There Are No Small Roles, Only Small Ewoks

Way back in the day, my dad had every original Kenner Star Wars figure. Well, at least almost every one. And in their original packaging. My brothers and I begged him to let us open them because, well, we were kids and there were awesome Star Wars figures just sitting in the basement waiting to be played with. Forget the fortune they'd be worth today - we wanted to make our own Star Wars THEN!!! Obi-Wan versus Luke. Leia versus 3PO. Cable versus Alien (ok, I had figures other than Star Wars too).

But I'm not here to talk about figures. I'm here to talk about how they made figures for literally every character in Star Wars. Now, most would argue that this proliferation of action figures was simply to make money. The more action figures a kid has to collect, the more money in Lucas's hands. And he retained all those rights, so he's the one actually getting the money. And those who would argue such are not necessarily wrong.

But it doesn't really matter what the reason for all these action figures is. What matters is the effect.

By producing action figures for every single character, and often giving them distinct names even if all they speak in the film is gibberish and they look like koala bears and monkeys made love (the monkeys, they don't DO it!) and gave birth to an abomination . . . by making all of these figures alongside the main character figures, what is suggested is that every character matters. Even (and sometimes especially) the small ones. The minor characters.

Complain all you want about how cute the ewoks are, but it makes sense in the Star Wars universe that something so small and seemingly insignificant can defeat something so enormous and intimidating like the Empire. Even Luke Skywalker is just a farmboy from some backwater planet (granted, with an enormously grandiose secret family history, but even Anakin was just a slave from the same planet and - oh fine, I won't bring THOSE movies into it, but it still works).

And you see this attention to even the smallest of characters in the action figures, even if it is accidental or unintentional. When we tore into those packages and wasted millions of future dollars, we not only found Luke Skywalker and Han Solo and all the major gloryhound heroes, but we also got Nien Nunb, the co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon in the Battle of Endor (the aforementioned koala-monkey); we got Bib Fortuna, the sleazy, penis-y, Gary-Oldman-Dracula looking advisor in Jabba's Palace; we got Ponda Baba, the cranky-pants walrus man who doesn't like Luke for no good reason (unless you believe Robot Chicken).

I'm not the only one who's responded to these minor characters. They've made whole books about the Bounty Hunters, about the creatures in Jabba's Palace, about the patrons at the Mos Eisley Cantina. mc chris (lowercase, no dots) has written some awesome songs, each about one of the different bounty hunters.

Hell, would Boba Fett have so much popularity if this attention to minor characters wasn't so key to the series? Watch the movies again - he's hardly in them. People complain that his death is not befitting of such a badass bounty hunter, but . . . based on the movies alone, what precisely MAKES him a badass bounty hunter? I mean, he looks cool, he does some cool stuff, but his reputation is all extended universe. Or expanded universe. Whatever it's called. Shut up.

I guess, as usual, these observations are nothing new, but think of the implications. What this suggests, regardless of intent, is simply that enormous waves can be made across the universe by even the most minor of characters. What would have happened if EV-9D9 (I had to look that one up - had always called him 'Hot-Dog Head') had decided to dismantle R2 and 3PO right then and there because he didn't like the looks of him? Or if that one Imperial gunner had decided to blast 3PO and R2's escape pod into Rancor litter (what are we paying by the laser now!?)? What if the ugnaughts had been just a little too good at their job and melted down 3PO or the monster on Dagobah actually liked the taste of astromech and - . . . huh . . . ok, really it all boils down to 3PO and R2 I guess, but Lucas has never made that a secret.

I guess I've overstated it, but the attention to character detail and the fact that I grew up knowing all of these minor characters has made an impact on at least myself and I'm sure others. I mean, what other major trilogy deals with the very small making such a big difference? With minor, seemingly insignificant creatures bringing down the ultimate evil? What other major story has a backwater bumpkin surviving against all odds to not only fight the darkness without, but also the darkness within? What - . . . . . . . . .

Oh . . . .

Then again, Star Wars didn't even give Chewie a medal, so maybe it is just a money thing.