Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure

The Towani family's star cruiser has met with disaster, crashing onto the forest moon of Endor. Cindel and [Mace](/article/mace_towani], the children, are nowhere to be found, prompting their parents, Jeremitt and Catarine, to search for them using flashlights. However, they are suddenly attacked by the Gorax.

In an Ewok settlement, Deej Warrick's offspring, Weechee and Widdle, have also disappeared. He takes to the skies with a hang glider to scour the surrounding woods. During his search, he spots a light-reflecting object on the ground. Upon locating his missing children, they investigate the source of the light, discovering the Towani starcruiser and the human child, Cindel, inside. Meanwhile, Mace confronts one of the Ewoks and enters the wrecked starcruiser armed with his blaster, fearing the Ewoks may be a threat to their family. The Ewoks manage to subdue him and transport him, along with Cindel, back to their village on a stretcher.

Upon arriving at the village, Cindel falls ill. Mace requests food from the Ewoks, believing it will aid her recovery. Instead, they administer some of their medicine. However, it proves insufficient to restore her health, and the Ewoks have no more to offer. Consequently, Mace sets out to find a special tree containing a medicinal fluid. Upon reaching inside the tree, he is attacked by a temptor. With the help of the Ewoks, he manages to extract his hand after a struggle. They administer the fluid to Cindel, and the Ewoks offer to use some to heal Mace's wound from the tree incident.

The following morning, Cindel's condition improves, and she and Wicket (another of Deej's sons) begin to bond while sitting at a table. She recounts the story of her family's ship crash to Wicket. Mace remains skeptical of the Ewoks and informs Cindel of their intention to leave the village once he retrieves his blaster.

Later that night, while the Ewoks are asleep, Mace awakens Cindel and recovers his blaster. They stealthily depart from the village and venture into the forest. Cindel insists that they are lost and requests a rest. Mace starts a fire and admits his regret for his past misbehavior towards their parents, acknowledging that he misses them. Cindel expresses concern that their parents may be dead, but Mace remains convinced that they are still alive. Suddenly, they hear the approach of a boar-wolf and flee. Mace fires at the boar-wolf. They find refuge inside a hollow tree trunk, but the wolf is unable to penetrate it.

The subsequent morning, the children awaken to the sound of Ewoks battling the boar-wolf with spears. Wicket fires a poison dart into the beast, subduing it. They discover Jeremitt's life monitor on the boar-wolf, indicating that their parents are still alive. Mace seeks the Ewoks' assistance in determining the boar-wolf's origin. Deej directs him to Logray, the village shaman.

Within Logray's dwelling, the shaman employs his crystal image spinner to pinpoint the location of the Towani parents, revealing that they are being held captive in a cage by the Gorax. Cindel implores Deej for assistance, but he initially declines, knowing that Jeremitt and Catarine are being held in a place from which no Ewok has ever returned. After contemplation, Deej decides to aid the children. That night, Deej's wife, Shodu, gazes mournfully at her family, fearing that she may never see them again.

The following day, the entire village contributes to preparations for the journey. Logray summons the group to participate in a ceremony, during which each member receives one of the Sacred Tokens of the Legendary Ewok Warriors. Deej (the group's leader) receives the White Wings of Hope, Weechee (the eldest son) is given the Red Wings of Courage, Wicket receives a magic walking stick, Widdle is given the Blue Wings of Strength, Cindel is given the Candle of Pure Light, and Mace is given a rock. A crystal and an ivory tooth are brought along to give to other Ewoks who they must find to join them in their quest. Mace dismisses his rock and throws it aside, but Wicket picks it up behind him.

The Warrick family bids farewell, Logray bestows his blessing upon the group, and they embark on their quest. Cindel and Wicket ride in a compartment atop a horse, while the rest of the group either rides a horse or walks.

A tree suddenly falls behind Mace. He fears for Cindel, but quickly discovers that she is alright. Chukha-Trok appears with an ax, and Deej offers him the ivory tooth to go with them. Mace protests, and challenges Chukha-Trok to an ax-throwing contest to prove his worth as a warrior. This earns Mace's respect, and he asks Chukha-Trok to join them. They continue on their quest, but Deej stops to find Kaink the priestess, to whom he gives the crystal totem. Before she can join however, they must pass a test; Kaink hands Mace the crystal, which turns into a lizard. Mace storms off in frustration, but Cindel picks up the lizard and it turns into a white mouse. She asks Kaink for her help and she agrees.

