The time has come for me to do a review of the season premiere of Clone Wars, and I must say, the crew is working hard to pull out all the stops on this season.

This premiere is a bookend on either side of one of my favorite episodes from Season 1 entitled “Rookies”. Rookies tells the tale of a new batch of shiny clones, fresh out of their training and guarding the Rishi Outpost, a listening station designed to prevent a Separatist attack on Kamino, where we all know that Clones are grown and trained.

The first episode of the premiere is called “Clone Cadets” and follows these clones during their training. Although they’re reluctant heroes in “Rookies”, in this episode they all get wiped out in every training simulation and have no idea how to work together. Jedi Master Shaak Tii and a pair of Bounty Hunters in charge of their training argue about what to do with them. The most likely scenario for them is to flunk out with the rest of the “bad batchers” and join the maintenance clones, headed up by 99. 99 is the hunchbacked clone with flayed skin and a heart of gold. An Arc trooper named Colt shows up and oversees the final stage of their training and it’s a very cool thing to see.

Though I’ll skip the details since you’ll want to see for yourself, 99 encourages this group to work as a team and they pass their training, which is an obvious conclusion if you’ve seen “Rookies”

This half of the premiere was very fun to watch, but not terribly substantive. It does have a great heart and soul with the 99 character though, who within his first scene impressed me as a very ‘Gunga Din’ sort of character. If you’ve ever watched that movie, that pretty much gives away what’s in store for him, but it’s worth it. It’s interesting to see the troopers train and get an official sense of what goes on during that process, but ultimately, this is just a set up for the second episode in the arc, “Arc Troopers”.

“Arc Troopers” picks up where season one’s “Rookies” left off, with the Separatists on their merry way to invade Kamino and disrupt the flow of clones to the Grand Army of Republic. As it turns out, Ventress has been laying in wait beneath the oceans of Kamino with an amphibious strike force and Grievous’ attack was a feint to distract from her assault.

Though Obi-Wan discovers the true assault in the nick of time, Ventress and Grievous are able to do some serious damage and are on their way to steal Jango’s DNA so they can disrupt production of Clones for the Empire and perhaps make their own army. Will the Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Shaak Tii reposition their forces (with the help of the “Rookies”, 99, and a whole bunch of young clones (with Daniel Logan reprising his role as their voice)) in time to deflect the massive strike force? Or will the Separatists win out at the end?

I’ll leave the episode for you to watch, but let me make this clear. Some might argue that this is a Clone episode, between the great stuff 99 is doing and the stuff the remaining “Rookies” do, this is an episode full of great action moments.

But make no mistake: This is Ventress’ episode.

She shines in this episode in a way I didn’t think she could or would. Even with her best moment deleted, she still drips with lethal sexuality and it’s scary. She got to face off in an epic lightsaber duel with Anakin, though I’d almost like to have seen her face off with Shaak Tii, who’s animation in this episode is beyond fluid and gorgeous. (There was a moment where Shaak Tii was talking on a communicator and deflecting laser bolts all at the same time that I must have rewound and watched again 5 times. It was so graceful and bad ass… I just can’t wait for you all to see it.)

At the end of the day though, I really can’t tell what my favorite parts of these episodes were, Ventress blossoming as a villain, or 99’s arc. Both are excellent, both are well worth your time.

Though the attack on Kamino is ultimately repelled, Grievous and Ventress make damn sure the Republic forces pay a price for the assault.

As far as the technical achievement of these episodes, I don’t think any fan could be happier. Season three is a quantum leap forward in look and animation. These guys have nailed the story element since day one (I’ve been rewatching Season 1, and the animation is a little rubbery and the backgrounds a little flat, but the stories are still top notch), but now the animation, painted models, lighting, effects, backgrounds, everything… It’s all put together to make the best looking episodes we’ve ever seen. And this is the beginning of this season. I can’t even imagine what is in store for us.

