Is 'Clone Wars' Just Kids' Stuff?

The movie also serves as the kickoff for a "Clone Wars" TV series done in the same animation style, which starts Oct. 3 on Cartoon Network.

George Lucas's new animated feature "The Clone Wars" has some familiar faces.

(Lucasfilm Ltd./Warner Bros. Pictures.)

"Clone Wars" director Dave Filoni (Nickelodeon's "Avatar: The Last Airbender") says his movie's and series' success hinges on a lighthearted approach, and he hopes another generation of kids may become fans through a new character: Ahsoka, the 14-year-old Padawan apprentice who is the series' first girl Jedi to play a major role.

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"People always want to see someone like themselves up on the screen," Filoni says. "Luke did that for a whole generation. I think Anakin was that again for another generation. Ahsoka was a chance to add to Anakin's character in a way that could surprise us and give us a new dimension to him."

She's also exotic, a rust-colored Togruta alien with blue and white head-tails instead of hair, and a penchant for back talk.

Lucas says Ahsoka's role as Anakin's apprentice makes him "suddenly responsible. He's a parent, a teacher. That transition from 'I am being taken care of' to 'now I am taking care of others' is in all of the stories. That is the repeating theme."

And he hopes it appeals to Hutts and their larvae alike.