While I like the current run of Clone Wars cartoons, it’s got me worried. If this catches on as a trend, will it eventually become not just optional but necessary to follow a storyline through multiple media? Where important plot points jump from movie to HBO special to web site to video game? I’d hate to go to the second or third installment of a trilogy at the movies and find out that it’s unintelligable unless you know what happened “offscreen”.
I would be very surprised if Ep III turned out to rely heavily on the Clone Wars cartoons; there simply will be far too many people who haven’t seen them. There’s a hefty segment of our population that doesn’t watch Cartoon Network, after all. It’s hard to believe, I know, but it’s true.
Personally, I have been actively avoiding these five-minute “episodes” because I find nothing more annoying than watching a five-minute sliver of a larger story. If they ever decide to show them all “back-to-back” I’ll watch that. There’ll apparently be around 20 or so episodes altogether? That’d bee 100 minutes which would be a 2 hour special with 20 minutes of commercials (or a 3 hour special with an hour and 20 minutes of commercials, blech). Anyone know if they’re planning to do this?
Never mind that last question. According to the official site, they are showing all 20 episodes tonight at 8pm (Central).
It’s an idea from Japan that seems to be catching on some more here, both in importing the Japanese stuff and in original domestic productions. For example, parts of the character dynamic in The Matrix Reloaded made more sense after I watched the Animatrix and then went and saw the movie again (someone else was paying the second time.) The best example I can think of off the top of my head from Japan would be .Hack//SIGN where, as Chris Beveridge says
Personally, while I think the idea is interesting, I think it’s a bit much overall, especially if I have to buy things like games and books and catch the TV show on cable or buy the DVDs and so on.