Star Wars: Storm in the Glass - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Star Wars: Storm in the Glass , sometimes translated as Star Wars: Tempest in a Teapot, is a humorous 2004 English-to-Russian movie spoof of the 1999 science fantasy

Science fantasy

Science fantasy is a mixed genre within speculative fiction drawing elements from both science fiction and fantasy. Although in some terms of its portrayal in recent media products it can be defined as instead of being a mixed genre of science fiction and fantasy it is instead a mixing of the...

film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...

by popular 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...

n movie translator Dmitry "Goblin" Puchkov

Dmitry Puchkov

Dmitry Yuryevich Puchkov , also known as Goblin and Starshiy Operupolnomocheniy Goblin, is an English-to-Russian movie and video game translator, script-writer, and author...

. In dubbing the film into Russian, Puchkov altered the plotline, character names, music, and certain visual effects to provide a different (and funny) experience to Russian-speaking audiences.

Synopsis

The operational conditions on the boundless open spaces of the Far-Northern Galaxy have rapidly become complicated. On secret planets, persons of unknown nationality (a reference to many Georgian-Armenian and Moldovan illegal immigrants in Russia) have set up manufacture of illegal alcohol on a galactic scale and are preparing an act of aggression against the peaceful planet Marabu.

To carry out a series of covert search missions the command sends two jedi

Jedi

The Jedi are characters in the Star Wars universe and the series's main protagonists. The Jedi use a power called the Force and weapons called lightsabers, which emit a controlled energy flow in the shape of a sword, in order to serve and protect the Republic and the galaxy at large from conflict...

- experienced workers of the Special Hare Krishna

International Society for Krishna Consciousness

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness , known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organization. It was founded in 1966 in New York City by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada...

sect. As their first step in solving the problem, the jedi land on a space-station of the alcohol pirates to investigate, but they are ambushed and forced to battle their way out through various silly robots and kolobkis (Kolobok

Kolobok

Kolobok is the main character of an East Slavic national fairy tale with the same name, represented as a small yellow spherical being.The fairy tale is prevalent in Slavic regions in a number of variations. A similar fairy tale with a pancake rolling off has also been recorded in German and Nordic...

is a fictional Russian children's story character).By the time the heroes escape from the space-station and reach the capital with the help of a local Chukchi

Chukchi people

The Chukchi, or Chukchee , ) are an indigenous people inhabiting the Chukchi Peninsula and the shores of the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea region of the Arctic Ocean within the Russian Federation. They speak the Chukchi language...

rapper, the angry bourgeois

Bourgeoisie

In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...

occupy the peaceful planet.

The jedi rescue the queen Zadolbala and escape on a stolen pepelats (an homage to a Russian film Kin-dza-dza!
Kin-dza-dza!
Kin-dza-dza! is a 1986 Soviet comedy-science fiction film released by the Mosfilm studio and directed by Georgi Daneliya, with a story by Georgi Daneliya and Revaz Gabriadze. The movie was filmed in color, consists of two parts and runs for 135 minutes in total.The film is a dark and grotesque...

). During their escape, the spacecraft is damaged and heroically fixed in-flight by Vedroid ("Bucket Droid") model E2-E4 , and are forced to make a landing on the planet Babooine

Baboon

Baboons are African and Arabian Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio, part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. There are five species, which are some of the largest non-hominoid members of the primate order; only the mandrill and the drill are larger...

(which carries many references to Iraq and the Second Gulf War). While visiting the store of a local Jewish Mossad

Mossad

The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....

trader, the jedi and the rapper meet a local boy, Anykey Skovorodker ("Skillet man") whose father was also rumored to be a jedi. To aid his father's coworkers, Anykey takes part in the Crazy Taxi Races , (a reference to a driving manner of many Russian share taxi

Marshrutka

Marshrutka , from marshrutnoye taksi is a share taxi in the CIS countries, the Baltic states, and Bulgaria. Marshrutnoye taksi literally means routed taxicab...

drivers), during which he is nearly beaten by Grytsko Schumacher. On Babooin, the jedi also fight Javded (a strange man with red skin and small horns, who attacked the jedi after not being satisfied by them not wearing any hats.

