I Know That Star Wars Voice! (Part 1)

Have you ever been watching an animated show and one of the characters sounds really familiar? Like they should be talking about the Force and the Empire? You're not imagining things!

Many actors who appear in the Star Wars movies also act with just their voices for animated TV shows and movies!

Mark Hamill (aka Luke Skywalker) probably has the most voice acting credits of any Star Wars performer. Nearly every animated version of Batman's The Joker has been played by
Hamill since 1992's Batman: The Animated Series. 

He has also appeared in many, many cartoons for kids and adults including The Simpsons, Scooby Doo, Hey Arnold!, Johnny Bravo and Clifford the Big Red Dog!

Hamill may be the Star Wars actor best known for also doing animation acting, but he is far from alone!

If you saw last year's creepy and kooky animated feature The Addams Family you might've noticed a familiar sound to Gomez Addams, the Dad of the family. That voice is none other than Oscar Isaac, better known to fans as Resistance pilot Poe Dameron!

In The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019), you don't need the hearing of a dog to notice that gruff, annoyed voice of farm dog Rooster sounds a LOT like Han Solo in The Force Awakens. That's actor Harrison

Ford in a rare voice-over performance as the older, wiser Welsh Sheepdog who tries to teach Max the ways of country life.

Maybe rabbit-strength ears will help your hearing to notice Rey herself, actress Daisy Ridley, as the voice of Cottontail in 2018's Peter Rabbit. Cottontail, along with Flopsy and Mopsy are sisters to Peter Rabbit in this retelling of the Beatrix Potter
classic.

Fans of the incredible Disney/Pixar Incredibles movies may

certainly notice that Mr. Incredible's close friend and "Super" Lucious (aka. Frozone) sounds a lot like Jedi Master Mace Windu. He should, because they are both performed by the super Samuel L. Jackson!

In The Lego Movie, fans probably didn't need the Force to sense something familiar about Bad Cop/Good Cop. The dual-personality police officer with a double-sided head is voiced by Liam Neeson, better known as Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn.

There are plenty more examples but we'll save those for next time! Who is your favourite Star Wars actor you've heard in animation? Comment below!

Long Forgotten Version of The Empire Strikes Back!

Just in time for the 40th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, we found a little-mentioned alternate version of the story, in a pretty unlikely source!

It is hard to really comprehend just how big Star Wars was in the late 1970's and early 1980's. It wasn't just popular, it was a pop culture phenomenon.

Larger version at the bottom of article

Every major magazine seemingly had Star Wars on the cover at some point, some multiple times, including TIME, People, Us, Rolling Stone, and in 1980, Family Circle.

Family Circle?

Family Circle was a very popular "women's interest" magazine published from 1932 and up to the end of 2019, always very much intended for mothers. Yes, of course moms like Star Wars too! (True fact: my mother introduced me to Star Wars! Thanks Mom!)

The August 5, 1980 issue seems like a typical one for the time but there on the bottom of the cover after headlines of diets, beautiful skin, recipes and the "right look in pants" are those glorious words: The Empire Strikes Back.
Not even a mention of the words "Star Wars". There was no need. By then, months after the movie premiered, the blockbuster sequel was a household name by itself! And Family Circle was definitely all about households.

Donald F. Glut's Original Novelization

This was no ordinary feature though: what Family Circle ran across 4 pages was the entire story of The Empire Strikes Back! This is a condensed version is written by Donald F. Glut, author of the official novelization of the movie published that spring.

With a few black and white illustrations borrowed from the Marvel comics adaptation of the movie (including the infamous scary-looking Yoda based on early concept art that was later corrected in comic reprints), Glut's short-story version of The Empire Strikes Back emphasizes the action and romance and leaves out almost all of Luke's Jedi training.
There's a few key moments from the movie left out to shorten the story. Here's a few examples of what's different in this version (or scroll down to enjoy it yourself):

- There is no Wampa attack, and so there's no Luke lost in the snow or in the medical clinic. Instead Luke encounters the vision of Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi after he crashes his snowspeeder during the Hoth battle.

-Yoda doesn't play around. He introduces himself almost immediately.

-Luke's X-wing doesn't crash on Dagobah, so there's no levitation scene later.

-There's no mysterious Dagobah cave, so no dream-like fight with Vader.

-C-3PO doesn't get broken up, or go missing on Cloud City, so instead of worrying about his whereabouts, Leia and Han have a little romantic scene that was apparently cut from the movie.

-When Han is frozen in carbonite, instead of saying "I love you" and "I know", Han and Leia have much more to say. (This is consistent with the comic adaptation as well as Glut's own novelization).

It's very hard to believe this amazing movie is 40 years old now as it seems so timeless today. Hopefully in another 40 years fans will be celebrating and discovering new ways to enjoy these movies that crossed generations and appealed to so many of us in so many ways!  

May the 40th Be With You!  

MORE Indoor Activities, the Star Wars Way!

