Just when I thought I had reviewed every Star Wars film there is to discuss, scrolling through Disney+ reminded me that there was one more.  I am referring to the animated feature Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008), a movie that I avoided because my entire world was still reeling from the disaster that was the prequel trilogy.  I say “disaster,” but those three movies earned billions of dollars.  My opinion was informed by watching the Red Letter Media treatments of the trio, which are still great to go back and re-watch whenever you are bored.  Despite my adulation for their work with episodes one, two, and three, I refuse to give in to the hatred for seven, eight, and nine, no matter how much I love Red Letter Media.  At any rate, this 2008 installment launched a series of the same name that did much to reinvigorate the franchise and give Lucasfilm the boldness to continue producing stories, for better or worse.  Thus, there is no time like now to revisit this little story.

The first place we visit in Star Wars: The Clone Wars is the office of Chancellor Palpatine (voiced by Ian Abercrombie), the Supreme Leader of the galaxy-spanning government known as the Republic.  There is an ongoing war with a group known as the Separatists, with thousands of battles happening on as many planets.  With some of the more far-flung engagements, the need for being able to transport troops and material is paramount.  The Separatists are threatening those shipping lanes, many of which are controlled by the Hutts.  They are a race of beings known for their criminal enterprises.  Nonetheless, desperate times call for desperate measures.  Sensing this, the Separatists have sent Count Dooku (voiced by Christopher Lee) to kidnap Jabba the Hutt’s (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) son, Rotta the Hutt (voiced by David Acord).  By doing so, the Separatists hope to lure the Jedi, the group of warrior monks leading the fight for the Republic, into a trap and make it look like they are responsible for taking Rotta.  In this way, the Hutts will support the Separatists and make continuing the war more difficult for the Republic.  For the moment, Jabba does not know who is responsible, only that Rotta is missing.  As such, he appeals to Chancellor Palpatine for assistance, who then turns to Masters Mace Windu (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) and Yoda (voiced by Tom Kane).  The Jedi are quick to point out how overstretched are their forces, but Chancellor Palpatine underscores the importance of appealing to the Hutts.  The only two that Masters Windu and Yoda could think of to be in any position to take on this mission are Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (voiced by James Arnold Taylor) and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker (voiced by Matt Lanter), though they are currently involved with taking back a planet from the Separatists.  Because of the ongoing battle, communicating with them is tricky, so their message is sent via Anakin’s new padawan learner, Ahsoka Tano (voiced by Ashley Eckstein).  Because it is assumed that the newcomer is meant for Master Kenobi, Anakin is surprised to be told that the Jedi Council had assigned Ahsoka to him.  Hence, for much of their early interactions, including working together to finally defeat the Separatists droids on the current planet, he is more annoyed with her than anything else.  For her part, she is trying everything she can to impress her new master.  Once that situation is resolved, Ahsoka, Anakin, and Master Kenobi can finally turn their attention to their new mission.  To accomplish it, Master Kenobi is sent to Tatooine to calm Jabba and let the Hutt know that they are endeavoring to rescue Rotta.  The Jedi are given a day to return Jabba’s son.  That does not leave a lot of time for Ahsoka and Anakin, along with a squad of clone troopers (hence the title), to assault the tower citadel on yet another planet where the Huttling is being held.  It is, of course, a trap, with Count Dooku’s own Sith disciple, Asajj Ventress (voiced by Nika Futterman), leading a number of battle droids lurking in the shadows.  Further, through the direction of the shadowy Darth Sidious (voiced by Ian Abercrombie), Count Dooku approaches Jabba after Master Kenobi’s departure to suggest that it is the Jedi behind the taking of Rotta.  With footage provided by Asajj showing Ahsoka and Anakin putting Rotta in a sack, Count Dooku gets Jabba wanting to back the Separatists.  News of this reaches back to the capital on Coruscant, and Senator Padmé Amidala (voiced by Catherine Taber) is dispatched to confer with Ziro the Hutt (voiced by Corey Burton), the Hutt representative.  In doing so, she discovers that Ziro has been working with Count Dooku to replace his nephew, Jabba, as the one controlling the Hutt clans.  As such, Senator Amidala is captured, but is freed by the hapless protocol droid C-3PO (voiced by Anthony Daniels).  Meanwhile, Ahsoka and Anakin make it to Tatooine, but crash land far from Jabba’s palace.  Anakin sends Ahsoka ahead while he deals with Count Dooku.  The Sith Lord does not realize he has been deceived until it is too late, and Ahsoka has brought Rotta to Jabba.  At the same moment, Senator Amidala contacts Jabba, showing that Ziro is the one responsible for the treachery.  Jabba is satisfied and he signs the treaty that will allow the Republic to move their ships through his territory.

The signing of treaties and other political maneuverings in Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a hallmark of the prequel material.  The fact that there is so much of this kind of stuff is partly why Red Letter Media was so critical of those three films.  The original trilogy had some politics, but they were mostly space adventures and fantasy.  That was all well and good for me as a kid, but it was always the Jedi that intrigued me.  You can partially blame this on my Catholic upbringing, a religion with monks and nuns.  This has been who the Jedi has sometimes been compared to, although the secondary title of “warrior” has seldom been applied to female or male religious in the Church.  You have to go back to the crusades to find anything remotely close to the Jedi within Catholicism with the Hospitaler and Templar orders.  Those few centuries of their existence are the only time the Church has condoned their clergy engaging in violence in its 2,000-year history.  Instead, I have more often likened the Jedi to Shaolin monks, the Buddhist sect that gave the world kung fu.  In any case, what is interesting about comparing Catholic monks and nuns, the Jedi, and Shaolin is that they are supposed to be celibate.  This is not something you get in the film, but Anakin and Senator Amidala are secretly married, something you see in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002).  The reason for the Jedi not being married is somewhat similar to how the Church views the subject.  While there is nothing wrong with finding a spouse and starting a family, some people are called to a different purpose.  If that happens to be serving God, or the Jedi Order, then that should be that person’s focus.  Having a family while also attempting to adhere to a higher purpose splits one’s attention, often leading to one or the other (ultimately both) being neglected.  With this in mind, you would not know there is anything at all between Anakin and Senator Amidala from watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars, aside from a few knowing looks and words in the brief moments in which they interact.  This same holds true for the show, except for a few moments when they get to be in one another’s presence.  I would argue that they are not doing right, and everything that happens afterwards goes to show that perhaps celibacy is not a bad idea.

By everything that happens afterwards, I am referring to the familiar events following Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  However, those are reviews for another time, all of which you can find on The Legionnaire.  Instead, if you want to watch this solid piece of Star Wars lore, know that what you are seeing is the beginning of a different direction for the franchise.