I want to point out, too, that you need to be watching this in HD on the biggest TV possible. Re-watching those Blu-rays and seeing this premiere at Lucasfilm have really opened my eyes to the quality of the animation. Every frame is a painting I’d hang on a wall. In a good enough quality and size, you really can see the brush strokes on the models and in the backgrounds.

It’s beautiful.

I’m glad we have Clone Wars. It just keeps getting better.

To catch up on season one, order that here.  You can preorder season two here.

You all know that we write a weekly column for IN Magazine, but sometimes I’m able to write up other things of significance.

In this week’s issue, I was able to write up a blurb for the audiences of IN about The Season Premiere of The Clone Wars and my trip to Lucasfilm. I’m sure you’ve heard plenty about it by now, but I thought you’d all like to check out what I wrote for a more general audience. Maybe it’ll give you some ideas on how to spread the gospel of Clone Wars to the non-believers.

You can read the online version here, or click on the image below to see what it looks like in printed form. And don’t forget to read Ryan Michael Painter’s review of the new Metroid game on the page as well.

For all of the rest of our Clone Wars coverage, click here.

I came across this incredibly detailed handmade helmet on The Dented Helmet’s facebook page and I just had to share it with everyone.

The artist was a fellow named Jon Wollack of Almost Dark Productions.

This is a pretty competent and beautifully executed blend of Boba Fett and the sort of helmet you’d see in an era like the one 300 was set in.

I’ve been staring at it for an hour and it’s really cost me a lot of time at work, but I wanted to make sure I shared it with all of you, because it’s really that cool.

As readers will know, I was able to attend and cover the red carpet premiere of The Clone Wars (which hits televisions for everyone else on Friday, September 17th).

StarWars.com posted a video of the event with interviews with the cast and director, as well as George Lucas himself.

Though I’ll post a picture of it, you can spot me just before I met George Lucas as he was signing autographs for the kids of the Boys and Girls Club who were lucky enough to attend the event at Lucasfilm’s Presidio campus.

This gives a tantalizing behind the scenes glimpse of the third season of Clone Wars.  It’s been subtitled “Secrets Revealed” and from tidbits I’ve heard, we’re in for some pretty major secrets.

In honor of its 25^th anniversary, the Walt Disney Company has released The Black Cauldron as a Special Edition DVD.  The film, Based on Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain books, is the story of a boy named Taran who find himself involved in a quest to locate the magical Black Cauldron before the Horned King finds it and uses it for evil.  Taran is aided by the pig Hen Wen, beautiful Princess Eilonwy, and furry little Gurgi during his daring quest.

In this scene, Taran first meets Princess Eilonwy, and it quite clear that she is not the typical damsel in distress:

The Black Cauldron was made after animator Don Bluth (The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail) left the studio.  Often considered dark by Disney standards, it was a failure at the box office and deviated quite a bit from Alexander’s books.  This was a low point in Disney animation history, when the styles of yesterday clashed with the new blood in the studio.  With Bluth and others gone, morale was low. It would be a few years before Disney found its way again with the successes of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. 

However, Cauldron is not a terrible film.  It just feels a bit out of place when compared to the brighter and happier Disney films with singing fish and dancing candlesticks.  The PG rating for an animated film also worked against it, particularly in the early 80’s.   

Bonus features include a deleted scene with the Fairfolk and The Witches’ Challenge Game, in which players must solve riddles to possess a magical sword.

Behind-the-scenes artwork and photos are also available on the DVD, as well as a trivia game and a classic Donald Duck cartoon from 1952.

Lucasfilm has been kind enough to give us another look at the premiere of Clone Wars.  Sorry to bombard you with all the Star Wars news, but it’s a Star Wars kind of week.  And really, if you didn’t like it, you wouldn’t click on it.

And I can vouch for the episode.  It’s great.