They continue in their quest, now crossing vast fields. They reach a lake, where Mace sees his reflection and becomes curious. He touches the water and is suddenly trapped below the surface. Cindel and Wicket are playing, but she suddenly realizes that Mace has disappeared. She calls for help, and the Ewoks run to help him. They first try a rope, but it too becomes trapped below the surface. They then try a tree branch, which does the same. Cindel then tells Wicket to use his magic stick. This works; Mace grabs hold, and they pull him to safety.

Back on dry land, Deej and Kaink look at a map, while Weechee and Widdle play a game and Wicket swings on a tree branch. Mace ushers the group to move on, and puts Cindel in the compartment atop the horse. He then calls for Wicket, who lets go of the tree branch. This scares the horse, which runs away with Cindel. Chukha-Trok rides another horse after her. He gets alongside the horse, and brings it to a stop.

Chukha-Trok, Cindel and the horses return to the rest of the group, and they continue their quest. That evening, they set up camp for the night. In one tent, Cindel, Wicket and Mace are almost asleep, when a Wistie grabs Mace's attention. He follows it outside, and an entire group of Wisties emerge from the ground. He calls for the other to come and look. Wicket instantly recognized them, alerts other tents to look. A sleepy Widdle comes out, but is not impressed. Cindel sets her candle on the ground, and the Wisties gather around it. They all fly down into the flame of the candle, which transforms into Queen Izrina.

Mace takes her into his hand, and he and Cindel speculates that Izrina is away from her family like she, Mace and Wicket are. The group continues their quest, and camps again that night. Cindel complains of being hungry, but Mace refuses, not knowing how longer their quest will be. Wicket then offers them some food. Mace brings out Izrina, and offers her some of the food. She then flies around the tent, to the joy of all the inhabitants.

The next day, the group traverses the Desert of Salma, ultimately reaching the Forbidden Fortress of the Gorax. Mace wonders aloud how they will enter the fortress. Kaink suggests Mace's rock, but Mace tells her that he threw it away. Wicket has it however, and gives it to Mace. Mace is still skeptical, and ask what to do with it. Kaink motions for him to shake it, which makes Mace realize that it has something inside.

He throws it on the ground to reveal an arrowhead, which Kaink motions for him to put on the ground. The arrowhead then magically points and moves toward the entrance to the fortress, which they discover is blocked by a giant boulder. Mace then uses his blaster to destroy the boulder and unblocks a cave entrance. They go inside, and Deej insists that the youngest members of the group (Wicket, Widdle and Cindel) stay by the entrance. Mace tells Cindel to stay behind, and everyone exchanges hugs.

The rest of the group moves deeper into the fortress, where they eventually encounter a giant spider web stretched across a bottomless pit. Mace climbs onto the web, and compares moving on it to "climbing a ladder sideways". Suddenly, a spider attacks them. Mace stabs it with a knife, causing it to fall into the pit. The Ewoks follow him across.

Meanwhile, back at the entrance, Wicket reassures and entertains Cindel. Deej is the last of the group to cross, when he is also attacked by a giant spider. Mace pulls his blaster, only to find it out of power. Deej tries to knock it away, Kaink uses her magic wand to hypnotize the spider. Once Deej is safely across, Chukha-Trok uses his ax to cut the spider web, which causes the spider to fall with the web into the pit.

The group then finds themselves at the bottom of a giant staircase, where they attacked by a third spider, which Wicket kills with a knife. They climb the steps to the top, where they find the Gorax's lair. Mace hears the Gorax, and tells the others to run and hide with him. However, Weechee doesn't make it out in time, and has to hide behind the Gorax's giant ax as the Gorax sits down at his table eating off of a bone. It gets up to look at its next meal: Jeremitt and Catarine, who are hanging in a cage from the ceiling.

Weechee accidentally knocks the ax over, which garners the Gorax's attention, and it comes after him. He runs to the rest of the group, who again run and hide. Mace wonders how they will reach their parents, and Chukha-Trok suggests they use the Gorax's ax as a lever. Mace stands on one end, at which point Jeremitt and Catarine notice him. Chukha-Trok and Deej jump off a ledge onto the other end of the lever, which sends Mace flying up into the air, where he grabs hold of the cage containing his parents. Mace throws down a rope, and introduces Chukha-Trok as "a friend" as he climbs up.

