Customer Reviews

Star Wars Ewok Adventures - Caravan of Courage / The Battle for Endor

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Reading through all these people bashing these movies has me shaking my head. Really what can you expect out of television movies about Ewoks? To criticize these movies as being too childish is like criticizing the smurfs for being blue.
These movies were made for kids and not the people like me who saw the original STAR WARS movies in the theater as a kid but are now in their 30s. Really though to be able to get two movies on DVD for about half the price of a tank of gas to me sounds like an okay deal. People really should lighten up and take into account the audience these TV movies were made for.
One bright spot in these movies are some quite ambitious special effects (for TV at least).

I have seen both of these movies a dozen times & I love them. Up until the Clone Wars cartoon, I refered to the Battle For Endor as the best non star wars star wars. I still enjoy them. I recommend getting them & enjoying them with the whole family. Putting them as a double feature is a great idea (is it too much to hope for commentaries or featurettes too?), but my only question is this... why no third one? It seems like a good idea & Cindel promised Wicket she'd return. I guess 20 years is a long time to wait for another one. Maybe if they let me write it... Anyway, great packaging & I can't wait for the 23rd. Wonderful movies!

Once, at a toy store, I saw this movie. I thought,"No. The ewoks just don't look right." But later,on Amazon, I decided to look it up, since I like the cute little ewoks so much. Mom got the movie for my birthday. I watched it very soon, but I didn't know the disk was double sided, so by accident I watched The Battle for Endor first. So watch the red side first. Although the movie does not seem like Star Wars, it wisks you off to the forest moon of Endor with some old friends, and some charming new acquaintences.The Caravan of Courage is not as good as The Battle of Endor because there is not as much Ewok fighting action. I cried a bit at some sad parts, and my kid brother got scared of the Gorax, a big hairy monster. But as a young lady, I think the Ewoks are so CUTE! I'm pleased that they made an Ewok movie for Ewok fans! Now for the suggestions. I would not suggest getting this movie for little kids that get upset when "Good Guys" die, or are afraid of scary masks or monsters(My brother hid in the kitchen). My Dad says,"It's not just corny, but it's 80s'corny!" But this is the cutest movie I have ever seen! If you like Ewoks, this movie is for you!

Not everyone was a fan of the teddy bear-like additions to the Star Wars universe George Lucas introduced us to in Return of the Jedi (1983), but if you were (as I was), then you were in luck! Not only did Ewok fans get an animated series based on the cuddly creatures, but two TV movies as well! Naturally, the most popular Ewok of all, young Wicket W. Warrick, was the star furball in both TV outings which told the story of the Towani family, four humans who had become stranded on the forest moon of Endor.

The first of these all-knew, live-action Ewok adventures (said to have taken place shortly before Return of the Jedi) was 1984's "Caravan of Courage," though it was better known in the U.S. as simply "The Ewok Adventure". In this first 96 minute film, a holiday charm is added to the originally late-November affair by the addition of Burl Ives as narrator. Perhaps this, along with having a story focused on a human family, was to avoid the troubles of the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special in which the Wookie language composed far too much of the dialogue. Anyway, in "Caravan of Courage," the two Towani children, a four-year-old girl named Cindel and her stubborn teenage brother Mace, find themselves in need of assistance when their parents disappear from the crash site of their family's starcruiser. Though Mace is reluctant to accept help the whole time, the selfless Ewoks form a questing party to retrieve the adults from the lair of the dreaded Gorax, a giant that is set on devouring the caged Towani parents. "Caravan of Courage" is a delightful film for the whole family, if you love Ewoks that is. It's a sweet, magical, and adventurous tale about family bonds, courage, faith, love, and unselfishness. Excellent for something different to watch around the holidays, and great for the Star Wars fan as new characters are introduced and we get to see (in both films) the last of old-school Star Wars visual effects.

A year after "Caravan of Courage" came the much darker "The Battle for Endor". In this narrator-free, more violent Ewok tale, Cindel soon finds herself to be the last Towani after a group of marauders attack the Ewok village searching for a mystical power source for their king. She and best friend Wicket escape from the hideous alien attackers and take up refuge with a crotchety old hermit named Noa (Wilford Brimley) and his fast-moving, furry friend, Teek. But, when the evil King Terak can't make use of the starcruiser power cell he stole from Cindel's family, he sends his witch Charal to capture the child.

Both Ewok films are excellent family features for children and Star Wars fans who are partial to Wicket and the other Ewoks. Just be aware that the second has more violence/death than the first, which has very little and makes it more meaningful. Fans of the Ewok battle antics in "Return of the Jedi" may be quite pleased to see similar action in "Battle for Endor." It's great to see these films released on DVD, and together no less. They are presented in fullscreen, and as far as I know, that is how they have always been. Unfortunately, there are no extras on the disc which is double-sided and oddly holds the second film on side A and the first on side B. Regardless, I highly recommend this classic double-feature DVD! Now, if only they'd release the complete animated series in season sets!

Much better than Star Wars Episode I and II.
This is a sweet and wonderful adventure for the whole family kids, adults, casual SW fans, light-hearted ewoks and hopeless romantics like me. It is not meant to be a Luke Skywalker epech action/adventure with a big budget set and wars across the universe and on a wide screen in 7.1 surround sound. I see it more as a light-hearted robinson curouso(spelled incorrctly of course) shipwreck on a primitive planet sort of adventure. Ewoks, ogres and witches and so forth are a kid's kind of thing and it is meant for you to forget about Star Wars and focus on Endor. The family of a young girl are killed by(not the Ewoks of course) some evil things and she has to go it alone(her brother is in the first adventure for a while) and of course Battle for Endor hero, Wicket himself, is the one who looks after her after that. Me and my bro watched this as kids too(jr high nerds really) and although my own recording of this is a thousand years old and no longer works, I still remember this and that is why I decided to look it up. Here. I am going to buy it now.