From their press release:

The war wears on, and the Republic is pushed to its breaking point. Support for the Jedi Knights and their noble cause comes in the form of valiant clone troopers – steadfast defenders of peace and justice, even as the Jedi falter and the mighty Republic begins to crumble. Joined by familiar faces and confronted with deadly new threats, these everyman heroes lead the charge into a transformative new season of Clone Wars adventures – where alliances will be tested, truths will be questioned and galaxy-changing secrets will be uncovered to shake the very foundations of the Star Wars universe. The next chapter of Star Wars: The Clone Wars begins with a must-see two-part premiere, airing at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT Friday, September 17 on Cartoon Network.

In “Clone Cadets,” five headstrong cadets – Hevy, Cutup, Droidbait, Fives and Echo – struggle to complete their training on the ocean planet of Kamino. Unable to work together as a team, they must learn to embrace their future as soldiers before they are drummed out of the academy.

“It’s a band-of-brothers story that takes you back before most of the episodes we’ve seen so far; it’s one of the earliest episodes – chronologically – in the series,” says Dee Bradley Baker, voice of the clones. “We’re going to see how the ‘shinies’ [new recruits featured in the first season episode, ‘Rookies’] learn to work together. Starting off, they’re not a team at all. They’re just everymen; they’re human. And now they’ve got to pull it together. There’s something really cool about how the show brings out the heroism from characters like that – not just the superpowered ones.”

A revealing look at clone development and training, the episode also introduces a unique new character. Clone Number 99 is a unique clone – and imperfect model relegated to menial, custodial duties at the Kamino production facility. Still, despite his physical flaws, he nonetheless identifies with his genetic brethren – and he aspires to make his own small contributions to their noble war efforts.

“He’s a great example of the show’s creative risks,” says Baker. “I was nervous going into this episode. Does he sound real? Is he believable? I agonized over it; he’s a very special character, and a very unique challenge. Kinda high stakes for me, because I wanted so badly to get it right. He’s a little bit slower…quieter…softer than your basic clone voice. I skewed his dialect toward cockney to give him a blue collar, salt-of-the-earth flavor. I’ve got a lot of favorites, but 99’s definitely one of them. His story is very affecting – really beautiful on a lot of different levels.”

On the heels of “Clone Cadets” comes “ARC Troopers,” which revisits the clones after the notable events of “Rookies” – with the surviving squad members tasked with defending Kamino from a large-scale Separatist attack. After the Republic repulses the Separatists’ first assault, the real threat begins. Asajj Ventress, General Grievous and an army of droids rise out of the planet’s oceans, determined to destroy the clone production facilities – and the clones themselves are the last line of desperate defense.

“This episode raises the stakes in a really spectacular way. This is big space opera; this is why you want to own an HD TV. It’s basically the scale of a Star Wars movie – on TV,” says Baker. “It’s awesome. I’m so very proud of this show; it’s exciting to make this kind of episode work. And it’s such a team effort. There’s an army of artists working to make this compelling and moving.
This is extraordinary storytelling.”

And it’s just the beginning. In a galaxy far, far away…much to learn there still is.

One of the highlights of going to the Red Carpet premiere of Clone Wars was getting to talk to Seth Green and Matt Senreich about the new Star Wars TV show.

No one has been able to pin down what the show is going to be like, exactly, because there have been so many different conflicting reports, and this interview is going to just add to the muddle.  But we’ll get to that later.

According to Seth, “We’re hard at work on the show right now, full time.”

Matt explained that they’re doing all of the development and production up front and then they’ll be looking for distribution.  They won’t even begin looking for a distributor until the first season is finished, just like Clone Wars, and we shouldn’t expect to see any indication of what the show looks like or what it’s about (aside from what they told me) until after that process is completed.

When I asked them what the show is about, I got a flurry of responses:

Matt: “It’s a surreal experience.”

Seth: “It’s comedic.”

Matt: “It’s short form comedy,”

When I asked about the comments George Lucas made about it being like a Spongebob show, Matt gave a pretty interesting answer.  “That’s not entirely a false statement.  I mean, what kind of Spongebob are we talking about?  Are we talking about the 4 years olds who watch it because it’s goofy?  Or the college age kids who watch it because it’s hilarious?”

Seth chimed in saying, “The best analogy I think is that it’s Star Wars without the wars.”

