Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Cartoon Network, TNT)

common sense media says

Some decent messages wrapped up in the Force.


parents & educators say
  • 59% say violence is an issue
  • 41% say there are positive role models

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that kids -- and Star Wars fans of all ages -- will be eager to check out this extension of the mega-hit franchise. It's much tamer and more age-appropriate for kids than the most recent live-action films, but there's still a fair amount of violence, from lightsaber battles to the typical shooting and explosions. And for all that Yoda preaches avoiding aggression, he can certainly do some intense damage when he's attacked. The whole galaxy is at war, so conflict and peril are frequent.

Positive messages: The Jedi are constantly battling against the dark side to help justice and peace prevail. Yoda tries to suggest that violence isn't the best way to solve problems -- but at one point also forces the bad guys to shoot themselves. That said, he does also emphasize the value of a person's individual gifts. Some characters (like Jabba the Hutt) are unapologetic criminals.
Violence & scariness: There's a fair amount of shooting and things exploding, just like in the movies. But most of the things being shot are robots, and it's all animated. Characters are frequently in peril and often use weapons, mostly blasters and lightsabers.
Sexy stuff: Not applicable.
Language: Not applicable.
Consumerism: The whole Star Wars franchise comes with a vast merchandising program and lots of toys and other products -- and this show is no exception.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.

More on Star Wars: The Clone Wars

What to talk about

Talk to your kids

Families can talk about how this series fits into the overall Star Wars story. Does it matter that you know Anakin's eventual fate? Does watching this show help fill in anything that you didn't know about in the movies? Families can also discuss whether watching this show makes kids want to buy tie-in toys and other products. Kids: Are pretend games more fun if you're playing with a toy figure or if you pretend to be the characters yourselves?

What's the story?

What's the story?

The galaxy far, far away is under attack yet again. Or still. STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS tells additional stories from the earlier part of the Star Wars saga, before Anakin Skywalker (voiced by Matt Lanter) turns to the dark side. As the galaxy reels under the onslaught of the clone wars, bad guys Palpatine (Ian Abercrombie) and Count Dooku (Corey Burton) continue to wreak havoc, while heroes Anakin, Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor), Yoda (Tom Kane), padawan Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), and others do their best to thwart their plans.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

While there's nothing particularly surprising about this show, it's fun overall, and the animation is beautiful. And kids even get some decent messages wrapped up in the Star Wars philosophy of the Force and staying focused on the right things: Yoda advises some clones (still good guys at the point he addresses them) that even if they all look alike, they each have individual gifts ... none of which involve blowing the bad guys to smithereens, even though that's the eventual result.

Bottom line? If you love Star Wars or are an animation aficionado, you'll love the show. If you aren't, you won't.

TV themes & details

TV Details
TV Rating: TV-PG
Network: Cartoon Network
Cast: Ashley Eckstein, Ian Abercrombie, Matt Lanter
Genre: Kids' Animation
Where to watch: Cartoon Network

This review was written by Anne Louise Bannon
 
 

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What parents & educators say

8
Based on 17 parent & educator reviews:
  • 59% say violence is an issue
  • 41% say there are positive role models
  • 35% say there are positive messages

Most useful reviews by all members

clone4-55
teen, 16 years old
 
awesome series!!!
i love this series, it's so awesome and finally a star wars with a lot of violence and action. the people that think this series is for kids of age 6 ,7,8 or 10 or 11 are so wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the rating is TV-PG-V, the v stands for moderate violence and georg lucas or dave filoni said him self that it's gonna be in the PG-13 style!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for example in the episode hostage of crisis, you see how a lot of people get a head shot from a sniper and a bounty hunter breaks somebody's neck, or in a other episode you see how somebody cuts the head off from a clone(human) and you see how the head is falling on the ground and rolling around with smoke!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT IS SO NOT RIGHT THAT MOST OF THE TIME ONLY ROBOTS GET SHOT, A LOT OF CLONES GET SHOT TOO!!!!!! AND YOU CAN ALWAYS HEAR THEIR DEATH CRIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i think the guys of this website didn't really see a lot of star wars the clone wars the series bacause their rating is so not right !!! i think so. take the PG rating serious , you really should. thanks for reading my review

JalaVIP
teen, 13 years old
 
Be careful when you watch this show. It can be very unpredictable. The first season is okay for age 8-plus, put season 2 can be very violent and dark, with babies in peril, characters dying in cold blood, and zombies.

giggity goo guy
teen, 16 years old
 
NOT FOR KIDS ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
look , i love this series i really do , but really people , do you really think children at the age of 8 could watch this , are you totally serious ?! think over again , just think ..................... season 1 of star wars the clone wars had some episodes that children could watch , i agree , but it also so had very dark and brutal moments , for example the episode "hostage crises" that episode was pretty intense in terms of VIOLENCE !!!! and then on star wars the clone wars got more brutal !!! (which i liked for sure ) season two has some really violent scenes like stabbings and characters were pierced by lightsabers from behind (including a human character). now....SEASON 3 is the most violent season so far ...... some episodes should've actually been rated TV-14 , seriously ,just THINK about what you have seen so far !!!! the violence gets pretty dark, ugly , hard and very,very intense . this is a series FOR TEENS at the of age 13 and mostly 14 and up, it may have been not like this in some earlier episodes ,but now , i think , NO GO FOR KIDS !!!!!! here in germany they've shown the series on a kids channel , but i mean really a KIDS channel , they've taken it of after the zombie episodes in season 2 , it was too INTENSE. it's showing on the german cartoon network channel at the moment but pretty late!!! now i'd like to say something to the people that run the website and rated this series for kid of the age 8 and up. i think you haven't seen a lot of star wars the clone wars , maybe just the first episode from season one !!!! it's about time to CHANGE it !!!!!!!! dammit !!! what the heck seriously ?! well thanks for reading my review .

wennie
parent of 8 year old
 
Too much adult stuff and violence for 12 and under.
Tthe show is entertaining but for older kids.There is too much vilolent killing for younger than probably even teens. I have always liked Star Wars but find this is getting boring The adult stuff like drinking , bar room or night club activity, and the sexy stuff are not approrpiate for ages less than 12. This season has dark characters that I do not want my kid thinking are normal or cool. Once you are a teen you have to know how to make good decisions on that stuff everyday. Parents need to really watch this for ages less than 12.

