Countdown to ‘Ahsoka’: Revisiting ‘The Clone Wars’ Movie On Its 15th Anniversary
It was my ninth birthday when I first saw Star Wars: The Clone Wars the animated movie. It was also the “first” Star Wars movie that I got to see in theaters. I say “first” because even though I had seen Attack of the Clones when I was two-and-a-half and Revenge of the Sith when I was five-and-a-half years old, I was too young to remember what that experience was like. So for me, The Clone Wars was the “first” time I saw a Star Wars movie and remembered what that experience was like.
15 years later, I’m just turning 24, graduated from college, and now work at Star Wars News Net, writing about the series I grew up loving. But since then, I’ve deliberately avoided going back and rewatching The Clone Wars series and the original movie. I have seen all of it, but I never went back to rewatch any of it because it is, in a way, like revisiting one’s elementary school. Going back will conjure up fond memories, but also, painful ones of what it was like growing up.
Nonetheless, for its 15th anniversary, I took the plunge and went back to watch The Clone Wars movie. And guess what? It was better than I remembered.
The Negative Discourse Around The Clone Wars Movie
Star Wars: The Clone Wars the animated movie is one of the most critically lambasted pieces of Star Wars media there is. While I was young at the time, I remember movie critic Roger Ebert giving it a scathing review. In Ebert’s review of The Clone Wars, he gave it a low rating of one-and-a-half stars. He asked in his review, “Has the magical impact of George Lucas’ original vision of Star Wars been reduced to the level of Saturday morning animation?” He also said in his review, “Ahsoka Tano, by the way, is annoying.”
And Ebert is not alone in these sentiments. It’s a discourse that continues to haunt the movie to this day, as it currently sits on Rotten Tomatoes with an extremely low 18% and an audience score of 40%.
And even though The Clone Wars TV show has turned many people around, it seems as though the movie hasn’t. It’s part of the reason why I never went back and watched the movie all this time. While I enjoyed watching it on my ninth birthday, I questioned not long afterward whether it was actually good, or whether it was childhood ignorance.
The Clone Wars Movie Is Better Than You Remember
It’s not a perfect movie. It suffers from many of the early issues that The Clone Wars series had. An overemphasis on “cutesy” characters. Over-the-top caricature performances. Dated animation. Pacing issues. All of these aspects are present.
But there are more aspects that it does right than there are those it does wrong. Immediately, viewers will notice just how much action is packed in. There is plenty of big battle sequences, lightsaber duels, and moments where the Clones get a chance to shine. And for those who have seen the entirety of the series, fans will notice plenty of seeds being planted for future big moments. Stuff like Rex telling Ahsoka, “experience outranks everything,” Anakin saying to Ahsoka, “race you to the top,” and Yoda saying that for Anakin, “letting go of his pupil, a great challenge it will be.”
The Beginning of Ahsoka’s Journey
Naive. Arrogant. Not willing to take responsibility. These are all traits that describe me as a young nine-year-old boy. They’re also the same traits that can most likely be applied to all young kids. And these are also the same traits that apply to Ahsoka Tano in The Clone Wars movie.
Can Ahsoka be annoying? Yes, but all kids can be very annoying. And sometimes media portraying kids as annoying is not a fault of the makers, but simply them being accurate. And for kids, myself included, it allowed us young people to have someone in the Star Wars universe we could connect with without us realizing
The Ahsoka in this movie is vastly different than the Ahsoka seen in later seasons of The Clone Wars, and that’s a good thing. Ahsoka changed, developed over time, and became more responsible. Having her start off as being flawed, irresponsible, and “annoying,” and then having her grow over time (with the audience) is part of why she’s so well-loved. Yes, critics and many viewers at the time hated her and ashamedly bullied actress Ashley Eckstein, but look at where Ahsoka is now. It’s a shame that Ahsoka’s journey began this way, but I and many others are so thankful the creators and Eckstein stuck with it and endured.
The Clone Wars Movie Laid the Foundation For Future Star Wars Projects
There are many other outstanding parts to The Clone Wars movie. Kevin Kiner’s music, Dave Filoni’s introduction to Star Wars, Christopher Lee’s performance as Dooku, and even the relationship between Anakin and Ahsoka as just a few examples. But really, this movie is just the start of something greater. Without this, Star Wars wouldn’t have The Clone Wars series, Star Wars: Rebels, Ahsoka, and possibly even The Mandalorian.
But the biggest thing we wouldn’t have is Ahsoka Tano. This beloved character began on a rocky foundation, but soon after, skyrocketed to places none of us could even imagine. She’s an inspiration to all of us, and to that young nine-year-old on his birthday to overcome all obstacles and achieve the impossible.
Born and raised in Hawaii, Jay Goodearl runs the YouTube Gaming channel “Good Games, Dude” His channel aims to open up video games to beginners and immediate players and help them understand what makes games the art form that it is.
