#AubreeMiller

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Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984)

I have some affection for the Ewoks but I don’t loooooove them, not enough to crave a film centered entirely around the furry savages. I suspect most people feel the way I do and doubt most people even know Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure exists. It’s not a hidden gem. For the most part, this barely feels like a Star Wars movie. In fact, it does not feel like a “Star Wars” movie at all. It’s a generic magical adventure featuring "Star Wars"-like characters. I can’t recommend the movie on its successes, but I can recommend it on its faults as something “so bad it’s good”.

Set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi (although you couldn’t tell because there are no Stormtroopers or recognizable faces in the film), it stars Eric Walker as Mace Towani and Aubree Miller as his sister Cindel. When their parents disappear, they befriend the primitive inhabitants of Endor's moon: the Ewoks. To find the missing parents, the children and several Ewoks embark on a mystical quest.

The bulk of this movie isn’t that interesting. Mace doesn’t trust the Ewoks but Cindel does until then they finally bonding and become friends. Once that's settled, everyone can figure out how to communicate and then FINALLY start the quest. Even the adventure in question with the children, the Ewoks and their mounts (creatures that look suspiciously like Earth Ponies) isn’t that interesting. Before they can find the lair of the creature who parent-napped the adults two more Ewoks need to be recruited, and then they must all figure out what the magical artifacts they've been given do. Meanwhile, there's nothing to latch onto. All of the Ewoks speak their strange native language while a narrator tells you what’s going on. The actress playing Cindell is so young she can’t act, and her role is reduced to as little talking as possible.

The only people who would enjoy Caravan of Courage are the youngest, most undiscriminating audience members. The characters are one-dimensional, the plot is spoon-fed to you, and the peril is non-existent. Remember all the aliens and droids from Star Wars who stood out, who were memorable despite their lack of dialogue? You understood what they are saying because of the situation or from the other characters' reactions. It also makes the mistake of believing children can only relate to child characters. With such thin material, it would be a nigh-impossible ordeal for adults to make it work. Child actors? You might as well ask them to levitate their X-Wing out of a swamp.

I’ll give this movie a “recommendation” as something you can watch and make fun of for the last half hour. The special effects vary wildly, characters make incredibly stupid, borderline unbelievable decisions, people and objects change size from shot to shot. Throughout, there are plenty of moments to make fun of, courtesy of the bad acting or the fact that some of these Ewoks look more creepy than adorable, but the end is where you get all of the “so bad it’s good” money shots.

I hesitate to recommend Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure to even the tiniest Star Wars fans. It has some good special effects throughout, I’ll give it that and some of the comedy is pretty funny too. Ultimately, this is a novelty item, something for obsessive Star Wars fans to watch because they’ve seen all of the other material too many times. Or perhaps you want some laughs at your friends' expense as they get ready for the May 4th celebrations. (On DVD, December 18, 2015)