Lucasfilm gave me the opportunity to do an interview with Daniel Logan in advance of the opening episode of the 3 episode opening of the Clone Wars season finale.

Daniel played Boba Fett in Attack of the Clones and provides the voice for the character on the Clone Wars animated television show. Tonight is Boba Fett’s animated debut on The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network.

Among things we talked about were his take on Boba Fett between Attack of the Clones and The Clone Wars:

Boba Fett is obviously now solo. He doesn’t have his father, so he’s lost his connection to a family figure. He’s matured quite a bit. He’s a very revengeful and I wouldn’t say dark, but driven young little boy now.

And we talked a bit about his online participation with fans on twitter and facebook.

It’s an enjoyment and a pleasure to be able to be with Star Wars fans and be able to interact with them. With the internet, why not take advantage of it? I want to give back to my fans as much as they give me.

In fact, Daniel will be taking live questions on his twitter (@Daniel_Logan) after the episodes air.

He talked about his upbringing and explained how he went from not ever having heard of Star Wars as a poor kid from a big family in New Zealand to being Boba Fett and becoming a major Star Wars fan in his own right.

We also talked about the potential for him to appear in the live action series. Obviously he gave no confirmation that it was happening, but expressed an immense grattitude to the fans who are pushing to make sure he reprises the role if the series ever comes to fruition. He also made sure to add that he’d love to do it.

Though he could offer no confirmations, Daniel left the door open for the idea of Boba Fett appearing in Clone Wars season 3.

To listen to the full interview, click on the Big Shiny Robot! iTunes feed here. Be sure to rate and subscribe to it, too. (The connection on the phone for the interview was a little bit staticy, so just be aware of that going in.)

For other Star Wars interviews, click this link.

(And don’t forget to enter our Star Wars contest that ends tomorrow.)

Here’s all the details folks, straight from the press release!

Have you heard the news? Today Cartoon Network announced not one, but two new shows sure to bring a smile to regular readers of THE SOURCE. Here’s the skinny:

MAD MAGAZINE is an animated sketch-comedy series produced by Warner Bros. Animation that uses the iconic MAD Magazine, published by DC Comics, as inspiration. Expect a chaotic mix of animation styles and twisted humor to pull back the curtain and expose the truth behind movies, TV shows, games, pop culture and, of course, curtains.

“You can expect to see some familiar faces on screen and big names behind the scenes,” said Diane Nelson, President of DC Entertainment. “The show will unleash MAD’s irreverent take on pop culture and today’s headlines, and feature classic characters including Alfred E. Neuman and Spy Vs. Spy. Our partners at Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network are helping DC Entertainment revitalize the cherished MAD brand across all media.”

Behind the scenes, animation buffs will find some distinguished names. Sam Register (Teen Titans, Ben 10, Batman: The Brave and the Bold) is the executive producer. Kevin Shinick (Robot Chicken) and Mark Marek (KaBlam!, The Andy Milonakis Show) are the producers.

Pretty fantastic news, right? But, wait, we promised there would be more and, yes, there’s more…

YOUNG JUSTICE is an all-new series produced by Warner Bros. Animation and based upon the characters from DC Comics. In YOUNG JUSTICE, being a teenager means proving yourself over and over – to peers, parents, teachers, mentors and, ultimately, to yourself. But what if you’re not just a normal teenager? What if you’re a teenage super hero? How much harder will it be to prove yourself in a world of super powers, super villains and super secrets? Are you ready to come of age in such a world? Are you ready for life or death rites of passage? Are you ready to join the ranks of the great heroes and prove you’re worthy of the Justice League? The members of Young Justice—Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Superboy, Miss Martian and Artemis—are about to find out.

“There’s much more to come from DC Entertainment,” said Geoff Johns, DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer. “This is just the beginning.”

Lucasfilm has been kind enough once again to provide us with some promotional video for the latest episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

In the first clip, we have a piece of episode 2.20, the first part in a trilogy of episodes that will be capping off season two, starring Boba Fett.

The second clip is a brief interview with Daniel Logan about playing Boba Fett on the Clone Wars show.

