While I've never been a huge fan of The Powerpuff Girls or Dexter's Lab, I found Justice Friends amusing. And I enjoy Samurai Jack on the rare occasion that it's running on the Cartoon Network when I surf on by.
Genndy Tartakovsky has had a hand in all of th above animated series. However, Samurai Jack seems to be the reason that Lucas picked him to do the first ever animated work based on the Star Wars franchise. It was easy for me to see with my mind's eye. Replace Jack with a bald black man, turn his white gi brown, and substitute his katana with a lightsaber. Replace his placid samurai demeanor with some attitude and voila, Samuel L. Windu. Or wrinkle him up, shrink him and turn him green and you have Yoda.
Clone Wars was originally run on the Cartoon Network in 3-minute slices. I recall seeing the tail end of one segment, which featured Mace Windu kicking droid ass then taking a break for a frosty drink before returning to action. I went "what the hell" and wondered what I had just seen. Then I forgot about it. Until I saw the Clone Wars Volume One DVD. That sent me to Google where I found that there was a second volume appearing late 2005. I held off watching Volume One until I had the whole thing. Of course, it sorta sucked that Revenge of the Sith came and went BEFORE Volume Two appeared, but what the hell. When my kids are old enough they'll get to see all of it in sequence.
Clone Wars picks up exactly where Attack of the Clones left off. The Jedi have just rescued Anakin and Padme from Geonosis, and the Clone Wars have begun with a massive battle between the clones of the Republic and the droids of the Trade Federation. The story arc of the first volume, spanning just over an hour, is mostly non-stop animated mayhem. The story tracks the rocky relationship of Obi-Wan and Anakin as a duo and separately. There's a lot of asskicking by Mace Windu and various other Jedi, and a new dark Jedi for Anakin to face.
This all flows into volume two where General Grievous is fleshed out and turns into a legit bad guy. A lot of Obi-Wan and Anakin here, and Clone Wars nicely develops the relationship that really doesn't get all that much time through Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. A huge part of the second volume is dedicated to a trial involving Anakin, which could easily have been a half-hour Samurai Jack episode. The end of volume two links up directly with Revenge of the Sith, showing the invasion of Coruscant and how Palpatine is "kidnapped" by the Grievous.
Bottom Line: All in all, Clone Wars is CANON (which is rare outside of the films) and is required viewing for all Star Wars fans. Since it's very nicely done, paced at high speed and features a lot of Jedi asskicking, it's practically a lock to entertain anyone who has ever enjoyed a Star Wars film. Prequel or otherwise.
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