10 Films With Awesome Animated TV Shows You Forgot Existed

4. Star Wars: Clone Wars

This one might be classed as cheating, considering that it merely inhabits the Star Wars universe more-so than it does offer an expansion of any singular film, but there are literally no excuses for missing this 2003 masterclass in cartoon creativity - it's just that good.

Pioneered by Samurai Jack creator Genndy Tartakovsky, this Cartoon Network micro series not only provided two seasons worth of enjoyable, sometimes terrifying storytelling, it genuinely traversed uncharted Star Wars territory. It introduced characters like Asajj Ventress (one of the most instrumental figures in the canonical Star Wars universe) and General Grievous, and imbued them with truly terrifying personas. It did this all with Tartakovsky's unmistakably beautiful art style, bridging the gap between Episodes II and III in a manner that, befitting the theme of most prequel trilogy spin-offs, transcended the quality of the source-material it was based on with ease.

Voice work too was without fault. James Arnold Taylor kicked off a decade-long relationship with Obi-Wan in the micro series, as did Corey Burton with Count Dooku. Indeed, it's a testament to the show's quality that the primary concern of its successor was to cast two of its predecessor's biggest talents in the same roles again, though it is a shame that elements of the series' continuity weren't brought over along with them.

Unlike the 2008 series, which took about two seasons to really find its footing, Tartakovsky's show remained consistent from start to finish. Genuinely unique in vision, you'll be hard-pressed to find an interpretation of the galaxy far, far away quite like it.