You do realize this movie was set in between ep II & ep III right ... this is before Anakin turned to the dark side. That's something that can't be changed ... if Anakin doesn't fall to the dark side then the other movies are junk.

This movie, as the other person said, is basically just a "pilot" for a new animated series that will debut this fall on the Cartoon Network. In listening to some of the comments by people who have seen the movie it's obvious that Lucas didn't make that clear enough to be understood since most have the totally wrong idea about this movie. They say it doesn't have the grand sweeping story line that the other 6 movies had ... that's because it's not supposed to. If you're familiar with the Clone Wars micro-series that was on the Cartoon Network in 2003 & 2004 you'll know that their were 2 volumes or seasons of it done and that their was 25 five minute chapters in the whole thing. This new movie and series are set in between chapter 21 and chapter 25 of that series. This new movie wasn't even supposed to be a movie. While screening some of the new animated shows on a big screen Lucas wondered if fans would like to see the pilot on the big screen. From there it went quickly into being a movie and the rush was on to get the word out. In that rush much of the details about what the movie would be about and what it was were lost. Don't take that to mean the the movie was thrown together in that short time period ... it wasn't the movie was in the can when they had the idea of kicking off the new series with a theater release of the pilot for the show. Personally I think if more people had known that before they went to see the movie then there wouldn't be so many mixed reviews of it ... of course what do I know ... lol ...

As for Ahsoka ... well this is just my best guess on it since there has been nothing said about her main role in the new series but the writing is on the wall ... she is destine to become a tragic hero. Many who have just seen the movies don't see all the reasons that made Anakin fall to the dark side ... even die hard fans like myself have said he should have seen that Palpatine was lying to him but he didn't ... why? Ahsoka will become one more piece of that puzzle. We have seen that one of the biggest triggers to Anakin's fall was the helpless rage he felt from having people he cares about die when he thinks he should have been able to save them. His nightmares about Padme's death are a driving force in his turn to the dark side. Ahsoka's demise, when ever it comes in this series, will multiple that helpless rage Anakin holds inside him by 100s because he will have lost his apprentice ... if he can't keep his own apprentice alive how can he hope to keep Padme from dying. It's very clear to see that by the end of the movie Anakin and Ahsoka have bonded very closely as master and apprentice ... you have to believe that bond will only become stronger and it will teach Anakin many things about just what a pain in the butt he was to Obi-Wan during his training and will gain a new respect for his mentor and their bond will also become stronger. Lucas has said that one of the main things he wanted to show in this movie and series is the "good" side of Anakin ... of how he was before his fears for the life of his wife sent him down the path to the dark side. Anakin Skywalker WAS a hero the likes of which the Republic hadn't seen in too many years. All of this is to build the character of Anakin up so his fall becomes even that much more tragic. There was no way that Lucas could include all of these little things into the 6 episode movies ... there was just to much story to tell and he ended up just barely skimming the top of all the thousands and thousands of "minor" things going on at the same time as the Clone Wars ... to give the main themes the right amount of play he had to forget about the minor themes. Now he has the chance to go back and tell those minor themes and to fill in much of the background of the Clone Wars that couldn't be show in the main movies ... I think it's going to be a fun ride myself but since I'm a pretty big fan my opinion is decidedly bias.

May The Force Be With You ...