Customer Reviews

Ewoks - The Battle for Endor [VHS]

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Back in the late 90's when the Special Editions of the Star Wars movies came out both of Ewok movies and the two videos from the cartoon series Droid and Ewoks were re-released. Both were out of print for over ten years and quickly after their re-release went out of print again (you can find the Droids and Ewoks cartoons here at amazon though dvd's would be great). I've grown up with the Star Wars saga and one of the first movies I ever saw in the theater was Return Of The Jedi (I actually saw it twice and I was around 5 years old at the time). I actually still have the taped versions of the two Ewok movies from their original arings on t.v. back in the mid 80's, which are two of the most cherrish items in my huge collection of Star Wars memorobillia but sadly like my old Star Wars figures the two videos have seen better days but it's nice to look back at the old commercials from those days, which takes me back to my childhood even more. I'd love for both Ewok films to be re-released onto video (in the clamshell packaging like it came in back in the late 90's) and especially dvd. I know both were made for t.v. movies and most of the time those aren't in high demand but this is Star Wars releated and of course anything related to Star Wars sells. Basically everthing else has been updated or re-released from the Star Wars universe (except for the first 3 movies on dvd, which of course will come out in 2006 but those films have been re-released many times on video). It's sad that the two Ewok movies haven't gotten their fair shake. I know there are alot of Ewok haters out there but there are also alot of fans and even if you're not a fan of the Ewoks you'll pick this up if ever re-released because you're a fan of Star Wars.
RE-RELEASE THE TWO EWOK MOVIES!!!!

When I was a boy, I remember reading about this movie in a magazine. My mom told me I could watch half of it & go to bed. I opted to watch the 1st half...& fell in love. I don't get why people hate Ewoks...Endor & Coruscant are my favorite planets. I'm kind of tired of Tatooine. Between the TV movies & cartoons, the most action happened on Endor. This should be the most popular planet in the saga. Bottom line...see this movie! The Ewoks rule.

Back in the late 90's when the Special Editions of the Star Wars movies came out both of Ewok movies and the two videos from the cartoon series Droid and Ewoks were re-released. Both were out of print for over ten years and quickly after their re-release went out of print again (you can find the Droids and Ewoks cartoons here at amazon though dvd's would be great). ... I'd love for both Ewok films to be re-released onto video (in the clamshell packaging like it came in back in the late 90's) and especially dvd. I know both were made for t.v. movies and most of the time those aren't in high demand but this is Star Wars releated and of course anything related to Star Wars sells. Basically everthing else has been updated or re-released from the Star Wars universe ...It's sad that the two Ewok movies haven't gotten their fair shake. I know there are alot of Ewok haters out there but there are also alot of fans and even if you're not a fan of the Ewoks you'll pick this up if ever re-released because you're a fan of Star Wars.
RE-RELEASE THE TWO EWOK MOVIES!!!!

I watched this movie because my cousin was hooked on it when I was 6 years old, and now that I'm 28 it still has the same charm and cuteness that it always has. The characters are very cute in the movie and I think it is a great movie for kids maybe 5 or 6 and above to watch, it does have some rather creepy looking characters in it that may freak smaller kids out. But even as an adult I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!

I've been a fan of Star Wars since before I was born(No, really. My mother took my brother and sister to see it in the theater in summer of '77 when she was pregnant with me, and I swear it was subliminally driven into my psyche as a fetus!), and I loved the ewok movies. I have both VHS releases and am anxiously waiting for Mr. George "Emperor Of All Things Star Wars" Lucas to get off his @$$ and release these under-rated and underappreciated film gems on the ultimate home entertainment format, DVD!

I watched this movie as a child and to this day I recollect upon my favorite childhood movie. I've searched literally for YEARS to try and find this movie! It's absolutely perfect for young children and quite enjoyable for adults! BATTLE FOR ENDOR is a movie I always look forward to watching. It's hilarious, adventurous, mesmerizing and unforgettable!! I consider BATTLE FOR ENDOR much better than the first EWOK movie. This is definitely a movie that you will cherish for a lifetime!

I used to love this movie, and still do -- and I'm 22! :) With a combination of action and heart, this movie is surprisingly moving.

I still have nightmares about that evil Terak though! :)

I can't wait 'til this comes out on DVD!

Go buy it if you want your children to see nice, family safe movies. Heck, buy it for yourself -- this movie is a real treat, with really cute characters, like Teek (one of my favorite film creatures of all time) and Wicket, the lovable furry little Ewok. I've never understood why my fellow Star Wars fans hate the Ewoks...maybe I just haven't outgrown them quite yet.

Anyways, get this movie, or rent it, if you can find it; it will provide plenty of thrills, chills, and tears -- not to mention loads of laughs. "Ewoks: The Battle for Endor" delivers enough of everything to satisfy all kinds of movie buffs.

(And for an extra bonus, what better film to hear Wilford Brimley use a *questionable* four-letter word!)

Fun, exciting and full of adventure! The second ewoks movie is better than the star wars prequels!Yubnub!!

