STAR WARS: EWOKS/
THE ALL NEW EWOKS
(ABC, September 7, 1985-December 13, 1986)
Nelvana, Ltd., Lucasfilm, Ltd.
MAIN CAST:
James Cranna – Teebo (season 2)
With the embarrassment that was The Star Wars Holiday Special in 1978, George
Lucas vowed to take a more active role in future television projects. The
first of those projects came in the form of two television movies centered
around the teddy bear-like Ewoks
from Return of the Jedi called
The Ewok Adventure (or Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure) and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor.
The projects were Lucas’ attempt to make a movie for his daughter, Amanda, who was
a fan of the Ewoks. Originally, Ewok
Adventure was meant to be a one-hour Christmas special, but ABC kept increasing the run time until it reached
two hours. The film followed the Towani family that
crash-landed on Endor and whose
children had to partner with the Ewoks to rescue their parents from the Gorax. Amongst the
Ewoks featured were Wicket Warrick (Warwick
Davis with Darryl Henriques
providing the voice) and his family, Deej (Daniel Frishman with Sydney Walker voicing), Weechee
(Debbie Lee Carrington), Widdle (Tony Cox) and Shodu (Pam Grizz). The film was
broadcast on November 25, 1984 and was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, winning one for
“Outstanding Visual Effects.”
ABC wanted the film to be the pilot for a TV series, but Lucas wasn’t
interested. Instead, he began work on the sequel, Battle for Endor, which aired a year after the first. Initially, Lucasfilm planned to make an animated special,
but opted to continue it in live-action. Since the youngest member of the
Towani family, Cindel (Aubree
Miller) was Amanda’s age and her hero, Lucas decided the sequel should
focus around her. The rest of the Towanis appeared briefly before Cindel was
orphaned; inspired by Heidi, which Lucas had watched with Amanda before working on the special.
Cindel and the Ewoks mainly had to deal with evil Marauders who took control of
Endor. Though not nominated for any awards like its predecessor, Star Wars fans have come to regard the
sequel as the better of the two. More Ewoks
films were planned, but never materialized.
 |
| Wicket is one swinging Ewok. |
In the interim, Lucas turned his attention towards animation, having
always been interested in it. Feeling technology couldn’t adequately handle the
grand epic vision he wanted following the conclusion of his original film
trilogy, Lucas put his sequel trilogy on indefinite hold and conceived of two
shows: one focusing on the Ewoks and the other on C-3PO (Anthony Daniels)
and R2-D2 before they
encountered Luke
Skywalker (Mark Hamill)
in Star Wars (now known
as Episode IV: A New Hope). Lucas
chose those subjects as they would be best represented in animation as well as
greatly appeal to a younger audience.
 |
| Teebo learns from Logray. |
Lucas wanted his shows to be the best seen on Saturday morning, raising
the bar for animation quality and voice acting. Pre-production began in 1984
and Lucas met with the producers, directors and writers of both series to
collaborate on story ideas. While the show would somewhat follow the two movies
(although the established Ewoks would change slightly between incarnations in
appearance and personality), Lucas wanted the Ewoks’ culture to be based on
themes universal to Earth mythology and suggested the crew familiarize
themselves with The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell and The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and
Importance of Fairy Tales by Bruno Bettelheim. Story inspiration often came from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Walt Kelly’s
comic strip Pogo and Disney’s Uncle Scrooge stories. Joe Johnston’s storybook The Adventures of Teebo: A Tale of Magic and
Suspense also featured many elements that would work
their way into the show. After the initial planning, Lucas wasn’t involved in
the day-to-day production, although he was screened the rough cuts of episodes
as they were made. Davis auditioned to reprise his role, but lost out to Jim
Henshaw.