LaynieSkywalker
teen, 14 years old
 
perfect for there meaning of their sayings at the beginning
star wars the clone wars is violent but it teaches a lesson in the shows to kids and their parents. if you don't like star wars its ok but these shows have taught me somethings that you or me may need in the future. some of the violence is fighting but they are fighting for peace in the galaxy, soo its like the U.S. army fighting over in Afganistan we are fighting for their freedom

cammy48
kid, 11 years old
 
Good
Good, the first season would probally be all right for anybody 7 and up, but if you watch the second season you might want to wait for when your kid is about 8 or so, because my 6 year old brother stopped watching it because of that dark looking character, Cad Bane (the bounty hunter).

clone
kid, 11 years old
 
Better Than The Star Wars Saga
This T.V series is fantastic,the animation is extremely good,not super violent,positive role models every think is all right.

Blasterbolt95
teen, 17 years old
 
STUPID!
This show is stupid. Here is a fake meeting of the writers Boss: the ship designers quit. EEK! what will we do? 1: Oh Oh I know! Lets tick off real Star Wars fans and make a republic Y-Wing!!!!!!!!!1!!1 Boss: Yes yes! and lets give Anifreak and his dumb little sidekick an ultra ugly, over powered ship! 1: Duh. Whats a ship?

some kid
kid, 12 years old
 
Genius. Could be rated TV-Y7.
One of the best TV shows on. In my Top 3 best animated, and in my Top 10 best shows of all time. Could actually be rated TV-Y7. In one episode ('Rookies') a clone says h-ll once and a clone yells out in another episode (The First season's opener) "Come on clankers, SUCK LASER!" Iffy for 5+.

clone wars dad
parent of 8 year old
 
Some episodes are too intense even for 8 yr olds
Who says cartoon's can't be violent? many episodes are in fact more violent than SW movies I-VI. (i.e. spears and lightsabers through the heart.) Most episodes are fit for 7/8 yr old, others are so fast and intense that one episode can roid your kid for 24 hours. This has happened to my 8 yr old who has ADHD. We won't let him watch it on school nights.

Ghost Rider Sky
kid, 12 years old
 
h-ll is said once by a clone

csbfairy
kid, 9 years old
 

starwars reviewer
kid, 13 years old
 
Hope they can go on to a 5th season!
This is by far the best Star Wars animated series! Sure the 2007 version and the Ewoks version were ok, but none of them were half as good as this! There are several of us who wondered, what happened in those gaps between movies? Here it is! This series also helps to pull in people who are not yet fans, so I 5 star.

smartwatcher
kid, 12 years old
 
NOT AS GOOD AS REGULAR MOVIES!!!!!!
I REPEAT!!!!! NOT AS GOOD AS REGULAR MOVIES!!!!!!!! But I do like it, it's a cool twist on Star Wars, and really entertaining. Seasons bring interesting things to the platform that havent been discussed before. I was kinda excited about season 2, cause I like the bounty hunters. Two of the episodes were kinda creepy, involving parasites that slither up your nose and control your brain, (even if you're DEAD) which leads to zombie insects and an evil queen that sounds like she has chest problems. Typical Star Wars violence. Good show, you won't be bored.

Irondude23
kid, 12 years old
 
Great action scenes and sometimes really funny
The characters do a lot of shooting blowing up and slicing.Its a really good show for kids.

jo22
parent of 10 year old
 
Confused with the conflict in ratings
I'm really confused with the ratings. This rating gives it an okay for ages 8+. The cartoon network rating is a PG13 -- is this a new show, not related to the Clone Wars cartoon episodes discussed here?

Skywalkergirl15
teen, 16 years old
 
Awesome show but only for 10+
This is the best TV show ever! I think it is definetly safe for 10+ except for a few exceptions like when there are a bunch of zombies and they are trying to take over the jedi's brains or somthing. My 7-year-old little sister was terrified. There is also another episode all about padmé amidala (who is already married to Anakin BTW) flirting with some guy called Clovis, who is a separatist spy, so she can infiltrate his fortress and get a top-secret file. Overall I think it's a really awesome show that is mostly directed towards kids with a few PG-13 episodes in the mix.

KarateKid317
kid, 10 years old
 
7+
It is a good TV show and keeps getting better as new episodes come out. Good action and great for Star Wars fans. It is for ages 7 and up.

 
Pretty Good show,
Not as good as the movies, but very good, due to the nature of the show, the show is rated TV-PG-V

starwars fanGIRL
teen, 14 years old
 
Re: "Fine for the boys who love Star Wars"/Good show, for girls, boys, casual, or die-hard fans
Ahem, girls love Star Wars too. :) Sorry, I'm a die-hard Star Wars fangirl and I hate when people say it's just for boys. 50% of Star Wars fans are female, you know. Anyways, this is a really, really good show and in my opinion it's just as good as the originals. Good for kids 8 and up, maybe younger depending on the kid. I'm sick of people saying "If you're a die-hard fan you'll know this show is bad". I disagree. I'm a die-hard fan and I love the show, it really adds to the saga and has great storylines, cast, animation, themes, and characters. To each their own I suppose, but I still think this is an excellent show.

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