The above image is a promotional poster for Star Wars: Clone Wars, an animated television series that aired on Cartoon Network from 2003 to 2005.

Overall, I like the look of this show a lot. Animation should do things that are impossible in live action, and that's exactly what the show does. One issue I've always had with the live-action Star Wars films is that the characters tend to "pop" out of the animated environments. Here, the characters' hand-drawn counterparts feel right at home. They are heavily stylized, with jagged edges, exaggerated features, and thick outlines. This allows them to fit in with the backgrounds better, and thus, ironically enough, come across as more believable than they do in the live-action films.

Not only does the animation allow these characters to seamlessly blend into their environments, but it also paves the way for some truly amazing action sequences and set-pieces. The action has a level of creativity, lightning-fast pacing, and efficient editing that would be next to impossible with live actors.

Unfortunately, not all marks are hit. My main issue with the animation style is that, while it's nice to see simple character designs, they occasionally come across as being oversimplified. There's not a lot of detail to be found, and the lighting and shading leaves something to be desired.

Even with such misgivings, I can still safely say that Clone Wars is a great-looking show. It presents slick, stylized characters, colorful environments, and breathtaking action sequences and set-pieces that the live-action Star Wars films can't hold a candle to, and on those merits, it succeeds with flying colors.

References
"The Random Curiosity Thread" 9 Sept. 2009. .