Star Wars : The Clone Wars ( film ) Star Wars : The Clone Wars is a 2008 animated feature film directed by Dave Filoni and by George Lucas . The plot focuses on a struggle between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems — each vying for Jabba the Hutt ' s permission to use Hutt Space ' s trade routes . In an attempt to gain Jabba ' s favor , Sith Lord and Separatist leader Count Dooku kidnaps Jabba ' s son Rotta , in hopes of framing the Republic ' s Jedi Order as the true captors . " The Clone Wars " served as an introduction to the that premiered on Cartoon Network on October 3 , 2008 . George Lucas was inspired to make the movie while reviewing footage from the show and described the film as " almost an afterthought . " The film was released August 15 , 2008 to mostly negative reviews and earned $ 14 . 6 million during its opening weekend . Synopsis . The film begins with a narrator explaining the state of the war . The Separatists control the majority of the hyperlanes , leaving Republic forces stranded in different parts of the Outer Rim . An octopus - like craft heads for Tatooine to capture Jabba the Hutt ' s son Rotta as part of a plan to make the Hutts join the Clone Wars . Meanwhile , a fierce battle is taking place on the crystalline planet of Christophsis between the Republic ' s very limited clone army and the Retail Caucus forces . With the help of Obi - Wan Kenobi , Anakin Skywalker , Rex and Cody , the clones steadily advance on the Separatists ' forces , gaining the Republic an early victory . The victory doesn ' t last long , though , as the droid army under General Loathsom soon returns for more bloodshed . With no communications or the ability to fly in reinforcements , the fate of the few remaining clone soldiers are in the hands of Obi - Wan and Anakin . A shuttle soon comes with an important delivery ; thinking it ' s reinforcements , the Jedi go to investigate - only to find a young Padawan named Ahsoka Tano , who insists that she has been sent by Master Yoda to serve as Anakin ' s Padawan . The battle resumes , with Separatist forces advancing behind an expanding shield which the Republic ' s artillery is unable to penetrate . Tasked with taking down the deflector shield , Anakin and Ahsoka succeed in penetrating the enemy lines , using all their stealth , cunning and ability to improvise , while Obi - Wan stalls for time by holding a fake surrender negotiation with Loathsom . Soon after the final victory for the Republic on Christophsis , Master Yoda arrives with the urgent message that a mysterious group of renegades has kidnapped Jabba ' s son , and it ' s up to Anakin , Ahsoka , Rex and the clones to rescue him and bring him back home safely . Obi - Wan flies to Tatooine to assure Jabba that Rotta will be returned safely and to secure a promise by the Hutts to use their trading routes for safe passage within the Outer Rim . After briefing in a Republic flagship , Anakin ' s forces descend through the clouds of the jungle planet of Teth for one of the many natural stone pillars which litter the landscape . Under heavy fire , Anakin , Ahsoka and Rex storm the monastery atop the pillar and find Rotta , who has gotten sick , only to be caught in an elaborate trap : Count Dooku has staged the kidnapping himself in order to blacklist the Jedi among the Hutts . First he has the Jedi retrieve the young Hutt to secure fake evidence and then Asajj Ventress , as the overseer of the operation , is charged with either retrieving or killing the young Huttlet . While quarreling all the while about the proper procedure , yet slowly gaining respect of one another , Anakin and Ahsoka manage to escape the trap along with R2 - D2 and hijack a derelict transport , which they use to travel to Tatooine . Ahsoka uses medicine onboard to treat the sick Huttlet . Obi - Wan , alerted by Anakin , arrives just in time to relieve Rex and the rest of his forces and engages Ventress in combat where he manages to defeat her , though Ventress flees in the face of capture . In the meantime , Senator Amidala learns of Anakin ' s mission . Worried about him , she decides to contact Jabba ' s uncle , Ziro the Hutt , who lives in a shady part of Coruscant . The Hutt strangely refuses to cooperate , and soon Padmé finds out why : Ziro has actually conspired with Dooku to engineer the downfall of his nephew to seize the power over the Hutt clans for himself . Padmé is discovered and detained , but a chance call by C - 3PO enables her to summon help , and Ziro is soon arrested by the Coruscant Guard . Upon their arrival on Tatooine , Anakin and Ahsoka are attacked by MagnaGuards and shot down . Faced with a long way across desert sands and relentless