One of the reasons we had to wait until the Star Wars prequels before we saw any underwater denizens of George Lucas’ universe on their home, um, terrain — aside from story considerations — may likely have been that the special effects technology simply didn’t exist during the original trilogy to effectively present such a world to viewers. And even when we finally did see one of these societies in the form of Jar-Jar Binks and his fellow Gungans in Episode I, it was for a few minutes.
But the two-part Season 4 premiere of Star Wars: The Clone Wars (premiering tonight at 8pm ET/PT on Cartoon Network) takes place almost entirely underwater, and does so quite impressively. Granted, the series is using computer animated characters — not trying to put live actors into such a scenario, as the movies were — but it is still a challenge for animators to present a lifelike re-creation of the physics of maneuvering, battling and simply being in a watery environment. But they have done an effective job here of giving Star Wars fans a look at the water world of Mon Cala.
If that name sounds familiar to you, it is perhaps because it is home to one of the most beloved SW characters — Admiral Ackbar (famed for his “It’s a trap!” exclamation in Return of the Jedi). And Ackbar does figure prominently here, although he is only a captain at the time of these events. Ackbar — along with Anakin Skywalker, Padme Amidala and Kit Fisto — are on hand to monitor peace negotiations between Ackbar’s Mon Calamari species, led by an untested young prince named Lee-Char, and the squidlike Quarren. Things aren’t going too smoothly, however, thanks largely to the disruptions of Riff Tamson, who has been tasked by Count Dooku to start a war between the factions. (Tamson is a pretty intimidating villain, with a head much like an Earth shark and a powerful humanoid body with fins that make him a swift, strong swimmer.)
Eventually, Riff gets what he wants, and war does break out between the Mon Calamari and Quarren. After many of their limited clone troopers, and much of the Mon Calamari, are taken prisoner, Anakin and his crew try to hold down the underwater fort and protect the prince until the Jedi Council can send reinforcements. With not enough time to assemble a clone army, Yoda decides to look to another underwater race capable of fielding an army for assistance, and the title of the second half of tonight’s premiere — “Gungan Attack” — lets you know just who Yoda calls. Yes, Jar-Jar Binks and a Gungan force dive into Mon Cala to try and help save the day.
The plot is not resolved in the premiere, and it seems like we will be spending more time on this water world, which isn’t a bad thing, since the realistic presentation makes Mon Cala a cool place to visit. So far Jar-Jar isn’t too annoying, but even if he becomes so, there’s enough sweet underwater action to make up for it.
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