Ewoks: The Battle for Endor

• 1. Production History And Development

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  The film premiered on ABC on the 24th of November 1985. It was shot in the middle of 1985 in Marin County, California. Jim and Ken Wheat co-wrote and directed the project. George Lucas provided the original story. Executive producer status went to Lucas himself during production. The working title for the movie was Ewoks II before release. Wilford Brimley did not get along with the Wheats. His scenes were directed by Johnston instead of the brothers. Lucas' involvement during production was primarily in the design and editing stages. He did not direct the filming process.

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• 2. Plot Summary And Narrative Arc

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  Nearly six months have passed since the events of the first film. Jeremitt is putting the final touches on the Towani family's star cruiser. Terak leads a Marauder group that attacks the Ewok village. Charal serves as his witch-like sorceress partner. Many Ewoks are captured while Jeremitt, Catarine, and Mace die defending their home. Cindel and Wicket meet Teek, a small fast native of Endor. They run away from the marauders together. Noa Briqualon throws them out of his home initially. He later lets Teek steal food for Cindel and Wicket. A woman singing transforms into Charal and takes Cindel to Terak. Salak was killed after telling Terak about the power inside the energy cell. Noa installs the energy cell into his wrecked star cruiser. Wicket kills Terak and leaves Charal trapped in bird form. Cindel leaves Endor with Noa on his ship shortly thereafter.

• 3. Cast Performances And Character Dynamics

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  Warwick Davis played Wicket W. Warrick in the production. Aubree Miller portrayed Cindel Towani throughout the story. Wilford Brimley appeared as Noa Briqualon. Carel Struycken took on the role of Terak. Siân Phillips performed as Charal. Paul Gleason played Jeremitt Towari. Eric Walker acted as Mace Towani. Daniel Frishman voiced Deej Warrick. Tony Cox played Widdle Warrick. Pam Grizz portrayed Shodu Warrick. Niki Botelho appeared as Teek. Marianne Horine played a Young Witch character. Roger Johnson served as Lieutenant. Michael Pritchard and Johnny Weissmuller Jr. were Card Players. Matthew Roloff appeared as an Ewok with Crutches.

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• 4. Visual Effects And Technical Innovation

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  Both Ewok films were some of the last intensive stop-motion animation work Industrial Light & Magic produced. Go motion animation was replacing traditional techniques in the early 1980s. Motorized articulated puppets moved while the camera shutter was open. The budgets of the Ewok films made go motion too expensive for these projects. Stop motion was used to realize creatures such as condor dragons, blurrgs, and boar-wolves. The movies proved an opportunity for Industrial Light & Magic to hone latent image matte painting. A section of the camera's lens is blocked off during live action photography. A painting occupies that unexposed space on the film. The film would then be rewound so the blocked areas reversed. The painting existed on the original film without generational quality loss.

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• 5. Home Video Releases And Alternate Versions

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  The film premiered as an ABC TV special on the 24th of November 1985. It received limited international theatrical release in 1986. Low box office receipts caused the run to disappear quickly. Home video releases arrived late in 1987 through MGM/UA. Retail re-issues occurred in 1988 and 1990. U.S. VHS and Laserdisc versions came out in 1990 via MGM/UA Home Video. Two scenes were deleted from home video releases compared to the broadcast. Wicket races for Noa's house but gets told only chance lies with the star cruiser. Men burn down Noa's house shortly after entering it. Cindel rushes to wake Noa up but finds Terak in bed instead. Her lines changed from Do something Wicket Use your sling to Do something Wicket Do something. End credits rolled over final scene in original TV broadcast. All home-video releases show credits over traditional black background after the final scene.

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• 6. Critical Reception And Emmy Recognition

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  At the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards the film won Outstanding Special Visual Effects. CBS documentary Dinosaur! shared this juried award status. The production received two nominations for Outstanding Children's Program. Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Special also earned a nomination. John Corry wrote a review for The New York Times. He faulted the production's source of inspiration despite calling it wonderfully well done. Aidan Mason of Pop Culture Beast stated the film manages to improve on the original. He felt it much more like a Star Wars film overall. Acting quality drew criticism from some reviewers during that period.

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• 7. Expanded Universe Legacy And Canon Status

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  Several elements from the film appear in other works of the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Tyrant's Test book appeared in 1996 as part of Michael P. Kube-McDowell's series. Cindel Towani grew to become a reporter on Coruscant within that novel. The story takes place over ten years after The Battle for Endor events. HoloNet issue #49 explained Salek Weet and Noa Briqualon search was abandoned. Jimke Weet filed bankruptcy due to expenses in the search effort. Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds book released in 2004 gave Terak's son Zakul rule over Marauders. Blurrgs appear in animated TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars starting in 2008. Teek appears in one episode of 2024 Disney+ live-action series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. Both films began streaming on Disney+ on the 2nd of April 2021 after prior unavailability.

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