Ewok facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ewoks
Star Wars race
Person with an Ewok costume, photo taken in Florida
Information
Home world	Endor
Distinctions	Furry, short stature
Language	Ewokese

The Ewoks are a made-up group of small, furry creatures in the Star Wars universe. They live on the forest moon of Endor. They build their homes in trees and simple huts. Other species see them as less advanced.

Ewoks first appeared in the 1983 movie Return of the Jedi. They also starred in two TV movies: The Ewok Adventure (1984) and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985). You can find them in an animated TV show, books, games, and even a short moment in the 2019 movie Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

How the Ewoks Were Created

George Lucas, who created Star Wars, wanted a group of simple creatures to defeat the high-tech Empire in Return of the Jedi. He first thought about using Wookiees for these scenes. But as the Star Wars story grew, Wookiees became very skilled with technology.

So, Lucas changed the name "Wookiee" around to create "Ewok". This new name sounds like "Miwok," a Native American tribe. This tribe lives near the Redwood forest in California. The scenes on Endor were filmed in this forest. Lucas also got the idea for the Ewoks defeating the Empire from the Viet Cong fighters. They were guerrillas who fought against American soldiers in the Vietnam War.

Since Wookiees were tall, Lucas wanted the new species to be short. He got the idea for the Ewok's look from his own dog, a Griffon Bruxellois. A famous make-up artist named Stuart Freeborn helped create the Ewok design.

Ewoks are about one meter tall. They are stocky, smart, and walk on two legs. They have flat faces and are completely covered in fur. They also have large, jewel-like eyes. Their fur and eyes come in colors like brown, white, gray, gold, and black. Only the Ewok costume worn by Warwick Davis had moving facial features. Later, in 2011, eye blinks were added to all Ewoks in the Return of the Jedi Blu-ray.

Even though Ewoks are small, they are strong. In the big battle scene, they are shown overpowering and even throwing Imperial stormtroopers. Ewoks live high in the trees of their home moon's forests. They build their villages on platforms between the trees.

The Ewokese Language

A person dressed as an Ewok at Montreal Comiccon 2016.

A special language called Ewokese was made for the films. This was done by Return of the Jedi's sound designer Ben Burtt. Burtt explained that the language is based on Kalmyk. This is a language spoken by the Kalmyk people in Russia.

Burtt heard the language in a documentary and liked how it sounded. It seemed very alien to people from the West. He found an 80-year-old Kalmyk refugee. Burtt recorded her telling folk stories in her language. He then used these recordings to create the sounds for Ewokese. Voice actors copied the old woman's voice in different ways to perform the language. For the scene where C-3PO speaks Ewokese, actor Anthony Daniels worked with Burtt. They made up words based on the Kalmyk recordings.

Some reports also say that Ewok speech in Return of the Jedi uses Nepalese and some sped-up Tibetan phrases.

Ewoks in the Movies

Return of the Jedi

Ewok Village at Walt Disney World in Florida

The Ewoks play a big part in the last movie of the original Star Wars trilogy. The Empire starts building on Endor. They do not pay attention to the simple Ewoks. Princess Leia, who is part of a Rebel team, meets an Ewok named Wicket W. Warrick. Wicket is a scout from Bright Tree Village. He takes Leia to meet the other Ewoks.

The Ewoks then capture Han Solo, Chewbacca, Luke, and the droids in a trap. They take them back to their village. Ewoks are meat-eaters and think human-like flesh is a treat. They prepare fires to eat Han, Luke, and Chewbacca to gain their power.

The Ewoks worship the droid C-3PO. They think he is a god because of his golden body. Later, Luke Skywalker uses the Force to make C-3PO float, which makes the Ewoks believe even more. C-3PO tells the Ewok leaders about the adventures of the Rebel heroes. The Ewoks accept the Rebels and decide to help them.

They join the ground battle to destroy the Imperial shield generator. This generator protects the Death Star. Their simple weapons help defeat the Imperial Stormtroopers and the AT-ST walkers. This help leads to victory at the Battle of Endor. Later that night, the Ewoks have a huge celebration.

Ewoks speak their own language, Ewokese. C-3PO understands this language, but the humans in the movie do not. The word Ewok is not said in the movie itself. Only in the end credits are some Ewok names shown, like Wicket, Paploo, Teebo, Logray, and Chirpa.

The Rise of Skywalker

Wicket W. Warrick and another Ewok appear for a short time at the end of The Rise of Skywalker.

Ewoks in TV Shows and Comics

After Return of the Jedi, the Ewoks starred in two TV movies. Warwick Davis played Wicket in both. The first movie, The Ewok Adventure, came out in November 1984. Ewoks: The Battle for Endor followed the next year. The Ewoks also had their own cartoon series on ABC called Ewoks. The Duloks, who are rivals in the show, are said to be distant cousins of the Ewoks.

A teddy bear-like Ewok doll appears in the animated series Star Wars Resistance. The Ewoks animated series also had a comic book series.

Important Ewok Characters

A person dressed as an Ewok at Anime North 2013.

Some Ewoks are more well-known in Star Wars stories.

Wicket

Wicket is the most important Ewok in Return of The Jedi. He meets Princess Leia in the forest. He helps her get to his village safely. He sees her courage and compassion. Wicket knows the terrain of Endor very well. This makes him very important during the Rebellion's attack on the Empire. Actor Warwick Davis played Wicket.

Teebo

Teebo is described as "A watcher of the stars and a poet at heart." He is good at making smart decisions. This has made him a leader in his tribe. He wears a Gurreck skull headdress. Jack Purvis played Teebo.

Chief Chirpa

Chief Chirpa has been the leader of the Ewok tribe for 42 seasons. He is very wise and makes good choices. But he has become a bit forgetful because of his old age. He gives his tribe permission to fight against the Empire. Chief Chirpa wears a medallion that shows he is the chief. Jane Busby played Chirpa.

Logray

Logray is the Ewok tribal shaman. He uses ancient magic to help his tribe. He is suspicious of all outsiders. This feeling grew stronger when Imperial troops arrived. Mike Edmonds played Logray. He also helped control the tail of Jabba the Hutt.

Paploo

Paploo is Chief Chirpa's nephew and a scout. He and Wicket help lead the Rebels to the shield generator. This generator protects the second Death Star. Paploo tried to trick four Imperial scouts away from the bunker. He stole a speeder bike, and three scouts chased him. This allowed the Rebels to overpower the last guard and get inside. Paploo is later seen helping the Ewoks fight the Empire.

Nippet

Nippet is a baby Ewok. She is the daughter of Lumat.

Lumat

Lumat is the chief woodcutter of the tribe. He is the father of Nippet.

See also

In Spanish: Ewok para niños