A Star Wars Holiday Special
By Derek Lionberger
Have you ever watched a movie that was so bad that you can’t help but love it? That was exactly how I felt when I watched The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978). This cinematic masterpiece came out a year after the very first Star Wars movie and was forgotten until recordings of it were released on YouTube. After the unexpected, but major, success of Star Wars, this movie was rushed through production in hopes of keeping the public interested until the next movie, Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, came out. However, in their haste, the Star Wars production crew created a fever dream of a movie that everyone tries to forget.
The first ten minutes of this movie are just flat out bad. There’s no other way to describe it. We are introduced to Chewbacca’s family and left with an awkward stretch of time filled with Wookiees grunting and absolutely no idea of what is happening. This phenomenon occurs throughout the movie. There are lots of scenes of Wookiees in their home preparing for a holiday. These scenes also include terrifying holograms and musical sequences that will leave you questioning what you are watching. The whole plot of the movie is related to Han Solo and Chewbacca getting lost and trying to make it home for the Wookiee holiday celebration. One of the best parts of this movie is the introduction of Boba Fett. In the middle of this live-action special, Chewbacca’s son starts watching a cartoon episode of another Star Wars story. This short cartoon is where we are introduced to the beloved character of Boba Fett. However, that is about the only good part of this movie.
I am an avid Star Wars fan and always have been. I’ve seen the greats and the not-so-greats of the Star Wars universe, but this holiday special is absolutely the worst thing I have ever seen. It definitely was a quickly and poorly made cash grab to make sure Star Wars was still relevant. While this special definitely kept Star Wars in everyone’s mind, I don’t think it was for the right reasons. The main characters that everyone wants to see are present for a total of maybe 15 minutes and the rest of the movie is filled with Wookiee grunting and awkward musical pieces. I absolutely love Star Wars, but I also absolutely recommend staying away from this movie. You can find it here on YouTube, but you will never get back that hour and a half of your life. You will also have nightmares about this movie for about 6–8 business days afterwards, but eventually this movie will fade into a fever dream you wish you could forget.
