THE FILM

Out of all the astonishing sights and sounds plastered to the big screen by the George Lucas franchise juggernaut "Star Wars," I think the last item on the average fan's wish list of things to see was "Teen Girl Jedi." Not that the inclusion of more female warriors is something to be shamed, but this puberty-bound knight is indicative the infantilized experience put forth by "The Clone Wars."

With the Clone Wars raging on, spreading out across the galaxy, a new predicament has appeared to challenge the Galactic Republic: the kidnapping of Jabba the Hutt's infant son, Rotta. Dispatching Anakin Skywalker (voiced by Matt Lanter) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor) to return the baby to Jabba so critical space routes can be freed up, the Jedi are accompanied by young Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), who is given to Anakin as is Padawan Learner. With Obi-Wan off to thwart Count Dooku's evil schemes, Anakin and Ashoka are left in charge of the smelly little slug, eager to return the child to Tatooine safely before Jabba sides with the Separatists and the war plunges further into chaos.

Essentially a pilot episode for the current "Clone Wars" television series, this CG-animated effort has arrived to goose some excitement for this unique detour in the "Star Wars" universe. Directed by Dave Filoni, "Clone Wars" attempts to drum up a few fistfuls of conflict within a plotline that runs between "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith." The audience already knows how the whole Skywalker saga concludes, but there's a horde of other action tangents and unanswered question to pursue here, such as: did Jabba have a gay uncle named Ziro?

Turns out he does! "Clone Wars" isn't shy reminding the audience that it's solely a cartoon and more or less meant for kids, not nitpicky, thirtysomething message-board loiterers who hold all things canon dear to their plastic-lightsaber hearts. Instead, the film is a fluid romp; a burst of wall-to-wall action and high-energy duels that plays merrily in the "Star Wars" sandbox without the burden of narrative connection. It's slight, but effective, only requiring a crash helmet for a few of the script's more outrageous and ill-conceived characterizations.

Rooted firmly in prequel iconography, "Clone Wars" takes what Lucas started with his controversial live-action efforts and embellishes the fantastical fringes further. While limited by stiff, budget, exaggerated CG animation (the lip-sync is distractingly terrible), the film works past the monetary limitations with a strong emphasis on adventure and smashmouth military campaigns. Filoni concentrates on the explosions and epic grandeur of intergalactic warfare, embedding the camera with the expendable clone troopers as they battle against clueless robot infantry. The action comes fast and furious, utilizing famous "Star Wars" vistas and sound cues while ratcheting up the velocity of the combat in a manner that live-action could never match. This extends to the lightsaber and spaceship skirmishes, which now ring with a cartoon polish that's immensely satisfying.

While "Clone Wars" remains a kick both in animated bravado and Skywalker nostalgia, the reality of the screenplay is a matter that pins the film down from true greatness. While the traditionally-animated "Clone Wars" series of shorts released years back relied on silence to hook the viewer into Jedi precision, the new picture is a verbose affair, with each character breathlessly informing the audience of their every thought. And we're not talking Algonquin round table bon mots, but juvenile dialogue aimed directly at the nosepickers. It fits accordingly with the overall intent of the upcoming series, but remains extremely off-putting with these characters, who nickname the infant Rotta, "Stinky," and offer withered comedic retorts with every step they take.

Because the action is so forceful and imaginatively animated, it's easy to ignore the relentless chatter. However, it's hard to turn a blind eye toward a character like Ziro. A cocktail-hour Hutt stationed in a jazz bar on Coruscant, Ziro has painted himself purple with glowing tattoos, wears feathers around his head, and speaks with a lispy Truman Capote pucker. What this character means to the overall "Star Wars" universe is not for me to answer, but it's a strange, self-aware moment in a rather stoic picture. It's already a house of horrors thinking about how Jabba even conceived a child, I don't think introducing his party boy uncle was an artistically necessary detour. Well, at least Jar-Jar Binks can take a breather as the most loathed character to emerge from the Lucas magic wand.

THE DVD

Visual:

The anamorphic widescreen (2.40:1 aspect ratio) image quality on the "Clone Wars" DVD is quite lovely, keeping the film's blast of colors and angles sharp and crisp. Coming from a digital source, the DVD handles the onscreen havoc quite well, with strong black levels and a multitude of details to soak up. The corner-cutting animation itself doesn't always sparkle, but the transfer is quite strong.

Audio:

A 5.1 Dolby Digital sound mix explodes from all sides, knocking the listener around during battle sequences with plenty of surround activity and bottom-heavy booms. Keeping in line with the rest of the "Star Wars" adventures, "Clone Wars" is a bright audio highlight, balancing dialogue and scoring effectively, but saving its might for the warfare. Spanish and French tracks are available as well.

Subtitles:

English for the Hearing Impaired, French, and Spanish subtitles are included.

Extras:

First up is a feature-length audio commentary with director Dave Filoni, producer Catherine Winder, writer Henry Gilroy, and editor Jason W.A. Tucker. The track is labeled "A Creative Conversation," and that's exactly what the listener receives, with all the participants discussing artistic choices made for the feature film, and by extension the entire "Clone Wars" series. Talk of "George" comes up frequently, revealing just how much input Lucas had on the final product. And here I assumed he was just collecting paychecks and nodding randomly.

The track is upbeat and celebratory, and the participants do put across an interesting exploration of production, pointing out shortcuts in animation and tributes for the fans. It's an informative, fun listen that helps to comprehend where this crazy creation is coming from.

For the record: the foursome adores Ziro the Hutt, and plan to use him liberally throughout the series. I don't know if I should laugh or cry.

"The Untold Stories" (24:51) hopes to explain what the whole "Clone Wars" series is all about. Interviewing most production participants, including Dave Filoni and George Lucas, the featurette lays out the motivation for the series: to explore all the odd characters and suburbs of the "Star Wars" universe. Filled with clips from the show and the live-action feature films, the mini-doc should provide a much needed dose of explanation to those wary of the whole animated venture.

"The Voices of 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars'" (10:01) steps into the recording booth to meet the actors behind the CG creations. What's interesting here is to watch the actors slip in and out of character or, for some, inhabit several roles in a single vocal track. This is a must-see part of the "Clone Wars" educational experience.

"A New Score" (10:45) interviews composer Kevin Kiner on his controversial reimagining of the orchestral "Star Wars" universe. Watching Kiner at work certainly helps to grasp the intention behind the music, leading to a new appreciation of the work.

A Gallery of concept art is included.

"Webisodes" (20:56) are short chunks of marketing, using BTS footage and interviews with Filoni to entice viewers to tune in to the show. If you visited a movie theater this summer (particularly AMC Theaters), you've seen these already.

"Deleted Scenes" (10:50) present more pieces of combat, a lightsaber battle between Anakin and Asajj Ventress inside a Rancor pit, Ahsoka and Anakin taking on a Droid Fighter, and more red hot Stinky cockpit action.

And finally, Two Theatrical Trailers are included on this DVD release.

FINAL THOUGHTS

With appearances by Jawas, sail barges, and familiar voices (Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Daniels, and Christopher Lee contribute); a few impressive lightsaber and blaster duels; the rise of a formidable Sith apprentice threat in Asajj Ventress; and a delightful new elasticity to all things "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away," "Clone Wars" can be a complete gas to more open-minded fans, and assured catnip to children. The occasional sexually-ambiguous Hutt or sassmouthed, premenstrual Jedi aside, it's an exciting picture and a tempting commencement for the television series.