Star Wars designer shows off early, far less adorable version of Yoda
Make-up artist Stuart Freeborn discusses a work in progress version of Yoda in behind-the-scenes footage
Film Features Yoda
Everyone makes a big fuss about Baby Yoda. Sure, he’s cute with those fennec fox ears, wrinkly baby face, and innocent determination to eat another species out of existence, but years of Yodamania have made us forget just how charming the grown up alien truly is.
Behind-the-scenes footage from the original Yoda’s creation helps rectify this issue, shocking the system by making us look at the Jedi frogman anew, not as a beloved, well-established character but as a work in progress that looks like a drunk old man.
YouTube channel 70sSciFiBoy has resurfaced a 1979 interview with Star Wars make-up artist and creature designer Stuart Freeborn in which he runs down his work on creating a new alien for The Empire Strikes Back.
“This is a creature known as the Yoda,” Freeborn says from behind a sketch of the character that shows him grinning with half-closed eyes like a perverted gnome. “From that, we have to make something that looks pretty realistic.”
Freeborn shows off a bust of Yoda’s head that looks close to the finished product, but, more importantly, he also debuts an early puppet. This version of Yoda has one wonky eye and a gummy maw, its face collapsing into the tired, contented face of an old drunk sitting through every afternoon at the same pub.
“As you can see, he’s quite an interesting little character,” Freeborn tell us while working the puppet.
The short interview continues with Freeborn discussing further interesting bits about how the Yoda we see in the finished film will be made. But this insight is hard to pay attention to when we’re constantly being distracted by something else: The squinting, open-mouthed puppet taking in the workshop that birthed him as if he’s not sure whether to start singing songs from the old country or just fall asleep in a puddle of his own noxious drool.
[via Boing Boing]
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30 Comments
Dough-da
He looks like somebody’s drunk uncle.
Or within the Muppet universe, those two old critics Statler & Waldolf.“The Force is strong in that one.”“Yeah, you’d have to strongly force me to stay and watch a movie about him!”“Hahahaha!”
But drunk, right? May we agree on the drunk?
I’m pretty sure those two were sharing a flask to get up the courage to heckle Kermit and company.
My thought exactly, which makes sense…
Jesus, that is creepy.
The Yoda?
Everybody knows he just goes by one name, like Sting or Cher.
The Edge?
Nom that doesn’t work, does it?
He’s holding the puppet, talking about the puppet and all I can think of is “The puppet looks a little like John Goodman on a really bad day.” I think the voice is the secret to making Yoda the superstar that he is because I’m imagining Yoda sounding like John Goodman and it’s a completely different creature.
“The fuck up, shut, Donny!”
The absolute first thing that jumped into my head is that he’s freaking Waldorf (L):
My favorite Muppets.
Mine was the Swedish Chef, until I matured a little bit; then it was Statler and Waldorf ever after.
You know he doesn’t even speak real Swedish.
You’re right about that. Apparently he’s actually speaking Norwegian.
Swedish Chef freaked me out (and still does a bit) because of his hands. He’s one of the only muppets who just has regular human hands. Not even felt gloves on hands but HANDS. With SKIN.
It just looks… wrong. Like he’s some kind of disfigured mutant. Some real body horror stuff.
People think “being Borked” means being denied a seat on the Supreme Court thanks to your extremist views and terrible beard, but it actually refers to the condition of having your hands made out of a completely different material than the rest of your body.
For example, Bennings from The Thing was thoroughly Borked after his encounter with that shapeshifting alien invader.
Personally, I was struck by the resemblance between the puppet and its creator. Especially around the nose and mouth.
Yes, lol.
I read once that he was tasked with creating a wise-looking creature and he came back with basically a self-portrait. They gave Yoda Einstein’s eyes.
Where’s the picture of Yoda? And why is the header image legendary character actor Victor Wong in Big Trouble in Little China?
He’s watching Jack Burton imbibe from the Six Demon Bag in that shot.
I’m sorry, I don’t see the resemblance…
That’s amazing – from puppet to film-ready final version in two months??
There are two things I have come to believe about Yoda:
1. It must have taken several iterations to get him to the perfect amount of both ugly and cute.
2. Yoda’s character design ratio (newborn baby-length ears, giant eyes, large head, small body, little grabby hands) are a very marketing-appeal friendly character design. Just look at the Gremlins, Stitch from Lilo and Stitch, and arguably even Pikachu.
I suppose it coulda been worse:
“The force will I use to levitate the box of wine!”
Disney confirms that the Obi-wan series is coming in May, but they did not confirm the day. Disney+ seems to always air Star Wars shows on Wednesday and May 4th falls on a Wednesday. I mean come on. 😆