After failing to sway the politicians of the galactic Duma

State Duma

The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...

(Russian Senate), the queen of Marabu develops a plan for operation "Storm in a Glass" (a play on "Operation Storm in the Desert"; also the Russian idiomatic equivalent to "Tempest in a Teapot"). Two divisions of underwater deer-herders, hidden in a fighter Anykey - everything sets up against the provisional government of bourgeois and their army of electronic dummies. During one of the fights, the jedi once again meet with the "red unmannered man" who attacks them once again (supposedly) for not wearing any hats. He is behalved and his lower half of the body (lower abdomen and legs) are identified, while it is a mystery to whom the other half belongs. Only in the "God's Spark" version of the film does it become clear who is Anykey's real father - it is Pogon, who admits to have "known" (commonly understood as "have/d sex with") Anykey's mother, and later openly explains that Anykey is his only son.

Characters

Pogon (Russian for "rank insignia") - one of two jedi sent to Marabu. Original: Qui-Gon Jinn
Qui-Gon Jinn
Qui-Gon Jinn is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, and a main protagonist of the 1999 film Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, portrayed by Liam Neeson. He also appears in the Star Wars Expanded Universe of comic books, video games, and novels...
Pavian iz Nairobi (Russian for "baboon from Nairobi") - padavan-jedi sent to Marabu. Original: Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is one of several primary characters in the Star Wars series. Along with Darth Vader, R2-D2, and C-3PO, he is one of the few major characters to appear in all six Star Wars films...
Djaga-Djaga Bzdinks (refers to the chorus of Katya Lel
Katya Lel
Katya Lel , born Ekaterina Nikolayevna Chuprinina , on September 20, 1974 in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic is a Russian pop singer.- Early life :...

's top chart song Moy Marmeladny) - Chukchi rapper exiled from the underwater sovkhoz
Sovkhoz
A sovkhoz , typically translated as state farm, is a state-owned farm. The term originated in the Soviet Union, hence the name. The term is still in use in some post-Soviet states, e.g., Russia and Belarus. It is usually contrasted with kolkhoz, which is a collective-owned farm...

, whose other inhabitants can't stand hip-hop. Likes to call himself "Wise Scarecrow
Scarecrow (Oz)
The Scarecrow is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator William Wallace Denslow. In his first appearance, the Scarecrow reveals that he lacks a brain and desires above all else to have one. In reality, he is only two days old and merely...

". Original: Jar-Jar Binks
"Slimy Swamp Toad" (nicknamed so by surface-dwellers) - chairman of the "Underwater Deer" sovkhoz, likes scuba diving
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....

and hates hip-hop. Original: Boss Nass
Queen Zadolbala (Russian slang meaning "sick of [her]") - rightful ruler of planet Marabu. Rumored to be a blow-up doll. Original: Handmaiden Sabé
Maid Padla (Russian slang meaning "bastard") - servant girl of Queen Zadolbala, a former Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...

playmate
Playmate
A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of Playboy magazine as Playmate of the Month . The PMOM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, as well as a short biography and the "Playmate Data Sheet", which lists her birthdate, measurements, turn-ons, and...

. Original: Padmé Amidala
Padmé Amidala
Padmé Amidala is a fictional character in the Star Wars science fiction franchise. She first appeared on film in the 1999 feature film, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, as the young queen of the planet Naboo. In subsequent prequel trilogy films, Padmé represents Naboo in the Galactic Senate...
Poruchik Rzhevsky (subject of many Russian jokes) - head of the queen's guard. Original: Captain Panaka
E2-E4 (common opening move in chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...

) - repair bucketdroid (AKA bucket with eyes), good at fixing oil leaks. Original: R2-D2
R2-D2
R2-D2 , is a character in the Star Wars universe. An astromech droid, R2-D2 is a major character throughout all six Star Wars films. Along with his droid companion C-3PO, he joins or supports Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Obi-Wan Kenobi in various points in the saga...
Robot Chatterbird (refers to the talking bird in The Mystery of the Third Planet
The Mystery of the Third Planet
The Mystery of the Third Planet , aka The Secret of the Third Planet is a 1981 Soviet traditionally-animated feature film directed by Roman Kachanov and produced by the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow...