Mace climbs down first, but as soon as he reaches the bottom, the Gorax notices their activity. Weechee distracts it by hiding under a basket and moving across the floor. The Gorax smashes the basket, but finds nothing underneath. Weechee runs out from behind a corner, enraging the Gorax. Meanwhile, everyone continues climbing down from the cage, which is beginning to break. Weechee runs back to warn them, with the Gorax on his trail. The cage breaks, and Chukha-Trok falls into the hands of Jeremitt. They run out of the Gorax's lair, but Chukha-Trok stays behind and repeatedly attacks the Gorax's foot with his ax.

As Mace is yelling for him to come on, Izrina lights up in his pocket. Mace unleashes Izrina on the Gorax, which disorients it while Chukha-Trok continues his attacks. In a rage, the Gorax strikes the walls of his fortress, which causes rocks to crumble and fall on Chukha-Trok. Mace runs to him, but realizes that Chukha-Trok is dying. Before he dies, Chukha-Trok gives Mace his ax.

The Gorax chases the survivors down the giant steps, but they use a pulled-tight rope to trip him. Kaink then uses her magic wand to cause a stalactite to fall on his head. Catarine then uses Mace's blaster to shoot the Gorax in the chest, which causes him to fall off the ledge into the pit. Mace shows Deej Chukha-Trok's ax, and explains his sacrifice to them.

Cindel, Wicket and Widdle appear on the other side of the chasm. But at that moment, the Gorax emerges from the pit and moves toward them. Mace throws Chukha-Trok's ax into the Gorax's back, which causes him to fall back into the pit. The group then swing across the chasm using a remaining part of the spider web as rope. Once they are safely on the other side, the family embraces, happy to be back together and out of danger. They then head for home, with Mace suggesting that Izrina will help guide the way.

Later on, back at the Ewok village, Mace says goodbye to Izrina, and the Towani and Warrick families hold a celebration.

Following the premiere of Return of the Jedi, George Lucas conceived the idea for a television special centered around the Ewoks. This concept arose from his intention to create a film for his young daughter Amanda, who particularly adored the Ewoks. Producer Thomas G. Smith presented the concept to major television networks, but all declined except for ABC, which agreed on the condition that the project span two hours of television. Lucas later reflected on the production, stating, "I hadn't done any TV and it was a chance to use many people in the company who hadn't had much experience with live-action production and experiment a little. The economics of TV are vastly different than the economics of film. It was done for very little money."

John Korty took on the roles of director and cinematographer, while Lucas and Bob Carrau penned the script. Korty and Smith conducted auditions for the majority of roles in Los Angeles and Marin County. The only exceptions were Warwick Davis and the other Ewok actors, who had already demonstrated their abilities in Return of the Jedi. Pre-production commenced in April 1984, with filming commencing that June in Marin County, California, and the California Redwoods. The eight-week shooting schedule was carefully planned to accommodate child labor laws and the children's school schedules. Davis had a tutor on set, with whom he studied for four hours per day. Lucas himself oversaw the film's re-shoots and edited certain scenes. Davis also operated the camera for one of the shots. Following the completion of production, Lucas and Smith supervised post-production.

At Lucas's suggestion, an actual hang-glider was constructed and flown in the film by an actor in an Ewok suit. Jon Berg designed the Gorax, portraying it through both stop-motion animation and in costume. A deleted scene featured Mace encountering a group of large flowers, one of which attempted to pull him underground. This was replaced with a scene of Mace inserting his hand into a tree. The film also originally had a different ending in which the characters dance in snow. Production Designer Joe Johnston commented on the film's special effects: "The effects we did were pretty primitive. We did forced perspectives and glass paintings, back-to-basics things that had been around since the 1920s. George just told us to go out there and have some fun."

During production, Lucasfilm provided Warwick Davis and Eric Walker with a film camera, believing it would be an educational experience for them. Their on-set tutor suggested they create a documentary about the making of The Ewok Adventure. Davis and Walker, under the name W&W Productions, proceeded to film behind-the-scenes footage, which they edited in their hotel room using Lucasfilm equipment. The documentary was not publicly released at the time and was considered a private "home movie" for the two. Upon the DVD release of the Ewok films in 2004, Eric Walker expressed disappointment with the lack of extras and felt that the Ewok Adventure documentary should have been included. In July 2006, Walker announced on his website that he would publish a book about working with George Lucas entitled Growing up on Skywalker Ranch. In 2011, he launched a Kickstarter project to raise funds to complete the book—by then retitled Growing Up in a Galaxy Far, Far Away. The campaign was successful, surpassing the original goal. One of the rewards for donating to the project was a DVD of the Ewok Adventure documentary. On November 25, 2014 (the 30th anniversary of the first airing of Caravan of Courage), Walker posted the documentary on his YouTube channel.

