Certainly there have been worse "Star Wars" episodes than the new animated film "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" -- 1978's "Star Wars Holiday Special" and the '80s-era animated "Ewoks" and "Droids" series come to mind -- but this latest iteration in the storied franchise disappoints.

How could it not when a central character is Jabba the Hutt's tattooed, feather-wearing, fey uncle who speaks, inexplicably, with a Southern accent?

Set in the "Star Wars" timeline between episodes two ("Attack of the Clones") and three ("Revenge of the Sith"), "The Clone Wars" follows Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi (voice of James Arnold Taylor) and Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter, TV's "Commander in Chief") as they fight against separatists who are secretly taking orders from Sen. Palpatine, who eventually becomes Emperor of the evil Galactic Empire.

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'Star Wars: The Clone Wars'

2 stars = Mediocre
Ratings explained

• Voice cast: James Arnold Taylor, Matt Lanter.
• Rating: PG for sci-fi action violence throughout, brief language and momentary smoking.
• Web site: 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars'

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Actors from the live-action film series who lend their voices to "Clone Wars" include Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu), Christopher Lee (Count Dooku) and Anthony Daniels (C-3PO).

Visually, the spaceships and battle scenes are stunning in this CG-animated film directed by Mt. Lebanon native Dave Filoni. But as striking as the angular faces of the characters are, they sometimes move with a wooden awkwardness, bringing to mind the marionettes of "Thunderbirds Are Go" and "Team America: World Police."

The characters aren't helped by typically banal "Star Wars" dialogue that's heavy on exposition and light on character development. (An intriguing villainess, Asajj Ventress from Cartoon Network's 2003-05 "Clone Wars" micro-series, appears, but the audience learns next to nothing about her in this movie.)

Early on, Anakin acquires a Padawan apprentice, 14-year-old Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), who isn't quite Jar-Jar the Jedi, but she's certainly an annoying kid-sister type who refers to Anakin as "Sky guy." (Then again, given how pouty and petulant Anakin can be, Ahsoka's positive attitude at least cancels out his case of the grumps.)

"Clone Wars" is heavy on battle scenes and light on reminding viewers of the political circumstances that have led to these battles. A 1940s-style newsreel opens the film and attempts to set filmgoers straight on who's good and who's bad and why, but unless you're a super-fan, you may still be confused.

After a while the confusion abates as Anakin and Ahsoka are assigned a specific task: Intergalactic baby sitters when they attempt to rescue Jabba's kidnapped son, whom they nickname "Stinky." (As a cartoon character, Stinky is not quite as regrettable as Lumpy, Chewbacca's son from the live-action "Star Wars Holiday Special," but it's close.)

"Clone Wars" doesn't offer much in the way of quality humor, although old-school "Star Wars" fans will get a kick out of words of wisdom from a doctor droid first glimpsed in "The Empire Strikes Back." But at 100 minutes, "Clone Wars" is about 20 minutes too long for small children and too overstuffed with repetitive battle scenes for discerning adults. Perhaps it will be greeted with more enthusiasm from tween and teen boys.

Despite missteps in this feature film, "The Clone Wars" holds promise as a new, half-hour, weekly TV series that's set to premiere this fall on Cartoon Network.

A preview episode from the show was screened for TV critics last month in Los Angeles and generated a more positive response.

The episode's story was smaller and more focused and felt less overburdened with weighty "Star Wars" universe political baggage.