About Star Wars The Battle of Endor. Star Wars The Battle of Endor is a freeware PC game developed by independent (and casual) game developer Bruni R Marcos. The game is a 3D space shooter/combat simulation game that is set during the events of episode VI, Return of the Jedi which was the third movie released in the Star Wars saga. Ewoks: The Battle for Endor. Ewoks: The Battle for Endor is a 1985 television film set in the Star Wars galaxy co-written and directed by Jim and Ken Wheat from a story by George Lucas. A sequel to Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, it focuses on Cindel Towani, the little human girl from the first film, who, after being orphaned.

The second article in the timeline series of Star Wars: Interregnum focuses solely on the Battle of Endor, which is just as important in the Interregnum timeline as in the canon Star Wars timeline, but for rather different reasons. The following is an excerpt from an article written by Professor Rolard Vilion, a historian and political scientist at the Imperial University of Coruscant, writing in the year 9 ABY, 5 years after Endor and the start of the Interregnum.

The Catastrophe: Endor and the Beginning of the Interregnum

Nearly three weeks after the Fall of Bakura, the Triple Alliance launched its attack on Endor. An unimportant system uninhabited by advanced intelligent life, the forest moon of Endor was chosen as the construction site for the second Death Star due to its remoteness on the edge of the Empire's borders. A large fleet centered around Lord Vader's Death Squadron was already at the planet to ensure the destruction of a Rebel Fleet that was believed to attempt to attack the station, but after Bakura it was decided the Triple Alliance was a greater threat and, since they happened to have invaded so close to Endor, the trap designed for the Rebellion would instead by sprung on the new invaders.

The Triple Alliance attacked not as one force, but in waves. The first wave consisted of about 100 vessels the size of a Victory class Star Destroyer and about 500 escorts in the frigate and cruiser sized range. Facing them was the nearly completed Death Star II, with Emperor Palpatine still aboard. While parts of the Death Star's core areas were under construction, it was protected by a powerful planetary shield from the forest moon of Endor that could destroy any direct attack. In additional, the Imperial Fleet at Endor had grown to 700 vessels of all sizes, under the command of Darth Vader on his flagship the Executor.

A junior officer on the command bridge of the Executor, from whom most of this information comes from, reports that on the arrival of the enemy ships, Admiral Piett order the fleet to form a defensive line around the twenty or so Interdictor ships while launching all available fighters. The plan was simple yet effective; the fleet would act as a wall for the Interdictors who would ensure the Death Star had enough time to annihilate the entire enemy fleet with its superlaser. And initially, the plan appeared to work.

The first enemy wave had many carriers, which immediately launched fighters to attack the exposed superstructure of the Death Star. They quickly discovered the shield however, and were overwhelmed by the masses of TIE Fighters launched from both the Imperial fleet and the Death Star. As the carriers attempted to fall back out of range, the Death Star fired its first attack of the battle and destroyed what would later be identified as a Halcyon class carrier in a single shot. Unable to get out of range without jumping into hyperspace (or “phase space” as the foreigners call it), the enemy fleet was pinned in place. A few of the larger combat ships attempted to break the Death Star's shield with nuclear weapons, but these proved ineffective and were countered with additional blasts from the Death Star's superlaser.

Faced with the prospect of either letting their initial attack force being completely annihilated or attempting to break them out, the Triple Alliance choose the later option, sending in approximately 800 ships as reinforcements. The flagship of this group was the largest enemy vessel seen to date, and proved that our adversaries were capable of building battlecruiser sized warships, though the vessel would later be identified under the more grandiose name of an Ankylon class Titan. This second force, rather than attack the Death Star, attempted to engage the fleet and destroy the source of the gravity anomalies that were preventing their ships from escaping. This Ankylon proved too tempting a target for the Death Star however, which stopped attacking the first task force and turned to blast the titan before it engaged the fleet at point blank range, as it would be unable to get a clear shot afterwards.

This provided time for the first attack force to regroup, and they were joined by 200 exclusively Vasari ships. Having failed to break the Death Star's shield with normal weapons, this new group of ships began firing massive volleys of 'phase missiles', which cannot always be stopped by deflector shields, at the Death Star. While some of these missiles did bypass through the shield and caused substantial damage to the Death Star's surface, the warheads were too weak to seriously damage the main reactor or other critical systems. As the Death Star prepared to fire on the titan, the Ankylon activated a powerful shield array around its fleet, in an attempt to repel the blast. The Death Star responded to this by increasing power to its superlaser, firing a more intense green beam that cut the Ankylon in half and ruptured its antimatter storage tanks, which consumed the entire vessel in a massive explosion.