) - robot specialises in poor film translations, capable of understanding E2-E4. His voice is a gag
Gag
A gag is usually a device designed to prevent speech, often as a restraint device to stop the subject from calling for help. This is usually done by blocking the mouth, partially or completely, or attempting to prevent the tongue, lips, or jaw from moving in the normal patterns of speech. They are...

on Leonid Volodarskiy
Leonid Volodarskiy
Leonid Veniaminovitch Volodarskiy , Russian translator, writer and weekly radio show author.Graduated from Maurice Thorez Moscow State Institute of Foreign Languages...

Original: 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...
Anykey Skovorodker (first name refers to "press any key
Any key
Computer programmers historically used "Press any key to continue" as a prompt to the user when it was necessary to pause processing. The system would resume after the user pressed any keyboard button.-History:...

..."; last name comes from "skovorodka" - Russian for "frying pan") - young boy, works in a mechanical shop. His father is rumored to be a jedi. Original: Anakin Skywalker
Boris Abramovich (refers to Boris Abramovich Berezovsky, a Russian billionaire) - Jewish trader of mechanical parts, Anykey's boss; has connections to the Mossad
Mossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....

. Original: Watto
Watto
Watto is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, featured in the films The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. He is computer-generated and played by voice actor Andy Secombe. He is a mean-tempered, greedy Toydarian, and owner of a second-hand goods store in Mos Espa on the planet...
Valeria Ilyinichna Novodvorskaya
Valeria Novodvorskaya
Valeriya Ilyinichna Novodvorskaya is a liberal Russian politician, Soviet dissident, the founder and the chairwoman of the "Democratic Union" party, and a member of the editorial board of The New Times...

(obese Russian famous democrate female politician, anti-communist, сall herself a liberal, has pro-Western views) - pro-democratic political activist invited to start off the Crazy Taxi Races. Original: Jabba the Hutt
Jabba the Hutt
Jabba the Hutt is a fictional character in George Lucas's space opera film saga Star Wars. Designed as a large, slug-like alien, his appearance has been described by film critic Roger Ebert as "Dickensian," a cross between a toad and the Cheshire Cat....
Grytsko Schumacher ("Grytsko" is a common Ukrainian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....

name; Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher is a German Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes GP team. Famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time...

was a famous Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

racer) - cheating racer at the Crazy Taxi Races, likes eating uncooked chicken. Original: Sebulba
Darth bin Laden (refers to Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...

) - shadowy figure behind the illegal alcohol manufacture and invasion of Marabu. Original: Darth Sidious
Javdeth (refers to never appeared character of the extremely popular soviet movie White Sun of the Desert
White Sun of the Desert
White Sun of the Desert , a classic 'Eastern' or Ostern film of the Soviet Union.The film is one of the most popular Russian films of all time. Its blend of action, comedy, music and drama has made it wildly successful and it has since achieved the status of a cult film in Soviet and Russian...

- a coward and the mortal enemy of Sayid) - loyal follower of Darth bin Laden, experienced swordfighter. Hates women after his ex-wife cheated on him (reference to his horns). Original: Darth Maul
Darth Maul
Darth Maul is a fictional character in the science fiction saga Star Wars. He is one of the main antagonists of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, portrayed by martial artist Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz....
Boris Nikolayevich (refers to Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...

- former president of Russia) - speaker of the Galactic Duma, impeached for heavy drinking at Queen Zadolbala's request. Original: Finis Valorum
Cheburan Vissarionovich (refers to Cheburashka
Cheburashka
Cheburashka , also known as Topple in earlier English translations, is a character in children's literature, from a 1966 story by the Russian writer Eduard Uspensky. In Estonian the character is called Potsataja...

- a popular Russian fairy tale creature; could also refer to the "Buran" spacecraft; the second name is a reference to Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...

) - old miser in charge of the Krishna operative school. Original: Yoda
Yoda
Yoda is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, appearing in the second and third original films, as well as all three prequel trilogy films. A renowned Jedi master, Yoda made his first on-screen appearance in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back where he is responsible for...

Planets

Marabu (reference to the Marabou Stork
Marabou Stork
The Marabou Stork, Leptoptilos crumeniferus, is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It breeds in Africa south of the Sahara, occurring in both wet and arid habitats, often near human habitation, especially waste tips...