“But that’s not entirely true, either,” Matt corrected him.

“How about this, then.  It’s the funniest television since Lucille Ball?”

“Could be.”

“Or maybe like…  Jon Stewart on steroids mixed with Dave Chapelle?”

“I can see that.”

Of all of the descriptions, I think the Jon Stewart mixed with Dave Chapelle is the most radically different we’ve heard the show described, but evokes the most stimulating thoughts in my brain.  Something that sort of has a tongue in cheek look at the universe, but parceled out in sketch comedy bits with a host.  Who knows until we see it, but they were pretty overwhelmed with excitement talking about it, and had a hard time keeping their mouths shut.

I then asked them about the look of the show, 2D or 3D, etc.  Seth provided a pretty straight answer to that question.  “It’s all CG, but it’s unlike any established Star Wars you’ve ever seen.  It has a look that’s completely on it’s own.  It’s not like the movies, it’s not like the other cartoons, it’s not like Clone Wars.  This is new.”

Scarlett RoBotica, who accompanied me, asked quite bluntly, “Is Yoda going to be on the show?”

To which they both froze.  Dumbfounded.

“Uhhh…” Seth said.

Matt closed his lips and made a motion like he was locking his mouth and throwing away the key.

It was then that a voice over my right shoulder said, “Don’t tell these guys anything.  And don’t listen to a word these guys say.”

It was George Lucas, who came over to heckle, with his son Jett.

At that point, I was a little dumbfounded and stopped taking notes, so I’m not exactly sure what was said, only that there was much joking around.   After that, we had to head into the theatre, but it was probably the most fun I’ve ever had having an interview get crashed.

I’m not sure how much of this information is actually new, but I do have to say that it’s great to get it all condensed and straight from the horses mouth.  And I would say it’s safe to say you shouldn’t expect many details to leak until the first season is finished and a distributor has stepped on board to pick it up.

I’ll report more on this as I find it out, though.

Be sure to read the rest of my report from the Season 3 of Clone Wars and it’s red carpet premiere.

I really hadn’t intended to attend the premiere of the third season of Clone Wars in San Francisco at the Presidio (which is home to Lucasarts and Industrial Light and Magic) and is home to the infamous “Yoda Statue”.  Hundreds of kids from the local boys and girls club were invited to the ranch along with the cast and crew of Clone Wars, as well as five or six members of the press.

Cartoon Network also had a crew on hand, filming the lead up for September 17th’s television premiere of the show.

James Arnold Taylor (Voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi) seemed to be hosting the countdown to the premiere.  He interviewed fellow castmates like Dee Bradley Baker (Voice of the Clones) below:

Dee was also inducted as an honorary member of the 501st, who had plenty of Clones on hand to present him with his plaque:

After that, I had a chance to talk with the major players.  First we talked to Ashley (which Big Shiny Robot! Reporter Scarlett RoBotica wrote up for us here.)

Ashley also spoke a bit about what she liked in Season 2 and what we can expect about Ahsoka getting into Season 3.  “It’s weird recording them and watching them finished.  When I saw the brain slugs episode, I squealed like a little girl.”

“As far as Season 3 goes, we’ll be seeing Ahsoka growing up in more ways than one, and that’s really all I can say about that.”

Next we got to talk to Cary Silver, producer of the Clone Wars.  Without even asking him a question, he blurted out confidently, “Season 3 is going to rock.”

When asked what was different about Season 3, he explained that “George Lucas is constantly raising the bar and we’re working on an established foundation of the best production team.  The show has really hit it’s rhythm.”

I then asked him what his favorite part of being apart of Clone Wars, he remarked, “I love being part of the Star Wars and working with Dave and George is incredible.”  He also described the fan reaction to tidbits of Season 3 at Celebration V “mindblowing.”

Next, I had a chance to talk to James, who was a joy to see and talk to, as always.

