Star Wars: Clone Wars was originally made for Cartoon Network in a three-minute shorts format meant to be broadcast on television during commercial breaks. All the shorts were later compiled together in two one-hour volumes. Volume One was originally made in 2003 following the release of Attack of the Clones. Volume Two was made in 2005 and was written as a prelude to the upcoming Revenge of the Sith.

Going all the way back to the very first Star Wars, Luke mentions a throwaway line about how Obi-Wan and Luke’s father Anakin were brothers in arms who fought during the Clone Wars. Kids who grew up dreaming about the Clone Wars and the heyday of the Jedi Knights were finally able to tell tales about Jedi at the height of their powers in stories that previously could not be told due to limitations of scale. They also finally get to show us how totally wicked awesome Anakin Skywalker was when he was traveling the galaxy and hanging out with his best buddy Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The narrative is minimal, but used resourcefully. Action, suspense and humor are perfectly balanced. No time is wasted on meaningless fillers. We get excellent stories about powerful Jedi and cool clone troopers doing their thing, fighting droid armies and liberating planets. We get to see in small but effective doses the scale of the total conflict and the war’s long-reaching effects on the people of the Star Wars galaxy as the Separatist armies invade planets, enslave people and spread fear far and wide. We get to see cool characters that only got a few seconds of movie time doing amazing things, along with the introduction of other great characters such as Asajj Ventress and General Grievous. My favorite part is in the second volume, which tells the story of Anakin’s official knighthood and how he travels to the planet Nelvaan to face his final “trial of the mirror”. You already know what’s going to happen to Anakin in the near future, and the fate of the Nelvaan warriors that he is recruited to rescue serves as his warning.

The stylized designs and carefully choreographed action sequences of this modest series served as the foundation for all the other Star Wars animated features that followed, beginning with The Clone Wars CGI series. It’s very much Worth It for Star Wars fans of all ages.