Ewok
Ewoks are a fictional species of small, mammaloid bipeds that appear in the Star Wars universe. They are hunter gatherers resembling teddy bears that inhabit the forest moon of Endor and live in various arboreal huts and other simple dwellings. They first appeared in the 1983 film Return of the Jedi and have since appeared in two made for television films, The Ewok Adventure and , as well as a short-lived animated series and several books and games.
Concept and creation
created the Ewoks because he wanted Return of the Jedi to feature a tribe of primitive creatures that bring down the technological Empire. He had originally intended the scenes to be set on the Wookiee home planet, but as the film series evolved, the Wookiees became technologically skilled. Lucas designed a new species instead, and as Wookiees were tall, he made Ewoks short. He also based the Ewoks' defeat of the Galactic Empire on the actions of the Viet Cong guerrillas who fought against American soldiers during the Vietnam War. The Ewoks are named after the Miwok, a Native American tribe, indigenous to the Redwood forest in which the Endor scenes were filmed for Return of the Jedi, near the San Rafael location of Lucas' Skywalker Ranch.Using the image of the Griffon Bruxellois, a dog breed which Lucas owned, the Ewok was developed by renowned make-up artist Stuart Freeborn. As presented in the films, Ewoks appear as stocky, sapient bipeds which stand about one metre tall. They have flat faces, are completely covered in fur, and have large jewel-like eyes. Both their fur and their eyes come in a variety of earth tones, primarily brown, white, grey, gold, and black. Only the costume of the Ewok portrayed by Warwick Davis had moving facial features, though the 2012 Blu-ray release of Return of the Jedi added eye blinks to all of the Ewoks. Despite their small size, the critters are strong; in the climactic battle scene of the film, they are shown physically overpowering and once even throwing Imperial stormtroopers, though this detail is not consistent throughout the film. Ewoks live high among the trees of their home moon's forests, in villages built on platforms between the closely spaced trees.
An "Ewokese" language was created for the films by Return of the Jedi sound designer Ben Burtt. On the commentary track for the DVD of Return of the Jedi, Burtt explains that the language is based on Kalmyk, a Mongolic language spoken by the Kalmyk people of Russia. Burtt heard the language in a documentary and liked its sound, which seems very alien to Western ears. After some research, he identified an 80-year-old Kalmyk refugee. Burtt recorded her telling folk stories in her native language, and then used the recordings as a basis for sounds that became the Ewok language and were performed by voice actors who imitated the old woman's voice in different styles. For the scene in which C-3PO speaks Ewokese, actor Anthony Daniels worked with Burtt and invented words, based on the Kalmyk recordings.
Notable Ewoks
Wicket
Wicket is the most prominently featured Ewok in Return of The Jedi. During his travels, he encounters Princess Leia in the forest. He helps her to the relative safety of his village, and notices her kindness and good spirit. Wicket has good knowledge of the terrain of Endor, leading him to be essential during the Rebellion's attack on the Imperial forces.Wicket was portrayed by actor Warwick Davis.
Teebo
Teebo is described by the Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary as being 'A watcher of the stars and a poet at heart.Teebo was portrayed by Jack Purvis.
Chief Chirpa
Chief Chirpa has been the leader of the Ewok tribe for a total of 42 seasons. He has a large amount of wisdom and good judgement, but he has become forgetful due to his old age. He allows the Ewok tribe the authority to fight against the Empire. Chief Chirpa has a medallion signifying he is the chief of the Ewoks.Chirpa was played by Jane Busby.
Logray
Logray is the Ewok tribal shaman, who relies on ancient magic in order to assist his tribe. He is suspicious of all outsiders, which is reinforced due to the arrival of Imperial troops.Logray was portrayed by Mike Edmonds who also was "tail-puppeteer" for Jabba the Hutt.
Paploo
Paploo is Chief Chirpa's nephew and a scout who, along with Wicket, helps lead the Rebels to the shield generator protecting the Death Star. Although his effort to lure four Imperial scouts away from the bunker could have compromised the attack, it was relatively successful as he stole a speeder bike and forced three of the scouts to give chase, allowing the rebels to overpower the last guard and gain entrance. Paploo is seen later helping the Ewoks fight the Empire.Nippet
Nippet is a baby Ewok who gets her name in the vintage era. Nippet is the daughter of Lumat.Lumat
Lumat is the chief woodcutter of the tribe, and is the father of Nippet.The forest moon of Endor (Ewok's home world)
Endor is a fictional moon in the Star Wars universe, known for its endless forests, savannahs, mountain ranges, and a few oceans. The moon was the site of a pivotal battle depicted in Return of the Jedi.Description
Endor first appears in Return of the Jedi, in which it is the body in whose orbit the second Death Star is constructed, and is the home of a race of furry aliens called Ewoks. The moon later appears in the original Star Tours Disney theme park attraction, Ewok TV movies The Ewok Adventure and , as well as the animated Ewoks and its Marvel Comics tie-in series.Various descriptions of the Endor system exist in various media. Special effects storyboards for Return of the Jedi refer to a distant orb in the system as "Planet Endor". According to the Return of the Jedi novelization, the planet disappeared in an ancient cataclysm. The Ewok television films depict a gas giant in the sky, and novels such as The Truce at Bakura and Dark Apprentice also mention a planet visible from the moon. The planet is called "Tana" in the Ewoks animated series, which also depicts a binary star system.
