Charybdis - 06 July 2007 06:15 PM

My epiphany came when someone pointed out that everyone knows what an Ewok is yet the term was never used in Jedi.

That really has nothing (little?) to do with it.  Lucas has a name for everything in Star Wars (any episode).

Star Wars (I use that name for the original movie, episode IV, becasue that’s what it’s real name is, IMO) was not made to be considered for merchandising.  When it became wildly popular they suddenly realized they had to have a toy line (and everything else) and started producing the action figures, vehicles, play sets and what not.  Yet every single entity in the cantina (and movie!) had a name going into the movie.  Not after the fact for merchandising purposes.

And every single character, no matter how minor, has a name.  The characters sitting with Palpatine in his box at the opera/play/music thing/whatever are by no means used for marketing reasons.  Yet they have a name (and race, I should point out).  A perusal of any official Star Wars site will find you names for characters you probably don’t even remember seeing.  As well as names of races, names of mechanical/science features, ships, planets and just about everything with the least bit of significance in the Galaxy of Star Wars.

So I don’t buy that argument that they were made and named solely for marketing.  I’m sure it played a part, but as the sole purpose for the existence and plan for the Ewoks, no.

Actually, I thought that The Phantom Menace wasn’t that bad, and was the best of the new three.  I felt it had more in common with the spirit of the original three, at least.  It had less of the glumness and dark melodrama about it that pervaded the next two.

Tah - 06 July 2007 08:14 PM

That really has nothing (little?) to do with it.  Lucas has a name for everything in Star Wars (any episode).

I think it has everything to do with it.  Yes everything has a name, but not every name is widely known.  Very few non-diehard fans knew the name Palpatine, even after 25 years.  Ewoks were known by everybody within weeks or months, and that name only came from the toys.

Considering how much Lucas made off of merchandising from the first two movies I don’t doubt that Wookies were changed to Ewoks to make them more marketable.  At least, I can’t think of any other excuse that makes sense - the movie would have been so much better with Wookies.

Accipiter - 06 July 2007 08:23 PM

Actually, I thought that The Phantom Menace wasn’t that bad, and was the best of the new three.  I felt it had more in common with the spirit of the original three, at least.  It had less of the glumness and dark melodrama about it that pervaded the next two.

I mostly agree.  Even with a few really stupid bits it wasn’t a terrible movie by any means, and was much better than the second.  I’m not sure if it was better than the third, though.

But it didn’t instill the same sense of awe that the first three did, though I fully admit that I’m a hell of a lot older than I was when I first saw them.  I’m not sure how much is due to that and how much is due to Lucas, but I still never felt that the current three should have been made.

I liked the second better than the first simply because the 3 hour pod race really ruined Episode 1 for me. That and the annoying kid.

I still haven’t seen the entire third one, just a couple bits here and there.

Honestly though, were it not for my diehard fan friend that I mentioned in another thread, I probably wouldn’t have gone to see the second one either. He just had tickets again, and I always jumped at a chance to hang out with him.

Charybdis - 06 July 2007 08:45 PM

At least, I can’t think of any other excuse that makes sense - the movie would have been so much better with Wookies.

I agree that it would have been much better with Wookies.  I am also of the impression that it would have been at least as marketable, if not more so, with Wookies since you already had Chewbacca as a long established character.  But then I never fell into the, “Aw.  Ewoks are so cute that I have to buy everything associated with them,” mode.  I probably would have done that with Wookies and the coolness factor, though.

And for story purposes I can see the change from Wookies to Ewoks making sense.  Wookies are more advanced so the whole sticks-and-stones-beat-the-mighty-Empire wouldn’t have been a factor with them.  It just would have been another technological race fighting the Empire.

Of course, the whole stiocks-and-stones-beat-the-mighty-Empire is the main thing I don’t like about the Ewoks.

Ewoks tapped into the young child audience that was mostly missing from the earlier movies.  Remember the horrid Ewok Adventures?

The Wookies as developed in later fiction (and possibly already developed by the Christmas special, though I don’t remember) weren’t necessarily technological.  They were as intelligent as anyone else and as capable of using technology, but they were mostly a low tech arboreal society (which is probably why they were enslaved so easily). 

At the very least it would have made more sense for them to be able to defeat the Imperials when roused, though nowhere near as cute.

While I certainly never bought myself or anyone else I know a cute-and-cuddly Ewok doll, I kind of liked the contrast between their cute and cuddly appearance and their tendency to be warlike—the skulls and spears and everything. But I agree Wookies would have been even cooler.

I must admit that I wouldn’t have been so annoyed if they had actually killed and eaten one of the rebels first, they could have dressed one of them in red.  But that would have been too traumatic.

Tah - 06 July 2007 09:09 PM

Of course, the whole stiocks-and-stones-beat-the-mighty-Empire is the main thing I don’t like about the Ewoks.

I kind of liked that, though.  It reminded me a bit of my younger days, when I would drop rocks off of cliffs onto tanks (and then run away very very very fast).

Accipiter - 06 July 2007 09:46 PM

Tah - 06 July 2007 09:09 PM

Of course, the whole stiocks-and-stones-beat-the-mighty-Empire is the main thing I don’t like about the Ewoks.

I kind of liked that, though.  It reminded me a bit of my younger days, when I would drop rocks off of cliffs onto tanks (and then run away very very very fast).

I liked it when I first saw it.  I like the idea and thought of it.  I think they went too far in parts of it, however.  It just became silly and stupid.

But one of the most touching parts of any of the movies is when some Ewoks are running away and get blasted by an AT-ST walker.  After the explosion clears one gets up and tries to pull his friend up only to realize he is dead.  Very touching moment as the realization of how serious the situation is that the Ewoks jumped into.

And, okay, Chary.  If the Ewoks aren’t hat much inferior to the Wookies in technology, they’re shorter.  Which makes it that much less likely they would be able to defeat the Empire with sticks and stones.