''The Ewok Adventure'' is a 1984 American
television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
based in the ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' universe. It takes place on the
moon of Endor, and features the
Ewok
The Ewoks (singular: Ewok) are a fictional species of small, furry, mammaloid, bipeds in the ''Star Wars'' universe. They inhabit the forest moon of Endor and live in arboreal huts and other simple dwellings, being seen as primitive in com ...
s, who help two young human siblings as they try to locate their parents. The film premiered on November 25, 1984 on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
.
The film was given a limited international theatrical run, for which it was retitled ''Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure''. It was followed by a sequel, ''
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor'', in 1985.
Plot
On the forest
moon of Endor, a starcruiser lies wrecked. The Towani family – Catarine, Jeremitt, Mace and Cindel – are stranded. When Catarine and Jeremitt vanish, the children are found by the
Ewok
The Ewoks (singular: Ewok) are a fictional species of small, furry, mammaloid, bipeds in the ''Star Wars'' universe. They inhabit the forest moon of Endor and live in arboreal huts and other simple dwellings, being seen as primitive in com ...
Deej. After Mace threatens them, the Ewoks subdue him and take both children to the Ewoks' home. There, Cindel befriends
Wicket
In the sport of cricket, the term wicket has several meanings:
* It is either of the two sets of three Stump (cricket), stumps and two Bail (cricket), bails at each end of the Cricket pitch, pitch. The Fielding (cricket), fielding team's playe ...
. Shortly thereafter, the Ewoks kill a boar wolf, only to find a life-monitor from one of the Towani parents with the creature.
They seek out the Ewok
Logray, who informs them that the parents have been taken by the monstrous Gorax, which resides in a deserted, dangerous area. A caravan of Ewoks is formed to reunite the children with their parents. They meet a boisterous Ewok woodsman named Chukha-Trok, Kaink the Ewok priestess, and a wistie named Izrina before finally reaching the lair of the Gorax after a few mishaps on the way. The group engage the Gorax in battle, freeing Jeremitt and Catarine, but Chukha-Trok is fatally wounded. The Gorax is thought destroyed when it is knocked into a chasm, but it takes a final blow from Mace (using Chukha-Trok's axe) to defeat the creature, which tries to climb back up after them. The Towanis decide to stay with the Ewoks until they can repair the starcruiser, and Izrina leaves to return to her family.
Cast
*
Warwick Davis
Warwick Ashley Davis ( ; born 3 February 1970) is an English actor and television presenter. Active within the industry since he was eleven, Davis is one of the highest grossing supporting actors of all time and has the highest average gross r ...
as
Wicket W. Warrick
**
Darryl Henriques
Darryl Henriques (born January 28, 1942) is an author, satirist, stand-up comedian, and actor on stage and radio, and in TV and film.
Early life
Henriques was born in Jamaica on January 28, 1942.
Career
Henriques, a Cheese Board Collective w ...
as Wicket (voice) (as Daryl Henriquez)
* Aubree Miller as Cindel Towani
*
Eric Walker as Mace Towani
*
Fionnula Flanagan
Fionnghuala Manon "Fionnula" Flanagan (born 10 December 1941) is an Irish actress. Flanagan is known for her roles in the films '' James Joyce's Women'' (1985), '' Some Mother's Son'' (1996), '' Waking Ned Devine'' (1998), '' The Others'' (200 ...
as Catarine Towani
*
Guy Boyd as Jeremitt Towani
* Daniel Frishman as Deej Warrick
** Sydney Walker as Deej (voice)
*
Debbie Lee Carrington
Deborah Lee Carrington (December 14, 1959 March 23, 2018) was an American actress and stuntwoman. Her best known movie roles include playing a Martian rebel in ''Total Recall (1990 film), Total Recall'', an Ewok in ''Return of the Jedi'' (and in s ...
as Weechee Warrick
*
Tony Cox as Widdle "Willy" Warrick
* Kevin Thompson as Chukha-Trok
* Margarita Fernández as Kaink
* Pam Grizz as Shodu Warrick
* Bobby Bell as
Logray
*
Burl Ives
Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American Folk music, folk singer and actor with a career that spanned more than six decades.
Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his o ...
as Narrator (voice)
Production
Inception
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...
had allowed the ''Star Wars'' universe to be produced for television in 1978 with the ''
Star Wars Holiday Special
''The Star Wars Holiday Special'' is an American television special originally broadcast by CBS on November 17, 1978. It is set in the universe of the sci-fi-based ''Star Wars'' media franchise. Directed by Steve Binder, it was the first ''S ...
