CT Ewoks, yay or nay?

The Emperor lied, Stormtroopers died.

 

I say yea to those cute Ewoks. I love them.

 

Yay.
I can't imagine Return of the Jedi without Ewoks, but I can imagine a saga-concluding EPISODE VI without them.

 

Nay, should have been Wookies instead

 

Yay... I was 3 when Jedi came out... and the Ewoks were magic to me... they still are

 

Aside from the moments of suspension of disbelief (what with the Ewoks hurling rocks and stabbing spears and hurting or killing stormtroopers with all that armor on) I have no real problems with the Ewoks.

 

I was 8 when Jedi came out..I loved the Ewoks then and I still do now. It wouldn't be ROTJ without them.
So a definite "Yay" from me.

 

I chose 'Yay' because I've never had a problem with the Ewoks. Tt could've been darker and more intense if the Wookies were building the Death Star II as slave labor. But what are you gonna do?

 

Ewoks represent Lucas's first excursion into the realm of demographic appeal in decision making.

Kids liked Star Wars --> Kids love cute furry things --> Ewoks.

It wasn't a personal decision like the previous films. He gave kids what he thought they wanted.

The first time I saw Return of the Jedi I was probably 6 and I'm sure it would've been a lot cooler for me at the time to have an army of wookies. I know they were scrapped because Chewie is not that primitive and can pilot starships but come on, that's idiotic. The rudimentary and technological aspects could combine like they did it in Revenge of the Sith, only it was too late then and in the end we had CGI Yoda telling weird looking Chewbacca how courageous he was which is as dumb as infant Darth Vader building 3PO.

 

Yea,

I posted in another thread an epiphany I had watching ROTJ and I Just read the Essential guide to warfare my opinion on the Ewoks has gone from nay to yay. The ewoks are actually vicious little warriors. They tried to cook Han, Luke and Chewie for dinner. They were smart enough to capture the heroes with there primitive tech. In the essential guide they have a suriving stormtropper give a interview in universe that sad that the ewoks used their advantage in numbers, and that the ewok arrows were dipped in neurotoxins.

 

Definitmely a yay.

 

I have mixed feelings about Ewoks. Instead of Yea or Nay, can I vote Meh?

I get what GL was going for, but it didn't entirely work. To be a more believable battle, we should have seen "human" wave assaults burying troopers with sheer numbers even as dead Ewoks piled up. But, that would probably traumatize the target audience they were aiming for, so we were left with just one token dead bear and Keystone troops.

 

Yay... Yub Nub song and all!

 

The creative process on Ewoks just didn't proceed like that. It's a popular myth, though.

 

I say yay. Perhaps it's because I grew up on Ewoks in my bloodstream, or because I think they are interesting. A primitive people who can help overthrow a technologically advanced, tyrannic society. And they are cute. So what's to dislike?

 

If there were no Ewoks, then there'd by no Ewok Adventure movies, then there'd be no Wilford "Diabeetus" Brimley as Noa, and ultimately NO TEEK!!!

 

(shudder)
Darn you, Mr K. Darn you to heck.

 

I agree with those who said they would have gone with Wookies, the original idea. Even the scenes of storytelling, before Luke turns himself in, are poorly made. The acting is horrible. I like the theme of returning to nature, though.

It would have been much better if the Empire were using Kashyyykian, Wookie labor, enslaved to extract the natural resources necessary to build the Army and Han, Chewie and company run arms to Wookie rebels who are planning a massive uprising and insurrection on the planet of Kashyyyk, against their slave masters. Wookies in labor camps. That would have been more realistic, given better exposition and relative to the audience view and further understanding of the Galaxy. Just because Wookies have technology, doesn't mean they cannot be enslaved by a superior force. So, nay on Ewoks.

 

As in proper archetypal fashion, the ewoks were put there in order to demonstrate how free will and purity will always beat evil. In the same way David beat Goliath, the ewoks beat the Empire. We all know that, right?

But hey . . . come on. The guy that decided to put that there is the same one who 13 years later added the lapti nek fiasco and a few years later, Jar Jar existed.

I know how the creative process comes out in interviews and I know how Lucas, Kasdan and even the mighty Irvin Kershner will always add their two cents in a convincing manner, but they ain't foolin' this chap right here.

Of course Lucas saw commercial potential in the ewoks.

 

Definitely, I agree with this 100%. Visually & thematically, Wookies would have been far better than Ewoks. Just one example - the Wookies would have presumably been a lot more destructive than the Ewoks were

However, even if GL didn't have an issue with portraying primitive Wookies attacking Imperials with logs & other primitive weapns (which contrasted with Chewie, who was comforable with his crossbow blaster), it appears to me that the #1 roadblock in using Wookies were financial & logistical:

Back in '81 - '82 when ROTJ was being filmed, I'm sure it would have been difficult if not impossible to find a large group of 6 1/2 foot - 7 foot tall men & women to play the Wookies. And, even if they did, it would have been quite expensive to oufit them in the Wookie costumes, which were much larger than the small Ewok costumes. Remember that this was in the days long before CGI could be used to create characters, etc.

Howver, even though there were no Wookies in ROTJ, I'm glad we finally got to see a Wookie vs. Droid battle in ROTS - though, I think this battle was way too short.

 

In addition, GL had already set a precedent for aliens played by very small actors- with the Jawas, and the Ugnaughts.

 

Yay.
I mean, they were there when I was a child and engrossed in these movies. If I was older when I saw Jedi, maybe I'd have a problem with them but you show me a kid who doesn't like a teddy bear that could eat the hero but end up helping defeat the empire. Lucas hit a home run with kids in mind.

 

He hit a homerun with me in mind! Still love 'em. They were thematically a better contrast with the Empire, and if they were also commercially viable, it matters not a bit. All the better. I like the Ewoks - let stuffed toys and action figures abound. They're cool in my book.

That said......anyone think Episode IX will feature Kashyyyk? I've always longed to see more of their Clone Wars battle.

 

Yes.
In ESB, an X-wing fly string that tied up the legs of an Imperial walker. Star Wars is the wrong series to watch for realistic warfare/battles.

 

Not an X-wing- a snowspeeder.