As I have frantically searched the net for a copy of this brilliant film I have noticed something that is just horrible. An aparent fan hatred for the fuzziest inhabitants of a small moon, in this or any other galaxy far far away. What's wrong with the Ewoks? When I saw Jedi all those many years ago, it made me laugh when Wickett apeared and toyed with Princess Leia's helmet. And I, as any honest lover of the series, have to admit that when they fell in battle, I shed a few tears of grief. Granted, The Ewok Adventure was a monstosity of epic proportions (remember that horrible giant spider?), but the Battle for Endor is an endearing piece of child film. To say that you didn't love this movie is to say you found all the Star Wars movies rediculous, heck, you had to hate Willow, too. This is a film in the Great Lucas tradition that I think more people should see. I say we all start writing to Mr. Lucas and the folks at MGM (who own the rights) and ask for a special edition DVD. I'm sure none of them would mind cashing in on the recent success of the frandchise and we could all have our very own copy of a piece of our childhood. A great piece.

I'm going to do my best to review this movie based on the perspective of a casual moviegoer. I found it in a bargain bin when I was young, and it looked cute, so I watched it. I remember enjoying it somewhat, though I was a little upset that it had absolutely nothing to do with established Star Wars canon, didn't even mention the force, and had no noticable actors from the previous films except the ewoks. At the time, I didn't even realize that there had been another Ewoks movie. As of now, though, I've seen both, though I found this one more memorable.

In this movie, a young girl named Cindal is friends with the ewoks on Endor; at least until some alien monsters closely resembling orcs show up and kill her family. The deaths aren't graphic, but they do happen, and they add an element of tragedy and seriousness to the film right from the start, as she and the ewok named Wicket try to escape from the clutches of the orcs and their leader. The orc leader's name is apparently Terak, according to the back of the video box, but it always sounds a little like Turok when other characters say it.

Terak is out to find a new source of power with which to do bad and evil things, apparently. Supporting him in this quest are an army of orcs armed with blasters, and a dark witch, who, again, according to the box, is apparently named Charal, though I never heard her name spoken aloud in the film.

It was to get this power that Terak killed Cindal's family, and yet, once he has it, he doesn't know what to do with it, quickly deduces that Cindal might know, realizes she's missing, and sends his evil minions out to search for her.

Out in the wild, Cindal and the ewok Wicket are met by a speedy little critter named Teek, who leads them to a house owned by Wilford Brimley, who plays the surprising role of a grouchy, but basically nice old guy in this film. He's apparently named Noa in the story being proposed by the film.

At first, Wilford wants Cindal and Wicket to leave, but quickly warms up to them, participating in some of the most time-honored relationship cliches in all of film, and when Cindal is kidnapped multiple times later on, Wilford predictably leads the rescue missions. Ultimately, he and Cindal succeed in restoring power to his space ship by the end of the movie. I don't feel I'm giving too much away when I say all this, because once you realize what kind of movie this is, you'll see all the plot points coming for miles too.

Much of the acting in this film is pretty terrible, the movie has a nasty habit of not explaining its own plot points thoroughly enough, and the villains and heroes alike are just about as shallow and transparent as they come.

Really, though, it comes down to a couple of big questions. First, is this a worthy successor to the Star Wars movies? No. Is this even a good movie? Not really. However, and I say this without hesitation, there are much worse movies out there.

For one thing, this film is unpretentious in the extreme. At no point does it claim to be Star Wars, or indeed, to have anything to do with Star Wars, despite the insertion of ewoks, Endor and blaster weapons. It doesn't even really try to be like Star Wars; it's just trying to tell its own kind of story in its own kind of world, and honestly, there's just something charming about that.

The movie succumbs to a lot of cliches, and most of the characters are right off the shelf. Cindal is a damsel in distress (sort of,) Wilford is an grouchy but nice curmudgeon, Terak is a pure evil, power-hungry villain, Charal is his much more intelligent henchman with a bag of tricks, and so forth. We've all seen these character archetypes before, in better and worse movies, done better and worse.

However, some of the scenes between Wilford and Cindal, as cliched as they are, can be just a little charming, and the way that Wicket and Cindal escape from various dangers during the early parts of the film actually seemed fairly well thought-out.

Even at its worst, this film can be pretty exciting, and the mushy way it presents its main protagonists is perfectly acceptable to younger kids, provided they don't find the mild violence and blaster fire too disturbing.

Even to older viewers, like myself, certain things about this film are enjoyable to watch, and I honestly found the ewoks themselves much less grating than they were in Return of the Jedi; maybe because this film takes itself less seriously. On top of that, some of their escapes from danger were devised fairly cleverly.

I certainly can't mistake this for a good movie in any sense, but it didn't hurt me the way most bad movies do, and I think that the main reason for that may be that this movie at least tries to be fun, and make you laugh, and although it doesn't completely succeed, it doesn't fail uncomfortably either. There's just something endearing about the way they try to use all the old cliches, and yet, have some fun with them along the way.

I did notice just how silly and condescending this movie was throughout, but frankly, I can't give it less than three stars. It wasn't catastrophically bad, like Biodome or an MST3K feature, nor was it entirely devoid of fun or adventures, like most truly poor movies. They tried to come up with a story for this, and it didn't really work out all that well, but... They tried, and as I said, it wasn't all that terrible.

That having been said, if you don't already own this movie, I don't recommend going out of your way to purchase it. It's not really any less violent than Star Wars, which was an overall better movie in all respects, and there are many other, better movies you could be watching. However, if you should happen to pick this film out of a bargain bin for five to seven bucks, the way I did, you may not feel completely ripped off by the time the day's over.