First we have the official press release, and then the clips:

Since his iconic introduction in The Empire Strikes Back thirty years ago, bounty hunter Boba Fett has been a figure of mystery and intrigue – a merciless mercenary whose battered battle armor hid any traces of humanity remaining in his hardened heart. A man of few words – he had only five lines and a death scream in the original trilogy – he was nonetheless a force to be reckoned with, unafraid to challenge even a Dark Lord of the Sith. But he wasn’t always a hunter with a ruthless reputation; he was once a boy, alone in the galaxy and forced to fend for himself after the death of his father. These origins were glimpsed briefly in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones…but now, Boba’s BACK – a young man taking the dangerous first steps on his journey from innocent to icon in “Death Trap,” the beginning of the thrilling three-part season finale of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS, airing at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT Friday, April 23 on Cartoon Network.

Reprising his role from Attack of the Clones, Daniel Logan is back to voice Boba in The Clone Wars – older, wiser and ready to take on the iconic character’s crucial turning point.

“This is a key time for Boba,” says Logan. “When we saw him in Episode II, he was just a kid. But he watched his dad get killed by Mace Windu, and now he wants revenge against the Jedi. He’s bitter and angry. A lot’s changed for Boba, even though not much time’s passed for him. I rewatched Attack of the Clones a few times to see how my voice sounded back then – I’m older and it’s changed a little, you know? I wanted to stay true to that original sound. But, he’s darker and more serious now – and he definitely has an edge.”

An edge – and a mission. Determined to exact revenge upon the Jedi, Boba poses as a clone cadet to sneak aboard a Jedi Cruiser. It’s easy enough for him to blend in; he is, after all, created from the same genetic blueprint as the rest of the clones – that of bounty hunter Jango Fett. But though he may have DNA identical to the Republic heroes’, he nonetheless sees himself as a unique individual – with no affection for his genetic brethren.

“He’s with the clones, but he’s not one of them,” says Logan. “He’s special; that’s how he sees it. And now he’s alone. He had a relationship with Jango, like a father and son. None of the other clones had that connection; they’re just soldiers, and now they’re standing in his way. And that’s one of things that makes Boba so cool, as a kid and as a bounty hunter – nothing stands in his way.”

As for Logan himself, nothing would stand in his way when faced with the opportunity to revisit the role of the would-be bounty hunter. But though he was thrilled to be providing the voice of Boba for The Clone Wars, he had to curb his enthusiasm and hold his tongue – at least until the character’s return was officially announced.

“It was so hard keeping quiet,” says Logan. “We didn’t want to ruin the surprise that Boba was coming back, so I couldn’t say anything! It’s been a year [since the initial voice recording session], and people would ask me if I was going to appear in The Clone Wars – if Boba was coming back. And I couldn’t say anything! I was so excited, and I wanted to shout it, you know? But I had to be quiet. Now that I can finally talk about it, I’m bursting. I saw the finished episodes a few weeks ago, and it just looks so cool – worth the wait! Fans are going to be excited to see how the character develops – but we don’t give too much away. Boba’s a mystery; that’s what’s cool about him.”

Last night’s episode of Clone Wars, “The Zillo Beast Strikes Back” was a pretty obvious homage to the King Kong films.  In the episode previous, the Zillo Beast, a Godzilla-like monster, was subdued on Malastare and brought to Coruscant at the order of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine for study, since Zillo Beasts are nearly indestructible and lightsabers can’t penetrate their armour.

But no thing in the natural world of that size and power can be contained against its will, and the Zillo Beast breaks its bondage and heads right toward the Senate building in otder to exact its revenge on Palpatine.

It was a fairly simple episode, though it had lots of shades of ethics and morals between the Jedi and Palpatine.  In the last episode, the thought of killing this being, the last of its kind, is morally abhorrent to the Jedi and that conundrum was more fully realized and fleshed out in this episode.

This was a very good, fun, episode.  It looked really cool, it had lots of cool stuff in it, and about halfway through the episode I caught myself asking, “How in the hell does the Zillo Beast know exactly where Palpatine is in all of Coruscant?”  There’s never a good answer in the episode for it, and it still nags at me, but on some level I really shouldn’t care.

This episode is Palpatine’s to shine in all of his oiliness.  He’s so drunk with a lust for power it’s obvious and it makes me wonder why no one saw it before and Anakin tries his hardest to stay out of it (since Padme is of course trying to convince the Chancellor to not kill the beast for study and employs Anakin’s aid in the lobbying effort.)  But it’s hard for Anakin because he buys into so much of what Palpatine is saying.  If they kill the creature, they could save countless lives and end the war sooner.  But is that ethical or moral?

Aside from those minor complaints, I found this to be a very enjoyable episode.  The action was cool, Artoo and Threepio got a few really good shots worth of hilarious interaction, Obi-Wan and Mace Windu got to illustrate some really cool force powers, and Yoda got to once more pull out his lightsaber (with the ever-delicious Aayla Secura.)

