Star Wars: Ewoks

Star Wars: Ewoks
Created by	George Lucas Raymond Jafelice Dale Schott Bob Carrau (writer) Paul Dini (writer)
Directed by	Raymond Jafelice
Starring	Jim Henshaw Denny Delk Cree Summer Jeanne Reynolds Eric Peterson James Cranna Doug Chamberlain George Busa Rick Cimino
Country of origin	United States Canada
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	35
Production
Executive producer(s)	George Lucas Miki Herman (1985)[1] Cliff Ruby (1986)[2] Elana Lesser (1986)[2]
Running time	approx. 15–30 minutes (per episode)
Production company(s)	Nelvana Lucasfilm
Distributor	Disney-ABC Domestic Television
Release
Original network	ABC
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	September 7, 1985 (1985-09-07) – December 13, 1986 (1986-12-13)
Chronology
Followed by	Star Wars: Clone Wars
Related shows	Star Wars: Droids

Star Wars: Ewoks is an American/Canadian animated television series featuring the Ewok characters introduced in Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. It aired for two seasons between 1985 and 1986.

The series was produced by Nelvana on behalf of Lucasfilm and broadcast on ABC, both by itself and later, as part of The Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour. The first season was advertised as simply Ewoks, but the second season was advertised as The All New Ewoks. The series lasted 35 episodes.

Plot

The series focuses on the adventures of Wicket W. Warrick and his friends on the forest moon of Endor during the years before the events of the two Ewok films and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.^[3] Unlike the films, the characters speak English (called Basic in the Star Wars universe) instead of their native language (though Ewokese phrases and songs are occasionally used). The primary recurring villains are Morag the Tulgah Witch, who had a personal grudge against the tribe's shaman, Master Logray, and the Duloks, a rival species that is related to the Ewoks.^[4]

Characters

The Ewok Tribe

Warrick Family

• Wicket Wysteri Warrick (Voiced by Jim Henshaw then Denny Delk) - The youngest brother of the Warrick Family. He is headstrong and determined and often takes the initiative. Wicket really wants to be a great warrior, which often gets him into trouble. Has dark brown fur and wears an orange hood, but wears a green hood in season two.
• Willy Warrick (Voiced by John Stocker) - The middle brother of the Warrick Family. Originally called Widdle. He is clumsy, gluttonous and overweight, but exceedingly nice.
• Weechee Warrick (Voiced by Greg Swanson) - The eldest brother and the strongest of the Warrick Family.
• Winda Warrick - The youngest child of the Warrick Family.
• Deej Warrick (Voiced by Richard Donat) - Father to Wicket, Weechee, Willy and Winda and his wife is Shodu. A very respected warrior of the Ewok tribe. Has dark grey fur and wears a purple hood.
• Shodu Warrick (Voiced by Nonnie Griffin then Esther Scott) - Deej's wife and mother to Wicket, Weechee, Willy and Winda.
• Erpham Warrick (Voiced by Anthony Parr) - Wicket's Great Grandfather, once a great warrior for the Ewok tribe and is still looked up to by young Ewoks. Not much is known about Erpham, as he died years ago, but he makes a brief appearance as a ghost when Wicket tries to repair his old battle wagon and instructs him. He was a golden-colored Ewok with a green hood.

Kintaka family

• Princess Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka ^[5] (Voiced by Cree Summer then Jeanne Reynolds) - Younger daughter of Chief Chirpa and Ra-Lee. Often the voice of reason and wisdom to her friends, but usually ends up in just as much trouble. She seems smitten with Wicket but no romantic relationship was proven during the series. Has white and grey fur and wears a pink hood with a blue gem dangling near her forehead.
• Asha (Voiced by Tabitha St. Germain) - Older daughter of Chief Chirpa and Ra-Lee. Went missing during Ra-Lee's death and eventually was reunited with the Ewoks.
• Chief Chirpa (Voiced by George Buza then Rick Cimino) - Widowed father to Kneesaa and Asha. He gives order to the warriors when they are fighting against the Duloks.
• Ra-Lee - Wife to Chief Chirpa and mother to Princess Kneesaa and Asha. Ended up killed by a hanadak.
• Paploo (Voiced by Paul Chato) - Kneesaa's cousin, Great Chief Chirpa's nephew and son to Bozzie. He is close friends with Wicket and Teebo. He sometimes joins in when the young Ewoks go on their adventures. He is older, but often acts with less maturity than the younger Ewoks. Has grey fur, with a white face and wears an orange hood with a feather.
• Bozzie - Chief Chirpa's sister / sister-in-law and mother to Paploo. She can be very bossy and domineering towards the young Ewoks.

Teebo's Family

• Teebo (Voiced by Eric Peterson then James Cranna) - Wicket's best friend and the older child of Warok and Batcheela. Fascinated by tales of sorcery and magic becomes his Master Logray's Apprentice. He is a bit of a dreamer, and sometimes a little clumsy. Teebo often lacks discipline, but this is something he learns to master over time from Logray, and eventually becomes a respectful young Ewok. Has ochre fur and he wears a tan, baggy hood with a feather.
• Malani (Voiced by Alyson Court) - The younger child of Warok and Batcheela. She is a close friends with Wiley, Nippet and Winda. She has a crush on Wicket and desperately tries to impress him. Has beige fur and wears a blue hood with a flower in it.
• Batcheela - The Mother of Teebo and Malani. She doesn't appear in the series at all but was mentioned in two episodes.

