Thursday February 20, 10:25 am ET
20 Animated "Clone Wars' Serial Shorts to Appear on Cartoon Network in 2003-2004
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 20, 2003--Cartoon Network and Lucasfilm Ltd. announced today a partnership to create Star Wars: Clone Wars, a series of 20 animated shorts that will air on Cartoon Network in 2003-2004 between other programming.
Star Wars: Clone Wars continues the saga where the live action feature film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones left off - at the beginning of the Clone Wars, an epic civil war that pits the old Republic against a vast separatist movement led by the forces of evil.
Each episodic short will be two- to three-minutes in length and will air exclusively on Cartoon Network at regularly scheduled times during the network's regular programming beginning later this fall. Clone Wars will be produced at Cartoon Network Studios by a team led by Genndy Tartakovsky, the creator of Samurai Jack and Dexter's Laboratory.
As Clone Wars unfolds the valiant Jedi Knights lead the Republic's Clone Army against many new and ruthless adversaries across the galaxy. These new characters, epic battles and intricate stories will add an exciting new dimension to the Star Wars saga.
"We are incredibly excited to be working with Lucasfilm in creating an animated story that extends one of the world's most beloved entertainment properties," said Sam Register, senior vice president of development for Cartoon Network. "Cartoon Network's creative team will work hand-in-hand with Lucasfilm to make sure that our common vision for Clone Wars thrills Star Wars fans around the world."
"Genndy Tartakovsky and the team at Cartoon Network are tops in their field," said Howard Roffman, president of Lucas Licensing. "Their work on Samurai Jack shows that they can tell an epic story in a unique way, lavishing equal attention on dramatic battle scenes as well as the dramatic development of the characters."
"I was contacted because I've always been very vocal that I'm a Star Wars fan and would love to work on it," says Tartakovsky. "So, the Cartoon Network came up to me and asked me to put a little pitch together. We came up with this idea of doing a Clone Wars-style story with a Band of Brothers-feel to it -- where it's episodes of different battles and strategies during the Clone Wars. We went up to Lucasfilm and pitched it, and everyone enjoyed it, and it just came together."
The end result will be 20 animated shorts of two-to-three-minutes running time each, telling one continuous story of the Clone Wars, as well as side stories that branch from the main. "A little bit of the story changed here and there since the pitch, but it's pretty much the same," says Tartakovsky. "Anakin and Obi-Wan are on Muunilinst, and they're taking out these factories that the Federation has built. And in our side stories, we have Kit Fisto, another with Mace, another with Yoda and Padmé."
The following was also noted:
In addition to returning characters like Obi-Wan, Anakin, Mace and Yoda, Star Wars: Clone Wars will spotlight new characters, designs and hardware, which Tartakovsky and his artists are eagerly tackling. "We are having a lot of fun with the new ARC troopers, which are elite commando units of clone troopers. They're all... well, more cool," he says. "There's a new female warrior, and Paul Rudish designed her ship, and it was approved and turned out great."
The female warrior is Asajj Ventress, a deadly Dark Jedi armed with paired lightsabers bearing the distinctive curved handles of her mentor. "Ventress' whole backstory was written by Lucasfilm and Dark Horse Comics, but her role in here is that Count Dooku hires her like a new Jango Fett-type. She's sent as an assassin to kill Anakin. She's a really cool bald chick, and she's got great powers, and her and Anakin will have an amazing hardcore fight," says Tartakovsky."
Vympel's take: this fucking sucks.
As for elite commando troopers- fine. That I can deal with. But the art looks shit.
YUK YUK YUK YUK
