Those of you who know me know that I am a big fan of Star Wars. When this cartoon series began, I was quite excited and diligently watched each new episode as it came out.[1] But since then I've fallen behind, and since then the series has wrapped up. Apparently there is more material, but further work on the series has been cancelled following the sale of the Star Wars franchise to Disney.[2] It is unclear how that material will be made available to the public.
My verdict: At this point they seem to be writing for an audience is composed primarilyt of adult fans of Star Wars, not children (whether or not that is actually the case). For one thing, there seemed to be more multi-episode story arcs than in previous seasons. Certainly the series is about war, but they go beyond killing at the battlefront to depict acts of murder provoked by greed, savagery, revenge, and general disdain for other sapient beings—all dark things for the 'younglings' in the audience.[3] And there is one episode in particular (Episode 19, "Massacre") that is rather demonic and un-kid-friendly. So I would not recommend this series for young children; it does, however, maintain some interest for an adult or adolescent viewer. I have two other complaints about this season. First, many of the plots of these episodes (and episodes of previous seasons) revolve around the archaic institution of monarchy (and especially royal succession). However, the history of our own planet suggests that constitutional democracy will develop well in advance of interstellar travel. Second, bringing back Darth Maul was ludicrous—especially the way they handled it. General Krell was a much better villain. The all-garbage planet where Darth Maul was hiding out, though, was an interesting touch.
Notes:
[1] You can read my previous reviews here and here.
[2] See http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/03/disney-clone-wars-cancelled/.
[3] However, I commend them for episodes 11–13 where they acknowledge the inherent flaw in pacifism: it only works if everyone is a pacifist, which is never the case; otherwise pacifists are enslaved, massacred, or exist solely at the expense of others who are willing to wage war to protect them.
Image attributions:
My verdict: At this point they seem to be writing for an audience is composed primarilyt of adult fans of Star Wars, not children (whether or not that is actually the case). For one thing, there seemed to be more multi-episode story arcs than in previous seasons. Certainly the series is about war, but they go beyond killing at the battlefront to depict acts of murder provoked by greed, savagery, revenge, and general disdain for other sapient beings—all dark things for the 'younglings' in the audience.[3] And there is one episode in particular (Episode 19, "Massacre") that is rather demonic and un-kid-friendly. So I would not recommend this series for young children; it does, however, maintain some interest for an adult or adolescent viewer. I have two other complaints about this season. First, many of the plots of these episodes (and episodes of previous seasons) revolve around the archaic institution of monarchy (and especially royal succession). However, the history of our own planet suggests that constitutional democracy will develop well in advance of interstellar travel. Second, bringing back Darth Maul was ludicrous—especially the way they handled it. General Krell was a much better villain. The all-garbage planet where Darth Maul was hiding out, though, was an interesting touch.
Notes:
[1] You can read my previous reviews here and here.
[2] See http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/03/disney-clone-wars-cancelled/.
[3] However, I commend them for episodes 11–13 where they acknowledge the inherent flaw in pacifism: it only works if everyone is a pacifist, which is never the case; otherwise pacifists are enslaved, massacred, or exist solely at the expense of others who are willing to wage war to protect them.
Image attributions:
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