Ewok
Encyclopedia
Ewoks originate from the Star Wars
films. In the series, they are a species of teddy-bear-like hunter-gatherer
s that inhabit the forest moon of Endor
. The Ewoks live in various tree-huts and primitive dwellings. They first appeared in the film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
(1983). They have since featured in two made-for-television films, Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure
and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
, as well as an animated series
and several books and games. Some fans of Star Wars say that Ewoks are silly and "ruined" the film.
created the Ewoks because he wanted Return of the Jedi to feature a tribe of some 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 says his approach was simple: Wookiees are tall, so he made Ewoks short. The Ewok 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
. The name also is a pun on the syllables of Wookie in reverse order. In the film, the name "Ewok" is never actually pronounced, but appears in the ending credits.
As presented in the films, Ewoks appear as stocky, sapient bipeds which stand about one meter 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. Despite their small size, Ewoks are strong; in the climactic battle scene of Return of the Jedi, 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’s 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 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.
begins operations on the moon of Endor, prior to the events depicted in the film, it ignores the primitive Ewoks. Princess Leia Organa, part of a Rebel strike team, then befriends the Ewok Wicket W. Warrick, a scout from said village, and is taken to meet the other Ewoks. The rest of the strike team are accidentally trapped by Ewoks and brought to the village. The Ewoks worship the protocol droid C-3PO
, thinking he is a god
due to his shininess and gold coverings and a 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.
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
films. In the series, they are a species of teddy-bear-like hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
s that inhabit the forest moon of Endor
Forest moon of Endor
The second moon of Endor, also referred to as the forest moon of Endor, or sanctuary moon, is a moon in the Star Wars universe. It appears in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi as the home to the Ewoks, and is the body over which the second Death Star is constructed...
. The Ewoks live in various tree-huts and primitive dwellings. They first appeared in the film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
(1983). They have since featured in two made-for-television films, Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure
Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure
For the series of road trips travelled by Hamish and Andy see:Caravan Of Courage The Ewok Adventure is a 1984 American made-for-TV film based in the Star Wars setting. It was released theatrically in Europe as Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, and is known by that title today...
and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor is a 1985 made-for-TV movie set in the Star Wars galaxy. A sequel to Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, it focuses on Cindel Towani, the little girl from the first film, who, after being orphaned, joins the Ewoks in protecting their village and defeating the evil...
, as well as an animated series
Star Wars: Ewoks
Star Wars: Ewoks is an American/Canadian animated television series featuring the Ewok characters introduced in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....
and several books and games. Some fans of Star Wars say that Ewoks are silly and "ruined" the film.
Concept and creation
George LucasGeorge Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
created the Ewoks because he wanted Return of the Jedi to feature a tribe of some primitive creatures that bring down the technological Empire. He had originally intended the scenes to be set on the Wookiee home planet
Kashyyyk
Kashyyyk , also known as Wookiee Planet C, is a planet in the Star Wars universe. It is the tropical, forested home world of the Wookiees...
, but as the film series evolved, the Wookiees became technologically skilled. Lucas designed a new species instead, and says his approach was simple: Wookiees are tall, so he made Ewoks short. The Ewok are named after the Miwok
Miwok
Miwok can refer to any one of four linguistically related groups of Native Americans, native to Northern California, who spoke one of the Miwokan languages in the Utian family...
, a Native American tribe, indigenous to the Redwood forest
Redwood National and State Parks
The Redwood National and State Parks are located in the United States, along the coast of northern California. Comprising Redwood National Park and California's Del Norte Coast, Jedediah Smith, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Parks , the combined RNSP contain...
in which the Endor scenes were filmed for Return of the Jedi, near the San Rafael location of Lucas' Skywalker Ranch
Skywalker Ranch
Skywalker Ranch is the name of the workplace of film director and producer George Lucas. It is located in a secluded, but open area near Nicasio, California, in Marin County. The ranch is located on Lucas Valley Road, although Lucas is not related to the road's namesake, who was a...
. The name also is a pun on the syllables of Wookie in reverse order. In the film, the name "Ewok" is never actually pronounced, but appears in the ending credits.
As presented in the films, Ewoks appear as stocky, sapient bipeds which stand about one meter 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. Despite their small size, Ewoks are strong; in the climactic battle scene of Return of the Jedi, 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’s sound designer Ben Burtt
Ben Burtt
Benjamin "Ben" Burtt, Jr. is an American sound designer who has worked on various films including: the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, Invasion of the Body Snatchers , E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , and WALL-E...
. On the commentary track for the DVD of Return of the Jedi, Burtt explains that the language is based on Kalmyk
Kalmyk language
The Kalmyk language , or Russian Oirat, is the native speech of the Kalmyk people of the Republic of Kalmykia, a federal subject of the Russian Federation. In Russia, it is the normative form of the Oirat language , which belongs to the Mongolic language family...
, a language spoken by the Kalmyk people
Kalmyk people
Kalmyk people is the name given to the Oirats, western Mongols in Russia, whose descendants migrated from Dzhungaria in 1607. Today they form a majority in the autonomous Republic of Kalmykia on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Kalmykia is Europe's only Buddhist government...
of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Burtt heard the language in a documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
and liked its sound, which seems very alien to Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
ears. After some research, he identified an 80-year old Kalmyk refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
. 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
C-3PO
C-3PO is a robot character from the Star Wars universe who appears in both the original Star Wars films and the prequel trilogy. He is also a major character in the television show Droids, and appears frequently in the series' "Expanded Universe" of novels, comic books, and video games...
speaks Ewokese, actor Anthony Daniels
Anthony Daniels
Anthony Daniels is an English actor. He is best known for his role as the droid C-3PO in the Star Wars series of films made between 1977 and 2005.-Early life:...
worked with Burtt and invented words, based on the Kalmyk recordings.
Appearance in Return of the Jedi
The Ewoks are involved in a large portion of the final installment in Lucas' original Star Wars trilogy. When the EmpireGalactic Empire (Star Wars)
The Galactic Empire is one of the main factions in the fictional universe of Star Wars. It is a galaxy-spanning regime established by the series' lead villain, Palpatine, to replace the Galactic Republic in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The Galactic Empire is introduced in Star Wars...
begins operations on the moon of Endor, prior to the events depicted in the film, it ignores the primitive Ewoks. Princess Leia Organa, part of a Rebel strike team, then befriends the Ewok Wicket W. Warrick, a scout from said village, and is taken to meet the other Ewoks. The rest of the strike team are accidentally trapped by Ewoks and brought to the village. The Ewoks worship the protocol droid C-3PO
C-3PO
C-3PO is a robot character from the Star Wars universe who appears in both the original Star Wars films and the prequel trilogy. He is also a major character in the television show Droids, and appears frequently in the series' "Expanded Universe" of novels, comic books, and video games...
, thinking he is a god
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
due to his shininess and gold coverings and a later display of power arranged by Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
through The Force
Force (Star Wars)
The Force is a binding, metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the fictional universe of the Star Wars galaxy created by George Lucas. Mentioned in the first film in the series, it is integral to all subsequent incarnations of Star Wars, including the expanded universe of comic books, novels, and...
. C-3PO tells the Council of Elders the adventures of the Rebel heroes Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo
Han Solo
Han Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise played by Harrison Ford. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire...
. 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.
External links
- Ewok in the Star Wars DatabankStar Wars DatabankThe Star Wars Databank is the official Star Wars site's reference on characters, locations and technology. Entries are checked when they are posted but may not be kept up to date...
. - Action Figure Archive - Ewoks cartoon series action figure guide.