Slashdot Log In
CG Television Clone Wars Trailer Released
Posted by
Zonk
on Sun May 27, 2007 04:09 PM
from the more-money-for-lucas-is-great-right dept.
from the more-money-for-lucas-is-great-right dept.
Ant writes "The official Star Wars site has up the one minute and 50 second trailer for the upcoming computer rendered Clone Wars." I'm still not sold on the CG, but the models seem to be somewhat based on Genndy Tartakovsky's designs from the original Clone Wars series. Wikipedia offers a bevy of details on the series.
Related Stories
[+]
Star Wars Television Series Moving Forward 178 comments
merg717 writes "George Lucas has confirmed that work has begun on a live-action Star Wars television series. This is the companion piece to the Clone Wars animated series, focusing on entirely new characters outside of the frame of the six movies. 'Lucas joked that the series would be about "the life of robots" but wouldn't let any details slip about the true premise. The "extended universe" of "Star Wars" has come to life already in Lucas-sanctioned novels, comics and games that chronicle the history of the Jedi and tell the tales of bit players in the films, such as the bounty hunters from "The Empire Strikes Back."'"
[+]
Entertainment: Animated Film Set To Kick Off Star Wars TV Show 270 comments
Sasseen writes "George Lucas has announced that the animated Star Wars television show, which we've discussed previously, will be kicking off with a feature-length theatre release. Lucas felt that, 'there were a lot more 'Star Wars' stories left to tell. I was eager to start telling some of them through animation and, at the same time, push the animation forward.' A fully animated film will be released in theaters on August 15 with a TV series of more than 30 episodes planned to follow on Cartoon Network and TNT. Also of note from the article, 'A new character named Ahsoka, Anakin's padawan, will be the first female Jedi to be a character of focus'."
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Full
Abbreviated
Hidden
Loading... please wait.
Too little, too late... (Score:5, Insightful)
The saddest thing is that despite my protest I'm sure I'll watch it, secretly hoarde some action figures from the series and own every reissue of the new Clone Wars boxset for the next twenty years.
Re:Too little, too late... (Score:5, Funny)
Really? Even from the trailer, the acting strikes me as less wooden...
Parent
Re:Too little, too late... (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Ha! (Score:2)
Come on geeks (Score:3, Funny)
Luke, I am your programmer (Score:5, Funny)
or does it? (Score:2)
Or it used to...
just kidding. love you wiki
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Most likely, if a high activity page gets vandalized or made "radically different", it will be corrected in about 30 seconds. I suspect your concern is more of a theoretical one than a real world one.
Why is Lucas wasting our time? (Score:4, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
He looked pretty much the same just his diapers and mustache were smaller.
Genndy Tartakovsky is a genius ... (Score:5, Insightful)
Dexter's laboratory, Samurai Jack and Powerpuff Girls are enough to establish his genius [dotgnu.info]. But he managed to turn around my opinion [dotgnu.info] about Star Wars (as someone born in the eighties and having got a TV in the nineties) - while reinforcing my low opinion of George Lucas's later work. Samurai Jack is really another example of a long epic saga, minimalistically drawn, yet full of life, twists and curve balls.
Hopefully, they borrow the good parts from his work and not go all CG centric over the story telling part.
Re: (Score:2)
Let's be honest with ourselves; the new series will be a much more 'genuine' extension of the prequels: corporate machinery capitalizing on a loyal fan base.
Re: (Score:2)
Certainly Tartakovisky work had an huge influence on this new series, is just a matter of looking at the overall look and style of the characters. Some people complained that the CG didn't look impressive... well, it doesn't have to be!
Compare for example the Final Fantasy movie with the Incredibles... in which one the characters seems to be more alive, more real? Better, compare the Clone Wars animated series with the 3 latest films... Tartakovi
What is this? (Score:2)
Some of it looks okay- but there's one spectacularly lame scene where the trooper yells 'get ready!' dramatically, and then the door slowly opens to reveal: 5 of those dorkbots from phantom menace going 'pew-pew'.
Well obviously... (Score:3, Interesting)
Look at the bright side... (Score:2)
The lower our expectations are, the happier we'll be.
