I Watched The 'Star Wars Holiday Special' So You Don't Have To (But Totally Should)
Image Source: YouTube
With the holiday season comes holiday movies. Everyone always has their favorites and gotos that are must-watches every year, including ones that may not be so good. One of these films is the Star Wars Holiday Special. I have written about the special before, but after watching it again this year, I can see why people enjoy it, even if it is a bit terrifying.
The movie starts with Chewbacca’s family getting ready to celebrate Life Day on his home planet, Kashyyyk. Life Day has since been canonized into the Star Wars universe, and even though Lucasfilm hates to admit the existence of the special, they will acknowledge Life Day every year. Chewbacca is headed home to celebrate, accompanied by Han Solo. On their way, they are chased by some Star Destroyers. Oh yeah, Chewbacca is married to a fellow wookie named Malla, and together, they have a son, Lumpy, who is pretty adorable. Eventually, the entire group makes their way to celebrate Life Day with Chewie and his family.
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Image Source: The Guardian
The craziest thing about the special is that this is the first time Boba Fett was introduced. This came out after A New Hope and before Empire Strikes Back, so the animated special within the special is that first-time audiences are introduced to the famous bounty hunter. He looks a bit different than what we’re familiar with. You can now just watch the animated special without having to witness the rest of the holiday special. It’s great that even though the holiday special was not good, at least an iconic character such as Boba Fett was able to successfully come out of it. This was also the first time that James Earl Jones was credited with being the voice of Darth Vader.
Now, don’t get me wrong, this movie is definitely uncanny valley at parts, but it’s also somewhat endearing. It’s cute to see these characters come together and take a break from fighting the Empire to celebrate a holiday. It’s not good by any means, but for some reason, I love watching this special around the holidays.
Another thing about the special is that the original cast all reprised their roles, but there were also some pretty big-name guest stars as well. Some of these guests include Bea Arthur (Maude/The Golden Girls), Art Carney (The Honeymooners), the entire band of The Jefferson Starship, Diahann Carroll (Dynasty), and Harvey Korman (The Carol Burnett Show). Kenny Baker, who played R2-D2 in the movies, was not involved in the special. Instead, R2 was controlled entirely by a radio-controlled unit.
Image Source: Collider
Would I recommend this for a Star Wars fan to watch if they’ve never seen it? Absolutely, but go into it knowing it’s not good. The characters you have grown to love are not the same as the ones you’re used to. It’s riddled with guest stars that all add something of their own to it. There are no official copies of it anywhere, so you may have to search the internet to find a copy of it. YouTube has it available, but the quality isn’t the best, which some may argue makes it even better. If you have never seen it, I would recommend watching it, as I feel like it’s something that every Star Wars fan should see once in their life.
The Star Wars Holiday Special is not good, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a fun time. Carrie Fisher asked George Lucas for a copy of it so she could put it on at the end of parties to get people to leave. This is a movie people would not stick around and watch, so maybe copy Carrie Fisher next time you want your guests to leave.
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