I can't bring myself to review this title based soley on whether or not I like Ewoks. If you don't, stay away and don't complain. If you do, you'll enjoy these classic 80s TV movies. As a kid, simply having a new story set in the STAR WARS universe was a big deal, and I remember enjoying these films. By today's standards they'll come off as pretty cheesy, with little of the great action sequences we've come to expect from the STAR WARS Trilogies. These movies will be perfect for kids or adults in their 20s in need of a little nostalgia. The production values were high at the time and result in two extremely kid-safe movies. It's hard to argue with the price tag, and if you've been dying to see Wilford Brimley do more than hock Quaker Oats, this is the double feature event you've been waiting for. Boys will like the first movie, girls will like the second, and many an adult will be irritated by both. I can't wait to see them again myself, but don't go into these movies expecting a STAR WARS experience because you won't get it. And I'm sorry, but in my humble opinion, a little more Wicket beats Carrie Fisher singing to the STAR WARS theme any day. I'm happy to have the Holiday Special floating around as a bootleg.

OK... so these movies aren't really comparable to the Star Wars Trilogies; they're not the same caliber or in the same league.
But they DO offer a lot of fun and excitement for kids. Hard-core Star Wars fans will probably come away from these feeling let-down. So, just don't come into it expecting too much! Remember, these were made-for-television movies, written for an audience of children in the 80's. When taken for what they are, these films are quite enjoyable. Just ask your kids!

Finally both classic TV shows on one great disc. Now the Ewok adventures can be enjoyed by a whole new clan of Star Wars fans. This single DVD has interactive menus and contains an entire feature on each side. (one note of correction, the liner notes indicates which side the movies are listed on, but on the actual DVD the movies are on opposite sides)

Special effects are decent, acting and script are as best as can be expected from a TV show made years ago, but c'mon it's a Lucas original story and it has...Ewoks in it!!!

This DVD makes a nice addition to any Star Wars collection.

I love children's movies, I love Ewoks, and I've been a huge Star Wars fan since it first appeared in 1977 when I was 6 (I saw it about 8 times in the theater with my dad). So I don't mind the 'kiddie' feel of these films or the subject; I know these movies are geared toward kids who love Ewoks, and in fact I watched them myself on TV when I was a kid.

I just got this double feature DVD and watched them again, and here's my take on them.

One thing not present in either movie is the big Ewok city in the trees. Was it out of their budget range? There was about an eighth of the number of Ewoks in these movies as in ROTJ. And they all apparently lived on the ground.

"Caravan of Courage" is okay. 3 stars. You can sort of believe the Ewoks could perhaps invoke some mystical powers because of their druidic culture. And the story is semi-believable. It has a couple of the other Ewoks from ROTJ besides just Wicket. It is chok full of scary creatures and scenes that could really frighten young children, though, so make sure your kids are mature enough for this. I'd say at least 7, preferably 8 yrs old.

"The Battle for Endor," however, is absolutely awful (though not as scary). 0 stars. Witches, castles, dungeons, horses, swords, magic, dragons, rocky plains, and a moat... on Endor?!? It's the wreckage from a collision between Star Wars and Dungeons & Dragons. It gave me a jolt kind of like if Frodo had suddenly pulled out a blaster to shoot orcs. I am astounded that George Lucas was the creative force behind this travesty! (Hmm, well, considering the prequels maybe I should'nt be THAT surprised! LOL) Anyway, it's ridiculous. I couldn't figure out if I was in the Star Wars universe or in Labyrinth/Legend! I mean, does no one else watching these see the really bad mix of genres here -- classic fantasy stuck right into the middle of a sci-fi world?

And the plot is soooo bad. Poor Cindel's whole family dies in the first 5 minutes of the movie, and she barely sheds a tear. When she really cries is when she has to say goodbye to Wicket and leave Endor with her new crusty old stranded-pilot-hermit friend. Riiiiggghhht. And there are so many other gaping plot holes. *sigh* that's 2 hours I'll never get back!

Of course, kids won't care about plot holes - so if you're thinking of buying this for children who love Star Wars, they'll probably like it. But only if they like Ewoks... and only if you're not a Star Wars purist who doesn't want their kids exposed to something that takes sooooo many liberties with the Star Wars universe.

At last, The Ewok Adventure amd The Battle for Endor are here for you to enjoy on this budget DVD set. This is a must for all of the children of the 80s out there. When these made for TV movies came out it was a big deal. They offered special effects of almost movie quality with the appearance of the adorable Ewoks!

The Battle for Endor is worth the price alone. It is a suprisngly dark and violent family movie. The action is fast paced. However, the film also has alot of heart too.

The art design for these movies are wonderful, but defintaly a departure for the most part from the classic Star Wars look. It seems like these films were trying to imitate the sword-and-scorcery-with-a-dash-of-sci-fi look that was made popular in He-Man, Krull and Thunder Cats. The laser weapons almost look medieval in apperance with all the bandages roped around the rifles and guns. The main villain in Battle for Endor even reminds me of that Thunder Cat villain Mumra.

All in all, this is a great buy for some Star Wars fun done 1986 style... map paintings, stop motion animations, blue screens, alien rubber masks and of course Wilford Brimley!