1 Ewoks cartoon on DVD, sort of...
Don't take my rating wrong, I don't hate this cartoon, what I hate is the way Lucasfilm has handled the property. Basically what this release is is 8 episodes from the first season of the show cobbled together to form two very unbalanced animated films. What we do get is basically 8 episodes of the show with new adult Wicket voice-overs. What we don't get is the opening theme song, original end credits, and I have a feeling original music (though I guess I'll never know since this will probably be the only release in this format.) At least the "chapters" are labeled with the original episode titles. I know this sounds nit-picky and in the vein of the "complainers" of the ill done reissues of the Original Star Wars trilogy on DVD, but come on. What is the purpose of releasing an old saturday morning cartoon, almost certainly because the fans demanded it for nostalgia purposes, and then heavily editing it so that it has almost no feel of how it originally aired?
2 The first animated series from the greatest film saga ever!
:-)
I have read the reviews on line here at Amazon.com about the first release of these two "Ewok" cartoon episodes, "The Haunted Village" & "Tales from the Endor Woods" some I agree with, others I don't. I remember seeing this animated series during its original television run in 1985 through 1987 as I went from a 10-year-old boy to a 12-year-old pre-adolescent and I loved these cartoons growing up and I still do. I only wish that Lucas had released all of them instead of just two of them. These "Ewok" cartoons take place before the two Ewok television movies as we watch Wicket, Princess Kneesaa, and Teebo grow up on the moon of Endor. Once again George Lucas is executive producer as he did with "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back" & "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi" and that in part is what made this animated television series so good, because George Lucas is a great storyteller, creating great characters and a great adventure to watch those characters grow within the episodes, but he is no director. Any episodes of this wonderful animated series is highly recommended and a great & positive influence for children to watch.
3 nice series, but the presentation is a mess.
I loved this series, when I was still a kid living in Germany.
It was much more popular than DROIDS here. I think because of the nice stories and "bears" are more popular than robots - at least for girls....
But this isnt it - the old videoreleases where a ripoff too,
only one episode on one video- but at least chronologically.
They could have released a whole season, the whole series,
or only one episode, but not for this price !
If you dont have the videos, you can try it -
but better buy the videos.
This is only a VHS on DVD, it just isnt using the possibilities of the DVD.
4 It's LOW BUDGET cartoons
I was so disappointed!! I'd settle for the worst cartoons on Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network than waste any more precious time watching this garbage!!
5 You know, for kids!
This DVD release will mainly appeal to young children who have never before seen the Ewok cartoons. For the nostalgists, they will miss the opening Ewok theme song, lament the cobbling together of eight episodes to create a two-part "feature" and the lack of a more definitive DVD release of all the Ewok cartoons.
Young viewers uninitiated to the Ewok cartoons will probably get a lot of joy out of these cartoons. They will not worry about what isn't included on this set. These are basically bright, good-natured adventures centering mainly around a young group of Ewok friends led by Wicket, the young Ewok from "Return of the Jedi". We also see more of the Ewok village and the characters who inhabit it.
The piecing together of four episodes is slightly disconcerting at times, but it is basically just eight episodes played out in a row, grouped together by similar themes. These are some of the earlier episodes and many of them were written by Paul Dini, a renowned comic book writer. The Ewok "villains" are never too frightening and are mainly portrayed as bumbling fools.
These are quality cartoons written and made with care. Complaints have come because those who remember them fondly are simply not getting enough of them with this release. They have a point, but if you are not willing to wait for a more complete release (this edition also lacks any Bonus Features) then this release can be quite satisfying, especially if they are to be given to children.
6 LOL
Glad I didn't waste my money on this!
I'm sure it is just as hacked and bad as Droids.
7 Lucasfilm Table Scraps
Clearly, the Lucasfilm motto: "Don't give them everything, or else how are we going to milk this in the future?"
Yes, it's wonderful that they are releasing this - but be honest - this is either a half-hearted effort OR a devious plan for future double dipping. Lucasfilm is started to gain a notorious rep for releasing titles with little features (i.e. the Indiana Jones box set - no commentaries) or "modified" versions with obvious plans for double-dipping the public (i.e. The Star Wars Trilogy - hello). I agree with the many reviewers who wanted the complete series of Ewoks and Droids. Expect this to happen with the future planned Star Wars TV series, too. Why release the entire season, when they can milk several DVDs throughout several years. And yes, the Holiday Special will get released eventually ("Because you demanded it...") with several DVD editions. I wish Lucasfilm would recognize the fan base, instead of just mapping out where the dollar signs are. They did a wonderful job with books in the 1990's, now it's time for the DVDs.
8 Money eater
The problem with this is that unlike all other TV series which generally include proper credits for each episode, commentaries, special features, original music & sounds... in other words, the real TV series, this offers NOTHING. This is a cheap way to test the waters to see if anyone would drop the cash on the whole set. Lucasfilm says "this is what people have been waiting for." No, no it isn't. Season one of the Ewoks ran with the droids in a program called "The Ewoks & Droids Adventure Hour" & had a wonderful theme song by blues artist Taj Mahal. The stories were wonderful & in a way, built on one another. Season two ran alone & was drawn a bit differently & focused mainly on Wicket, Teebo, Kneesaa, & Latara. It was geared mostly for the very young, except for a couple of episodes ("The Night of the Stranger" & "Battle For The Sunstar"). Season two also was a bit more varied with several of the episodes split into two stories, offering more tales from the Endor woods.
At any rate, this IS NOT what people have been waiting for at all. It's the same as it was on VHS, meaning that they only offer a few episodes, different music, & a whole lot of nothing else. Wait for the release of the rest of the series (but not too long, because they never will). If you want to blow your dough on this, go ahead. I certainly wouldn't.
9 Star Wars EWOKS saga
It was great, the 2 Ewoks movies, and now the Ewoks cartoon series re-released on dvd. I hope they release the rest of the ewoks cartoon episodes to complete the series.
10 Why???
Man, I was really looking forward to this. "Ewoks on DVD? Sweet beans!" Ah, no. Instead of a standard DVD boxed set of the thirty-eight episodes in the series, we get, after years of waiting, a couple of poorly edited episodes stuck together and billed as a "feature film" just a few years after the same stunt was pulled on VHS. Hmmmm . . .
Seriously now: does ANYONE prefer these cobbled-together "movies" with about five separate plots to the ordinary method of NOT BUTCHERING the original episodes and packaging them together by season with the opening theme song and closing credits intact? Maybe if they made both versions available, but NO. We get stuck with the same crap that we can still get on VHS.
And as if this abominable amalgamation wasn't bad enough, they're not even releasing all the episodes in this format. Someone, PLEASE help me wrap my head around this logic. What possible reason can there be for not releasing all of the episodes, especially when half of the ones they are releasing, screwed up though they may be, were just released a few years ago? What is this, some kind of sick mental game? Will they wait until DVDs are obsolete and then start selectively releasing episodes AGAIN?
Come on, Lucasfilm, you're better than this. Almost EVERYBODY ELSE gets this stuff right; why can't you?
Looks like I'll just have to sit back and wait for "next time," whenever that may be.
11 DON'T BUY THIS DVD
Not because of a hate for Ewoks. I love the Ewoks & the droids. This IS NOT the cartoon that was on Saturday mornings in the 1980's. This is a few of the episodes badly put together to make a film that has four or five plots. The cartoon that used to be on had two seasons, one of them running with the droids. This is the same garbage that was pushed on VHS. Do not waste your money. What's wrong with Lucasfilm?
