The fact that the one guy states "animated films always appeal to a younger
audience" kind of troubles me. Such an American attitude. Not the greatest fan
of CGI animated films, either. I wish they could have brought back genius Gendy
Tartakovsky, who did the great "Clone Wars" animated shorts for Cartoon
Network. Unless the series is exceptionally good, a CGI series aimed at younger
audience won't reel me in, especially since I like Star Wars, but can't really
call myself a fan.
*******************************
New `Star Wars' Film Animated Will Be
By JAKE COYLE 3 hours ago
NEW YORK (AP) The "Star Wars" universe, already substantially rendered by
computer generated imagery, is giving in all the way to animation.
"Star Wars: The Clone Wars," an animated film, will open in theaters Aug. 15
and be followed by a TV series of the same name, to air on the Cartoon Network
and TNT this fall.
"I felt there were a lot more `Star Wars' stories left to tell," said "Star
Wars" creator George Lucas in a statement. "I was eager to start telling some
of them through animation and, at the same time, push the animation forward."
Produced by Lucasfilm Animation, both the film and TV show will be distributed
through Time Warner Inc., which owns TNT, the Cartoon Network and the film's
distributor, Warner Bros.
Lucas, who serves as executive producer, is also planning a live-action
television series spinoff of the franchise, which he began working on last
fall. The animated series has long been in the works, though the theatrical
release was only announced late Tuesday.
The movie and subsequent series takes place between the ground covered in
episodes II and III of the "Star Wars" films: "Attack of the Clones" (2002) and
"Revenge of the Sith" (2005). It will include cartoon versions of many familiar
characters, including Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padme Amidala and
General Grievous.
A new character named Ahsoka, Anakin's padawan, will be the first female Jedi
to be a character of focus.
"It turned out to be an idea that George wanted to explore," said Dave Filoni,
director of the "Clone Wars" movie and supervising director of the series.
"Henry Gillroy (a writer on the series) and I very much wanted to have a female
Jedi in more of a lead role because you've had all the boys."
More than 30 episodes are planned, though Filoni declined to say exactly how
long the show will run. He acknowledged it's a finite timeline before
encroaching on "Revenge of the Sith" story lines.
Though the "Star Wars" films have been extraordinarily lucrative, the force
won't be expected to be as strong in cartoon form. The film and series are
clearly aimed at younger viewers, though Filoni hopes to also entice the many
"Star Wars" die-hard fans.
"An animated series always appeals more to a younger audience," said Filoni.
"But at the same time, we've tried to do some sophisticated things and ensure
that we are going to satisfy the broad spectrum of `Star Wars' fans."
Though Lucas farms out various "Star Wars" projects in what's known as the
"`Star Wars' expanded universe," Filoni says that Lucas ensured "The Clone
Wars" has "that `Star Wars' feeling."
Fans will also remember other animated series following the first time Lucas
completed a "Star Wars" trilogy. After "Return of the Jedi," the series "Ewoks"
and "Droids" ran in the late `80s.
The Cartoon Network also ran an earlier version of a "Clone Wars" animated
series for three seasons beginning in 2003.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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