Perhaps my biggest complaint about this episode is the marketing for the season finale with Boba Fett.  Releasing that trailer for the finale this early has almost caused the mute button to be pushed on all of the episodes that remain between now and then.  I can’t wait for the finale that it’s almost taken a little bit away from these last few in between.

But we don’t have much longer to wait, and if last season was any indication, they always save the best for last.

I’ll leave you with a final parting question, though: Where the eff is Cad Bane?

To catch up on Season 1, you can order The Clone Wars: The Complete Season One at Amazon by clicking the link.

For other Clone Wars news and reviews of previous episodes, click this link.

The Great Mouse Detective is an animated Disney film, and one of my favorites from the 80s.  It’s basically a Disney-fied version of a Sherlock Holmes yarn with mice as the lead characters and a rat named Ratigan in the Moriarty role (played by Vincent Price!). Even Basil Rathbone has a cameo as the real, human Holmes.

This seems to be an oft overlooked Disney film from the 80s, overshadowed by The Little Mermaid, The Fox and the Hound, and The Black Cauldron. It also came out the same year as Don Bluth’s An American Tail, which was a smash hit. This is a solid little movie, though, and is incredbily entertaining and fun for the whole family. Today, though, sees only the DVD release of the film. So maligned is it in the popular consciousness that it doesn’t seem to have earned its Blu-ray yet.

The film is still very fun and has the same breathless feeling you get when you watch the new Robert Downey, Jr. Holmes picture, you get dizzied in watching smart characters be smart, and for Disney to have applied that to a children’s film was a delicate balancing act that I would call a work of genius.  I would go so far as to say that this could be a very useful gateway drug to get kids thinking about the Sherlock Holmes formula and turn them into Holmes fans later in life.

You can get it on Amazon here.

The eighteenth episode of Season Two opens with quite an impressive battle between Republic and Separatist forces on Malastare.  The Republic is hopelessly outnumbered because the Separatists have amassed an incredible amount of forces there, banking on their superior numbers to force the Dugs of Malastare into giving them access to their fuel reserves.

The Republic, however, has a new proto-type weapon that affects only droids.  It seems very much like a droid version of the proton bomb that destroyed Midland City, Ohio that Kurt Vonnegut described in Deadeye Dick. But they unleash it on the droids, it works, but at a terrible consequence.  They’ve awoken a Zillo Beast, a horrible creature long thought to be extinct by the Dugs.  This is the Star Wars take on Godzilla.

Anakin’s encounter with the beast was one of the most fun action sequences I’ve seen on this show.  I’m sure a lot of people who are already annoyed by the fact that Artoo has thrusters and can fly will be doubly annoyed by this sequence, but I thought it was tremendously fun and thrilling.

Anakin reports back to Mace Windu that not even his lightsaber could cut through this beasts armour, and the Dugs report that they are nearly unstoppable and require the Jedi’s help killing it, which is the only way they will sign the treaty to support the Republic.  This leaves Master Windu in quite a dilemma, since this is the last creature of its kind, it would be against the Jedi way to just kill it.  But  if they refuse, the Republic’s frontline forces would be left helpless.  In a page right out of James Cameron’s Aliens, Palpatine (who seems analogous to Paul Reiser’s Burke) and his scientists want to study the creature so they can weaponize it in any way they can.  Anakin, being a surprising voice of reason, offers to Mace that if they can figure out a way to put the monster to sleep, they can relocate it to the Outer Rim where Republic scientists can study it and the Dugs will sign the treaty because they will think it’s been killed.  Reluctantly, Mace agrees that it’s probably the only way.  I love seeing the crises of conscience the Jedi are put through during this war.  They’re constantly struggling with the dual and often conflicting roles of Jedi Peacekeeper and Generals of the Republic.

Meanwhile, the Dugs are planning to kill it one way or the other and pretty much only piss it off.  That’s when the beast goes full Godzilla and screams and snorts it’s way out of its hole and starts tearing down buildings and shredding up Republic forces.

The ending of this episode, which I don’t want to give away, seemed to me to be hilarious and awesome.  It’s very Godzilla.  It’s very, “We haven’t learned our lesson.”

As far as this episode, this was a great entry into the series.  I really love all of the homages that they’ve been doing.  Half of the fun of this show has been picking up what the writers have been putting down as far as themes and film history.  It’s really, really fun.  It was also fun to see M*A*S*H references, too.  (Mace calls out a couple of clones, including Trapper and Hawkeye.)