Eating Disorders (Score:2, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
CG WTF? (Score:5, Interesting)
No, the CG doesn't look real... you really want it to? I'd prefer something with a little style, a little "not real". Have you watched Polar Express? The characters looked real, and moved realistically alright... but they also looked like propped up corpses because despite all the work of the artists they STILL couldn't quite get it real enough.
There's only so far you can go along the path of making CG realistic. At a certain point you have to start thinking about the look and the flow of the thing instead of whether or not you're rendering 1000 different pores on a human nose. I personally liked the trailer, I think it looked pretty good. The CG doesn't look realistic, and I for one am glad of it. It gives the CG animated series a certain flair.
Did anyone here watch TMNT at the theatres recently? I did with my 6-year-old son and loved it. The story was strong, the characters were well rendered... but realistic it wasn't. It was stylized, but in a way that to me and my son made the characters MORE believable. It's hard to accept an unreal world when there are real people up on the screen. Similarly, it's hard to accept the real world with unreal characters... we use what's called willing suspension of disbelief in order to take some aspects on faith.
Now, whether or not they can actually get some good stories in this is open to be seen. I won't make any quick judgments; sure Lucas has created some tripe like Episode 1... but mostly because it was more about him experimenting with what he could do with CG than writing a good story. Episodes 2 and 3 both improved on this formula but still didn't quite match Empire Strikes Back (though I still think Episode 3 was better (or at least equal) in almost every respect than Return of the Jedi). Since this is going to be all CG, there are no limits and nothing to prove. The only thing he CAN prove with a CG Star Wars is that he can still write. If he can't, the show will fail since there are million and one "also-rans" in this race.
I'll wait and see. The trailer gives is little to go on as far as whether or not the writing is better here than in the prequels. Lucas has written good stuff in his life; look at THX-1138. If he can do it again, this'll be good. If not, then maybe it'll get an audience with the current pre-teen crowd who enjoyed the prequels. However, without strong stories you'll lose them and there'll be no "rewatching" ability.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:CG WTF? (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, but that was before the Star Wars _franchise_. It's no longer about the story. It's about the money, and how many people will grit their teeth while paying for movie tickets because all of us 40 year olds want our childhood back. But that's because we're all suckers and figure "well he can't rape our childhoods THAT much, can he?"
Yes. Yes he can. Meesa givesa upsa after Episode Onesa...
As to how far he can sink, do you remember the Christmas Special? Did you gouge your eyes out?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asnVcbWQ2cg [youtube.com]
Bea...Arthur... BEA FREAKIN ARTHUR!
NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
--
BMO
Parent
Re:CG WTF? (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:CG WTF? (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
The treasure of The Star Wars Legacy (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
He GAVE it to us
I may have only been 12, but I distinctly recall paying $6 for it.
Another Director & CG? (Score:2, Informative)
Looks like Penny Arcade (Score:2)
Probably a cost issue (Score:2)
This kind of CG doesn't look expensive..
At least the animation seems ok: IMHO, it's more important to have a good animation that to have a nice CG.
Am I the only one who thinks this looks great? (Score:5, Insightful)
Music:
Hard to Handle (Otis Redding/Black Crowes)
Come Together (Beatles/Aerosmith)
Hurt (Nine Inch Nails/Johnny Cash)
Twist And Shout (Top Notes/Beatles)
Time is on my Side (Irma Thomas/Rolling Stones)
The Man Who Sold the World (David Bowie/Nirvana)
Mr. Tambourine Man (Bob Dylan/William Shatner) - just kidding
Movies:
Cape Fear
Dawn of the Dead
Oceans 11
The Thing (I'll argue it is a remake)
Scarface
So everyone just relax and reserve judgment until you actually see it. I know how hard that is, especially on the Internets, to not review a movie 8 months before it comes out based on 5 screenshots or something, but let's at least, um... try? If you didn't like the original, then you probably won't like this one. But if you did like Genndy's version and you're already reserving judgment, then right now you're just being close-minded (even if you do wind up disliking it later). Liking both isn't a mortal sin.
The Clones War was pretty bad (Score:2, Funny)
The units sent with the knights would usually all die, except them, than they would just wipe every enemy on sight. But depending on the episode they would stop for a quick drink.
To me, those series did not match with the movies at all, if the knights were so freaking amazing, how in the heck were they wiped out, except for 2 of them?
Clone Wars: Special Edition (Score:5, Funny)
Among the wonders to look forward to:
- The original Clone Wars cartoons will be redone in CG, as Lucas had originally wanted.
