Oh, you're in denial about the original Baba Yaga Fett design, whose space ship was to have chicken wings instead of the more traditional Baba Yaga chicken legs? It's a hard thing to embrace, but go with it. posted by filthy light thief at 7:43 AM on September 23, 2010 [2 favorites]
It's Big Foot, people. It's hardly the most original idea in the world. posted by 2bucksplus at 7:43 AM on September 23, 2010 [4 favorites]
I was expecting something about racist stereotypes. posted by TrialByMedia at 7:49 AM on September 23, 2010 [4 favorites]
I, for one, am mightily glad that Chewbacca didn't cut about on the Millennium Falcon with 3 pairs of tits nestling in his hairy chest.
Because that would have been weird.
Although it would explain why Chewie growls a lot. That ammo belt would chafe something rotten. posted by MuffinMan at 8:00 AM on September 23, 2010
It's Big Foot, people. It's hardly the most original idea in the world.
It's pretty tough to deny the Schoenherr influence on McQuarrie after looking at the images side by side, though.
I mean, Big Foot? Okay. Big Foot who uses a space-crossbow (pardon, boltcaster)? That's a bit of a coincidence.
Not that there's really anything super-wrong with it -- Star Wars is a pulp throwback, so it's no surprise that the films were heavily influenced by those pulps. It's nice to see Schoenherr get some recognition, though -- he made some really great art. posted by Amanojaku at 8:59 AM on September 23, 2010
This guy's tumblr of photos and posters related to the original trilogy is pretty sweet. posted by lholladay at 9:11 AM on September 23, 2010 [2 favorites]
Lemurs do not look like that. Lemurs look like this. posted by Panjandrum at 9:16 AM on September 23, 2010
star wars [this is bad]
oh sorry. wrong site. posted by PugAchev at 9:18 AM on September 23, 2010
I'd be willing to bet that the true origin story of Wookies is interminably long, and involves at least one senate. posted by crunchland at 9:19 AM on September 23, 2010 [6 favorites]
Lemurs are also not the same as Galagos (which coincidentally look like this). In fact, if you ever see a Bush Baby and a Lemur at the same time you're probably either in a poorly laid out zoo or drowning in the Mozambique Channel, either way you have bigger problems.
I don't know who this hack Lucas is, and I don't know why he picked the two most adorable clades of primates to represent a 7 foot tall fang beast, but he's no primatologist. I can assure you of that. posted by Panjandrum at 9:28 AM on September 23, 2010
I'm sorry but that is such a racist comparison Chewie and Bigfoot, could not look more different.
posted by oddman
That's only because Chewie appears so clear. You need to be further away, squint a little, and shake your head while you look at him. posted by haveanicesummer at 10:32 AM on September 23, 2010
I'd like to see the origin story of that interminable Star Wars Christmas Special scene with Chewy's wife, father, and son. It goes on forrrrrrrreverrrrrr. posted by haveanicesummer at 10:33 AM on September 23, 2010
That is to say, there clearly is a long term covert Wookie operation going on in the Pacific Northwest. They must be scouting our redwood forests to find a suitable substitute for the forests of Kashyyyk. posted by Widepath at 1:06 PM on September 23, 2010
One thing missing is that nobody seems to have tracked down this alleged Ralph Wookie in Texas. Yahoo finds two people named Wookie in the US, but not Ralph. posted by beagle at 1:20 PM on September 23, 2010
Man, it's hilarious reading phrases like this from the second link about THX 1138:
Laden with overt social and political commentary, the hairy dwarf-like creatures may have sprung into life as a reflection of fringe existences, sacrifices of the consumer society and so on.
And then thinking about the Phantom Menace and Jar Jar Binks. An interesting look at Lucas' changing political and social beliefs over time. posted by formless at 2:29 PM on September 23, 2010
Amanojaku : "It's pretty tough to deny the Schoenherr influence on was explicitly plagiarized by McQuarrie after looking at the images side by side, though."
Jeez... there's such an agenda behind this article. Ralph McQuarrie's turn on Star Wars as conceptual designer must rank as perhaps the most sustained and iconically influential bursts of creativity in the history of cinema. From Darth Vader through to the Death Star, the Millennium Falcon and R2-D2, element after element flowed from McQuarrie's imagination and ultimately sold the project to 20th Century Fox. It's anybody's guess how much reference Lucas was bombarding him with: I'd speculate that it was a lot. Seizing on McQuarrie's recollections, 30 years on, for various inconsistencies seems a cheap shot.
John Schoenherr was a wonderful, wonderful artist, but I don't recall much fuss being made about his illustrations for Dune forming very much the groundwork of the 1984 film adaptation. Despite the contemporary Cinefantastique cover, I don't believe he ever enjoyed an onscreen credit. posted by specialbrew at 3:34 PM on September 23, 2010
No one's complaining about images of Chewbacca's boobs corrupting their childhood? posted by sawdustbear at 4:37 PM on September 23, 2010
So who lays claim to the idea of having Chewbacca randomly mewl at 110db during covert, sneaky infiltration missions? posted by unigolyn at 6:09 AM on September 24, 2010
Everyone who has ever owned a boxer knows that Chewbacca's "mewls" were obviously created by a foley editor with a boxer. Boxers as a breed have an enormous speaking range that is entirely distinct from barking or growling; it is known among owners as the "woo woo" noise and pretty much all of us will say "my dog sounds like Chewbacca." I have no idea if Ben Burtt owned a boxer at the time but I'm convinced someone on that team did. posted by DarlingBri at 6:52 AM on September 24, 2010
......aaaaaand, I'm done.
posted by felix betachat at 7:34 AM on September 23, 2010