 |
| Princess Kneesaa. |
The show’s writing staff included Bob Carrau (who wrote the Ewoks movies), Michael Dubil, Earl Kress, Stephen Langford, Michael Reaves, Linda Woolverton and Paul Dini. Dini
also served as an associate producer and story editor. Writing for the series
was not without its challenges. Not only did they have to adhere to the
broadcast standards set by the https://www.fcc.gov,
but by ABC’s own Standards and Practices Board. ABC wanted safe children’s
programming and fought the writers every step of the way when they tried to
push the envelope even the tiniest bit. In one instance, Dini had a script he
wrote rejected by the network for being “too Star Wars-y.” The episode, “The Starman”, would have
focused on an Imperial
pilot crashing on Endor and being helped by the Ewoks, and then choosing which
side to be on when the Empire attacked.
 |
| Dangers on Endor. |
Lucas contracted Nelvana, Ltd. to
produce the animation for both shows; his having been impressed by their work
on the Boba Fett animated segment of the Holiday Special. Nelvana, in turn,
contracted the Korean animation company Hanho
Heung-Up to provide the artwork for the series. However, they struggled
with the shows’ designs and the massive amount of work involved (up to 24,000
cels per episode), which forced Nelvana head Clive Smith to move to Korea for
the eight months of production to assist them. Ewoks wasn’t as troublesome for them as Droids ended up being, mostly due to the fact that it was easier
for them to handle tree-filled backgrounds and animal-like characters. Producing
episodes for both shows ran $500,000-600,000 per pair, making them two of the
most expensive animated series to produce.
Star Wars: Ewoks (known
originally as simply Ewoks) was previewed on Friday, September 6,
1985, in the preview special ABC Saturday
Sneak Peek and Fun Fit Test with Tony Danza, C-3PO and R2-D2. As the title
suggests, it was hosted by Tony
Danza, then-star of Who’s the Boss?, who was taught gymnastics along with the titular droids by
Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton. It made
its official debut the next day on September 7 where it ended up against strong
competition in Muppet Babies and Smurfs and was
constantly moved around the schedule. The show’s theme was written and
performed by Taj Mahal, while the score
was handled by Patricia Cullen
and David Shaw.
 |
| Latara gives Teebo a smooch. |
Like the Ewoks movies, the
series focused on the adventures of trouble-prone Wicket (Henshaw & Denny
Delk) and his friends: the clumsy and irresponsible magic-enabled Teebo (Eric
Peterson & James Cranna), stubborn and greedy hoodmaker apprentice Latara
(Taborah Johnson & Sue Murphy) and their voice of reason, Princess Kneesaa
(Cree Summer & Jeanne Reynolds) as they adventured around the woods of
Endor dealing with local problems (both outside and of their own making) and
hostile creatures like the Duloks. A stronger focus was given to their respective
families, who served as supporting characters in their antics. Unlike the
earlier movies, the Ewoks spoke Basic
(the Star Wars term for English) with
Ewokese words and phrases
peppered in to make them more understandable to younger audiences.
Although ratings for the series weren’t great, it was renewed for a
second season. The hiring of new executive producers Cliff Ruby and Elana Lesser saw some changes
come to the world of Endor. Lucasfilm took over the majority of the production
in their own studios, gaining more direct control over the content. Greater
focus was placed on Wicket and his friends, with other characters being
relegated to lesser roles or written out entirely. Stories would alternate between
a single story to two shorter segments together. The music underwent some
revision, including a new theme song sung by the cast over a new intro. The
show was given the title The All New
Ewoks and was paired up with Droids to form the Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour.
 |
| The cast between the seasons. |
Along with an entirely new American cast to replace the Canadian one, the
remaining characters underwent some changes in order to better distinguish them
from each other. Wicket’s fur became darker and his hood was changed to green.
