The Caravan of Courage is a family television movie with Ewoks, a family, and some magical adventure! Set the Way Back Machine to 1983, a tremendous finish to the trilogy, Return of the Jedi, that really shaped the lives of every Star Warrior! There were no plans after that movie, no Prequels, and then suddenly on tv no less there was The Ewok Adventure! Internationally, the title was Caravan of Courage for a theatrical run which it seems made its way to the home video presentation. It was six years from the Star Wars Holiday Special, but this one, everyone knew from the credits featured a story by George Lucas! In terms of canon, usually it is dependent on Lucas’ involvement, he crafted the story, but this story, pre-RoTJ, is contradictory enough that it is not canon. What I consider canon is the lifestyle of the Ewoks that wasn’t seen in Jedi; their eating habits, fruits and vegetables, more of their language, and family life. It is directed by John Korty who co-wrote and directed the animated movie, Twice Upon a Time (1983) produced by George Lucas. The screenplay is by Bob Carrau, his first project, he would write some episodes of the Ewoks animated series.
It begins with the night sky of the Forest Moon of Endor, above it is another moon, this would be used to form the Second Death Star. A beautiful matte shot. The narration is Burl Ives, a gentle, grandfatherly voice, he is also known for voicing Sam the Snowman and singing in the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964). Unfortunately, Ives died in 1995. It’s a misty forest with an illuminator, flashlight, which has the atmosphere of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) from the previous year. These are two parents calling out for their children, Cindel and Mace. This is Jeremitt (Guy Boyd) and Catarine (Fionnula Flanagan) Towani. Boyd was known as Major Percy Descoine in the mystery series, Remington Steele. Flanagan was in How the West Was Won playing Molly Culhane. They reach the crashed family starcruiser. Catarine fears they went for the transmitter, but worries about them. They worry if their kids have their life monitors. Out of the mist comes a gigantic and monstrous form! It is hairy and carries a massive stone axe. The giant roars and then we fade to black!
This shifts to the Ewoks with father, Deej (Daniel Frishman), using a horn to call his lost sons. Frishman played an Ewok in Return of the Jedi, unclear if he played Deej in it. Deej is Ewokese for “father.” His wife, Shodu (Pam Grizz), is there carrying the infant daughter, Winda. Grizz also played an Ewok in Jedi. Of course, Shodu is “mother” in Ewokese. Deej’s youngest son, Wicket (Warwick Davis) is playing on a rope swing next to a pony. Davis’ first part was playing Wicket in RoTJ and later as the lead in Willow (1988). On a hillside, Deej is preparing a skin glider, as Wicket comes to play. A goat gnaws at the rope securing the glider and Wicket accidentally falls on it. Deej is launched into the sky! He sees a flashing light in the trees. The skin glider passes his two sons, Weechee (Debbie Lee Carrington) and Windel (Tony Cox), on a cliff face. Carrington played Romba Ewok in RoTJ and is well known for playing Thumberlina in Total Recall (1990). Cox also played an Ewok in Jedi and played Private Zedht in a 1981 episode of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Windel was one of the Ewoks that entered the scout walker with Chewbacca in RoTJ. They are fighting with each other.
This shifts to the Ewoks with father, Deej (Daniel Frishman), using a horn to call his lost sons. Frishman played an Ewok in Return of the Jedi, unclear if he played Deej in it. Deej is Ewokese for “father.” His wife, Shodu (Pam Grizz), is there carrying the infant daughter, Winda. Grizz also played an Ewok in Jedi. Of course, Shodu is “mother” in Ewokese. Deej’s youngest son, Wicket (Warwick Davis) is playing on a rope swing next to a pony. Davis’ first part was playing Wicket in RoTJ and later as the lead in Willow (1988). Wicket is of course enduring and innocent as a young Ewok. On a hillside, Deej is preparing a skin glider, as Wicket comes to play. A goat gnaws at the rope securing the glider and Wicket accidentally falls on it. Deej is launched into the sky! He sees a flashing light in the trees. The skin glider passes his two sons, Weechee (Debbie Lee Carrington) and Windel (Tony Cox), on a cliff face. Carrington played Romba Ewok in RoTJ and is well known for playing Thumberlina in Total Recall (1990). Cox also played an Ewok in Jedi and played Private Zedht in a 1981 episode of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Windel was one of the Ewoks that entered the scout walker with Chewbacca in RoTJ. They are fighting with each other.