The Ankylon's sacrifice was not entirely in vain, for the rest of its battlegroup was now hotly engaged with the Imperial Fleet protecting the Interdictors. Reports about the battle become much more chaotic from this point on as all of the eye witnesses I interviewed were now busy at their battlestations and were not paying much attention to events going on at the Death Star. Casualties were not insignificant, but the battle seemed to be going well as the Death Star continued to make short work of the large warships of the first and third waves. Only the Executor appears to have had any advanced warning of the tragedy that was about to unfold.

Our junior officer on the Executor's command bridge reports that about an hour after the two fleets engaged, Darth Vader, who had issued only a handful of orders throughout the entire engagement, suddenly marched off to the front of the command bridge. At that moment a fourth wave of enemy ships jumped in on the other side of the Death Star. At the front of the fleet was another battlecruiser sized ship, but of a strange design unlike any ever seen. With odd metallic wings and a circular disk above it, Lord Vader seems transfixed by it as he observed the new arrivals from the view port.

“Just some more stragglers to finish off my lord,” Admiral Piett said.

“No. This one is.. different,” Vader replied, as if attempting to sense exactly what this new enemy was. The Emperor seems to have shared his opinion, for the Death Star immediately turned to face this new vessel. Without firing any weapons the new enemy titan flew towards the Death Star. As this strange vessel reached the Death Star's shield, the battlestation fired a blast at maximum power, engulfing the vessel in green and orange flames. A few crewmen cheered, but within moments their expression changed to confusion and then horror as a burning bright blue aura of the destroyed titan emerged from the explosion, and calmly passed through the Death Star's “impenetrable” force field.

As the glowing shadow of the dead titan approached the exposed superstructure of the Death Star, all sorts of bizarre sights were reported. Blasts of white and blue energy impacted the surface of the Death Star. The surface turbolaser batteries opened fire at this intruder with all they had. Still unexplained to this day, giant bolts of lightning sent out from the Death Star struck the approaching titan, slowing it down but unable to stop its advance. Our witness on the Executor reports that at one point Lord Vader clenched his fist and the titan seemed to halt, but he quickly released it and told Piett to order the fleet to disengage and jump to lightspeed. “The Emperor has underestimated our enemies, and it is pointless to fight here without the Death Star, ” Vader told the astonished Admiral. Soon after his mechanical voice rang out across the bridge, a final beam of spectral blue light impacted the center of the Death Star's hypermatter reactor, causing massive detonation that consumed the battlestation in a giant explosion. The reign of Palpatine, the first galactic emperor, was over. Yet the battle to replace his government had only just begun.

Ewoks: The Battle for Endor is a 1985 television film set in the Star Wars universe co-written and directed by Jim and Ken Wheat from a story by George Lucas. A sequel to Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, it focuses on Cindel Towani, the human girl from the first film, who, after being orphaned, joins the Ewoks in protecting their village and defeating the marauders who have taken control of the Endor moon.

The film is set between the events of Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.^[1][2]

• 3Production
• 12External links

Plot[edit]

Nearly six months have passed since the events of the first film;^[3] the Towani family's star cruiser is almost completely fixed and Jeremitt is putting the final touches on the craft. While the family is preparing to leave the forest moon of Endor, the Ewok village is attacked by a group of Marauders led by Terak and his witch-like sorceress Charal. Many Ewoks are killed. Cindel escapes, but is forced to leave her family to their doom at the hand of the Marauders.

While running away from the carnage, Cindel and Wicket meet Teek, a small, fast native of Endor. Teek takes them to the home of Noa Briqualon, a human man who is angered by their uninvited presence, and throws them out. Eventually he proves himself to be a kindhearted man, letting Teek steal food for them, and inviting the two in when they attempt to build a fire for warmth.

At the Marauders' castle, Charal is ordered by Terak to find Cindel, assuming she knows how to use 'the power' in the energy cell stolen from Jeremitt's star cruiser. Meanwhile, Noa, Cindel, and Wicket are becoming friends. It is revealed that Noa is rebuilding his own broken star cruiser, only missing the energy cell.

