Ewoks: They ain't THAT bad...

It sucks reaching adulthood, in a way. That's when your cynicism and critical side really come into play...especially when you are a film buff, or hope to work in the film business in any way shape or form. Sometimes it's better being a child, and just accepting everything you see, and not worrying about bad dialogue or underdeveloped characters, and just kinda going with things, and loving characters that are actually pretty silly, but of course you don't see it at the time. Like the Ewoks.

I was four years old when ROTJ came out. I don't remember seeing it in the theater, but I did catch it over the next few years somewhere, and it was my intro to the OT. I loved it back then, and considered ROTJ to be my favorite of the OT. It still holds a soft spot to this day, cause it was the first SW film i remember relating to. I never had a problem with the Ewoks back then, and even as I reached adulthood, the validity and acceptance of the Ewoks never crossed my mind. It never even occured to me that they could be as hated as they are. I just assumed that everyone felt about them as I did; that is, that they were simply just part of the SW series, like every other character. It was not until the age of the Inernet that I began to see that i was totally wrong. That's when I became aware that the SW fanbase didn't look too favorably upon the Ewoks, nor on ROTJ as a whole. I was pretty amazed. It's funny what information the Internet can bring before you.

Now, I consider myself to be slightly more than a casual Star Wars fan. That is, I love/am obsessed with the series immensely, and they are among my top five favorite films (I consider the Saga to be one long movie that has a few speed bumps), but I don't hold them so high that they are above criticism, and I would never have a Star Wars wedding. I have seen all the films countless times (especially over the last few months). I was there in Walmart at midnight on April 2 getting my toys, and I was there first thing last Tuesday to get the ROTS soundtrack. I love the Clone Wars cartoon, and I own a few of the EU novels. So like I said, I'm not an over the top fan, but I am definitely a pretty diehard Star Warsian. There are alot of fans out there like me, but I seem to be in the minority when it comes to Ewoks.

I find the little teddy bears tolerable to an extent, and I think that their sillyness lies in their design more than in the idea behind them. I like the idea of a technologically inferior race conquering a race which is overly dependant on it, through guerilla tactics on their own turf. As we all know, it was Lucas' allegory to Vietnam, and it was a good idea to include such a plot point in ROTJ. However, as I said before, the problem lies in the fact that they are essentially teddy bears. It's hard to take them seriously. It's not even their height, it's the fact that they are so darn cute. If they had been, say, Yoda like creatures, or more feline like in design, or...I dunno just tougher looking, I think that people would have been more accepting of them. The silly scene of "3PO the God" certainly didn't help, although I still mildly enjoy said scene, personally. I also think that their agreeing to help the Rebels was too easy and simplified, not to mention rushed and kinda unmotivated. They shoulda been harder to convince, or higher stakes shoulda have been presented before them so that the Ewoks woulda felt compelled to help them, out of self preservation, in addition to the fact that they made friends with the Rebels. But see, that's my critical adult side talking. The kid in me simply says "Cool, Luke Leia and Han made friends with the Ewoks, and now they are gonna help them" and just goes with it. Ah, childhood.

So yea, I don't think the Ewoks are that bad. To compare them to the other infamously hated SW species, I feel that the Gungans are a more formidable species from a fighting standpoint, but none of the Ewoks is, or does anything, that remotely approaches the "annoyingness" of Jar Jar. However, they do have something in common with Jar Jar...t

 

I've never had a problem with the Ewoks. And it's kinda funny that I never really heard complaints about them until just several years ago. Interesting. They never distracted me from ROTJ, though. I never found them annoying, but rather a nice addition to the films. I certainly don't consider them a flaw.

(Nor do I consider Death Star II a flaw, either.)

 

Yeah... I didn't really read all of that. One thing I find interesting is how skewed some perspectives are around here. There's a whole world of films out there that can put things into a bigger perspective than just well... ewoks ruined the film. This unitelligent argument has been tossed around for years and there's nothing to back it up. Those teddy bear creatures were vicious, fierce fighters. They fought on their own turf, were hard to spot and clearly had the advantage over the storm troopers. They were a 'force' to be reckoned with. "size matters not. Judge me by my size do you?" This was a big lesson in ESB that I think many ignore when tossing out that ewok hatred.