'', which proved to be an embarrassment. Lucas assumed greater control over a planned half-hour television project about Ewoks. He hired Thomas G. Smith to produce the film, after Smith had stepped down as the manager of
Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American Film, motion picture visual effects, computer animation and stereo conversion digital studio founded by George Lucas on May 26, 1975. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lu ...
(ILM) following his work on ''
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' is a 1984 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a script by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, based on a story by George Lucas. It is the second installment in the Indiana Jone ...
''.
[ Lucas also hired Bob Carrau, a personal assistant, to co-write the story with him.][
When shopping the film around, Smith discovered that none of the TV networks at the time were interested in airing a half-hour special, but ]ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
showed interest in a two-hour movie of the week
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrestr ...
; the project was expanded to fill the request.
The producers initially conceived of the project as a cross between "Hansel and Gretel
"Hansel and Gretel" (; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15).
Hansel and Gretel are siblings who are abandoned in a forest and fall into the hands of a witch ...
" and ''Tarzan of the Apes
''Tarzan of the Apes'' is a 1912 novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the first in the Tarzan series. The story was first printed in the pulp magazine '' The All-Story'' in October 1912 before being released as a novel in June 191 ...
''. John Korty
John Korty (June 22, 1936 – March 9, 2022), was an American film director and animator, best known for the television film '' The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman'' and the documentary '' Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen K ...
, who had directed the Lucas-produced ''Twice Upon a Time Twice Upon a Time may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Twice Upon a Time'' (1953 film), a British comedy film
* ''Twice Upon a Time'' (1983 film), an American animated film
* ''Twice Upon a Time'' (1998 film), an American fantasy/romantic comedy T ...
'', was selected as director.
Staff and crew
Evolving from both a story written by George Lucas and a screenplay
A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...
by Bob Carrau, director John Korty transformed the scenic Northern California
Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...
film site, Roy's Redwoods Preserve in the San Geronimo Valley, with its verdant ferns
The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...
and redwood trees
Cupressaceae or the cypress family is a family of conifers. The family includes 27–30 genera (17 Monotypic taxon, monotypic), which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130–140 species in total. They are Monoecy, monoecious, Trioecy ...
, into the Ewoks' forest moon home of Endor. Joe Johnston
Joseph Eggleston Johnston II (born May 13, 1950) is an American film director, producer, writer, and visual effects artist. He is best known for directing effects-driven films, including '' Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' (1989), '' The Rocketeer' ...
, a veteran art director at ILM and one of the key concept artists of the classic ''Star Wars'' trilogy, acted as production designer and second-unit director.[ Prior to the film's release, he would also write and illustrate a book about the Ewoks, ''The Adventures of Teebo: A Tale of Magic and Suspense''.
]
Visual effects
Both Ewok films were some of the last intensive stop-motion
Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animation, animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appe ...
animation work ILM produced, as by the early 1980s, the technique was being replaced by go motion
Go motion is a variation of stop motion animation which incorporates motion blur into each frame involving motion. It was co-developed by Industrial Light & Magic and Phil Tippett. Stop motion animation can create a distinctive and disorienting sta ...
, an advanced form of animation with motorized puppets that move while the camera shutter is open. However, go motion was too expensive for the budgets of the Ewok films, so stop motion was used to realize creatures such as the Gorax.[
The Ewok movies proved an opportunity for ILM to use a technique innovated for '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' called latent image ]matte painting
A matte painting is a painted representation of a landscape, set, or distant location that allows filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that is not present at the filming location. Historically, matte painters and film technicia ...
. In this technique, during live-action photography, a section of the camera lens is blocked off and remains unexposed. The film is rewound, the blocked areas reversed, and a painting crafted to occupy the space is photographed.
Music
The film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...
for ''Caravan of Courage'' was composed by Peter Bernstein. "Parade of the Ewoks", from John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...
' score SCORE may refer to:
*SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program
* SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network
*SCORE! Educational Centers
*SCORE International, an offroad racing organization
*Sarawak Corrido ...
to '' Star Wars: Return of the Jedi'' (1983), is credited as "Wicket's Theme" and is heard when the children are initially rescued and taken to the Ewok village, where they meet Wicket. Selections from the score were also released on LP by Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and cast recording, original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as ...
in 1986. The release, titled simply as ''Ewoks
The Ewoks (singular: Ewok) are a fictional species of small, furry, mammaloid, bipeds in the ''Star Wars'' universe. They inhabit the forest moon of Endor and live in arboreal huts and other simple dwellings, being seen as primitive in comp ...