Deej calls out their names and tosses them some rope. It is helpful to have a narrator since most of the dialogue is in Ewokese for several minutes unlike the Holiday Special. They start to climb down, but the unsecure rope snaps and oldest son, Weechee, falls onto his brother. Deej leads his sons into the forest to check on the object. They find the crashed starcruiser. Widdle stands guard as Deej and Weechee enter the starcruiser. They hear coughing and movement from a container. Deej opens the container and has his knife, he finds a young girl, (Aubree Miller). Deej reassuringly takes Cindel from the container. Widdle is suddenly captured by a taller youth with a blaster! How this person is able to sneak up on an Ewok on guard is beyond me. Windel is brought in to the starcruiser with her captor, Mace Towani (Eric Walker) who fires his blaster! Walker was later in the drama Less Than Zero (1987). Mace is brash like Anakin, but gains humility and respect for the Ewoks, maybe Anakin needed some Ewoks. Widdle rolls and knocks down Mace with the brothers piling on him. Mace is bound which we know from RoTJ and taken to the family hut.
Wicket sees Cindel and of course we get the contradiction. He seemed to be surprised by Leia in Jedi, but would be familiar with humans if this story takes place before RoTJ. Cindel and Wicket make fast friends. He takes her inside his family’s hut and Mace is brought in by the Ewok brothers. Mace sees that Cindel is sick and tries to gesture for food to the Ewok family. Cindel collapses and Mace takes her to a cot. Shodu shows Mace a leaf of medicine which he gives to his sister. This helps her to recover. The next morning, Cindel is still sick, and Mace asks for more medicine. Deej has Mace go to get more of the medicine from a special tree with his sons. They tap into tree to get the medicine. Mace’s attention is drawn by a furry creature in a tree. He reaches out and his arm is pulled into the tree! The creature is identifed as a Temptor. Mace calls out for help and Deej strikes the tree with a branch. A recovered Cindel tries to talk with Wicket and he picks up her words. Mace says he wants them to leave once he gets his blaster. At night, a large, wolf-like beast growls at the moon. Mace takes his blaster and sneaks with Cindel into the forest. He makes a fire and admits that he should have acted better with their parents.
Suddenly, they hear a massive beast, identified as a boar-wolf, hunting them. Mace tries to drive it off with his blaster and they manage to sneak into a gap in a tree. The boar-wolf claws at the tree. They fall asleep and then the morning has the Ewoks tossed at the tree trying to attack the beast. Absolute fun with the Phill Tippet animation right out of Ray Harryhausen! Wicket hits it with a blowdart and the boar-wolf collapses trying to chase after Deej. Mace finds the life monitor of their parents. Wicket points out that it came from Gorax, it’s master. They go to the Ewok village in the trees to consult with the shaman, Logray (Bobby Bell). He is another character from RoTJ. Images appear of the parents in a crystal image spinner and also the Gorax. There is a tender moment where Shodu cries and is consoled by Deej. In the morning, the Ewok family readies for the trip. The Caravan of Courage is joined by the woodsman and warrior Chukha-Trok (Kevin Thompson) and the shaman Kaink (Margarita Farrell). Thompson was Bear in Blade Runner (1982) and also played an Ewok in Jedi. Farrell was also in RoTJ as an Ewok. They have to brave the dangers of the moon of Endor to travel to the mountain of Gorax. The movie pre-dates Willow with some magical encounters and has shades of the fantasy Krull (1983). It has a gentle pace, but features some first rate visual effects by ILM, and production design by Joe Johnston. The Caravan of Courage is a family movie that has some original SW characters, more Ewoks, and a bit of magic! Gunda!
Four Life Monitors out of Five!
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