Cindel is awakened one morning by a song her mother used to sing to her. She follows the voice to find a beautiful woman singing. The woman transforms into Charal, who takes her to Terak. He orders her to activate 'the power.' When she cannot, she and Charal are both imprisoned with the Ewoks. Outside, Noa, Wicket, and Teek sneak into the castle, making their way to the cellblock, where they free Cindel and the other Ewoks. They escape with the energy cell.

Terak, Charal, and the Marauders pursue them back to the ship, where Wicket leads the Ewoks in defense of the cruiser, and Noa installs the energy cell in his ship. The Ewoks put up a valiant effort, and are nearly beaten by the time Noa powers up the ship and uses its formidable laser cannons to fend off the Marauders. When Cindel goes to save Wicket, she is captured by Terak, even as the other Marauders retreat. Terak and Noa face off, with Wicket finally coming to the rescue, killing Terak and simultaneously leaving Charal trapped in bird form for eternity.

Shortly thereafter, goodbyes are said, as Noa and Cindel leave the forest moon of Endor aboard Noa's starship.

Cast[edit]

• Warwick Davis as Wicket W. Warrick
• Aubree Miller as Cindel Towani
• Wilford Brimley as Noa Briqualon
• Carel Struycken as Terak
• Siân Phillips as Charal
• Niki Botelho as Teek
• Paul Gleason as Jeremitt
• Eric Walker as Mace
• Marianne Horine as Young Witch
• Daniel Frishman as Deej
• Tony Cox as Willy
• Pam Grizz as Shodu
• Roger Johnson as Lieutenant
• Michael Pritchard as Card Player #1
• Johnny Weissmuller Jr. as Card Player #2
• Matthew Roloff as Ewok with Crutches

Production[edit]

Creation and crew[edit]

The film, shot in the middle of 1985 in Marin County, California, was directed by Jim and Ken Wheat, executive produced by Lucas, and written by the Wheat brothers, based on a story written by Lucas. Co-director Ken Wheat explained the production and inspiration of the film:

Lucas guided the creation of the story over the course of two four-hour sessions we had with him. He'd just watched Heidi with his daughter the weekend before these took place, and the story idea he pushed was having the little girl from the first Ewok TV movie become an orphan who ends up living with a grumpy old hermit in the woods.

We'd been thinking about the adventure films we'd liked as kids, like Swiss Family Robinson and The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, so we suggested having space marauders, which was fine with George — as long as they were 7 feet tall, of course! The rest of the brainstorming was done along those lines. Joe Johnston (the production designer and second unit director) and Phil Tippett (the creature supervisor) were involved in the second day's story session, and they contributed an assortment of bits and pieces.^[4][5]

Lucas’ involvement during production was primarily in the design and editing stages, according to Wheat. The film's working title was Ewoks II.^[6]

Effects[edit]

Both Ewok films were some of the last intensive stop-motion animation work Industrial Light & Magic produced, as in the early 1980s, the technique was being replaced by go motion animation, a more advanced form with motorized articulated puppets that moved while the camera shutter was open, capturing motion blur in the otherwise static puppet, eliminating the harsh staccato movement often associated with stop motion. However, the budgets of the Ewok films were such that go motion was simply too expensive for the projects, so stop motion was used to realize creatures such as the condor dragon, the blurrgs, and the boar-wolves.

The Ewok movies proved an opportunity for Industrial Light & Magic to hone a new technique in photographing matte paintings, called latent image matte painting. In this technique, during live action photography a section of the camera's lens is blocked off, remaining unexposed, and a painting is crafted to occupy that space. The film would then be rewound, the blocked areas reversed, and the painting photographed. Since the painting now existed on the original film, there would be no generational quality loss.

Music[edit]

The musical score for Ewoks: The Battle for Endor was composed by Peter Bernstein. Selections from the score were released on LP by Varèse Sarabande in 1986.^[7] The release was known simply as Ewoks, and also contained cues from Bernstein's previous score to The Ewok Adventure.

