Today I have for you the read-along record book of Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, the made-for-TV sequel to Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure. The film debuted on ABC on November 24, 1985 – exactly 364 days after Caravan of Courage.
After the success of Caravan of Courage, ABC asked Lucas if he’d be interested in making that made-for-TV movie a backdoor pilot for an Ewoks television series. Lucas turned that idea down, but did agree to do a sequel made-for-TV movie instead.
This time, he brought in siblings Ken and Jim Wheat as writers and directors. The duo had previously written an early independent slasher film, 1979’s Silent Scream, which made $7.9 million at the box office on a $600,000 budget, making it one of the most successful independent horror films at the time. They would go on to make a career out of low-budget sequel films like The Fly II, The Birds II, and The Stepford Husbands. But they’re best-known film writing credits are for A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master and the Vin Diesel film, Pitch Black.
Returning from the first film were child actors Warwick Davis as Wicket, Eric Walker as Mace, and Aubree Miller as Cindel. Wilford Brimley, fresh off his starring role in Cocoon, was cast as Noa, a grumpy old hermit who has crash landed on Endor. Carel Struycken, who played The Giant on Twin Peaks and Lurch in The Addams Family movies, was cast as Terak, the leader of a group of marauders. And British acting icon Dame Sian Phillips, probably best-known to us geeks as Cassiopeia in Clash of the Titans and Reverand Mother Mohiam in David Lynch’s Dune, played Charal, an evil sorceress.
Battle for Endor received mixed reviews upon release, but it went on to win an Emmy for Outstanding Special Visual Effects. The film was one of the last for Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic to use old-fashioned stop-motion, mostly when realizing the creatures of Endor. By this time, ILM had started using go motion, a more advanced form of stop-motion that used motorized puppets to handle some of the movements, providing a more fluid and realistic style than traditional stop-motion. However, the made-for-TV budget just wasn’t enough to cover the expense of using go-motion.
Like Caravan of Courage, the film was released theatrically overseas andwas given a different title, The Ewoks and the Marauders of Endor. For whatever reason, Lucasfilm never adopted this new title over the original, even though I have to admit it sounds a little bit cooler.
Just like the first Ewoks film, The Battle for Endor is still technically part of the Star Wars Legends category of stories. However, the blurrgs, a species of humpbacked, bipedal pack animals mostly ridden by Terak’s marauders, have become canon, making appearances in both The Clone Wars animated series, as well as on The Mandalorian.
For whatever reason, the read-along record book for Battle for Endor is highly sought-after by collectors. You can typically find the record for Caravan of Courage going for about $10 on eBay or Discogs, but it’s not unusual for Battle for Endor to sell between $30 and $45. I don’t know if this record didn’t have as many copies published or if it’s just a fan favorite, but that kind of money for a kids’ record book is pretty insane. I was lucky enough to find a virtually untouched copy on Discogs for less than $20 including shipping.
And, hey, you can listen to this record rarity right now over on my podcast, When You Hear This Sound!
