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Star Wars: The Clone Wars 2-Disc Special Edition expands the Lucas universe, adding depth and background to the classic space saga.

Taking place in the Star Wars continuity between Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (and roughly around the same time covered by the Clone Wars cell-animated show), Clone Wars helps to start filling in that three year gap.  The movie is a computer-generated cartoon that was released in theaters as a lead into the television series of the same name.  An alteration from the normal Star Wars mold, this movie opens not with a background text crawl, but instead with narration by a voice that sounds like it came out of a WWII American propaganda film.  I know purists out there hate when things don’t stay the same, but I think the narration works. It shows some action instead of merely describing it.

As the story opens, the Jedi and the Republic are being called upon by Jabba the Hutt to recover his kidnapped son Rotta.  The Jedi council task Obi-Wan Kenobi and young Jedi master Anakin Skywalker with the retrieval of Rotta.  Before the duo can get started they have to lead their clone battalions against battle droids advancing on a Republic world.  In the process of this attack the Jedi Council saddles Anakin with a Padawan learner named Ashoka Tano (for all the geeks out there, her species is Togruta).

Sith Lord Count Dooku, his apprentice Asajj Ventress, and their Separatist droid army are behind the kidnapping, but convince Jabba they are also looking for Rotta, insinuating that the Jedi are the kidnappers.  Misdirection and lies help weave a mystery motif throughout the story without interrupting the amazing flow of the grand space opera.

Anakin vacillates back and forth between teaching Ashoka and berating her impulsiveness all along their journey.  She shows similar qualities to Anakin, without the hint of anger that taints his actions.  While he barks orders at the clones, she’s more apt to tell them war stories to boost their morale. 

Through some epic scale battles and witty dialogue (punctuated by the Star Wars-style of slapstick), the plot moves along sending Jedi and Sith on a galactic game of keep-away.  The prize: the life of Rotta the Hutt and by extension, the alliance of Jabba’s underworld empire.  Blaster fire and sizzling lightsabers build towards the final confrontation at Jabba’s palace, and sets the stage for the ongoing stories in the television show.

The clones and the battle droids get a lot more screen time and dialogue than in the live action movies.  With the clones we get to see them as individuals who just happen to share the same face.  Different hair colors and styles, tattoos, scars, and most importantly personalities make them more personable and identifiable.  The main two clones are Commander Cody and Captain Rex.  The battle drones are more homogenous in comparison.  The two exceptions are the reddish sergeant and the yellow lieutenant.  The lieutenant is really funny and has some great one-liners.

Several great Star Wars traditions are upheld in the Clone Wars.  My favorite is the Wilhelm scream, which is a clichéd movie sound effect easily recognizable.  It’s been used in all six live-action Star Wars films (the Stormtrooper in the original film who falls down a shaft right before Luke and Leia swing across it).  The scream is used twice and made the little geek in me giggle all over the place both times.  Other traditions include Sith force-choking, blue-tinted holograms, the previously mentioned epic battles, and the line, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”  The score is updated, but pays obvious homage to the brilliant work of John Williams.

The actors returning to voice their roles are Christopher Lee as Count Dooku/Tyranus, Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu, and Anthony Daniels as C-3PO.  New voices to familiar characters consist of Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker, James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Tom Kane as Yoda, Catherine Taber as Padmé Amidala,  Ian Abercrombie as Palpatine/Sidious, and Kevin Michael Richardson as Jabba.  Two new voices to go along with two new faces are Ashley Eckstein as Ashoka and Nika Futterman as Ventress.  Dee Bradley Baker voices all the clones and Skywalker sound editor Matthew Wood provides the voices of the battle droids.

The 2-Disc edition comes in a sleeve with a lenticular cover.  It morphs back and forth between Anakin wielding a blue lightsaber and leading a dispatch of clones and Ventress holding two red lightsabers and leading a group of super battle droids.  The special feature on the first disc is a director/writer/producer/editor commentary track.  The second disc has several bonuses, and the biggie among them is the Untold Stories section that features interviews with several crew members (as well as George Lucas himself) as they set the stage for and present clips from upcoming episodes in the Clone Wars television series.

More extras on disc two are a featurette on the voice actors that also extends into voices from the series (very funny and cool), a new music featurette about composer Kevin Kiner (filled with great music), and a gallery of concept art (including maquettes and sketches).  Not enough?  How about webisodes on the making of the film (hosted by director Dave Filoni in his ever-present fedora), deleted scenes (Rancor pit, Rancor pit!), and trailers (including the Clone Wars video game).  Great extras all around.

Star Wars is my religion and I am proud to say that I’ve seen all six live-action films in the theater during their original releases.  I often have to opt out of conversations when people say derogatory things about the prequels so as not to come off like a frothing fanatic.  And for my money, Star Wars: The Clone Wars 2-Disc Special Edition is a must-have for any Star Wars collection.  Or for any collection that prizes story, character, fantastic visuals, and great sound.

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