"The Star Wars Saga introduced a galaxy that has become one of the most distinctive and instantly identifiable in movie history. Its iconic lightsabers, spaceships, costumes, droids and planets created a singular look that has endured through three decades and generations of fans. To translate the Star Wars aesthetic to an all-new format for The Clone Wars the crews at Lucasfilm Animation faced a rare challenge. "Our goal was to produce a movie unlike anything else in animation," says Star Wars: The Clone Wars director Dave Filoni. "But we also had to stay true to Star Wars, to honor everything that George Lucas has created. That's easier said than done, and it took us a long time to figure out exactly how to develop the look, style and feel of an animated Star Wars."
It was Lucas himself who urged that The Clone Wars should forge its own distinctive visual style, separating itself from what had come before. Setting the story before Anakin's descent into darkness, Lucas and Filoni felt animation could inject The Clone Wars with a rousing spirit of fun, highlighting the young Jedi's heroism rather than his forbidding destiny. By visually distinguishing everything in its universe -- from the battles to the characters themselves -- The Clone Wars establishes itself as both a bold departure and a return to form for the Saga.
"George wanted the characters to live on their own, separate from the recognizable actors who portrayed them in the previous films," says Filoni. "To do that, we really had to find the essence of the characters, and to bring them to life in a way that wasn't just a reproduction of their live-action counterparts. We wanted to break free of any preconceived notions of what Star Wars should be."'
Click here for the rest of the feature at the main site!
HoloNet News Returns To Official Site Posted By Jay on October 6, 2008: StarWars.com helps kick off The Clone Wars excitement by returning transmissions of HoloNet News to public channels. As staple of the site between Episodes II and III, this in-universe news show presents information relevant to The Clone Wars and other happenings. It's now available in an audio format for your favorite iPortable iListening iDevice. UPDATE: Now available from iTunes as a podcast.