Alternative versions[edit]

• In a home video release, the following two scenes were deleted: when being chased by Terak's men, Wicket races for Noa's house but Noa tells him the only chance they have got is the star cruiser. Then a scene that happened shortly after where the men went inside and burned down Noa's house.
• When Cindel has a nightmare about bad guys coming into Noa's house, a scene was cut from the television broadcast, in which Cindel rushes to Noa's bed to wake him up, but instead finds Terak in the bed and wakes up. The television version just shows Cindel waking up after the men break in.
• Cindel's lines: 'Do something, Wicket! Use your sling! You hit the ring!' have been altered to 'Do something, Wicket! Do something!' for the DVD release.
• In the original TV broadcast of the film, the end credits were rolled over the final scene, but in all home-video releases of the film, the end credits are rolled over a traditional black background after the final scene.^{[citation needed]}

Later Expanded Universe appearances[edit]

Since the release of The Battle for Endor in 1985, several elements from the film have gone on to appear in other works from the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Many times, the characters, locations, or other elements are elaborated on in greater detail.

• Ewoks (1985–1987) was an ABC animated series featuring the Ewoks that ran for two seasons. It incorporated several elements introduced in the two Ewok films, such as the appearance of Queen Izrina of the Wisties.
• Star Tours (1987) - When Disney and Lucasfilm joined forces for the Star Tours ride, Lucasfilm suggested that certain characters be included in the Safety Guide video before the ride began. However, an Ewok costume from An Ewok Adventure (opposed to another Ewok costume from Return of the Jedi) and Teek were included in the instructional short.^{[citation needed]}
• Tyrant's Test (1996) - According to the official continuity of Star Wars Legends, the character of Cindel Towani went on to appear in Tyrant's Test, the third book of Michael P. Kube-McDowell'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. During the Yevethan crisis, Cindel received the so-called Plat Mallar 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 and it worked. The Expanded Universe timeline states Cindel decided to join the New Republic and go into journalism after witnessing the Battle of Endor.
• The Illustrated Star Wars Universe (1997) by Kevin J. Anderson explains the origins of Charal the witch who kidnaps Cindel in The Battle for Endor in relation to The Courtship of Princess Leia, in that it reveals that she was once one of the Nightsisters, a dark side force-using sect of witches from the planet Dathomir.
• HoloNet issue #49 (2002) was an issue of the in-universe news report. In the 'regional' section of this issue, the article 'Moddell Starship Search Abandoned', explains that the search has been called off for the rescue of Salek Weet and Noa Briqualon, which had been funded by Salek's father, Jimke Weet. The search was said to have been called off due to the fact that Jimke had to file bankruptcy due to his expenses in the search.
• Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (2003) is a MMORPG. In the game, when exploring the forest moon of Endor, the player can run across the base of the Sanyassan Marauders, who were originally seen in The Battle for Endor.
• Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds (2004) was a sourcebook for the Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. In it, Terak's son Zakul takes over rule of his Marauders after Terak's death. The book gives Terak's bio and stats. It explains his death, and the rise of his son, Zakul.

Adaptations[edit]

In 1986, Random House published a children's book adaptation of The Battle for Endor called The Ring, the Witch, and the Crystal: An Ewok Adventure. The book was written by Cathy East Dubowski, and utilized the film's story and images from the film.

Release[edit]

Ewoks: The Battle for Endor initially premiered as an ABC TV special on November 24, 1985. It was released theatrically in the UK as a limited run in the Spring of 1986. After the run had disappeared due to low box office receipts, it appeared on home video in late 1987 on MGM/UA and re-issued for retail in 1988 and 1990. The US later released on VHS and Laserdisc in 1990 through MGM/UA Home Video.

The film was released on DVD with its predecessor as a double feature collection entitled Star Wars: Ewok Adventures on November 23, 2004 via 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. One film was on each side of a single double-sided disc, with no bonus material.