opponents , Anakin devises a ruse ; when Dooku corners Anakin , the pack he is carrying is revealed to contain merely rocks . Ahsoka and R2 travel with Rotta to Jabba ' s palace unmolested , but just as they near it , Ahsoka is ambushed by three MagnaGuards , whom she narrowly defeats . But as Anakin and Ahsoka enter the palace one after another , they are threatened with execution by Jabba ' s men even though Rotta is safely returned . Padmé calls just in time to convince Jabba of his uncle ' s duplicity , while Anakin and Ahsoka are triumphantly retrieved by Obi - Wan , Yoda , Cody and the clones . Development . " Star Wars : The Clone Wars " was designed to serve as both a stand - alone story and a lead - in to the weekly . George Lucas had the idea for a film after viewing some of the already completed footage on the big screen . Warner Bros . had tracked the series ' development from the beginning , and Lucas decided on a theatrical launch after viewing some footage , and deciding , " This is so beautiful , why don ' t we just go and use the crew and make a feature ? " Lucas described the film was " almost an afterthought . " Howard Roffman , president of Lucas Licensing , said of the decision , " Sometimes George works in strange ways . " Producer Catherine Winder said the sudden decision added to an already large challenge of establishing a show " of this sophistication and complexity , " but she felt it was a good way to start the series , and she felt budgetary constraints forced the production team to think outside the box in a positive way . One of the film ' s main plot threads — the kidnapping of Jabba the Hutt ' s son — was inspired by the film " " . The main part of the film was composed of three episodes with similar titles originally meant to form a trilogy : " Castle of Deception " , " Castle of Doom " and " Castle of Salvation " , while a standalone episode " The New Padawan " , which was developed later in the production as a flashback episode during the series , became the opening sequence of the movie , eventually leading to the introduction of Ahsoka Tano . Lucasfilm Animation used to animate both the film . The program to create highly detailed worlds , characters and creatures . The film ' s animation style was designed to pay homage to the stylized looks of both and , and the of the 1960s series " " . At a Cartoon Network - hosted discussion , Lucas said did not want the " Clone Wars " film or television series to look like such movies as " " because he wanted a stylized look rather than a realistic one , and he did not want it to look like the popular films such as " " because he wanted the film and characters to have a unique style . Lucas also decided to create the animated film and series from a live - action perspective , which Winder said set it apart from other CGI films because it " meant using long camera shots , aggressive lighting techniques , and relying on editing instead of storyboards . " Animators also reviewed designs from the when creating the animation style for the film and the new series . The film ' s music was composed by Kevin Kiner . Steward Lee is a storyboard artist . When it was decided to produce the film , Lucasfilm contacted all the major film " Star Wars " actors to see who was interested in voicing their characters for " The Clone Wars " . In the end , Anthony Daniels , Matthew Wood , Christopher Lee and Samuel L . Jackson returned to voice their respective characters . Several voice actors also reprised their roles from the . Release . At Hasbro ' s fall 2007 analyst event , it was announced that " Star Wars : The Clone Wars " would have a " theatrical launch " on August 8 , 2008 , with it beginning to be shown on TV during that fall . Although Lucasfilm had previously announced that it would produce an animated feature film in 2008 , when initially asked for confirmation , an LFL representative replied that " It ' s one of the many things being discussed but we have no decisions yet . For us it ' s all about finding a creative way to launch a creative TV series . " At ToyFare 2008 , a LEGO official announced that an animated feature film would be released in the UK in September 2008 , and would be made up of the first three episodes of the series , with regular episodes airing later on television on an at - the - time unrevealed channel . It was officially announced on February 12 , 2008 that the feature film would be released in theaters on August 15 , 2008 , with the TV series debuting in the fall . Warner Bros . showed a preview of the film in Las Vegas , Nevada on March 13 , 2008 . Lucas attended the event and held a question and answer session . The first theatrical trailer debuted on May 