This was an interesting release. "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," originally intended for a television debut, was instead granted a theatrical release just weeks before the series was set to begin on The Cartoon Network. While many will say this theatrical release was simply George Lucas being George Lucas, seeking to make another quick profit from the fans, I opt to believe that he simply felt this animated franchise was worthy of a cinematic run and wanted it to be seen on the best format possible. If that is the case, I'm glad he decided to unveil it in such a manner because I was won over.

Before I go any further, it's important for me to point out to you that I have been a lifer when it comes to "Star Wars." Thus, any opinion I offer comes directly as a fan's point of view. With that communicated, I gotta tell you -- I had a great time watching "Clone Wars."

The key to enjoying this animated saga is to temper your expectations. While yes, it's been given a commercial release nationally, you can't go in expecting to see a spectacle on the scale of the Prequels. This just isn't intended to be so. Instead, what you'll get to see is a highly energetic, intense and kid-friendly tale that fits in nicely between Episodes 2 and 3. More importantly, however, is that this movie does feel like "Star Wars" and that bodes well for the upcoming television series.

The story is full of action and drops the viewer squarely in the middle of the Clone Wars proper, thus there are quite a few sequences that depict the Republic forces squaring off against the greedy Separatists and their droid armies. Wasting no time at all, the Battle of Christophsis starts the movie off with a rousing and thunderous beginning, introducing our heroes Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker embroiled in a gritty conflict against General Loathsom and his droid army. In one word, this sequence is epic. For fans who ever wanted to see what a conflict during the Clone Wars were like, this is what it's all about. Director Dave Filoni literally drops the viewer into a galactic war zone and the action moves about at a frenzied pace. Not to lose sight of our heroes, however, both Obi-Wan and Anakin have their objectives during this battle and it's a treat to see them at work. Powered by Kevin Kiner's strong score, the Christophsis scenes were put together perfectly and kicked the movie off in an entertaining manner.

It's during this first act that we get to meet to next key character in Star Wars lore, Anakin's Padawan Ahsoka. This character was created to bring in a younger female audience but that's not to say that adults can't enjoy Ahsoka's presence either. Offering a bevy of cute comebacks and un-Jedi like humor, her chemistry with Anakin works well and it's going to be fun watching these two stir up some mayhem this fall. And speaking of Anakin...

The animated Anakin character is the one I had hoped we would have seen in the Prequels. Here, Lucas is finally able to bring to life the character he has always described, part Han Solo and part Luke Skywalker. This rendition of the character truly works in "The Clone Wars" and I couldn't imagine any true Star Wars fan not enjoying this Anakin.

The plot of the film is not on a scale that would make most viewers think "big screen," which is perhaps why "The Clone Wars" has not been received well by critics. If this was first seen on television, the reviews would have offered a different tone. Instead, the plot about the Jedis seeking to rescue Jabba the Hutt's son just didn't seem to cut it for most reviewers. While true, there was a certain episodic feel to some of the transitions, that aspect shouldn't deter someone who is a fan of the series because all the other elements are in place.

"The Clone Wars" will not appeal to non-fans or those who have more of a sophisticated movie going palette. While the adverse opinions of critics who fall into that bracket do not surprise, some of the venom spewed by so-called fans does. While I am fine with general criticism, some of the opinions I read have been totally off base. For instance, there are those who are criticizing Lucas about the lack of a 20th Century Fox logo at the beginning of the movie and that alone put the viewer in a mood not to like the show. Excuse me? How would an opening logo deter one from enjoying a movie? Other pot shots come from those who complain that the dialogue was too kid friendly and made the movie too cute. Again, pardon me? This isn't a hardcore sci-fi saga that Lucas is delivering to us, it's a saga intended for the kid in us all. It seems to me that there were some who were intent simply on not enjoying themselves going into this thing, thus the unusual but typical complaints.

At the end of the day, I believe Lucas and company delivered a solid Star Wars product. The tone, the style and the direction are all in line with everything I was hoping for. My advice is to the core fans is to ignore the critics, grab a bag of popcorn and enjoy the show. After all, there's nothing wrong with having fun at the movies even when others are seemingly not.