In January 2019, Disney and Lucasfilm released the film on Amazon's Prime Video service. It is available to rent and buy in Standard Definition.^[8]

Reception[edit]

At the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor and the CBS documentary Dinosaur! were both juried-awarded Emmys for Outstanding Special Visual Effects.^[9] The film additionally received two nominations for Outstanding Children's Program and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Special.^[10][11]

In his review for The New York Times John Corry faulted the production's source of inspiration, saying 'The problem with Ewoks: The Battle for Endor isn't that it's badly done; on the contrary, it's wonderfully well done. But when it's over it's over, and there is no residue. Mr. Lucas and his colleagues find their inspiration in their own technology, and there should be other places to look.'^[12]

Pointing to the main characters and plot elements, one pair of writers concluded that both Battle of Endor and its predecessor Caravan of Courage 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 'utopian' 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, it adhered more towards science fiction.^[13] Another author agreed that the films are fairy tales, whereas 'Science explains all magic.'^[14]

Endor Star Wars Wiki

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^Chee, Leland (Tasty Taste) (June 14, 2006). 'Star Wars: Message Boards: Books, Comics, & Television VIPs'. StarWars.com. Archived from the original on 2007-03-05. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
2. ^Anderson, Kevin J. (1995). The Illustrated Star Wars Universe. New York: Bantam Books. pp. 115, 132–33. ISBN0-553-09302-9.
3. ^Alter, Ethan (December 15, 2015). 'Star Wars: How the Ewoks Came to TV 31 Years Ago'. Yahoo!. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
4. ^Robb, Brian J. (2012). Star Wars : the unauthorised inside story of George Lucas's epic. London: Robinson. ISBN1780333994.
5. ^'Battle for Endor Writer Interview'. TheForce.Net. February 11, 2000. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
6. ^Robb, Brian J. (2012). A Brief Guide to Star Wars. Little, Brown Book Group. p. 84. ISBN9781780335834.
7. ^Osborne, Jerry (2010). Movie/TV Soundtracks and Original Cast Recordings Price and Reference Guide. Port Townsend, Washington: Osborne Enterprises Publishing. p. 175. ISBN0932117376.
8. ^https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LFKG96J/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_dp_M8hyCb3CCP0R9_nodl
9. ^Leverence, John. 'Outstanding Special Visual Effects — 1986'. 38th Primetime Emmy Awards, September 21, 1986. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
10. ^'Outstanding Children's Program — 1986'. 38th Primetime Emmy Awards, September 21, 1986. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
11. ^'Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Special — 1986'. 38th Primetime Emmy Awards, September 21, 1986. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
12. ^Corry, John (November 24, 1985). 'New Shows For Children: Should We Expect More?'. The New York Times (Vol. 135, No. 46, 603). The New York Times Company. p. H29. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
13. ^Douglas Brode; Leah Deyneka (14 June 2012). Myth, Media, and Culture in Star Wars: An Anthology. Scarecrow Press. pp. 130–131. ISBN978-0-8108-8513-4.
14. ^Charles, Eric (2012). 'The Jedi Network: Star Wars' Portrayal and Inspirations on the Small Screen'. In Brode, Douglas; Deyneka, Leah (eds.). Myth, Media, and Culture in Star Wars: An Anthology. Scarecrow Press. pp. 129–131. ISBN978-0-810-88513-4. Retrieved May 20, 2016.

General sources[edit]

• Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, 2004 DVD release
• Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, 2004 DVD Release
• Return of the Jedi, 1983, Richard Marquand
• The Illustrated Star Wars Universe, 1st edition, 1997. Kevin J. Anderson, ISBN0-553-37484-2
• The Courtship of Princess Leia (Star Wars), 1st edition, 1994. Dave Wolverton, ISBN0-553-08928-5
• Return of the Ewok, 1982, David Tomblin
• Tyrant's Test, (Book 3 of The Black Fleet Crisis), first paperback printing, 1996. Michael P. Kube-McDowell, ISBN0-553-57275-X
• The Essential guide to Characters (Star Wars), 1st edition, 1995. Andy Mangels, ISBN0-345-39535-2
• Endor and the Moddell Sector, article from Star Wars Gamer magazine, Issue #9
• HoloNet News #49

Battle Of Endor Mod

External links[edit]

Battle Of Endor Game

• Ewoks: The Battle for Endor on IMDb
• Ewoks: The Battle for Endor at AllMovie
• Ewoks: The Battle for Endor on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki
• Ewok Adventures on WayBack (Internet Archive)

Official sites[edit]

Reviews[edit]

Battle Of Endor Wiki

• 'My first Star Wars? An 'Ewoks' film, and I was hooked anyway'. Nick Hide. cent.com.
• 'Before there was a new Star Wars film every year, there were the Ewok TV movies'. Marcus Gilmer. Mashable.