---
title: "Star Wars: The Clone Wars"
year: 2008
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/star-wars-the-clone-wars"
fi1m_score: 44
critics_score: 40
critics_reviews: 16
published: "2026-09-20T21:15:22.882383+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-20T21:15:23.511777+00:00"
region: "MX"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)

Directed by Dave Filoni · 1h 38m · Animation, Action, Science Fiction, Adventure

**Fi1m score: 44** · Critics 40 from 16 reviews

*In a sentence:* Whole armies die so that Jabba the Hutt can have his baby back, and the baby mostly burps

> Dave Filoni’s film is a television pilot that wandered into cinemas, and it looks the part: bold, angular, cheaply lit and cut into episode-sized blocks. Children under ten will enjoy the cliff battle. Everyone else will notice the plot is about a baby.

## Synopsis

The Clone Wars are under way. On the crystal planet of Christophsis, Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor) are pinned down with a dwindling clone force, Captain Rex (Dee Bradley Baker) among them, while Separatist droids under General Loathsom advance behind an energy shield. A shuttle gets through, carrying not supplies but Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), a teenage Padawan assigned by Yoda to be Anakin’s apprentice, which neither of them asked for. Then word comes from Coruscant: Jabba the Hutt’s infant son Rotta has been kidnapped, and the Republic needs Jabba’s trade routes badly enough to send Jedi to fetch him. Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) wants the baby for his own reasons, and Padmé Amidala (Catherine Taber) starts asking questions of Jabba’s uncle Ziro.

## Review

Dave Filoni directs a 98-minute animated feature set between the second and third of George Lucas’s prequels, and when it reached British cinemas on 15 August 2008 most critics called it a television pilot that had got into the wrong building. They were right. Henry Gilroy, Steven Melching and Scott Murphy’s screenplay is built in three or four chunks, each with its own planet, villain and battle, and the joins are visible from the back row. It is a decent afternoon’s cartoon asked to fill a cinema, and it cannot.

The look is the reason to try it. Filoni gives his people carved, angular faces with the shadows painted on, so that Anakin looks like a marionette and Obi-Wan like a wooden saint with a beard. It takes twenty minutes to stop looking wrong, and then it starts looking like a choice. The backgrounds are handsomer than the people: the blue crystal towers of Christophsis, the ochre cliff on Teth, the greasy neon of Ziro’s club on Coruscant.

The best sequence is the assault on the Teth monastery, in which Anakin, Ahsoka and Captain Rex’s clones drive their six-legged walkers up a cliff face while droids fire down from the top. Filoni points the camera at the sky, so the thing to fear is the drop rather than the blaster, and Jason Tucker cuts it clean enough that we always know who is above whom. Dee Bradley Baker voices every clone and gives Rex the tone of a sergeant who has done this before. For ten minutes we sat forward.

Ahsoka Tano is the film’s one dramatic idea, and Ashley Eckstein plays her as a bright, cocky teenager who has read about Anakin and is not impressed. Matt Lanter gives Anakin a lighter, more likeable voice than Hayden Christensen ever found. The trouble is the writing. She calls him Skyguy, he calls her Snips, and the script returns to the exchange every eight minutes as if checking it is still there; they never have a conversation that is not a quarrel. James Arnold Taylor’s Obi-Wan is a fair impression of Ewan McGregor and gets one good scene, offering General Loathsom a surrender he has no intention of keeping.

The plot is that Jabba the Hutt’s baby has been stolen and the Jedi must get him back so the Republic can use Jabba’s trade routes. Rotta the Huttlet, voiced by David Acord, is a green, mewling slug who spends most of the film in a backpack, unwell. Corey Burton gives Ziro the Hutt a lisping drawl that one or two critics enjoyed as camp, though he is there to fill a hole in the story rather than to be a character. Christopher Lee’s Count Dooku is the only voice that sounds as if it has read a book, and he has perhaps six minutes.

By the third battle we were bored, and a little cross about it, because the pieces were there: clones with names, a villain with a plan, a child on her first mission. What did it was the score and the cutting. Kevin Kiner has swapped John Williams’s brass for electric guitar and hand drums, and it sounds like the menu music from a game. Tucker’s battles are assembled from the same three shots: droids advance, clones fall, lightsabre deflects. Clones die in numbers and the film does not stop to notice, which is forgivable in a serial and not in a film with ninety-eight minutes to make us care.

