Clone Home

The Powerpuff Girls are pretty tough, but can they handle Jedi Knights? Bubbles, Blossom, and Buttercup's home turf, the Cartoon Network, will be invaded this fall by ''Star Wars: Clone Wars,'' a series of animated shorts set in the time period between ''Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones'' and the as-yet untitled ''Episode III.'' Each of the 20 episodes, the product of a partnership between Lucasfilm and the network, will be between two and three minutes in length, according to a Cartoon Network press release.

The episodes -- which the network promises will include ''new characters, epic battles, and intricate stories'' -- are supposed to shed light on the once-mysterious Clone Wars, which began in ''Attack of the Clones''' final sequences. Animator Genndy Tartakovsky, who's responsible for the angular, minimalist style of the Cartoon Network hits ''Samurai Jack'' and ''Dexter's Laboratory,'' will lead the team behind the series. The last ''Star Wars'' cartoons were the lighthearted '80s shows ''Droids'' and ''Ewoks,'' but don't expect ''The Amazing Adventures of Jar Jar Binks'' anytime soon.

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