Features; The Eye 6
Cult Corner
A weekly crash course in popular culture.
Star Wars: Clone Wars.
by Simon Pegg
When I was asked to have a look at Clone Wars, the new Star Wars cartoon spin off (Toonami, daily from Nov 10, 4pm) , I got a little excited, even though Star Wars and I don't get on any more. We fell out in June 2000. Star Wars made a complete tit of itself in public and I got annoyed. The Phantom Menace and latterly, Attack of the Clones were cack-handed indulgences that all but extinguished the fire of enthusiasm and love ignited by the first films. Nevertheless, I felt the flame still flickering.
Taking the form of 20 three-minute shorts and created by Genndy Tartovsky, the innovator behind the Cartoon Network's Samurai Jack and Dexter's Laboratory, Clone Wars is designed to bridge the gap between Lucas's bungled latest effort and the next film. The shorts chronicle the further adventures of Obi Wan Kenobi and the soon-to-be-Darthed Anakin Skywalker, as they endeavour to foil the creation of a droid army.
Illustrated with the same Manga beats up Hanna-Barbera style of animation seen in Samurai Jack, Clone Wars is a fascinating piece. Action-packed and often wordless, the vignettes occupy a cultural mid-ground between Eastern and Western cartoon conventions.
Ironically, the downside of this fine series is that it is Star Wars. I realised after five instalments that the fire in my soul had indeed dwindled and I had confused enthusiasm with the twinge of a scar. Clone Wars is high-quality stuff and viewers of Toonami are in for something exciting. However, if you're an old Star Wars fan looking to rekindle that flame, I'm afraid your destiny lies along a different path.
The actor/writer Simon Pegg has co-written and stars in the film, Shaun of the Dead, due for release in Spring 2004