It was made to launch a series, and it behaves like a first episode: it introduces everyone and asks nothing of them. Against Lucas’s films, even the weakest of the prequels, it is thinner; against the run of animated adventure in cinemas it is competent, cheap and short. Filoni can stage an action scene. The script does not give him one with anything at stake.

Children of seven or eight who own the toys will be happy for 98 minutes, and their parents happy by proxy. For everyone else this is a pilot, best watched as one, at home, with something else on the go. The PG certificate is right.

*Fi1m score 44, published 20 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics find The Clone Wars a thin piece of work, and the reviews lean negative: eleven of sixteen are unfavourable. Where there is praise it lands almost entirely on the animation and the action. Several critics admire the stylised CG and the scale of the set pieces, with Empire singling out a vertical firefight as the film’s best sequence. Nearly everyone notes that it plays like an extended television pilot; the kinder reviews take that as a fair description rather than a failing.

The reservations cluster on the writing. Critics complain of stiff, repetitive dialogue, characters with no inner life, and a plot about rescuing Jabba’s infant son that most consider beneath the saga. Roger Ebert and others liken it to a Saturday-morning cartoon. The spread is narrow at the bottom, with most scores between 20 and 40. Only The Times and Empire recommend it, while Time Out concedes that Ziro the Hutt is the one reason to watch.

## Straight answers

**Is Star Wars: The Clone Wars worth watching?**

*Star Wars: The Clone Wars* is worth watching only for children of seven or eight who already own the toys, and we scored it 44. It is a television pilot built in episode-sized chunks, and the joins show from the back row. The cliff assault on Teth is well staged, but the plot is about rescuing a baby and the script gives nobody anything at stake.

**How long is Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and what is it rated?**

*Star Wars: The Clone Wars* runs 1h 38m. It is an animation and action film.

**Where can I watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars in Mexico?**

*Star Wars: The Clone Wars* is streaming on Disney+ in Mexico. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How does Star Wars: The Clone Wars compare to Batman: Mask of the Phantasm?**

*Star Wars: The Clone Wars* is the weaker of the two by some distance; *Batman: Mask of the Phantasm* is the television cartoon that earned its trip to cinemas. Both are short, but the Batman film is a tight, sad detective story about one man, while Filoni's is a loose string of battles that introduces everyone and asks nothing of them. Pick the Star Wars film only for young fans; adults should take the Batman.