8 , 2008 on five separate channels . A second trailer was released in June 2008 . The film premiered at on August 10 , 2008 , and was later screened on August 14 , 2008 at accompanying a Lucasfilm VIP party with special guests John Knoll and Dave Filoni . SpikeTV producer Terry Minogue speculated that his channel would debut the film on television at some point after its theatrical release . The film had its Canadian broadcast premiere on September 5 , 2009 on the Canadian TV station , and in the US on Cartoon Network on November 20 , 2010 . Merchandise . " Star Wars : The Clone Wars " merchandise was first released on July 26 , 2008 . Hasbro Inc . released several 3 3 / 4 - inch " Clone Wars " , an electronic clone trooper helmet , a customizable lightsaber , and an electronic AT - TE . mounted digital clocks in all 585 of its stores that counted down to the release of the " Clone Wars " toys , and more than 225 of the stores opened at midnight for the debut of the " Star Wars " products . Two of the Toys " R " Us flagship outlets in , , and in , held costume and trivia contests on July 26 and gave away limited - edition " Star Wars " toys with every purchase . A section of the Toys " R " Us was also dedicated to " The Clone Wars " . Due to the Lucas ' s sudden decision to make a " Clone Wars " film after viewing footage of the television show , Lucas Licensing did not have time to enter into agreements with previous " Star Wars " marketing partners like , and , with which the Lucasfilm licensing company had a 10 - year marketing plan for the other films ; when questioned by " " for a " Star Wars " merchandising in July 2006 , a Pepsi spokesperson was unaware a new " Star Wars " film was even being released . and also devoted shelf space for " Clone Wars " toys , but did not hold midnight releases or pursue the branding opportunities Toys " R " Us did . The chain held its first ever promotion for a " Star Wars " movie starting on August 15 . For four weeks , 18 exclusive toys came in specially designed Happy Meal boxes . A " Star Wars : The Clone Wars " for the was unveiled at the 2008 San Diego . The # 26 car , which also included decals and was driven by driver , ran August 24 on the in the in California ; Andretti said , " I ' m hoping that my upcoming battle at Infineon will be as exciting as anything in a " Star Wars " movie so I can win it for both Blockbuster and Lucasfilm . " The car finished 14th at Infineon , which Andretti attributed to a slow early in the race ; he added , " I just don ' t think it was a very good performance for us today . " The " Clone Wars " car was the second collaboration between Lucasfilm , Blockbuster and Andretti Green Racing , which premiered an " " car in the in May 2008 . A " Star Wars : The Clone Wars " was released in August 2008 for $ 59 . 99 . The player includes one of memory , which holds 1 , 630 songs or 64 hours of music and comes with three interchangeable faceplates : a green one with Yoda and a lightsaber on it , a silver one with a Captain Rex and a Galactic Empire logo on it , and one with two clone trooper s on Coruscant . One review claimed it improved upon a Darth Vader MP3 player released in July 2008 , which featured only 512 of memory and a dated visual display . A " Star Wars " iSpeaker ( a speaker / dock for iPods , and MP3 players ) also released for $ 19 ; the speaker includes an image of Captain Rex and three other Clone Troopers . Home video . Warner Bros . also has the home video rights , and had planned a DVD release of the film and TV series as early as February 2008 . " Star Wars : The Clone Wars " was released on home video on November 11 , 2008 , as a single - disc DVD , a two - disc Special Edition DVD set , and a two - disc Blu - ray set . The single and double - disc standard - definition versions both include the widescreen film with Dolby Digital 5 . 1 Surround EX sound , and the feature - length audio commentary . The single - disc DVD includes as a special feature only an audio commentary by Director Dave Filoni , Producer Catherine Winder , Writer Henry Gilroy and Editor Jason Tucker . The two - disc editions include the above commentary plus : The Blu - ray editions include all the above features in 1080p high definition ( deleted Scenes and certain trailers are not in HD ) on a single 50GB disc . Audio commentary is not present . Reception . Box office performance . As of November 30 , 2008 , " The Clone Wars " has earned $ 68 . 28 million worldwide , including $ 35 . 16 million in domestic box office grosses and $ 33 . 12 million in foreign grosses . The movie earned $ 14 . 6 million on 3 , 590 screens its opening weekend , including $ 6 . 