In a Star Wars Tales comic entitled Apocalypse Endor, an Imperial veteran of Endor refers to the moon being devastated by the impact of falling debris from the Death Star, which was blown up while in orbit around the moon. However, another character dismisses this as a myth, saying that most of the Death Star's mass was obliterated in the explosion, and that the Rebels "took care of the rest".
Filming
Scenes set on Endor were filmed on private logging company land that was shortly thereafter clearcut near the town of Smith River, California; the speeder chase scene was filmed at the Chetham Grove section of Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park. near the "Avenue of the Giants" in Humboldt Redwoods State Park.Appearances
''Return of the Jedi'' and ''The Rise of Skywalker''
The Ewoks are involved in a large portion of the final installment in Lucasfilm's Star Wars trilogy. When the Empire begins operations on the moon of Endor, prior to the events depicted in the film, it ignores the primitive Ewoks. Princess Leia, part of a Rebel strike team, then befriends the Ewok Wicket W. Warrick, a scout from Bright Tree Village, and is taken to meet the other Ewoks. The Ewoks capture Han Solo, Chewbacca, Luke and the droids in a trap, and take them back to the village. As Ewoks are a carnivorous race that considers humanoid flesh a delicacy, they prepare fires in anticipation of eating Han, Luke and Chewbacca to absorb their power.The Ewoks worship the protocol droid C-3PO, thinking he is a god due to his golden, metallic body and later display of power arranged by Luke Skywalker through the Force. C-3PO tells the Council of Elders the adventures of the rebel heroes Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo. The Ewoks accept the Rebels into their tribe and ally themselves to their cause. They then help in the ground battle to destroy the Imperial shield generator on the forest floor, and their primitive weapons fell the Imperial Stormtroopers and the AT-ST walkers of the Empire. This assistance paves the way to victory at the Battle of Endor. Later that night, the Ewoks are shown holding a huge celebration.
Ewoks speak their native language of Ewokese, a fictional language created for the film. This language is understood by C-3PO, but not the humans in the film.
The word Ewok is not mentioned anywhere in the film, nor are any individuals referred to by name, except in the end titles, where names of the more prominent characters are shown, while the others are just listed as Ewoks.
The final trailer for the upcoming film The Rise of Skywalker depicts the wreckage of the second Death Star in a watery location, which IGN interprets as Kef Bir, an ocean moon announced to feature in the film. Wicket W. Warrick and another Ewok appear briefly at the end of The Rise of Skywalker.
''Ewoks'' films for television and animated series
After the release of Return of the Jedi, the Ewoks starred in two made-for-TV movies, both of which starred Warwick Davis reprising his role as Wicket from Return of the Jedi. The first film, ', was released in November 1984, followed by ' the next year. The Ewoks also starred in cartoon series on ABC known simply as Ewoks.A teddy bear-like Ewok doll appears in the animated series Star Wars Resistance.
Reception
The Ewoks are seen to be a controversial addition to Return of the Jedi and the Star Wars universe in general, and are seen by some to be the weakest link of the original trilogy. According to Tami Katzoff of MTV News, "a prevailing theory among Ewok-haters is that the creatures were originally conceived as a sure way to appeal to small children and sell plush toys to their parents." Others enjoy the Ewoks, and they have proven to be very popular with children from their introduction in 1983 to the present day.The Ewoks were better received on Return of the Jedi than in their own spin-off TV films.
Emmy Awards
Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure was one of four films to be juried-awarded Emmys for Outstanding Special Visual Effects at the 37th Primetime Emmy Awards. The film was additionally nominated for Outstanding Children's Program but lost in this category to an episode of American Playhouse.At the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor and the CBS documentary Dinosaur! were both juried-awarded Emmys for Outstanding Special Visual Effects. The film additionally received two nominations for Outstanding Children's Program and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Special.