BEFORE THE EMPIRE CAME TO ENDOR
Debuting on ABC Television in 1985, the Ewoks animated series explores the era of the Ewoks in the years prior to their introduction in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Intended for younger viewers, the show was a collaboration between Lucasfilm and Nelvana Studios, the same studio which had created the animated short “The Faithful Wookiee” for 1978’s The Star Wars Holiday Special.
The series was developed alongside another Lucasfilm/Nelvana collaboration, Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO, which shared the same one-hour Saturday morning time slot as the Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour. The Ewoks animated series was just one of three post-Return of the Jedi Ewok-themed productions, which included 1984’s live-action Caravan of Courage and 1985’s The Battle for Endor. The show ran a second season without Droids as The All New Ewoks in 1986.
The theme of Ewoks is friendship, family, and community, and is a show where viewers “will discover a world of dangers and delights, of creatures and places both beautiful and bizarre,” read the show’s original description. “It is a world where every tree has a story to tell and a spell of enchantment to weave. [This is] the world of the Ewoks.”
Ewoks was executive produced by Miki Herman, Elana Lesser and Cliff Ruby, and produced by Michael Hirsch, Patrick Loubert, and Clive A. Smith.
THE STORY
The series takes place in the days before the Empire came to Endor. Wicket, the Ewok hero from Return of the Jedi, is joined by his friends Princess Kneesaa, Latara, Paploo and Teebo in stories filled with warmth, action, and humor. The villains of the series are the Duloks, distant cousins of the Ewoks who in ancient times were influenced by the “Night Spirit,” making them nasty and deceitful. The series explores the various adventures of the Ewoks on Endor as they confront the Duloks, other tribes, and dark forces in the forest.
