Continuing our countdown to The Mandalorian by exploring Lucasfilm’s early Star Wars TV efforts, we turn our attention to the first animated entries in the saga, Ewoks and Droids – The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO…
Following the ratings success of George Lucas’ first TV movie Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984), ABC secured the rights to two animated series based on the Star Wars universe – Ewoks and Star Wars: Droids – The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO. With their work on the ten-minute animated portion of CBS’ infamous 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special having impressed Lucas, Canadian company Nelvana Limited – who had recently found success as subcontractors to DiC on the popular children’s show Care Bears – were tasked with producing the cartoons on behalf of Lucasfilm.
Regular Nelvana directors Raymond Jafelice and Ken Stephenson – both of whom had extensive experience on Inspector Gadget – were brought in to oversee direction on Ewoks and Droids respectively, with Dale Schott (Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation) replacing Jafelice for the second season of Ewoks. A number of notable writers were hired to produce the scripts for Ewoks including Bob Carrau (The Ewok Adventure), Paul Dini and Michael Reaves (Batman: The Animated Series), and Linda Woolverton (Alice in Wonderland), while Peter Sauder (Inspector Gadget) handled scriptwriting duties on Droids along with Lucasfilm regulars Ben Burtt and Joe Johnston, who brought some much needed Star Wars pedigree to the project.
Having chosen to focus the shows on the Ewok and droid characters due to their popularity with children, the production team soon found themselves working to a number of restrictions including limited physical contact and use of weaponry, not to mention the inclusion of speeder seatbelts. This sort of moral regulation was common for the Saturday morning cartoons of the time and ABC – who rejected Paul Dini’s first story pitch concerning an Imperial pilot who crash lands on the forest moon and befriends the Ewoks as “too Star Warsy” – were clear on their target audience. Further problems occurred for the Korean animation team, who struggled with the human characters in Droids in addition to the sheer volume of cels needed for the high-quality animation.
The Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour premiered on September 7th 1985 at an estimated cost of $500,000 per hour and – despite the numerous restrictions – managed to deliver a number of entertaining storylines to keep the younger viewer (and withdrawn Star Wars aficionado) engaged. The first season ran for thirteen episodes throughout the latter part of 1985 before the decision was made to axe Droids in favour of a dedicated Ewoks half-hour (advertised as The All New Ewoks) that would adopt an even more child-friendly approach. Droids did make a final appearance as a special double-episode entitled The Great Heep that premiered on June 7th 1986, before the second season of Ewoks began airing later in September. However, this new shift in focus failed to engage viewers in a highly competitive, over-saturated marketplace and the show was failed to be renewed for a third season, ending after just twenty-six episodes.
While easily eclipsed by later animated entries in the saga, Ewoks and Droids was the last new material for Star Wars who suffered through the Dark Times of the mid-to-late 80s and for that reason still holds some nostalgic value to this day. Droids in particular featured numerous references to the Original Trilogy such as an appearance by fan-favourite Boba Fett and fellow bounty hunter IG-88, while a number of prequel elements including the planet Bogden, Boonta Race, and General Grievous’ Episode III wheel bike also stand as nods to the series. Unfortunately for Star Wars completionists, we’re yet to get a full release of either series, and with only sporadic home video releases on VHS along with two DVD compilations under the “Star Wars Animated Adventures” banner in 2004. Whether the series will ever see the light of day in full under Disney remains to be seen, but don’t be surprised if they remain locked away in the Lucasfilm vault next to the Holiday Special.
Gary Collinson