Teebo’s fur was given more of a golden tone and his hood and sash became purple
and gray, respectively. Latara’s fur became gray and white and was given a new
pattern along her front, and her hat and feather changed colors. Latara’s crush
on Teebo was reversed to have him be the one infatuated with her. There was
also a noticeably different style of animation between the Lucasfilm and
Nelvana versions. Unfortunately, for all these changes, the ratings failed to
improve and the series was cancelled at the conclusion of the season. Dini
would state in Starlog Yearbook, Vol. 3 that
had there been a third season they would have done stories focusing on Teebo’s
sister Malani (Alyson Court), Kneesaa’s sister Asha (Tabitha St. Germain) and the younger
children of the respective families called “Woklings.”
 |
| The Ewoks toys. |
Kenner, who
had the license to produce Star Wars toys,
made various products related to the show such as action
figures, ships and more. The toys, however, came during the decline of Star Wars’ popularity and sold poorly as
a result. A second wave of figures was in the planning stages until the line
was cancelled. An LP and cassette featuring music from the series was released
in France.
 |
| The Ewoks books. |
Random House published a
series of children’s books with the subtitle An Ewok Adventure that was meant to tie into both the
series and the first Ewoks movie. In 1986, Marvel
Comics published a comic
based on the show as part of their Star Comics imprint. Much
like the show, the comic ran longer than Marvel’s Droids comic, with which it had a crossover with. Some of the stories
were collected and reprinted in the UK with new prose stories in Ewoks Annual. Spanish
publisher Editorial Gespa produced an anthology series called MyComyc which
featured 2-page
stories centered on Droids. The
strips, drawn by studio Beaumont C. de B.,
were later collected
but have yet to see an English translation or North American reprinting due to
Lucasfilm’s inability to determine the legitimacy of their being properly
licensed. Translations were made available by StarWars.com contributor Rich Handley on his website and
translator Abel Pena’s. In 2012,
Dark Horse published an omnibus collecting
both Marvel series. The following year, they released Star Wars: Ewoks – Shadows of Endor, which was designed to tie together all the various aspects of
Ewok lore, including the animated series. After Disney
purchased
the Star Wars franchise, Marvel,
also owned by Disney, printed their own omnibus
collection in 2016.
In 1995, an Easter Egg was included by LucasArts on the game Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden
Empire. In it, entering a code would allow R2-D2, C-3PO and Darth Vader (Scott Lawrence) to watch the cut
scenes and comment on
them in the style of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
One of their comments was delivered in an impersonation of the playable
character Rookie One
and mentioned the “…Ewoks/Droids
cartoon hour!” For the 2003 MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies, the
developers at Sony
Online Entertainment reportedly watched episodes of Ewoks as research for creating Endor in the game. In 2009, another
reference came in the novel Fate of the Jedi: Outcast by Aaron Allston where the
character Ben Skywalker’s
helium-rich voice was described as “as high and ridiculous as that of an
animated Ewok in a children’s broadcast.”
 |
| Ewoks' sole DVD release. |
CBS/Fox Video
handled the international
releases of the series to VHS in 1988. They released the complete series in
the United Kingdom. J2
Communications released The Star Wars Trilogy Animated Collection in 1990, which featured three VHS tapes
that featured five episodes between them (one repeated twice). In 1997,
Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox
edited together he episodes “The Haunted Village”, “The Cries of the Trees”,
“Rampage of the Phlogs” and “Sunstar vs. Shadowstone” to create the singular
movie, The Haunted Village. They released it to VHS under the
title Star Wars Animated Classics,
complete with a commercial for it and its similar Droids release. In 2004, Star Wars Animated Adventures: Ewoks came to DVD with the previous movie and
the additional compilation film Tales
from the Endor Woods featuring the episodes “Wicket’s Wagon”, “The
Traveling Jindas”, “To Save Deej” and “Asha”. The edits led to several scenes and
the intros being removed and some of the soundtrack being altered. The entire
series has yet to see a modern release.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Season 1:
“The Cries of the Trees” (9/7/85) - Morag forces Izrina to set fire to the forest
and the Ewoks have to save it via glider.
“The Haunted Village” (9/14/85) – When Master Logray fails to get his
invisibility soap on the Sunberry Trees, the Ewoks have to save them from the
Mantrigrue.
“Rampage of the Phlogs” (9/21/85) – Morag tricks a family of Phlogs
into attacking the Ewok village.
