The clones fought the droids and turned against the Jedi.  They were also the precursor of the Storm Troopers.  If these two lines for the plot of THE CLONE WARS sound confusing, it is likely that you are not really a Star Wars trooper and might find the new animated Star Wars film, THE CLONE WARS a big yawn not too say the least bit confusing.

On the other hand, hardcore STAR WARS fans will find everything coming together in this latest version.  The primary characters are all here - Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter), Yoda (Tom Kane), Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), Jabba the Hutt (Kevin Michael Richardson) with other Hutts and newcomer Ahsoka (Ashley Eckstein) who provides the much needed human (in terms of feelings) element in the adventure.

As the film begins, THE CLONE WARS are taking place.  Producer Lucas is s fond of having his story jump all over the place but keeping the audience informed with the help of narration or huge big titles that move inwards and disappear from the screen.  More and more systems in the galaxy fall to the Dark Side as the Republic face peril.  Amidst all this mayhem, the ugly yet cute baby Hutt is kidnapped from Jabba by Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) and Anakin and Jedi student Ahsoka have to save the day.

Lucas’ animation is top notch.  The John Williams score is all there – grandiose and all.  Yet, though the animated CLONE WARS is complete in story, the whole exercise fails to excite.  How much excitement can be generated from watching cartoon characters in battle?

The number one curious question in all this is that if the ugly Jabba the Hutt had a baby, what did his wife look like?  Maybe the answer will be found in a 3-D digital version with ugliness jumping out at the screen.  At least that might enliven the proceedings out of this tired, boring often mechanical exercise in the Star Wars franchise.