Whenever someone brings up the topic of sequels that are better than the original, I always mention “Ewoks: The Battle for Endor” (1985). One, because most likely no one other than me has seen the two Ewok movies, and two, because it clearly fits the bill.
While “Caravan of Courage” is the better of the two in terms of setting up the Ewok characters and culture for the subsequent cartoon series (which is actually a prequel to the movies, Wookieepedia reminds me), “Battle for Endor” is superior in every other way.
The script by Jim and Ken Wheat is a big step up from Bob Carrau’s original, featuring both marauders-vs.-Ewoks action and a heartfelt story of a lonely hermit letting human and Ewok kids into his heart. The acting gets a huge boost from the presence of Wilford Brimley as Endor hermit Noa, who has lived in a forest hut for decades after his ship crashed. Aubree Miller, as young Cindel, steps up her game considerably, perhaps due to acting across from Brimley. Warwick Davis’ Wicket is still adorable, and the fact that he speaks some Basic now (Cindel taught him) helps the story flow. The fleet-afoot Teek, Noa’s pet/friend, is a fully realized creature creation on par with what the big-screen “Star Wars” films gave us.
As a kid, I remember sharing Cindel’s horror as the life readings of her parents and brother wink out on her wrist monitor — what a daring way to start off a kids’ movie! It’s appropriate, though, since George Lucas envisioned a “Heidi”-esque orphan yarn. Bookended by Wicket’s and Cindel’s “Goodbye not good,” “Battle for Endor” is a more emotional film than the first.
The marauders are scary for kids and bumblingly humorous at times for adult viewers. King Terak wants “the power,” thinking a star cruiser’s power source will give him some sort of magic omnipotence. His human second-in-command, Charal — who features in the new Dark Horse comic “Ewoks: Shadows of Endor,” and has been retconned as a Dathomiri Nightsister — is also a scary villain for young viewers.
As with the first film, “Battle for Endor” features stop-motion animation that’s obvious yet fun. The marauders ride ugly variations of dewbacks and Cindel gets plucked out of a cave by a flying dragon. We see the Ewoks outsmart their enemies using nature, including rolling logs down a hill to trip them. These skills would later serve them well against an entire legion of the Emperor’s best troops in “Return of the Jedi.”
As a kid, I watched “Battle for Endor” much more often than “Caravan of Courage” — honestly, I might not have known the first film existed, and “Battle for Endor” was the one that I (or my dad, more likely) had taped off of TV anyway. I loved it then, and I still admire it when watching it on DVD today; it’s a lovable “Star Wars” oddity and an underrated sci-fi children’s film.
How would you rate the two “Ewoks” movies, and what are your memories of them?