“To Save Deej” (9/28/85) – Wicket and Willy are sent to find
ingredients for a cure for a poisoned Deej.
“The Traveling Jindas” (10/5/85) – When no one appreciates her skills
with a flute, Latara runs off with the Travelling Jindas.
“The Tree of Light” (10/12/85) – Wicket, Princess Kneesaa and Latara
follow an expedition to restore the tree of light, which Duloks intend to
destroy.
“The Curse of the Jindas” (10/19/85) – The Rock Wizard becomes angered
when Logray removes his curse from the Jindas when they rescue the Ewoks.
“The Land of the Gupins” (10/26/85) – The Ewoks have to save the
Gupins from the Grass Trekkers.
“Sunstar vs. Shadowstone” (11/2/85) – Morag captures Teebo and his friends
as ransom for the Sunstar in order to merge it with the Shadowstone.
“Wicket’s Wagon” (11/9/85) – The Duloks steal the battle wagon Wicket
rebuilt.
“The Three Lessons” (11/16/85) – Kneesaa and Wicket have to retrieve
ingredients needed to shrink a Stanglethor she accidentally overgrew.
“Blue Harvest” (11/23/85) – Umwak causes Hoona to fall for Wicket as
part of a plan to steal the Ewok’s harvest.
“Asha” (11/30/85) – Kneesaa and Wicket find her long-lost sister and
help her stop the Duloks from hunting defenseless creatures.
Season 2:
“The Crystal Cloak / The Wish Plant” (9/13/86) – Wicket and his
friends set out to retrieve the crystal cloak stolen by Gracca. / Kneesaa’s
friends abuse the power of the wish plant she was tasked to care for.
“Home is Where the Shrieks Are / Princess Latara” (9/20/86) – Larry
the Shriek tries to convince new roommates Wicket and Teebo they’re better off
at home. / Wicket and friends have to save Latara from having to marry the
Gorph prince.
“The Raich” (9/27/86) – Wicket gets help from his friends and the
Two-headed Gonster to restore the Raich to the prison Wicket accidentally freed
it from.
“The Totem Master / A Gift for Shodu” (10/4/86) – Creatures disguised
as totems rob the Ewok village. / A jewel found for Shodu turns out to be an
egg.
“Night of the Stranger” (10/11/86) – A Dulock attack hides the theft
of the Sunstar.
“Gone with the Mimphs / The First Apprentice” (10/18/86) – Wicket has
to rescue his captors from the very thing he was captured hunting. / Zarrak
turns on Teebo when he proves unable to learn from him.
“Hard Sell / A Warrior and a Lurdo” (10/25/86) – The Ewoks get into a
competition trying to outsell each other. / Teebo flunks his warrior training
but is still called upon to help the Tumbles.
“The Season Scepter” (11/1/86) – Odra has the Snow King freeze Endor.
“Prow Beaten / Baga’s Rival” (11/8/86) – The Ewoks lose Chirpa’s canoe
prow carving to the Duloks. / Jadru sends a disguised monster to Kneesaa in
order to take her captive for the Sunstar.
“Horville’s Hut of Horrors / The Tragic Flute” (11/15/86) – Wicket
tries to hide what made the Woklings so upset. / Latara is captured by a
creature he takes greedy people for his slaves.
“Just My Luck / Bringing Up Norky” (11/22/86) – A bad luck sprite
causes Wicket to fail his warrior test. / Wicket has to babysit the bratty
Norky who makes things difficult for him and his friends.
“Battle for the Sunstar” (12/6/86) – Imperial scientist Dr. Raygar
steals the Sunstar.
“Party Ewok / Malani the Warrior” (12/13/86) – When Kneesaa has to
throw a party for Prince Delvy, it’s complicated by her own inability and the
arrival of bandits. / Creatures convince Malani to steal the Sunstar as a way
to win Wicket’s heart.
Originally posted in 2015. Updated in 2019.
Originally posted in 2015. Updated in 2019.