- Special appearance by Jabba the Hutt, where we discover that he and Obi Wan have done business for some time.
- Someone will shoot Anakin first, causing him to go aggro and eventually turn to the dark side entirely out of self-defense.
- All explosions will be accompanied by planar shockwaves.
- Death scenes of random insignificant characters will be shortened or removed entirely.
- The final episode will feature a galaxy-wide welcome-to-the-rainforest happy-fest victory party.
- Qui-Gon's disembodied head will accompany Obi Wan at all times, acting as his personal Jiminy Cricket.
- DVD Bonus Feature Deleted Scenes of Chewbacca's extended family.
Can't wait!!I don't get it (Score:5, Interesting)
Is Darth Vader boring?
Re:I don't get it (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Why use CG actors? (Score:3, Insightful)
Mark Hamill was an unknown, very mediocre actor who only managed to pull off the part in spite of the horrible dialogue because his naivete played in his favor.
Hayden Christensen, also an unkown, in this case with horrible acting skills, couldn't salvage the atrocious dialogue because he was the villain and came off as a bratty prick, not as someone the audience identified with.
Further, having CG actors doesn't allow you to do anything you couldn't with human actors. Audiences fell in love with the original trilogy because they could identify with the heroes. Star Wars doesn't need flying green yodas and mortal combat robots. In the original trilogy the supernatural Force powers were natural-seeming extensions of ordinary people who rose to the occassion to accomplish extraordinary things because of their humanity, not in spite of it, and not by gimmicks or arcade fighting moves.
But then any ability to relate to the characters was pretty much ruined by Mr. Lucas explaining away everything in terms of bio-technological elitism.
The duel between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader in the original trilogy was 10x more compelling and emotional than anything in the new trilogy, eventhough it was slow paced and had no video game acrobatics.
You know, at this point: screw it. There's nothing redeeming left about the Star Wars universe. Have at it Mr. Lucas. I hope you make millions turning the franchise into a DragonBall Z ripoff. Jedis' hair volume and color should correlate to their Jedi rank and powers. That's really all that's left to do.
Someone else make a movie PLEASE! (Score:4, Insightful)
These days, we've all got ridiculously high-powered PCs, and many people have one or move of 3DSMAX/BLENDER(free)/VUE/POSER/DAZ-STUDIO(free)/C
These days, anyone can make a science fiction movie. The concept has already been proven by Star Warz Fan Boys who have made their own Star Wars rip offs, on the cheap but with great SFX and decent production quality. Sadly the Fan Boys used Lucas' old material instead of getting an original idea in their head. Lucas' prequels have taught us how *not* to make a movie. Now lets put that to practice.
Some come on people, get together! We don't need to wait for Lucas to dream up next years line of would-be Christmas presents and cheesy merchandising. Do your own damned movies! Instead of another Star Wars rehash, how about something new? Indy bands can now put out music without signing away to the RIAA cartel. We can do the same.
Re: (Score:2)
Just because it is 3d doesn't mean it has to be photorealistic.
Re:Production quality? (Score:4, Funny)
Even Yoda's got to be saying, "A cartoon I am in. Soon, the end of the franchise it will be."
Parent
Re:Eh, CG... (Score:4, Insightful)
Personally, I'd rather see South Park, Terrance & Phillip, Clerks, etc style animation instead of CG. Something similar to Batman Beyond would be pretty cool for this.
I like animation, hell, most of what I watch is animated (South Park, Family Guy, Simpsons, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, etc). CG just really annoys me.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Personally, I'd rather see South Park, Terrance & Phillip, Clerks, etc style animation instead of CG. Something similar to Batman Beyond would be pretty cool for this.
I know what you mean, it's the uncanny valley. [slate.com] They DO seem to be trying to avoid that, from what I can see here. Note especially Kenobi's(?) beard. Threre's not enough to tell if they're sucessful, unfortunately.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Motion capture helps a lot with 3-D stuff, but it's probably still too expensive to do for a TV show that's got to do a couple dozen episodes a year. Movement in the new Clone Wars series looked acceptable to me, but I'd agree that it's less than perfect--some movements too quick, some too exagg
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Not that care, I
Is that you, Yoda?
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
It's a Stylistic Design choice, it's got nothing to do with technical capability.