These Are The Biggest Issues with Star Wars Animation

While 'Star Wars' Animation Is Generally Well Received, There's Room To Improve

By Culture SlatePublished 3 years ago • 5 min read

Star Wars and animation have gone hand-in-hand since the original release of the first film. From giving us our first look at Boba Fett, to the chronicle of the Clone War from George Lucas and Dave Filoni, Star Wars animation has been an important part of the saga for generations. However, I don’t think Star Wars has ever reached its true potential in animation despite the cornucopia of animated shows we have received. That is not to say that there are no good animated Star Wars shows, but there are few that really take advantage of what the medium is capable of, which is somewhat disappointing.

Animation has been a major part of pop culture almost as long as film has. It is responsible for kickstarting empires like Disney, and it has evolved into its own medium and art form in itself. While film and animation are often utilized in tandem, animation tends to offer a wider range of possibilities than its live-action counterpart, and there is still a widely untapped potential in animation that we have yet to see utilized. Besides that, it has wowed kids on Saturday mornings for countless childhoods and has given us some of the best feature films in existence. What does this have to do with Star Wars? Well, as I said above, Star Wars has had multiple animated shows of varying success. However, most of those shows don’t display anything that couldn’t be replicated in live-action.

One of the things that makes animation so special is the ability to go beyond what is possible in live-action. Colors can be more vibrant, action scenes can be far more elegantly choreographed and over-the-top, and character designs and settings are limited only by the imagination of the artists. Star Wars is a series that has long prided itself on fantastic worlds full of interesting creatures and civilizations that are populated with, among other things, lightsaber-wielding wizards. It should be able to provide animated series the likes of which have never been seen before, so why doesn’t it? It is no secret that Star Wars is heavily inspired by Japanese culture, and there are several aspects in the series that are pulled from the films by Akira Kurosawa, various samurai stories, and even anime. Of course, due to technology and budget, some of the action scenes had to be toned down from the original vision or inspiration. However, in animation that is rarely the case. As a matter of fact, anime often draws inspiration from the same place as Star Wars, and it is constantly pushing the bounds of what can be done with animation. Looking at series like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and films like Dragon Ball Super: Broly and Promare, you can see the potential in animation.

While these are very different from Star Wars, you can not deny the potential of a Star Wars series done in this style is something that would excite the fanbase. Unfortunately, there are several animated Star Wars shows like Dave Filoni’s The Clone Wars (2008) and Star Wars: Resistance that, while not without merit, seem to be content with simply recreating the visual style of Star Wars. These series are not poorly animated by any means and they have some amazing stories, but they push no boundaries of what animated Star Wars could be, especially considering how many boundaries George Lucas pushed when working on the films. In an effort to retain a visual style of the movies, which were frankly limited by the technology of their time, they have failed to reach something visually stunning which can be seen in several animated series with far less influence and historical impact than Star Wars.

I understand shows like The Clone Wars (2008) were trying something new. It was one of the first-ever TV shows done with computer-generated animation, and it was one of the few to do it well. However, when stacked side-by-side with Genndy Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars series, there is a stark difference. Tartakovsky’s series doesn’t quite reach the level of story-telling that Filoni’s series does. However, I constantly find myself underwhelmed when watching the lightsaber battles in Filoni’s Clone Wars, which is something I should never be saying when space-wizards are fighting each other with laser swords! There are some good battles for sure, but nothing that matches the style and excitement of seeing General Grievous hunt the Jedi in Tartakovsky’s series. I want to be clear that I am not, by any means, calling any of Dave Filoni’s shows bad. I think those shows do more for Star Wars canon than some of the movies could ever dream of, and they honor the Star Wars films in a way that adds depth to several characters who have minor roles in the films. I just wish more series would take the deep interesting stories of Filoni’s shows and add in a style that could only be done in an animated show like so many other animated series do.

I know that not everyone who enjoys Star Wars is a fan of eastern animation like what is seen in anime, but that doesn’t mean that an animated Star Wars series can’t push the envelope more than they have. Star Wars lends itself to the bizarre, over-the-top, colorful, and chaotic style of other animated shows from the east and west. Fortunately, there are shows like Genndy Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars that can be easily viewed on Disney+. Now we also have Star Wars: Visions which does exactly what I am talking about. It tells amazingly interesting stories with an animation style that shows the potential of Star Wars. Hopefully, this will open the door to more studios and creators from around the world to take on the Star Wars universe in new and exciting ways that have never before been seen in, and it will push Star Wars to be the titan of animation that it deserves to be.