We talked a little about our mutual love for the newest character premiering in these two episodes, a Clone named number 99.  We both agreed that he was very “Gunga Din” and he went on to explain, “The greatest thing about this show is that George Lucas is educating kids in movies and mythology.

James had some interesting things to say about Ventress and the DVD of Season 3, but as far as I can tell after watching the episode was that he was referring to the censored shot that was excised at the behest of Cartoon Network.

Then James was attacked by Seth Green:

I then talked to Seth Green and Matt Senreich about their new Star Wars show until we were interrupted by none other than George Lucas who came over to heckle us all. (seriously.)  But that report will be up tomorrow.

After that, I had a chance to talk to Dave Filoni and he provided a few juicy tidbits about not only the premiere, but also about the show in general.

We talked about the inspiration for 99, and I asked if Gunga Din was a conscious draw, or if I was reading too deeply into it.  “Now that you say that, I can see it.  But it wasn’t specifically talked about.  And this all came from George, so it wouldn’t surprise me.  But 99 is such a great character and I loved what we did with his relationship with Heavy.  I would love to have drawn that relationship out even more, I’d give them their own 22 minutes if I could.”

One thing that I’ve been very curious about (and I know a number of you are, too) is the timeline of the episodes.  I asked if we’d ever get a chance to see that timeline.  “I have it, I know it.  It will get released eventually, but Season 3 is really all about cleaning up all these loose threads.  Like this premiere really fleshes out an episode from Season 1 and we have more like that.”

He also told me that it would be a safe assumption that episodes where Ahsoka is not preset is a good general indicator that it occurs before the events of the movie.

It was then time to go into the theatre.

This is the theatre where ILM shows dailies and other footage and I was told by Joel Aron, the CG Supervisor on Clone Wars, that the sound system and projection in the theatre is overseen by the former head roadie from Guns and Roses, and he likes his projection bulbs bright and his audio loud.

But before we get to the episode, I want to mention that Captain Rex introduced the film:

A member of the 501st in a flawless Captain Rex costume came out and pantomimed to Dee Bradley Baker, who was introducing the film for the kids in the audience with a wireless mic off-stage.  It got the kids pumped and then the episode began.

It’s a little hard to describe how both surreal and incredible it was to be sitting there, watching the season premiere of Clone Wars.  I had Joel Aron seated directly to my right.  (We chatted a bit afterwards.)  And I had George Lucas, his son Jett, Matt Senreich, and Dave Filoni directly behind me.  And we watched the episodes in the best theatre in the country, probably in the world.  The projection was sharp, bright, and clean, the sound was tremendous.  You don’t realize how well-mixed the audio on Clone Wars is until you see it in full surround sound.

I was also struck by how much better the show looks blown up on the big screen.  You can actually see the paint on the models, and brushstrokes.  I hadn’t really noticed them before.  This show is truly a work of art, and you don’t really appreciate that fully until you see it on the big screen.

After the episodes, it was time to go, but I was asked if I wanted to be introduced to George Lucas.

Of course I wanted to be introduced to George Lucas.

We shook hands and exchanged salutations and it was a pretty important experience for me.

Though I was probably blathering like an idiot, we talked about a few things.  I thanked him for introducing me to Kurosawa.  I thanked him for helping me name my son, which made him laugh.

I also asked him why I couldn’t head to the theatres on Saturday matinees to watch Clone Wars with my son.  “I don’t really know.  I mean, they’re designed to be theatrical.  And they’re modeled after the serials.  Maybe we’ll see.”

I explained to him how much of a better, richer experience it was, and my observations about the brushstrokes on the models.  “It’s supposed to.  This show is really supposed to look like painted, real life marionettes in front of painted backgrounds.  It’s really much more akin to something like the Thunderbirds than a traditional 3D show.”

After about 10 minutes of talking, we were interrupted by dozens of kids swarming for his autograph.

I said my goodbyes and left the Presidio in somewhat of a daze.

It was a fantastic night.  And as great as I thought Celebration V was, this trumps it ten fold.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for my interview with Seth Green and Matt Senreich about the new Star Wars TV show.