star Wars universe is much different. None of the books hit the shelves without Lucasfilm approval. It may not all be canon but theres alot of very very good stuff. First and foremost of course is the Zahn Thrawn series (the original 3 and then the 2 books that came out a year or so ago.), Kevin J. Andersons trilogy I thought was quite good. If your really a Star Wars fan you really should read the Thrawn trilogy.

None of the "Star Trek" books hit shelves without approval from CBS, either, and they never have. It used to be that the books weren't terribly consistent with each other, and when the franchise was still cranking out TV shows and movies, they were often contradicted by what would come after. The last few years, however, the books have strived to create their own internal continuity, remaining consistent with both each other.

[sub780lime]

Dropping in to share my opinion about the movie. 3 things that stuck out for me.

1) How kid oriented the movie was. All Star Wars films are attractive to kids, but adults only. This seemed very kids oriented.
2) How out of place the music was. This isn't to say it was bad, just didn't have that Star Wars sound to it. It was the use of vocal pieces I think that made it seem off. It felt very Lord of the Ringish.
3) The story overall wasn't that great. I think they could have picked something a lot better to start off the TV show with. Hunting down Jabba's son. It was just sort of boring.

On the good side I liked the use of camera angles in this. There was some clever camera work, or artistry I could saw.