Star Wars: Clone Wars is an animated micro-series for television that recounts the Clone Wars conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Cartoon Network Studios produced it, originally broadcasting the episodes from 2003 to 2005. Its purpose was to act as a narrative connection linking the films Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. The series is structured into twenty-five chapters; the first two seasons (Volume I) consist of three-minute segments, while the third season (Volume II) features segments ranging from twelve to fifteen minutes. The success of Star Wars: Clone Wars spurred the creation of a similarly named series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
During the early 2000s, Hasbro requested that Lucasfilm create a project set between the prequel films with the aim of increasing action figure sales and promoting the then-upcoming Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. Cartoon Network, who previously collaborated with Hasbro on their Transformers franchise, proposed Genndy Tartakovsky, who was concluding his work on the animated show Samurai Jack. Lucasfilm engaged with Tartakovsky, and he accepted the project on the condition that the shorts be extended from the initially suggested 1-minute duration to a range of 3 to 5 minutes.
Tartakovsky presented the show's concept as having "a Band of Brothers-esque quality, featuring episodes focused on various battles and strategies that occurred during the Clone Wars." After Lucasfilm and Cartoon Network gave their approval, Tartakovsky went on to produce twenty episodes, each lasting 3 minutes. The production of the series primarily utilized traditional animation methods. For instance, Tartakovsky animated C-3PO's eyes in a manner that paid tribute to the animation style of Nelvana, the company behind the Droids and Ewoks series, as well as the animated segment of The Star Wars Holiday Special, all of which he had grown up watching.
The show's success resulted in a third season being approved, consisting of five episodes that ran between 12 and 15 minutes each. Cartoon Network conducted a poll to determine which of three new Jedi characters would be introduced in the series. The options included Roron Corobb, Voolvif Monn, and Foul Moudama. Voolvif Monn secured the most votes and was featured in "Chapter 20." Despite the poll's outcome, the other two Jedi were subsequently introduced, playing more significant roles than Monn.
Star Wars: Clone Wars was broadcast on Cartoon Network beginning on November 7, 2003, and concluding on March 25, 2005. The episodes were made available simultaneously on television and online for members of the Hyperspace fan club. The following day, they became accessible on cartoonnetwork.com and StarWars.com for individuals who were not Hyperspace members. In a promotional effort, Cartoon Network organized a Star Wars competition related to the 2004 DVD release of the original trilogy.
20th Century Fox distributed the series on home video in two stages during 2005. The first DVD, containing Chapters 1 through 20, was released on March 22, 2005, which was one day after the third and final season premiered. The second DVD, featuring Chapters 21 through 25, was released on December 6, 2005, coinciding with the release of the "family pack" DVD re-release of the original trilogy. Additionally, Chapters 1 and 8 were included on a "Bonus Lightsaber Action DVD" that was bundled with Hasbro's Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Darth Vader toy lightsabers.
In March of 2021, it was announced on Disney's D23.com website that the entire series would be available on Disney+ starting on April 2.
A PhotoComic adaptation of the entire series was launched on May 21, 2008. Dark Horse published a comic book series inspired by the show's artwork and atmosphere, incorporating direct plot connections in certain instances. Hasbro introduced three series of action figures, one for each season. The initial two series were exclusively available at Target before becoming available at StarWarsShop.com, while the final series was distributed across multiple retailers. In July 2021, following the show's release on Disney+, StarWars.com announced that Hasbro would be producing Clone Wars figures for its Black Series and Vintage Collection product lines.
Clone Wars achieved recognition as one of the first online series to receive an Emmy Award, which was attributed to its simultaneous release on both television and the internet. The first and second seasons were honored with an Emmy for "Outstanding Animated Program" in 2004, and the third season received the same award in 2005. Furthermore, Justin Thompson, the background key designer, was recognized with an "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation" award for his contributions to the third season. The series also received nominations and awards at the 32nd and 33rd Annie Awards, respectively, for "Best Animated Television Production."
- Star Wars: Clone Wars Volume One
- Star Wars: Clone Wars Volume Two
- Star Wars: Bonus Lightsaber Action DVD
- Star Wars: Clone Wars on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Star Wars: Clone Wars on Cartoon Network (content now obsolete; archived from the original on June 5, 2005)
- Star Wars: Clone Wars on Wikipedia
- Star Wars: Clone Wars at the Internet Movie Database