See below for details!

Whether it's an Imperial takeover, First Order occupation, a Blue Shadow virus going around, or just a Kamino-style rainy day, staying indoors will not stop young Star Wars fans from loving their favourite galaxy far, far away! 

Here's another list of activity books to keep young padawans engaged and inspired while indoors! See the previous batch of books here. Some of these books may be out of print or tricky to find new, but online sources should be able to help.

For Young Students:

Star Wars Workbooks (Workman Publishing) is a line of educational workbooks to help teach younglings. There are titles for each age/grade level (Preschool, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade etc.) focusing on topics of reading, writing and mathematics.


Star Wars Phonics (Scholastic) "Learn how to read with all your favorite Star Wars characters! Perfect for reluctant readers, each book is illustrated with fullcolor images from the blockbuster Star Wars movies."

For Young Coders & Engineers:

Star Wars Coding Projects (DK) "A Step-by-Step Visual Guide to Coding Your Own Animations, Games, Simulations and more! Star Wars Coding Projects is a step-by-step visual guide to designing and coding in Scratch. The setting is as big as your imagination." (pictured above)

For Young Creative Writers: 

Star Wars Mad-Libs: The books that are word games. Loads of fun playing around and twisting up the familiar Star Wars story with your own creativity and sense of humour!

For Young Artists:

Learn to Draw Star Wars: Volume 2 (Walter Foster Jr. Creative Team) "With just a little practice, you’ll be drawing Rey, BB-8, Kylo Ren, and more. This 64-page, spiral-bound manual comes with grid-drawing exercises, tracing paper, and basic shapes projects."

LEGO Star Wars Doodle Activity Book "A brand new format for LEGO Star Wars, part activity book, part coloring/doodle book"

For Young Builders:

LEGO Star Wars Ideas Book (DK) "More than 200 Games, Activities, and Building Ideas. Features imaginative play and building ideas using your own LEGO brick collection. There are LEGO projects that take just a few minutes, it builds to keep you occupied for hours." 

Do you have a favourite Star Wars activity book? Let us know in the comments. Don't forget to check out part one of this list too!

Indoor Activities, the Star Wars Way!

Whether it's an Imperial takeover, First Order occupation, a Blue Shadow virus going around, or just a Kamino-style rainy day, staying indoors will not stop young Star Wars fans from loving their favourite galaxy far, far away!  

Yes of course you could read Star Wars books, play with Star Wars toys and games, dress up in costumes (be careful with those indoor lightsaber battles!) but there are also plenty of Star Wars activity books out there to help kids get creative and enjoy their indoor time!

For Young Artists:

Star Wars Doodles (Disney)  By artist Zack Giallongo!
"Younglings can draw, color, and create with all their favorite characters from the Star Wars films."

 
Star Wars Thumb Doodles (Klutz Press) "With ink art and a few quick lines, you can recreate favorite moments from the movies or from scenes never seen before...Even in a galaxy far, far away."

Draw Star Wars Rebels (Klutz Press) "A complete how-to guide packed with expert tips and easy step-by-step instructions that let kids bring these exciting new Star Wars characters to life."
 
ART2-D2's Guide to Folding and Doodling (An Origami Yoda Activity Book) (Abrams)
One of our favourite authors Tom Angleberger—with the help of the kids from McQuarrie Middle School—presents young Padawans with 75+ activities from the Star Wars universe. This is a tie-in book to the popular Origami Yoda book series.

For Young Scientists & Engineers:

Star Wars Maker Lab (DK) "With 20 amazing projects, Star Wars Maker Lab teaches your budding Padawan how to become a Master of science, in both the real world and the Star Wars galaxy."

Star Wars Science Fair Book (Scholastic) "Gear up for Science Fair season with exciting Star Wars-themed science experiments!"

Star Wars Folded Flyers (Klutz Press) "For the first time ever, you can fold Star Wars flyers that fly with the force. Star Wars Folded Flyers will speed through the living room as well as they do in outer space."

For Young Crafters & Cooks:

Star Wars Mania "Part craft book, part activity book, with over 40 projects to make in each book, the Mania series offers hours of creative fun for boys and girls of all ages!"



The Star Wars Craft Book (Del Rey) "Fans of all ages and skill levels can bring the best of the galaxy far, far away right into their own homes." 

Star Wars Make & Do (Egmont Books Ltd UK) "Plenty for young Star Wars fans to do: things to make, including a Chewbacca hand puppet, a stormtrooper helmet, and the Yoda decoder."
 
The Star Wars Cook Book: BB-ATE (Chronicle) There have been several books in the series. This one is the most recent and focuses on breakfast and brunch items. And as always, a lot of food puns. 
 
Do you have a favourite Star Wars activity book? Let us know in the comments. There's probably enough we missed to make a part 2 to this. Maybe 3!

The Force Awakens a New Hope in Youngling's Cancer Fight

In December 2015, most Star Wars fans were eagerly counting down the days before the release of The Force Awakens. For one young fan and his family that month will be remembered as life-changing in many ways.

