Chewbacca

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Chewbacca

Chewbacca (or Chewie) (c. 200 BBY - c. 25 ABY), a fictional character of the Star Wars universe, is a 2.3 m (7.5 ft) tall Wookiee and co-pilot of Han Solo's ship, the Millennium Falcon. Chewbacca is the son of Attichitcuk, the husband of Mallatobuck, and the father of Lumpawarrump.

Biography

Wise and sophisticated, he has a great deal of technological savvy. Chewbacca is known for his great strength and loyalty. While Chewie is perfectly able to understand the galactic-standard language Basic, he is unable to speak it due to his species' vocal structure. He communicates in his native language, Shyriiwook, while Solo always speaks to Chewie in Basic. According to IMDb triva, Chewbacca's voice "is a combination of several animals including bears, badgers, walrus and camels."^* Chewbacca was played by actor Peter Mayhew in the Star Wars movies.

Republic Era

Before meeting Solo, Chewie was a major player in the Battle of Kashyyyk (as seen in Revenge of the Sith), and he and Wookiee General Tarfful were responsible for Yoda's escape when Emperor Palpatine ordered the Clone troopers to turn on the Jedi (see Order 66).

The Empire Era

Chewbacca undertook a Wookiee "life debt" to Han Solo due to Solo saving his life at some point before A New Hope.

In the Expanded Universe comic book entitled simply Chewbacca, Imperial Navy Officer Han Solo was ordered to destroy a drifting shuttle full of Wookiee Slaves, including Chewbacca. Solo refused to do so, and set the Wookiees free. Solo was discharged from the Imperial Navy for this act. Chewbacca tracked down Solo and from the time Solo saved his life, up to Chewbacca's death on the planet of Sernpidal, the two were nearly inseparable.

However, in the Expanded Universe The Han Solo Trilogy, a scheduled rendezvous with a slaving vessel revealed that an adult Wookiee, Chewbacca, had overwhelmed the crew and released the Wookiee children that were to be sold. Leading a TIE fighter squadron, Solo boarded the damaged ship and found a barely conscious Chewbacca in the pilot's seat. Commander Nyklas ordered the young lieutenant to skin the Wookiee; Solo refused to do so. Solo later lost his lieutenant's commission and was dishonorably discharged. In this way Chewbacca owed a life-debt to his rescuer, and from then on the two were inseparable.

Initially, Princess Leia did not like Chewbacca, calling him a "walking carpet." But eventually she almost became as close a friend to Chewbacca as Han Solo (mirroring Han's own initial resistance to Chewbacca's loyalty, which was also replaced by a deep and abiding friendship). Chewbacca was very close to Han and Leia's children, becoming an uncle of sorts to the three children.

Appearances

The Films

Chewbacca plays a major role in Episodes III, IV, V, and VI of the Star Wars films. In Episode III, Chewbacca, along with Tarfful, fight in the Clone Wars when their planet is invaded. They also help to get Yoda to safety. In Episodes IV, V, and VI, Chewbacca accompanies Han Solo and The Rebel Alliance in helping to defeat the Galactic Empire.

The Expanded Universe

The 1978 television program The Star Wars Holiday Special introduces Chewbacca's family of Malla, Itchy, and Lumpy. They live together on Kashyyyk, the Wookiee homeworld, where Chewbacca visits them on Life Day with other major characters. His family also appears in some Star Wars books, most notably The Wookiee Storybook, The Black Fleet Crisis trilogy by Michael P. Kube-McDowell (wherein Lumpy undergoes his rite of passage and chooses the adult name Lumpawaroo (Waroo)), and Rebel Dawn by A. C. Crispin. The latter also introduces other family members, including a sister named Kallabow and cousins named Dryanta and Jowdrrl.

Chewbacca also plays an important role In the 1999 novel Vector Prime by R.A. Salvatore (the first in the New Jedi Order series). However, the story is Chewbacca's final adventure, since the Wookiee actually dies. The event occurs when Chewbacca sacrifices his own life to save that of Han's son Anakin from a collision between the planet Sernpidal and one of its moons. The collision is caused by a Yuuzhan Vong weapon placed on the planet that draws the moon to its fateful collision with Sernpidal. Afterward, the other core Star Wars characters are emotionally crushed by the loss, and Han Solo even seeks refuge for a time among alcohol and the stars. A rift also opens between Han and his son Anakin, as he holds the boy responsible for Chewie's death.

Lumpawaroo and Lowbacca (Chewie's nephew, who trained with Han's twin children at Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy) offered to assume Chewbacca's life debt to Han; Han eventually persuaded them otherwise.

In Jedi Academy, Chewie appears briefly at the Mos Eisley spaceport as an NPC, assisting Jaden Korr in disabling the tractor beams holding both the Millennium Falcon and the Raven's Claw captive.

In Revenge of the Wookiees Chewie appears in several locations, In the starters tutorial, rescuing you from an Imperial Space Station, In Lady Valarian's Lucky Despot in Mos Eisley, and on his homeworld, Kashyyyk.

Trivia

In naming Chewbacca, George Lucas is said to have borrowed the Russian word собака (Sobaka), which means dog, to name this dog-like character. Indeed, the dog in question was Lucas' own dog Indiana, an Alaskan Malamute.
The fact that Chewbacca apparently does not receive a medal in the concluding ceremony in A New Hope bothered many fans. This was corrected outside regular Star Wars continuity, after a fashion in 1997, when Chewbacca won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the MTV Movie Awards. Chewbacca, played by Peter Mayhew, appeared on stage to a standing ovation and was given a medal from Carrie Fisher. It should be noted that in the novelization of A New Hope (ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster, credited to George Lucas), Leia did give Chewbacca a medal, but she had to strain to do so.
An actor appearing in a Wookiee costume threw out the ceremonial first pitch in a Red Sox - Blue Jays game on September 29, 2005.
Instrumental rock band Liquid Tension Experiment recorded a track entitled "Chewbacca" in their second studio album, Liquid Tension Experiment 2.
Rock band DVDA featuring South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone has written a song titled Chewbacca. The song aired during the credits of an episode of South Park called "Starvin' Marvin in Space", The Chewbacca defense was also used in the episode "Chef Aid", and everyone in the class dresses as Chewbacca for Halloween in the episode "Pink Eye".
The band Supernova also made a song called Chewbacca that appeared on the Clerks Soundtrack, and also appeared in the movie itself.
Chewbacca, along with C-3PO and R2-D2, has also appeared in "Blind Ambition", an episode of Family Guy.
Chewbacca is unable to pronounce his own name.

References

External links

Rebel Alliance and New Republic characters | Fictional rebels

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