Perhaps my only complaint with this episode is that at one point in the episode a rescue party disappears while the Dugs are negotiating their treaty.  Mace offers to check it out for himself and asks Anakin to negotiate the treaty with the Dugs.  It seemed pretty out of character for Mace Windu to leave any diplomatic wrangling of any sort to Anakin, a Jedi he’s shown to barely trust through the movies.

As far as the animation and lighting in this episode, there were a few highlights that totally blew me away.  Like I mentioned before, Anakin’s action sequence with Artoo was top notch.  The way the mist rolled around and the light came through it set a mood and a tone that felt very noir, but also very sci-fi.  It felt like a great mix between the original Godzilla picture and Dagobah.

But the moment the lighting and effects became breathtaking was when the Dugs began to pour a neon green acid into the hole the Zillo beast was hanging out in, and the episode takes on this very cool, radioactive color palette.  Add that to the mist effects and you have some of the coolest visuals and lighting I’ve seen on this show.

But as good as all that was, I have to say the best thing about this episode (other than it’s unadulterated enjoyability) was the sound design.  If I had to say one thing stood out in this episode more than any other, it was the sound design.  Not just the sounds of the creature, but the battles, and for some reason Artoo was 200% on his game in this episode.

It seems like they’re winding season two up with a bang and let us hope that this is just a sign of things to come in the next few weeks.

(You can watch a clip from the episode here.)

To catch up on Season 1, you can order The Clone Wars: The Complete Season One at Amazon by clicking the link.

For other Clone Wars news and reviews of previous episodes, click this link.

Lucasfilm has been kind enough to give us another advanced look at this week’s upcoming episode of Clone Wars.

From the official press release:

Desperate to turn the tide of a fierce battle on Malastare, Chancellor Palpatine orders the Jedi to unleash the Republic’s newest super-weapon – an untested electron bomb. Unfortunately for the heroes, the bomb’s blast awakens a fearsome monster of legendary ferocity. With a beast so large and so powerful that it poses problems even for the Jedi Knights, it is clear that sometimes size matters in “The Zillo Beast,” an all-new episode of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS airing at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT Friday, April 9 on Cartoon Network.

“The format of the show allows us to do a lot of different things, and George came to us with the idea – basically – of doing a Clone Wars take on Godzilla,” says Supervising Director Dave Filoni. “He knows I’m a big Godzilla fan, so it was a bizarre story meeting when he presented the idea. I was actually a little intimidated to take it on, because it presented such a production challenge; the model for the Zillo was so much bigger and more complex than anything we’d done before. This whole episode showcases a scope we haven’t really seen yet in The Clone Wars. It’s huge. Luckily, a giant monster in Star Wars isn’t that absurd. And we were able to add our own signature, because it’s the nature of the Jedi to want to subdue the beast rather than to destroy it – just as it’s the nature of the power-mongers to want to harness the Zillo’s power. The result is a lot of fun – big, destructive fun.”

Leading the Jedi against the beast is Mace Windu, one of the Council’s most powerful members – but also one of its most temperate. “Mace is strong, but he’s also compassionate and fair,” says T.C. Carson, who voices Mace in The Clone Wars. “It presents a challenge when dealing with something as massive as the Zillo, because Mace has to weigh the beast’s life against its enormous potential for destruction. And the fact that he feels responsible for its awakening only adds to the burden. Mace is a smart guy, though, and he’s got some tricks up his sleeve – but I think the Zillo should have ample time to tear things up before Mace sets his plan into motion. This is a really fun episode.”

It was announced this morning that Lucasfilm Animation is working on a new Star Wars series that is in the vein of comedy.  The makers of Robot Chicken are involved.

I think this is a great idea.  I don’t know if any of you read Star Wars comics, but if you look at things like Tag and Bink are Dead and some of the Star Wars Tales short stories, (specifically Skippy the Jedi Droid) there is a gold mine of material they can put on the screen.

From the official release:

Lucasfilm Animation is currently developing an all-new animated Star Wars series, focusing its efforts on the comedic aspects of the “galaxy far, far away.” Featuring creative involvement from Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, creators and executive producers of the Emmy and Annie Award-winning Robot Chicken, as well as writing from The Daily Show‘s Brendan Hay, the series will look at the Saga’s characters with a playful and irreverent tone. The series will be produced by Daytime Emmy and Gemini Award-winner Jennifer Hill (The Backyardigans), and directed by Emmy-nominated Todd Grimes (Back at the Barnyard).