Callan’s story began, as most cancer patient’s stories do, with scary hospital visits and painful chemotherapy treatments. But his story changed after viewing a trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens – it awakened a determined little 3-year-old in his battle to defeat cancer.

Callan was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) only five days before Christmas 2015. Even though he had never seen a Star Wars movie, he was captivated by the trailer for the newest installment of the franchise, and quickly became obsessed with the Star Wars universe.

Callan the Rebel pilot and "friend"

For Callan, it became clear – he would use the Force to defeat cancer and now viewed his chemotherapy and port as good things, simply a part of his Jedi training. The Force is strong in this young one.

So strong that he’s transferring it to others by sharing his story of hope through the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a national charity dedicated to funding childhood cancer research as an Honored Kid.

By sharing his hopeful message with the world, Callan hopes to inspire others (and donors). To help, visit St. Baldrick’s Foundation here.

Do you know an awesome Star Wars Fan Kid? We'd love to share his or her story!

MORE Star Wars Stars on Sesame Street!

A while ago we did a feature post looking back some memorable moments when stars from Star Wars movies have appeared on the iconic children's TV show Sesame Street. Click here to read it! Since it is still one of the most viewed items we've ever posted it's overdue for a follow-up. Here's MORE Sesame Street visits by Star Wars stars!

Before we knew him as Saw Gerrara in Rogue One, in 2014 Forest Whitaker had some fun with The Count discussing imagination, and all the things that a simple stick could become, with a little creativity. No "Lies, Deceptions!", just imagination:

Another Rogue One star, Diego Luna (Cassian Andor), visited the Spanish-language Sesame Street counterpart Sesame Amigos two times to meet Elmo. Both clips are in Spanish so for those who don't speak the language here's a quick synopsis: In the first scene, Diego asks Elmo for his help to see if he’s expressing his emotions correctly for a movie he's about to film. He plays a sad, happy and angry scene.

 

In the second clip Diego and Elmo joke about his last name "Luna" ("moon" in Spanish) Then they play a game in which Diego tries imitating an animal without speaking and Elmo has to guess what animal it is. Elmo finally realizes Diego is trying to imitate a duck. Then Elmo imitates a Lion and Diego gets it right away because Elmo is a great imitator.

Special thanks to friend and actor Javier Lacroix for translation help! 

Fans of comedian/actor/singer Donald Glover are already looking forward to him playing young Lando Calrissian in the upcoming Han Solo movie (due in 2018). Here he is on Sesame Street in 2013 as the "famous" singer LMNOP, parodying the look and name of "Party Rock Anthem" dance music duo LMFAO.

Fun fact: Did you know Donald Glover had a brief appearance in the movie The Muppets? 

Poor Kermit!

Before he was famous for creating the Broadway smash hit musical Hamilton or writing & performing the songs "Jabba Flow" & "Dobra Doompa" (the songs the band plays in Maz's castle in The Force Awakens), in 2009 Lin Manuel Miranda played a shifty and manipulative real estate agent trying to convince Big Bird to move to a new habitat. Through rapping he explains the idea of "habitat" and the various options for birds. 

Fun fact: Lin Manuel Miranda has made other appearances on Sesame Street as a lamb, and wrote songs for other episodes.

This isn't a clip from Sesame Street itself, but it is a fun short video of actor Jimmy Smits (Bail Organa to Star Wars fans!) with Elmo promoting an upcoming Fourth of July ("Happy Birthday, America!") special on PBS...

 
Do you remember another Star Wars star on Sesame Street that we haven't discussed here or in the previous article? Comment below!

Watch, You Must: Jedi Junior High

Now available on Netflix* (and many other streaming services) is a documentary that many Star Wars fans will enjoy. 

Jedi Junior High is the behind-the-scenes story of the making of a Star Wars live musical production! Specifically it is an adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back, staged in 2009.

For any seasoned theatre company this would be a huge undertaking, but this show has a cast of performers all ranging from about 8 to 13 years old! On top of that, there is a wide range of experience and skill among the cast.

Over the course of the film you get to know the cast, their families, the crew and the creators who put the whole thing together. The young cast range from kids vaguely aware of the story to kids who (like most people reading this right now) live and breathe Star Wars saga! 

Here's the trailer:

Jedi Junior High goes through the audition process, the rehearsals, the backstage drama and the exciting opening night.

"Chewbacca" learns that being a wookiee is a very sweaty life

So how could they do a live musical that includes the battle of Hoth? Carbon freezing? Yoda??

The clever ways the producers of the show have come up with to include all these and more are just one of the reasons to enjoy this movie.

Be prepared to laugh, to be moved, to see the cutest Yoda you’ve ever seen and to cheer on a whole crew of young rebels!

For more details visit jedijuniorhigh.com

*Available on Netflix USA and Canada. Check other areas.