) - planet in the Far-Northern Galaxy, contains a city populated by surface-dwellers and an underwater sovkhoz populated by the Chukchi people. Original: Naboo
Naboo
Naboo is a fictitious planet in the fictional Star Wars universe with a mostly green terrain and which is the homeworld of two societies: the Gungans who dwell in underwater cities and the humans who live in colonies on the surface...
Planet of the State Duma - capital planet of the Republic, featuring the planet-wide city of Washingtonsk
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. Features flying trains
Amazing Stories (TV series)
Amazing Stories is a fantasy, horror, and science fiction television anthology series created by Steven Spielberg. It ran on NBC from 1985 to 1987, and was somewhat erratically screened in Britain by BBC1 and BBC2 - billed in the Radio Times as "Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories" - with episodes...

, the waving Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...

, and an eye-like projector on top of the Jedi tower. Original: Coruscant
Coruscant
Coruscant is a planet in the fictional Star Wars universe. It first appeared onscreen in the 1997 Special Edition of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, but was first mentioned in Timothy Zahn's 1991 novel Heir to the Empire...
Babooine - desert world populated by slave-traders
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

, mania
Mania
Mania, the presence of which is a criterion for certain psychiatric diagnoses, is a state of abnormally elevated or irritable mood, arousal, and/ or energy levels. In a sense, it is the opposite of depression...

cs, prostitutes
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...

, Mujahideen
Mujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...

of Ahmad Shah Massoud, and other fine citizens of the galaxy. Occasional American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

s can be seen blowing up cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

for no apparent reason. Original: Tatooine
Tatooine
Tatooine is a fictional planet and setting for many key scenes in the Star Wars saga, appearing in every Star Wars film except The Empire Strikes Back, although it is mentioned at the end of the movie...
- Baghdad
  Baghdad
  Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
  
  - Anykey's hometown on Babooine. The town center features a large portrait of Saddam Hussein
  Saddam Hussein
  Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
  
  . Place of the planet-famous Crazy Taxi Races. Original: Mos Espa
Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...

- an arid world populated by American robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...

s.

Other replacements

The Crimson Jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...

(from the film True Lies
True Lies
True Lies is a 1994 American action-comedy film directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere, Charlton Heston, and Art Malik. Eliza Dushku also appears in the film in one of her first major film roles...

) is the organization sponsoring the invasion. Their signature music is the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a third-person action-adventure computer and video game published by Ubisoft. It was released on November 21, 2003 and is a reboot of the landmark video game series Prince of Persia, created by Jordan Mechner in 1989.The Sands of Time, developed internally at...

soundtrack ("Prelude Fight") overlaid with a Muezzin call
Adhan
The adhān is the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin at prescribed times of the day. The root of the word is meaning "to permit"; another derivative of this word is , meaning "ear"....

. Original: The Trade Federation
Trade Federation
The Trade Federation is a fictional organization in the Star Wars universe at the time of the Galactic Republic. It appears in the franchise's three prequel movies and the Star Wars Expanded Universe...
The Jihad is controlled by the Rubber Faces (refers to the "man in a rubber suit" concept of earlier sci-fi films). Original: Neimoidians

Trivia

This is the first Goblin's humorous translation that contains added/modified graphics. The most common addition is a bottle of vodka
Vodka
Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....

on almost every table. Also, Neo can be seen flying by during the Crazy Taxi Races.
The translation makes numerous references to the Russian science-fiction film Kin-dza-dza!
Kin-dza-dza!
Kin-dza-dza! is a 1986 Soviet comedy-science fiction film released by the Mosfilm studio and directed by Georgi Daneliya, with a story by Georgi Daneliya and Revaz Gabriadze. The movie was filmed in color, consists of two parts and runs for 135 minutes in total.The film is a dark and grotesque...
The parade scene at the end features a Yoda-like George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

standing near Yoda. Goblin himself can be seen standing behind Mace Windu
Mace Windu
Mace Windu is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, most famously portrayed by actor Samuel L. Jackson in the prequel films. However, Windu has also been voiced by other actors in assorted video game and animated projects....

in the same scene.

External links