“There are so many stories taking place in the Star Wars universe, and they don’t all have to focus on the fate of the galaxy,” said Grimes. “We’re looking at Star Wars from a new perspective; this will be a glimpse at how the rest of the galaxy is affected by the events of the Saga. There’s a lot of humor to be mined from that.”

“The Star Wars universe is so dense and rich; it’s crazy to think that there aren’t normal, mundane everyday problems in a world so well-defined,” said Green. “And it’s even crazier to think of what those problems might be, since it’s all set in a galaxy far, far away. What do these characters do when they’re not overthrowing Empires?”

Said Senreich, “We’re going to pull back the curtain of some of those behind-the-scenes shenanigans. It’s going to appeal to all ages, the way Star Wars should — but there’ll be plenty buried under the surface, as well. As Obi-Wan might say, ‘it all depends on your point of view’.”

Check back for more details as they become available.

For anyone who thought they didn’t want to watch the Clone Wars cartoon because it was too kid oriented, or wasn’t telling cool stories, this trailer is for you.

I literally shed a tear of joy watching this. This is Star Wars as it ought to be and it is out to tell a story a lot of us were incredibly interested in.

Boba Fett guest stars in the season finale and he is out for revenge for the murder of his father at the hands of Mace Windu.

Ahsoka is teamed up with Plo Koon in some of the coolest and best lit shots I’ve seen in the entire series. The tone and pacing of this trailer are top notch.

Kudos to whoever cut this trailer. This is tremendous.

“The Bounty Hunters” is the 17th episode of the second season of Clone Wars and is a blatant homage to Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai”.  And I’ll warn you ahead of time that if you haven’t seen Seven Samurai, this review is probably not going to mean much to you.  I loved all the careful references and analogies in this episode so much, that’s most of what I want to talk about.

Checking out the status of a medical station that was supposed to be in orbit around Felucia, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka are ambushed by Separatist Droid starfighters who we can also presume destroyed the medical station.  They crash land planetside near a small farming village under the protection of four Bounty Hunters.  You see, Hondo Ohnaka is in town and he wants to steal their valuable crops.

Soon, the Bounty Hunters and 2 and 1/2 Jedi (Ahsoka being the one too young to count, an homage to Katsushiro) form a band of seven to train the farmers and protect them from their would be attackers.

One of the coolest in the story is Embo, pictured above and voiced by Supervising Director Dave Filoni himself.  His character is very much the Kyuzo sort of master swordsman character from the Kurosawa film.  Other characters seem to be analogs of the samurai in the film as well.  It seems to me that Anakin and Obi-wan are the Kambei and Shichiroji of the group, the female bounty hunter reminds a bit of Kikuchiyo, and the pint size bounty hunter in the armour was the comic relief, much like Heihachi.  I don’t recall the last bounty hunter doing a whole heckuva lot, but we may as well round it out and assume he was analogous to Gorobei.  And there was a farmer very much like Manzo, who wanted to flee from his duty to his village.

When Ohnaka attacks, his tank serves much the same purpose as the three rifles carried by the bandits in “Seven Samurai”.

The only thing disapointing about this adaptation is that there was no sense of loss, like at the end of Kurosawa’s picture.  We didn’t lose any Bounty Hunters (and we obviously didn’t lose any Jedi) and Hondo Ohnaka escaped to fight another day.  I’m okay with that, since I really like Ohnaka, but there was little at stake here.  Aside from all of that, the adaptation of one of the greatest three-plus hour films of all time into a 22 minute episode was superb.  True, they dropped the Jedi half-way into the story, but that was a very smart move.

In fact, I think this ties Pixar’s A Bug’s Life as the greatest animated remake of “Seven Samurai” ever.

I’d also like to take a second to say, “Yay!  Ahsoka’s back!”  I’ve really, really missed her and am glad to see her back on the show.  She’s had some of the best episodes this season, and I can’t imagine that will stop any time soon.

The backgrounds, animation, and action sequences in this episode were a cut above.  There was a kinetic energy to the opening and closing fights that were quite thrilling and better than normal.  And it’s nice to see Felucia getting more time on screen.  The animators have obviously spent a lot of time building that world for the show, and their care for it shows in their work.

If you don’t own a copy of Seven Samurai, now is the time to get it.

To catch up on Season 1, you can order The Clone Wars: The Complete Season One at Amazon by clicking the link.

For other Clone Wars news and reviews of previous episodes, click this link.