Legendary Star Wars Artist Shows Off Original Ewok Movie Art

In 1984, years before Disney owned both ABC and Lucasfilm, the studio behind Star Wars created a [...]

By Russ Burlingame

In 1984, years before Disney owned both ABC and Lucasfilm, the studio behind Star Wars created a TV spinoff centered around the Ewoks. Titled The Ewok Adventure, the made-for-TV movie was a big enough hit in the U.S. to get an international theatrical run, with a new title -- Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure. The poster came from Drew Struzan, one of the most celebrated movie poster artists in the history of cinema and the artist behind the posters for every Star Wars film in the Skywalker Saga. Earlier today, Struzan unearthed the original art for the poster, and shared it on Twitter.

For those of us who only ever saw this poster on the front of a VHS case, the fact that the image is so detailed and has held up so well in the intervening 35 years or so is pretty remarkable. The poster features a quartet of human characters, as well as Wicket and Logray, featured Ewoks.

You can check it out below.

The Ewok Adventure took place on the Forest Moon of Endor in the time between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. On the forest moon of Endor, the Towani family starcruiser lies wrecked. The Towani family (Catarine, Jeremitt, Mace and Cindel) are stranded. When Catarine and Jeremitt vanish (having been captured by the Gorax), the children are found by the Ewok Deej. After Mace tries to kill them, the Ewoks subdue him and take both children to the Ewoks' home. There, Cindel and Wicket become friends. Shortly thereafter, the Ewoks kill a boar wolf only to find a life-monitor from one of the Towani parents with the creature.

They seek out the Ewok Logray who informs them that the parents have been taken by the monstrous Gorax, which resides in a deserted, dangerous area. A caravan of Ewoks is formed to help the children find their parents. They meet up with a wistie named Izrina and a boisterous Ewok named Chukha-Trok before finally reaching the lair of the Gorax. They engage the Gorax in battle, freeing Jeremitt and Catarine, but Chukha-Trok is killed. The Gorax is thought destroyed when it is knocked into a chasm, but it takes a final blow from Mace (using Chukha-Trok's axe) to kill the creature, which tries to climb back up after them. Thus reunited, the Towanis decide to stay with the Ewoks until they can repair the starcruiser, and Izrina leaves to go back to her family.

The film was followed up by Ewoks: The Battle For Endor in 1985.

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