### Reviews we read (16)

- **The Times**, Ed Potton (75/100, inferred): The review praises the film's stylised CGI animation and kinetic action sequences as an improvement in energy over the prequels. It highlights the broader cartoon style and impressive set pieces while noting concessions to animated conventions. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/star-wars-the-clone-wars-s5zqnjw0rxs)
- **Empire**, James Dyer (70/100, inferred): An enjoyable escapade and solid introduction to the upcoming TV series, though it feels more like television than a proper cinematic Star Wars film. The critic singles out the inventive vertical firefight sequence for praise. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/star-wars-clone-wars-review/)
- **The AV Club**, Tasha Robinson (C+): The film feels like a videogame with repetitive battles and a talky focus on juvenile relationships; Ahsoka is a welcome addition but overall it lacks reason to be on the big screen. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/star-wars-the-clone-wars-1798204732)
- **Screen Daily** (55/100, inferred): Action-packed and visually impressive with photorealistic backdrops and solid light-sabre sequences, the CG-animated feature still feels like a supercharged TV pilot for the associated series. The animation is its biggest asset, though characters are less naturalistic and the story serves mainly to build buzz for the TV launch. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/star-wars-the-clone-wars/4040221.article)
- **The New York Times**, Nathan Lee (50/100, inferred): The critic notes that low expectations from prior prequels make the film a mild surprise as it avoids being the worst movie of the year, praising its uncluttered look and pace as a mechanical thrill ride while criticizing its stiff characterizations and lack of credible human feeling. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/15/movies/15clon.html)
- **Time Out**, Tom Huddleston (40/100, inferred): The film is a flimsy, kid-friendly videogame approximation of the Star Wars franchise, packed with bizarre distractions like the new Padawan Ahsoka and the burping Hutt son Stinky. Ziro the Hutt stands out as the most preposterous yet best reason to watch, making it at least better than The Phantom Menace. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/star-wars-the-clone-wars)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Michael Ordona (30/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a weak effort aimed too low, with gorgeous animation undermined by poor writing, repetitious dialogue, and a nonsensical plot involving Jabba the Hutt's baby, concluding the Force is not strong with this one. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-aug-15-et-starwars15-story.html)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a disappointing reduction of the Star Wars saga to Saturday-morning cartoon level, with poor animation quality, simplistic dialogue, and a plot that feels repetitive and uninspired. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/star-wars-the-clone-wars-2008)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Michael Rechtshaffen (30/100, inferred): The critic views it as a stiffly executed CG feature that serves mainly as a promo for the upcoming TV series, with limited innovation and lifeless dialogue despite some eye-catching sequences. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/clone-wars-star-wars-movie-review-125038/)
- **The Independent** (30/100, inferred): A minor release best subtitled 'Wait for the DVD,' essentially a pilot for the TV series that won't hold up as a standalone film. Primary school-age fans may enjoy the action, but the animation and story are criticised as below par even for Star Wars. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/you-don-t-mess-with-the-zohan-12astar-wars-the-clone-wars-pg-899498.html)
- **Slant Magazine** (20/100, inferred): The critic finds the plot inconsequential and the action sequences brain-numbing, with grating banter between Anakin and Ahsoka plus script jaggedness undermining any visual strengths. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/star-wars-the-clone-wars/)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (20/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a pointless cash-in extension of the Star Wars prequels with uninteresting subject matter and lifeless CGI characters. The review questions why George Lucas continues to produce more Star Wars content instead of something new. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/aug/15/animation.sciencefictionandfantasy)
- **Den of Geek**, Ron Hogan (2/5): The critic finds the film flat and underwhelming as a big-screen event, stitched together from TV episodes with little steam or fizz, though not quite as bad as The Phantom Menace. It singles out the weak overall execution and lack of excitement in the story of rescuing Stinky the Hutt. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/star-wars-the-clone-wars-review/)
- **Eye for Film**, Ben Sillis (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film feels like a Saturday morning cartoon aimed at kids, lacking depth and character development, though praises the distinctive CGI animation. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/star-wars-the-clone-wars-film-review-by-ben-sillis)
- **Paste**, Paste Staff (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film visually unappealing with outdated stylized CGI and a simplistic children's plot lacking any real threat or depth, rendering it tedious despite action scenes. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/star-wars/star-wars-clone-wars)
- **Collider**, Billy Fellows (10/100, inferred): The critic argues that the 2008 film is poorly structured as a set of disjointed episodes with clunky animation and underdeveloped early character dynamics between Anakin and Ahsoka. [Read](https://collider.com/star-wars-the-clone-wars-movie-worst-dave-filoni/)

## Details

- **Director:** Dave Filoni
- **Director:** Dave Filoni
- **Screenplay:** Scott Murphy, Steven Melching, Henry Gilroy
- **Editor:** Jason Tucker
- **Music:** Kevin Kiner
- **Producer:** Catherine Winder
- **Cast:** Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker (voice); Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano (voice); James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan Kenobi / 4A-7 / Medical Droid (voice); David Acord as Rotta the Huttlet (voice); Dee Bradley Baker as Captain Rex / Commander Cody / Commander Fox / Clone Troopers (voice); Christopher Lee as Count Dooku (voice); Nika Futterman as Asajj Ventress / Tee-C-Seventy (voice); Kevin Michael Richardson as Jabba the Hutt (voice)
- **Runtime:** 1h 38m
- **First release (Denmark):** 5 August 2008
- **Genres:** Animation, Action, Science Fiction, Adventure
- **Budget:** $8 million
- **Box office:** $68 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh3P3DoZZh4

## Where to watch in Mexico

- Disney+: streaming, hd

*Checked 2026-09-18.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Batman: Mask of the Phantasm* (1993), Fi1m 82: A television cartoon that went to cinemas and earned the trip; tight, sad and short. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/batman-mask-of-the-phantasm.md)
- *Castle in the Sky* (1986), Fi1m 82: Miyazaki’s flying fortresses and sky pirates, with a child hero who actually grows. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/castle-in-the-sky.md)
- *The Iron Giant* (1999), Fi1m 88: A boy, a war machine and a script that lets the deaths land. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-iron-giant.md)
- *Treasure Planet* (2002): Sailing ships in space and an apprentice who earns the mentor’s trust, not just his nickname.
- *Flash Gordon* (1980): Cheap, loud, garish space opera that knows exactly how silly it is.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/star-wars-the-clone-wars