Just stop.

They're fun little guys and as brave as the tallest wookie.

It's in the details that things get ****ed up. Sometimes those with superior weapons are able to defeat the indigenous people on their own turf. If you are Native American, you know this very well.

I would have liked to have seen the Ewoks do what they could to help our rebel friends (Now ewoks themselves, part of the tribe) but still have too large a challenge ahead of them despite putting up a great fight. THEN lots of wookies fly in and all the rebels across the galaxy come in the kick butt to really have one super over the top spectacular battle like we've never scene before. C'mon. Agree with me here. You'd like it.

 

i never thought the ewoks were that bad, either. in fact, one of my favorite scenes in the entire saga is when the two ewoks are running, and the they get hit by the blaster, and the one dies, but the other one doesn't know it, so he tries to get him to keep running... really sad when you're a kid, and i still like it a lot.

i think that the actual execution of the ewok/empire battle could have been a lot better... but, in general, i think the idea is cool.

and i definitely don't think that the second death star was uncreative or whatever... when you have the ability to create a weapon that would cement your rule of the galaxy, and the only reaosn the first one got blown up is that some punk found ONE weakness, why not eliminate that weakness and build a new one?

RotJ was once my favorite, as well. now that's ESB. however, RotJ still holds a place of honor in my heart.

andy

 

From the journal of "Unfadeable" Sweet Chocolate K-Glide, Galactic Pimp of the Whills:

"Ewoks? Ewoks are vicious little @#%^$^%. They almost ate Han Solo alive -- and that was one unfadeable white boy, lemme tell you! And you see the stuff them bears had hunted'? Don't cross an Ewok, yo. They'll KILL you and wear your skull like a hat, if they don't make a drum out of it first. They bad as Crips."


Seriously, I did like Ewoks as a kid. I remember a cousin (fellow SW geek) saying that dying Ewok shot made him so mad. The bad thing about the little teddy bears was A) the teddy bear design and B) their lame-o, hokey introduction (which was the apparent only reason why 3PO was completely uncamoed even though everyone else was -- this being the single dumbest thing in all the SW movies. Including Jar Jar). When I saw the SEs back in 1997, I enjoyed ANH, felt like a giddy kid against watching ESB. But when I got to the Ewok introduction, I distinctly asked myself, "Why am I here, paying to watch this movie, that I don't even like watching for free at home?" That scene is that bad; it almost breaks the movie.

But when 3PO tells his bedtime story and Luke & Leia slip out to end their flirting once and for all, the film gets right back on track and all is well, more or less.

 

Wow there are actually people out there who aren't bothered by the Ewoks? Sweet, I'm not the only one.

Oh, and as for the Second Darth Star...I don't consider the fact that there is a second Death Star to be a flaw. It would make sense for the Empire to have started building another one. I consider the fact that once again, the plot device of one lone fighter blowing up a ship/weapon/Death Star is used to save the day. Factoring in TPM, we will have seen that device used three times in the Saga now. I personally feel that for the concluding climax of the Saga, they coulda used the Death Star thing as a springboard, and then made it a tad different...perhaps another Death Star that they didn't know about which is completely built surfaces at the last minute, and now the plan has to be changed on the spot, ending with Lando crashing the Falcon inside the mostly copmpleted Death Star or something and he and a small force try to commandeer the Laser to use against the surprise Death Star. I dunno, something shoulda been done other than the lone pilot saving the day thing. At any rate, my point was that I consider the recycling of that specific plot device to be a bigger flaw than the Ewoks in ROTJ.

 

I like Ewoks.

 

Ewoks, as an abstract idea (primitives taking on technologically advanced societies) is kinda cool and somehow blends very well into the mythos of SW (environment verses man... nuture verses nature...). However, the one thing that really bothers me is that with the Ewoks began the true nature of Lucasfilm Inc. MARKETING!!! Sure there was some marketing, but it felt like it served the story rather than the tail wagging the dog. In fact even the term "Ewok" gives this away as it is only through the marketing campaign that we even know the name of these creatures (sure, incidental characters are given short shrift by not even having their names mentioned, but anything that has more than 5 minutes of screen time is named in the series). This seems somehow sinister.