The Ewok Adventure was first broadcast on ABC on November 25, 1984 as part of the "ABC Sunday Night Movie" lineup. Some radio stations aired a simultaneous audio track to provide viewers with a stereo experience. It achieved the second-highest ratings for an ABC movie that year. It was later broadcast on the Disney Channel. In Europe, the film was released theatrically under the title Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure. For the end credits of the French version, the Peter Bernstein score was replaced with an original song by French singer Dorothée.

Starting in 1984, Random House published a series of tie-in children's books that continued the adventures of the Ewoks from the film, many of which also used the subtitle "An Ewok Adventure." In 1985, two children's book adaptations were released: Random House's The Ewoks and the Lost Children and Buena Vista Records's book-and-record Read-Along Adventure The Ewok Adventure. In 1986, Lucasfilm released an official soundtrack, which included selections from Peter Bernstein's scores for both Ewok films.

The Ewok Adventure was made available on VHS and Laserdisc in 1990 via MGM.

On November 23, 2004, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox released the film on DVD—this time with its theatrical title of Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure. The DVD presents the film in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio with a Dolby Digital 2.0 English audio track and English subtitles. The release was billed as Star Wars: Ewok Adventures, a "double feature" of Caravan of Courage and its sequel, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor. The disc itself is double-sided, featuring one film on each side. It featured no extras, only the films themselves.

On March 16, 2021, it was announced on Disney's fan club website D23.com that the movie, along with its sequel, would be available on Disney+ starting April 2.

The film garnered nominations for Emmy Awards in the categories of "Outstanding Children's Programming" and "Outstanding Special Visual Effects," ultimately winning the latter.

ABC initially considered the film as a potential pilot for a TV series, but Lucas declined. However, a sequel, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, was filmed in the summer of 1985 and broadcast that November on ABC. It continues the story shortly after the first film, focusing on Cindel and the Ewoks' struggle against a group of pirates. In late 1985, Lucas informed Starlog of plans for additional Ewok films, and both Warwick Davis and Eric Walker believed a third film was in development. However, Lucas later explained, "We made two, and were going to do a third, but they became very expensive to make."

During the Celebration IV opening ceremonies, the cast of "Star Wars in 30 Minutes" presented a skit titled "Lucasfilm in Five Minutes 1983-2005," reenacting or imitating elements from major Lucasfilm productions from 1983 to 2005. Both Ewok films were included in the performance. In 2009, StarWars.com commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Ewok films with a series of articles exploring various aspects of each. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story director Gareth Edwards displayed a Caravan of Courage poster in his office during the film's production, reportedly as a reminder of past Star Wars spin-off films. An animated depiction of a promotional still from the film appears in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.

The film was designated as C-canon within the Holocron continuity database, officially set in 3 ABY. Producer Thomas G. Smith asserted that the film depicts a young Ewok playing with a toy AT-AT, suggesting the presence of the Galactic Empire on Endor at that time. Eric Walker stated that Smith informed him that the crew viewed the film as set 150 years after Return of the Jedi, placing it around 154 ABY. Leland Chee considered using this date for the Holocron but ultimately rejected it due to Wicket's youthful appearance. Lucasfilm Ltd.'s canon system underwent a complete reorganization following the 2012 Disney acquisition in anticipation of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. As of April 25, 2014, only the six episodic films, The Clone Wars movie and TV series, and anything going forward are to be considered canon. However, according to Lucasfilm Story Group's Pablo Hidalgo, there are no restrictions to reference the Ewoks films but that no one is obliged to do so, aside that George Lucas himself didn't see neither Caravan of Courage nor The Battle for Endor as being necessarily connected to the Star Wars mythos.

In the novel Tyrant's Test, Cindel is portrayed as having become a reporter on Coruscant. During the Yevethan crisis, Cindel receives the so-called Plat Mallar tapes from Admiral Drayson and leaks the story of the only survivor of the Yevethan attack on Polneye. In the novel Legacy of the Force: Fury, Allana's entertainment monitor displays an entertainment broadcast, "In which Ewoks spoke Basic and befriended shipwrecked little girls." Star Wars Battlefront's "Survivors of Endor" map features the Gorax cave, complete with rearing spiders and an empty cage hanging from the ceiling.