Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Last week we briefly mentioned Star Wars, and I felt like there was no opportunity better than this to talk about Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The series, which is currently in its 4th season on Cartoon Network, was adapted from its film counterpart. Below is a trailer for the film:

There are a few moments in that trailer where I feel like the animation falls flat, such as when Anakin turns his head and says "Ahsoka" at about 1:43. The animation and CG just seems very wooden to me, which as an audience member and a student of 3D, you don't want to happen. That being said when I heard they were going to make a show following the movie, I was bothered. I felt like this would not live up to anything and it would not last long at all. When the show started some things were off, but the show had potential. There was something there that I couldn't put my finger on, but this seasons I figured it out. The character models, and the overall animation style has been perfectly refined. The characters look and move much smoother. I can't place exactly what it is; be it better texturing or better overall animation, maybe even everything overall is better. Either way the show has really come into its own and captured that spark that it was looking for: Below is a trailer of footage from this season:

Star Wars: The Clone Wars airs Fridays at 8 on Cartoon Network.