'', contained additional cuts of Bernstein's score to the sequel '' Ewoks: The Battle for Endor'' (1985).
Documentaries and commentary
During the shooting and production of ''Caravan of Courage'', all school-aged children on the cast were placed on a tight schedule, having to divide their days evenly between school lessons and actual work on the film, including memorizing lines, learning cues, and ultimately, filming. During the shoot, Lucasfilm felt that it might be an educationally-rewarding and entertaining experience for the two lead teenage actors in the film, Eric Walker (Mace) and Warwick Davis (Wicket), both 15 at the time of production, to be given their own cameras to use between takes. Calling themselves ''W&W Productions'', the two boys recorded their own mini-documentary of the production of the film, which was uploaded—nearly 30 years later—to Walker's YouTube channel in 2014.
Adaptations
In 1985, Random House
Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...
released a children's book adaptation of ''The Ewok Adventure'' by Amy Ehrlich, titled ''The Ewoks and the Lost Children'', which includes stills from the film. There was also a release of a picture book with audiotape for those learning to read.
Release
''The Ewok Adventure'' was first shown on American television on November 25, 1984 on ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
. In its overseas theatrical release, it was renamed ''Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure''. The film was released on VHS
VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s.
Ma ...
and Laserdisc
LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...
in 1990 through MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
under the original title.
The film was released on DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
as a double-feature collection with its sequel, ''Ewoks: The Battle for Endor'', on November 23, 2004. The release was a double-sided disc, with one film on each side. For this release, the film bore the theatrical release title, ''Caravan of Courage''.
Prior to 2021, Disney announced no plans to add the Ewok films to its streaming service, Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
. This prompted Eric Walker to start a petition for Disney to add them. In March 2021, it was announced that both films would begin streaming on Disney+ on April 2, 2021.
Reception
Critical response
In his review for ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', John J. O'Connor noted the film's story as being almost "aggressively simple" and that "Mr. Lucas and crew do not come up with anything terribly astonishing." With Marin County serving as the backdrop, looking "like some never-never land east of the Sun and west of the Moon," O'Connor recognized most of the interactions as following well-established cinematic tropes, the notable ones being between Cindel "looking like one of those little blond angels used to top off Christmas trees" and Wicket, a performance by the-then 14-year-old Warwick Davis, whom O'Connor called "the cleverest of the lot."
Pointing to the main characters and plot elements, one pair of writers concluded that both ''Caravan of Courage'' and its sequel are fairy tales despite occurring in a science fiction setting. They point to magical phenomena in both films, which is a fantasy element. They argue that in a science fiction story, the hero wants to disrupt or challenge the hierarchy of a supposed "utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...
n" society; whereas in both Ewok films, society is not challenged or disputed. Additionally, they argue, that while the ''Star Wars'' saga also has fairy tale tropes
Trope or tropes may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Trope (cinema), a cinematic convention for conveying a concept
* Trope (literature), a figure of speech or common literary device
* Trope (music), any of a variety of different things in m ...
, it adhered more towards science fiction. Another author agreed that the films are fairy tales, wherein "Science explains all magic."
Colin Greenland
Colin Greenland (born 17 May 1954) is a British science fiction writer, whose first story won the second prize in a 1982 Faber & Faber competition. His best-known novel is '' Take Back Plenty'' (1990), winner of both major British science ficti ...
reviewed ''Caravan of Courage'' for ''Imagine
Imagine may refer to:
* Imagination
Music Albums
* ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008
* ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002
* ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012
* ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971
** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...
'' magazine, and stated that "a casual catalogue of magical folderol about various ancestral talismans carried by the questing koalas. It certainly did the trick for the eight- and nine-year-olds in the front row, but seemed to make little sense to their mums and dads, or to me."
Modern reception has been largely negative, with Aidan Mason of ''Pop Culture Beast'' calling the movie, "a story without a sense of urgency" and "a chore to sit through".
Accolades
''The Ewok Adventure'' was one of four films to be juried-awarded Emmys for Outstanding Special Visual Effects at the 37th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 37th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on September 22, 1985. The ceremony was broadcast on ABC, from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Pasadena, California.
''The Cosby Show'' defeated two-time reigning champion ''Cheers'' to win Outstanding C ...
. The film was additionally nominated for Outstanding Children's Program but lost in this category to an episode of ''American Playhouse
''American Playhouse'' is an American anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
It premiered on January 12, 1982, with ''The Shady Hill Kidnapping'', written and narrated by John Cheever and direc ...
''.
Legacy
Several elements from the film have gone on to appear in other works of the ''Star Wars'' Expanded Universe, which was declared non-canon and rebranded as ''Legends'' in 2014.