Latara's Family

• Latara (Voiced by Taborah Johnson then Sue Murphy) - Has dark grey fur and wears a yellow with a pink feather in it in season one; in season two her fur is light brown and cream, and her hat is heather with a greenish-blue feather. She is Kneesaa's best friend, and dreams of being a great musician with her flute, though her main job appears to be looking after her younger siblings. She has a huge crush on Teebo, though he rarely notices it. In the second season, it's the other way round.
• Nippet and Wiley (Voiced by Leanne Coppen and Michael Fantini) - Latara's younger siblings. At times, Latara has to stay home to watch over them.
• Zephee - The Mother of Latara, Nippet and Wiley. She was seen in three episodes: "The Haunted Village", "The Travelling Jindas" and "The Curse of the Jindas".
• Lumat - The father of Latara, Nippet and Wiley. He was seen in two episodes: "The Travelling Jindas" and "The Curse of the Jindas".

Various

• Master Logray (Voiced by Doug Chamberlain) - The Ewoks' shaman, and often the dispenser of wisdom and knowledge about the world of Endor.

Other characters

• King Gorneesh - The leader of the Duloks. (Voiced by Daniel Cody Ryan)
• Queen Urga - King Gorneesh's lover and the only female Dulok in the series. (Voiced by Melleny Brown)
• Umwak - Gorneesh's right-hand man, a Dulok shaman. (Voiced by Don Francks)
• Morag (Voiced by Jackie Burroughs) - The Tulgah witch and evil counterpart of Logray.
• The Phlogs - A race of giants who live on Endor (though they originated offworld).
• Baga - A young gentle Bordok and Princess Kneesaa's personal pet.
• The Hanadak - A purple monster which is known to live in hollowed-out tree trunks.
• The Jindas - A race of canid aliens who live on Endor, and are cursed to an eternal nomadic lifestyle by the Rock Wizard. The Ewoks free them from their curse. Notable Jindas included their leader, Bondo, and magician Trebla.
• The Raich - A tree demon that eats animals and was imprisoned by brave Ewok warriors with a magical hat, made by the Gonster, which was placed on its head, turning it into a tree. He is revived when Wicket takes the hat, but eventually defeated again.
• The Gonster - A two-headed magician whom Ewoks seek out for spells, potions and traps to defeat monsters. His two heads constantly argue.
• The Leaf Queen - A plantlike deity or spirit who dwells on Endor and is entrusted to the care of all its plants. Although kindly, she can be roused to great anger if her plants are harmed.
• Dr. Raygar - An Imperial scientist who wants to steal the Sunstar and use it to overthrow the Emperor. After Kazz eventually learns of his treachery, he is arrested for treason.
• Admiral Kazz - An Imperial officer tasked with assisting Raygar, who doesn't know his true intentions. Kazz thinks the Sunstar is a myth and considers the Ewoks not worth bothering over.
• PD-28 - An Imperial droid assisting Raygar and Kazz. He eventually tires of working for the abusive Raygar and becomes friends with the Ewoks.

Locations

• The forest moon of Endor
• Outer space
• Aboard an Imperial Star Destroyer

Production history

The series is a follow up to the two Ewok films: Caravan of Courage (1984) and The Battle for Endor (1985), which were themselves spin-offs of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. The first season of the show aimed for a more sophisticated style, but in the second, the writing and particularly the visual style was geared toward a much younger audience, with less sophisticated character and scene design using a reduced selection of colours combined with less detail.

Unlike the rest of the series, the last two episodes were originally aired out of story order. The correct order was Party Ewok/Malani the Warrior and Battle for the Sunstar, respectively. However, the episodes were originally aired in the order of Battle for the Sunstar and Party Ewok/Malani the Warrior. Storywise, the series ends with Battle for the Sunstar, which depicts the Empire discovering the Endor moon, where it would later construct the second Death Star. The episode Battle for the Sunstar re-aired separately on January 10, 1987, and that marked the official end of the series.

Comic book series

In 1985, Star Comics, an imprint of Marvel Comics published a bi-monthly Ewoks comic, based on the animated series, which ran for two years, ending with issue #14. Like the TV series, this was aimed towards a younger audience. It was produced along with Droids, which was based on the Droids animated series. Issue #10 of Marvel Ewoks was a cross-over with Star Wars: Droids issue #4 story "Lost in Time".^[6]

Toy line

In 1985, a toy line was produced that was based on the series. This line included action figures, ship models, etc.

Episodes

Season 1 (1985)

Season 2 (1986)

DVD release

• An edited compilation DVD with the title Star Wars Animated Adventures: Ewoks was released on November 23, 2004. The DVD contained eight episodes of the series, edited together as two full-length movies.

• Episodes 2, 1, 3 and 9 were edited together to make The Haunted Village (which was previously released on VHS in 1996),^[7] and Episodes 10, 5, 4 and 13 were edited together to make Tales from the Endor Woods.

• The entire original series has yet to be released on any home video format. Some of the original episodes were released in the 1980s and 1990s on VHS, mostly notable were the UK PAL releases on 6 cassettes (Ewoks 1-6) that had very minor edits with credit and opening sequences being eliminated for these compilation tapes.

References

Bibliography

• Star Wars: Ewoks 1985, George Lucas
• Star Wars Insider #27
• A Guide to the Star Wars Universe,
• The Star Wars Encyclopedia by Stephen J. Sansweet, ISBN 0-345-40227-8 Del Rey; first edition (June 30, 1998)

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Star Wars: Ewoks

• Star Wars: Ewoks at the Internet Movie Database
• Star Wars: Ewoks at The Big Cartoon DataBase
• Star Wars: Ewoks at TV.com
• An informative fan site
• An article from the Star Wars Insider on the series
• A history of home video releases of Star Wars: Ewoks