A GALAXY DIVIDED…

Anakin and his new Padawan - Ahsoka Tano

Originally released in theaters on August 15, 2008, the film was originally intended to be the first three episodes of the series introducing us to this new animated world of Star Wars. Set between Episode 2: Attack of the Clones and Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, we see the exploits of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi as they lead their clone troopers into battle against the Separatists and their droid army.

After the opening Battle of Christophsis, we are introduced to Anakin’s Padawan learner, Ahsoka Tano, in this film. What’s that? You didn’t know Anakin had a Padawan? Neither did anyone else until the creator, George Lucas, decided that this is now canon in the Star Wars universe.

The film is mostly about Anakin and Ahsoka learning to work together and Anakin deciding if he wants to have a Padawan or not. The two find a middle ground and learn to work with each other to be successful.

While I could go into the minutiae of their mission to save Rotta the Hutt (because yeah, Jabba the Hutt now has a son), or how Padme gets involved with Ziro the Hutt (Jabba’s uncle), or how even Count Dooku now has a new Sith Padawan, Asajj Ventress; I won’t because really you just need to watch it and enjoy it for yourself.

While the animation is a little different and honestly it’s not as good as it will be later on as the series progresses, there are some fun moments in the film. Anakin and Ahsoka learning to get along as they fight battle droids with their lightsabers as the scale the cliffs of the Teth Monastery is one of the more exciting parts of the film. Watching Asajj Ventress and Obi-wan Kenobi duel with the lightsabers as they bicker back and forth sets up their rivalry for future meetings and is fun to watch too.

At just over an hour and a half long, this film is a fun introduction to The Clone Wars series that ends up being seven seasons long and is a great starting point for the series.