What's up with Ewoks

Merlin_Ambrosius69 · Sep 7, 2010

As Timmoishere has amply shown upthread, the 'Woks are actually losing the battle rather humbly before Chewie commandeers the ST. Chewie (and his furry li'l compadres in the Transport) turn the tide for the Ewoks, who without Chewie and the other Rebels' help would likely not have defeated the Emperor's "legion of [his] best troops".

Chance the Jedi · Sep 7, 2010

That made my day.

Bens_Dad · Sep 27, 2010

FalorWindrider said:

Pure marketing cynicism.
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Dare I say it is you who is the pure cynic?

Where were all these critics in 1983? I, for one, don't recall a bad word being said about the Ewoks back then. Growing old isn't always what it's cracked up to be.

ATMachine · Sep 27, 2010

I'll quote myself from the Influences on SW thread:

Me said:

I think it'd be interesting to discuss the origins of the Ewoks in ROTJ. Many people have accused Lucas of making "cuddly teddy bears" to sell toys, but I don't think that's really a valid charge. Instead, I'd say that the Ewoks are the result of Lucas combining two of his personal interests: a love of the idea of furry aliens, and a desire to tell a story where little people are the heroes.

In the 1973 story synopsis for the film that became ANH, the climax of the movie begins when the Princess and her Jedi protector (characters taken from The Hidden Fortress) crash-land on a hostile jungle planet, populated by primitive furry aliens whom the general induces to rebel against the Empire. These furry aliens became the Wookiees in the first draft, and had much the same role. When Lucas drastically reduced the length of the action on the jungle planet in later drafts, he compensated by adding Chewbacca to the cast. Of course, he held onto the idea of a tribe of furry, treehouse-dwelling, "savage" aliens who wage a successful uprising against Imperial rule.

So where did the idea to shrink the Wookiees into Ewoks come from? Lucas has always had a fascination with little people. As he himself once admitted, it likely comes from Tolkien's hobbits, which intrigued him when he read Lord of the Rings. While casting ANH, he even considered having the whole cast be dwarfs (or at the least, casting little actors as Luke, Leia and Obi-Wan). As The Making of Star Wars mentions, he even sent out casting calls. The idea didn't go very far, but on ROTJ, Lucas's interest in the idea of diminutive heroes returned; the Ewoks are basically the "little people" versions of Wookiees. Of course, he later revisited the idea of little people as the heroes of a movie (though humans, this time) when he made Willow.
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What's up with Ewoks

Merlin_Ambrosius69 Jedi Master

Chance the Jedi Jedi Grand Master

Bens_Dad Jedi Youngling

ATMachine Jedi Master