Die Ewoks

Right after the success of the Star Wars trilogy- Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of The Jedi, amid the 80s cartoon phenomenon, two back to back cartoon spin-offs of Star Wars was released and shown on TV on the back of this franchise- the first being Droids starring the duo of android C3PO, and R2 D2 and this, Ewoks, after their initial appearance in Return of The Jedi.

Whereas in the film, the Ewoks are portrayed as being cute and cuddly, they also couldn't speak in actual English dialogue and so for us audiences it was impossible to translate and make out what they were saying, apart from the characters in Return of the Jedi. Here in the cartoon series, they can talk properly and whilst some may argue that this is just too cutesy to be taken seriously as a cartoon, Ewoks was an interesting-yet likable and inventive show.

The furry creatures all have a range of different personality and character traits, not to mention that appearance-wise, each one was different from the other Ewok.

What this show has successfully done is manage to turn the Ewoks- of whom were non-communicative via dialogue terms- into a bunch of talkative and expressive, peace-loving species with human feelings and emotions. The stories were diverse and cute, not to mention entertaining as well. The show also had two theme songs- the first was just horrid, whilst the second was simple-yet a massive improvement over the first.

In all, Ewoks is a great little cartoon series that the whole family can enjoy. It might not be to every Star Wars fan's tastes- depending on how much you love or loathe them especially in Return of the Jedi, but for those who wish to see a completely different, and may I add superior side and treatment to the Ewoks, then you might want to give this a try.

Personally, I liked it and preferred this more to Droids, even though that was a good effort as well

Like Droids, Ewoks is very of the time, it's cheesy and always ends with a "Saturday morning cartoon lesson punchline".

For collectors the spin off toy range is amazing, and there are some great additional toys if you can afford them!

It's certainly not " holiday special " and there's plenty to enjoy in a Star Wars-lite way. The animation hasn't aged particularly well but is a bit better and certainly cuter than Droids, again, gives it that nostalgic kitch feeling, and whilst not canon, it's not 100% non canon either really... More "Lego" style side hustle, where it's all to be taken with a pinch of lols, and just enjoy it as a bit of fun.

Many star wars fans do not like the Ewoks, but I have yet to understand why. I think they are great and I wish I owned one of the stuffed animals. This TV series of the furry creatures was fun to watch. I work at a video store and I put in the episodes we have on tape. The kids just love it. It's a lot like the Smurfs. Hey, anything Star Wars is the best.

Ewoks is perhaps one of the best Star Wars spin-offs.

Rather than focusing on interplanetary politics or Jedi superpowers, Ewoks is a great adventure series set around the relatively primative furry creatures we first met in Return of the Jedi.

Each episode tends to tell the tale of a completely new problem for the Ewoks to overcome. There are recurring antagonists, of course, but the nature of the show is possibly best described by comparing it to other, similar cartoons. Immediate comparisons that spring to mind are Thundercats, Gummi Bears and Masters of the Universe.

Magic, adventure with a sprinkling of swashbuckling, bizarre creatures, and thoughtful, kind and wholesome heroes is what you'll find in an episode of Ewoks.

Good stuff.

This and "Droids" are both good cartoons for kids. I enjoyed them growing up & while I am glad they released something of them on DVD, I am a little disappointed that Lucasfilm did not just release a box set of the complete series. I think trying to make them into "features" by editing 4 episodes together is a big mistake. It's a lot harder to pop 1 in for 30 minutes. Personally I miss that the original goofy opening is not available (even as a special feature) on the DVD.

However it is still nice to finally have something of them available to show the kids. The best thing about these cartoons is that they are targeted for the younger kids, and every episode centers around some character trait like responsibility, making new friends, etc. They concentrate on what character development would be for a 5 to 10 year old, and they keep violent confrontations to a minimum, even when the Ewoks are challenged by the witch or the Duloks.

While I remember the second season of Ewoks being far less enjoyable than the first, it is still 1000 times better than the drivel served up by the likes of today's after school mainstays: Pokemon & yu-gi-oh. It seems every kid show these days is trying to sell junky cards or is targeted for older teens. There are very few real kid shows (like this one) available.

I WISH Lucasfilm would release a real box set of this series while my kids are still young enough to enjoy them.