23 million on opening day August 15 . It was the third - highest earning film of the weekend , behind the " " and " " , which earned $ 26 million and $ 16 . 8 million , respectively . Dan Fellman , head of distribution for Warner Bros . Pictures , said the box office performance met expectations because two - thirds of the audience were families , and because the movie was meant to introduce the animated series . Fellman said , " It was targeted to a specific audience for specific reasons . We accomplished that mission , and it will continue in another medium . " When " The Clone Wars " dropped to $ 5 . 7 million in the second week , ContactMusic . com described it as " the first bona fide " Star Wars " flop . " Critical reception . " The Clone Wars " was almost universally panned by film critics prior to its theatrical release . " The Clone Wars " earned 19 % " rotten " rating among 157 reviews compiled at the site , as well as 14 % among 28 " Top Critics . " This is the lowest Rotten Tomatoes ranking of any " Star Wars " film ; the previous six theatrical films ranged from 57 % to 97 % , and even the made - for - television and the much - derided " Star Wars Holiday Special " garnered higher ratings . At , the movie scored a 35 % based on 30 reviews , earning it the status " generally negative reviews . " , a movie review site , posted two reviews of the film during the week before its release , but pulled them down due to an embargo placed on those attending the screening its writers attended . The same reviews were reposted on the site the day of the film ' s release . The retraction prompted some readers to allege a conspiracy by LucasFilm to keep negative press out of circulation until the release of the film , but although the review by site creator was negative , pointed out to readers that his review was positive and that no such conspiracy existed . Several critics compared " The Clone Wars " to a and described it as little more than a plug for the upcoming animated series of the same name . Linda Barnard , of the " " , said the movie " pretty much drives a stake into the heart of every loyal fan of the movies . And now he ' s out to stick it to those too young to know about Jar Jar Binks . " Film . com writer wrote , " Remember how people talked about the Star Wars prequels like they were the worst movies ever made , when really , come on , they weren ' t THAT bad ? The Clone Wars actually IS that bad . " " " reviewer Todd McCarthy said , " This isn ' t the " Star Wars " we ' ve always known and at least sometimes loved . " Joe Neumiar , of the " " , wrote , " If this were a true " Star Wars " film , right about now somebody would say , ' . . . I ' ve got a bad feeling about this . ' " " " critic gave the movie an and wrote , " George Lucas is turning into the enemy of fun . " Carrie Rickey , of " " , said , " The best that can be said about the movie is that it ' s harmless and mostly charmless . " The Clone Wars " is to " Star Wars " what is to . " Many criticized the animation as cheap , wooden , unengaging and out of date ; some reviewers drew negative comparisons to 1960s - based shows " Thunderbirds " and " " , although George Lucas previously said the animation style was a deliberate homage to such shows . Tom Long of " " said the animation " is downright weak compared to what ' s generally seen on screens these days " and said the characters are so stiff they look like they were " carved by . " of the " " and said , " the characters have hair that looks molded from , bodies that seem arthritic , and moving lips on half - frozen faces - - all signs that shortcuts were taken in the animation work . " McCarthy said " the movements , both of the characters and the compositions , look mechanical , and the mostly familiar characters have all the facial expressiveness of . " But some of the same reviewers who criticized the animation acknowledged some positive elements about it ; McCarthy said it allowed for " somewhat more dramatic compositions and color schemes , " and Carrie Rickey , of " " , said the scenery and backgrounds were " vivid and alive , " although she said the characters " move as you would imagine the statues at a might . " Reviewers also criticized the dialogue , which Ebert said was limited to " simplistic declamations " and Claudia Puig of " " described as " stilted and overblown , a problem also in some of the live - action incarnations . " Many critics also agreed that the battle scenes were repetitive and lacked tension ; McCarthy described the action sequences as " a little exposition , an invasion ; some more exposition , a lightsaber fight ; a bit more blah - blah , a spaceship dogfight , and on and on . " Linda Stasi , of the " " , also described the