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Chewbacca

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Template:Star Wars character Chewbacca (or Chewie) is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. In terms of the series' narrative chronology, he appears in the films Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. He was portrayed in all four films by British actor Peter Mayhew, wearing a suit; the voice was composed of recordings of different animals, mixed together.

A towering Wookiee (he stands 7 feet 4 3/4 inches (2.28 meters) tall), he is best known as the co-pilot of Han Solo's ship, the Millennium Falcon in the original Star Wars trilogy. Chewie is a beast who goes "ghwaaah!"

Appearances

Films

In Episode III, Chewbacca, along with Tarfful, fights in the Clone Wars when their planet, Kashyyyk, is invaded. They also help to get Jedi Master Yoda to safety, Chewbacca using his traditional weapon, the Bowcaster.

In Episode IV, Chewbacca and Han Solo accept a charter to take Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 to the planet Alderaan. When they find that the planet has been destroyed by the Death Star, however, the two mercenaries are drawn into the Rebel Alliance. In Episodes V and VI, they become important figures in the Alliance, and eventually help the Rebels defeat the Galactic Empire.

The Expanded Universe

The 1978 television program The Star Wars Holiday Special introduces Chewbacca's family: Mallatobuck, Attichitcuk, and Lumpawarrump. They live together on Kashyyyk. His family also appears in some Star Wars books, most notably The Wookiee Storybook, The Black Fleet Crisis trilogy by Michael P. Kube-McDowell, and The Hutt Gambit and Rebel Dawn by A. C. Crispin. The latter also introduces other family members, including a sister named Kallabow and cousins named Dryanta and Jowdrrl. The Star Wars Holiday Special was filmed with a low budget, and consisted of a frame story in which Han and Chewbacca must prevent Darth Vader from spoiling Life Day, and get home to be with Chewbacca's family.

Due to the low-budget nature of the Holiday Special (due to inexperienced writers (and Lucas' remaining creatively 'hands-off'), the Special ended up being nothing more than a tacky variety show/sitcom), it was stricken from Star Wars canon by George Lucas, and only ever aired once.

Although Chewbacca notably was not awarded a medal with the other heroes at the end of A New Hope, in 1981 Marvel Comics published Marvel Illustrated Books Star Wars 1, which includes an alternate version of the same scene in which he does receive one, and which is currently officially part of the canon of the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

The novel The Hutt Gambit explains that Chewbacca and Solo first meet when Solo, a lieutenant in the Imperial Navy, finds him unconscious aboard a slave ship. Solo's commanding officer orders him to skin Chewbacca, but Solo refuses and rescues the helpless prisoner. Upon regaining consciousness, Chewbacca swears a "life-debt" to Solo, and the two become business partners and best friends.

In Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, Chewbacca appears briefly at the Mos Eisley spaceport as an NPC, assisting Jaden Korr in disabling the tractor beams holding both the Millennium Falcon and the Raven's Claw captive.

In the book Heirs of the Force, part of the Young Jedi Knights series, Chewbacca has a nephew named Lowbacca who goes to the Jedi Academy.

Death

The 1999 novel Vector Prime by R. A. Salvatore (the first in the New Jedi Order series) marks Chewbacca's final (chronological) appearance in the Star Wars universe. Chewbacca sacrifices his own life to save that of Han's son Anakin from a collision between the planet Sernpidal and one of its moons. Afterward, the other core Star Wars characters are emotionally crushed by the loss, and Solo sinks into alcoholism and depression.

Lumpawaroo and Lowbacca offer to assume Chewbacca's life debt to Solo. Despite Han's initial protests throughout the series, Han finally relents at the end of the New Jedi Order series.

Lucasfilm followed Vector Prime with a four-issue comic book titled Star Wars: Chewbacca, in which C-3PO and R2-D2 travel the galaxy to collect the stories of beings who knew or met the Wookiee, and the full scope of his life and adventures is finally revealed. News of Chewbacca's death was misconstrued as the death of Peter Mayhew, and his close friends called to ask if he was all right.

Production

George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars films, initially based the character of Chewbacca on his pet Alaskan Malamute, Indiana (Lucas would later give the name of his dog to the character Indiana Jones). In the films he was portrayed by actor Peter Mayhew, who was chosen due to his height (7'3" at the time of filming). During the filming of the original three films, and the holiday special, Mayhew wore numerous identical suits, all made of a combination of yak hair and mohair. For production of Revenge of the Sith, the suit was made of more modern and comfortable materials, although this additional comfort was mostly unnecessary because Mayhew's filming only lasted for a day. Chewbacca's voice was created by the original films' sound designer, Ben Burtt, from a mix of recordings of walruses, camels, bears and badgers in Burtt's personal library. The individual recordings were mixed at different ratios for Chewbacca's different utterances. One of the most prominent elements in the voice was a black bear from Happy Hollow Zoo in San Jose, California named Tarik.

Reception

Chewbacca is one of the few fictional characters to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the MTV Movie Awards. Furthermore, since fans complained that he should have received a medal with Luke and Han at the end of A New Hope, the award was presented as a medal and bestowed by Carrie Fisher. Peter Mayhew has voiced this concern as well, but is also quick to note that Chewbacca does get the last line in the film as compensation.

See also

References

  1. Winters, Rebecca (2003-05-05). "Wookiee Who's Back". Time.
  2. Mangels, Andy (November 1995). "Chewbacca". Star Wars: the Essential Guide to Characters (1st edition ed.). p. 30. ISBN 0-345-39535-2. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
  3. Sansweet, Stephen J. (1998-06-30). The Star Wars Encyclopedia (1st edition ed.). Del Rey. ISBN 0-345-40227-8. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
  4. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
  5. Star Wars Episode IV
  6. Star Wars Episodes V & VI
  7. Berman, John (2007-12-20). "Holiday Specials Gone Bad; The 'Star Wars Holiday Special' Flop Lives On". ABC News. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  8. Hutt Gambit
  9. Jedi Academy
  10. http://www.diggstars.com/1-17-3655/video/YOUthoZNzFs/Peter_Mayhew_videos.html
  11. The Characters of Star Wars Star Wars Original Trilogy DVD Box Set: Bonus Materials
  12. Star Wars Databank | Chewbacca: Behind the Scenes

External links

Template:Episode III Template:Episode IV Template:Episode V Template:Episode VI

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