* '' Ewoks: The Battle for Endor'' (1985) is the second of the two made-for-TV ''Ewok'' films. It dealt with the orphanage of Cindel, after her family was killed by Sanyassan Marauders. The marauders also kidnap many of the Ewoks. After meeting and being taken in by Noa Briqualon
This is an incomplete list of characters from the ''Star Wars'' Expanded Universe, now rebranded ''Star Wars Legends''. The accompanying works were declared non-canon to the ''Star Wars'' franchise by Lucasfilm in 2014.
This list applies ''o ...
, Cindel, along with the Ewoks, must team up to defeat the marauders and free the others from their grasp.
* ''Ewoks
The Ewoks (singular: Ewok) are a fictional species of small, furry, mammaloid, bipeds in the ''Star Wars'' universe. They inhabit the forest moon of Endor and live in arboreal huts and other simple dwellings, being seen as primitive in comp ...
'' (1985–1987) was an ABC animated series featuring the Ewoks that ran for two seasons. Set before the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, it features Izrina, Queen of the Wisties, in one episode, as well as Chukha-Trok and some of Wicket's family members.
* '' Tyrant's Test'' (1996) – In the ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity, Cindel Towani went on to appear in ''Tyrant's Test'', the third book of Michael P. Kube-McDowell
Michael Paul Kube-McDowell (born August 29, 1954), also known as Michael McDowell or Michael P. McDowell, is an American science fiction and non-fiction author.
Background
Born Michael Paul McDowell on August 29, 1954 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvan ...
's ''Star Wars'' book series, ''The Black Fleet Crisis'' trilogy. In the novel, set over ten years after ''The Battle for Endor'', Cindel is shown to have grown to become a reporter on Coruscant
Coruscant () is an ecumenopolis planet in the fictional universe of ''Star Wars.'' It was first described in Timothy Zahn's 1991 novel '' Heir to the Empire.'' The planet made its first on-screen appearance in a scene added to '' Return of t ...
. During the Yevethan crisis, Cindel received the so-called Plat Mallar
''The Black Fleet Crisis'' is a trilogy of science fiction novels set in the ''Star Wars'' expanded universe. The books take place 16 years after '' Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope''. All three novels were authored by American writer Michael P. ...
tapes from Admiral Drayson, and leaked the story of the only survivor of the Yevethan attack of Polneye. The report was meant to garner sympathy among the people of the New Republic and the Senate; it worked. The Expanded Universe claims Cindel decided to join the New Republic and go into journalism after witnessing the Battle of Endor
''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American Epic film, epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas. The sequel to ''The ...
.
* ''The Illustrated Star Wars Universe'' (1997) by Kevin J. Anderson
Kevin James Anderson (born March 27, 1962) is an American science fiction author. He has written spin-off novels for ''Star Wars'', '' StarCraft'', ''Titan A.E.'' and ''The X-Files'', and with Brian Herbert is the co-author of the ''Dune'' pr ...
retroactively set the film between the events of ''The Empire Strikes Back
''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic film, epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based o ...
'' and ''Return of the Jedi
''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas. The sequel to '' The Empire ...
''.
* '' Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided'' (2003) is an MMORPG
A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game.
As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...
. In the game, the player has the opportunity to encounter the Gorax species.
The Gorax was reintroduced to the Disney ''Star Wars'' canon in the second season episode "Traps and Tribulations" of the animated web series '' Star Wars: Forces of Destiny''. Princess Leia Organa
Princess Leia Organa ( or ) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Introduced in the original ''Star Wars'' film in 1977, Leia is a princess of the planet Alderaan, a member of the Imperial Senate, and an agent of the Rebel ...
and Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in the original film trilogy as the main protagonist and also appears in the sequel trilogy. Raised as a poor moisture farmer on the desert planet Tat ...
aid the Ewoks Kneesaa and Wicket against the rampaging beast.
References
External links
*
*
*
* (Dated 2014)
* (Dated 2016)
{{George Lucas
1984 television films
1984 films
1984 fantasy films
1984 science fiction films
1984 in American television
1980s American films
1980s English-language films
20th Century Fox Television films
American Broadcasting Company original films
American fantasy television films
American prequel films
American science fiction television films
English-language fantasy films
English-language science fiction films
Ewoks
Films directed by John Korty
Films scored by Peter Bernstein (composer)
Films set in forests
Films set on fictional moons
Films shot in California
Films using stop-motion animation
Films with screenplays by George Lucas
Lucasfilm films
Star Wars spinoff films
Television prequel films