lack of character development in the film , writing that whereas the original " Star Wars " movies dedicated time to allowing viewers to get to know the characters , " Director Dave Filoni is so concentrated on the action that we ' re never given the chance to care who lives and who is blown into spare parts . " Jason Anderson , of the " " , wrote that although " The Clone Wars " is intended for younger audiences , " parents may be perturbed by the film ' s relentless violence . " Ebert also found protagonist Ahsoka Tano clichéd and " annoying , " and Michael Rechtshaffen , of " " , said the attempts at humor amid the bickering between Tano and Anakin Skywalker are " strained . " Puig , however , said she enjoyed the character and that " her repartee with Anakin enlivens things . " Not all of the critical reaction to the film was negative . In a positive review , Kenny Lengel of " " said the lack of hype surrounding " The Clone Wars " , as opposed to the 1999 release of " " , allowed him to enjoy the film due to lower expectations . He said of " The Clone Wars " , " if you ' re willing to regress to the mental age of 12 for a couple of hours , it ' s an amusing ride . " Whereas other reviewers criticized the fact that it was plugging the animated series , Lengel described it as an asset for the movie , writing " it ' s not trying to be anything more , so it works just fine . " " " film critic David Germain called " The Clone Wars " " reasonably fun , if generally forgettable " and that it " comes off as rather cute overall , " but he said it would be better suited to television and that unlike the previous " Star Wars " films , it " definitely is not an event . " Chris Hewitt of the " " said he enjoyed " The Clone Wars " more than any of the films in the prequel trilogy , and said the female characters are handled better in this movie than in any of the prior three . He also said the animation heightens the lightsaber battles and although the style was " initially off - putting , " he wrote , " there ' s a kind of logic to having all the ' Star Wars ' characters resemble action figures . " " " critic admitted the movie was not innovative , but wrote , " young audiences will lap it up like ice cream , and its good humor and faith in the Force will put adults in a Saturday - morning frame of mind even at midnight showings . " Many critics agreed that the return of " Star Wars " alumni actors Anthony Daniels , Christopher Lee and Samuel L . Jackson as voice actors in " The Clone Wars " was a positive aspect of the movie . Although Neumaier criticized the artistic style of the film , he described a vertical assault up a mountainside as an exception and called the sequence " creative . " " Entertainment Weekly " defended the film , saying " " The Clone Wars " is simply too well produced to justify virulent disdain and too insignificant to prosecute the Lucas - legacy argument . The movie is a small pleasure , which is only a problem when you expect huge things from a " Star Wars " film . " " " actor Sam Witwer felt that the film would have been better received had it aired as part of the TV series . Dave Filoni commented on the criticism " As a fan of ' Star Wars ' for so long , I always knew there would be debate . No matter what you do with ' Star Wars , ' you ' re going to have a huge debate about it . I actually think its part of the fun of being a fan ; having the big arguments over ' I like this ' and ' I didn ' t like that ' or ' this aspect fit with what I thought ' but ' this aspect didn ' t . ' I think one of the greatest things is that people are still talking about ' Star Wars . ' ' Anakin has a Padawan ? I ' ve never heard of that before ? ' But now everybody is talking about the fact that Anakin has a Padawan and the movie introduced that idea . " It was nominated for the , or " Razzie , " for Worst Prequel , Remake , Rip - off or Sequel , but lost to another Lucasfilm production , " " . Audience reception . Despite low box office and negative critical reviews , audience response over time to the film has proven favorable in some aspects . As of November 13 , 2014 , the film carries an overall rating of 4 . 0 / 5 user - reviewed stars at Amazon . com , with 145 / 284 reviews giving it a rating of 5 stars and only 43 giving it less than 3 stars . Amongst reviewer statements were that it ' s " good for what it tries to do " and that it " offers a subpar story but sort of makes up for it with pretty cool battle sequences and decent animation . " At Metacritic , users gave the film a " mixed " score of 5 . 3 / 10 with 192 reviews , 94 of them positive . On Rotten Tomatoes , only 38 % are listed as liking the film , with an overall rating of 3 / 5 .