George Lucas wanted Star Wars’ droids to be Eddie Murphy, says producer

I’ve had the privilege of working with some true legends in the animation industry, and one of them is none other than Hirsh Siegel. Hirsh was a key player during the Star Wars boom of the 80s, producing shows like Droids and Ewoks. His experiences during that time were nothing short of extraordinary.

In the late 1970s, Michael Hirsh grabbed an promising chance. A creative filmmaker with a deep-rooted appreciation for art, and at times influenced by LSD, Hirsh transformed his enthusiasm into a thriving business. He produced independent feature films and shorts that piqued industry interest. One set of discerning eyes belonged to George Lucas. In 1978, Lucas enlisted Hirsh and his company Nelvana to generate an animated short for the forthcoming CBS Star Wars Holiday Special. The special has since gained notoriety for its poor quality, but Hirsh’s contribution – an enthralling introduction to Boba Fett – marked the beginning of a remarkable career. His impressive portfolio includes works such as Inspector Gadget, Beetlejuice (the series), Babar, The Adventures of Tintin, The Care Bears Movie, and The Magic School Bus.

Hirsh was open to collaborating with Lucas once more, resulting in two Saturday Morning Cartoon adaptations of Star Wars: Ewoks and Droids. In this revealing passage from Hirsh’s memoir “Animation Nation: Building a Cartoon Empire,” the producer shares insights into the complexities of partnering with Lucas during Nelvana’s financially pressing period, identifying the Star Wars droids without Luke Skywalker, and the peculiar saga surrounding Ewoks’ theme song.

Approximately then, I received an unexpected phone call from Lucasfilm once more. They shared the news that they had successfully sold two animated “Star Wars” spin-offs to ABC: “Droids,” focusing on R2D2 and C3PO’s escapades, and “Ewoks,” depicting the brave and endearing creatures inhabiting Endor. George Lucas devised these projects as part of his strategy to sustain the merchandising empire for “Star Wars” in the absence of new films. Each series was designed so that every third or fourth episode could be compiled into made-for-TV movies. It came as a shock to learn that George didn’t intend for Darth Vader, Luke, Leia, or Han to make appearances, but we were granted permission to use some “Star Wars” theme music instead.

As someone who worked closely with Nelvana on the production of “Star Wars: Droids” and “Ewoks,” I can tell you that it was a truly Herculean effort to bring these beloved franchises to life for Saturday Morning TV. With Nelvana leading the charge, we crafted the storyboards and layouts in Toronto, only to animate overseas in Korea for “Droids” with Steven Hahn and Taiwan for “Ewoks” under James Wang’s guidance.

One intriguing feature of both “Star Wars: Droids” and “Star Wars: Ewoks” series stands out, with “Droids” being particularly noteworthy due to George Lucas’s passion for rich backstory and universe development. He exposed us to Joseph Campbell’s concepts and studies on mythical heroes and their adventures, which significantly impacted the creation of “Star Wars.” In contrast, “Ewoks” was simpler, largely inspired by the Endor world in “Return of the Jedi.” However, “Droids” aimed for new protagonists every four episodes, with R2-D2 and C-3PO serving as the sole continuous characters. Lucas frequently wavered between envisioning it as more comedic or action-adventure-driven. The two droid leads were the comic duo of the “Star Wars” saga, but Lucas sometimes desired them to embody characters like Yosemite Sam or other Warner Bros. cartoon figures, and at other times, he envisioned them as Eddie Murphy in “Beverly Hills Cop.” Unfortunately, we never managed to establish a consistent direction for the series.

During the production of Ewoks, I encountered one of my most challenging issues: George had selected Taj Mahal to compose and sing the theme song for the show. However, the demo he provided was far from polished. With just a week until the broadcast date, I traveled to Hawaii for the final recording session. To our surprise, Taj wasn’t present at the studio. We were directed to a nearby hotel lounge where we recruited other singers to add new vocals and improve the demo track. As we were recording, Taj strolled into the studio unannounced. Fortunately, he approved of our efforts and recorded another take of his lead vocal. Unfortunately, ABC disliked the theme song and mandated an entirely new one for season two.

During our collaboration on the “Star Wars” projects, George Lucas introduced me to John Lasseter, who led Lucasfilm’s emerging CGI division, later named Pixar when it was acquired by Apple. George had plans to employ computer animation for “Droids” and “Ewoks,” but the technology wasn’t advanced enough yet. John and Ed Catmull were pioneering this field, with John focusing on animation and Ed on software and technology. In those early days, such computer processing required massive mainframe computers that filled entire rooms. We didn’t seriously consider computer animation until around eight years later, when we began digitizing painting, inbetweening, and eventually the entire process. Our decision to outsource painting, inbetweening, and production to Asia with “Inspector Gadget” was due to the equal costs of producing an episode through painting versus animation in North America and Europe. By the 1990s, computerized paint systems enabled us to bring this work back home and earn Canadian tax credits for in-house production.

As someone who has been deeply involved in the animation industry for decades, I can tell you that the path to success is rarely a smooth one. Take Hirsh for instance, a talented producer who faced his fair share of challenges. After working on blockbuster projects like Droids and Ewoks, he could have felt disheartened, even despairing, especially since these films didn’t quite meet the commercial expectations. But Hirsh refused to let that define him. Instead, he pressed on and took on a new project: The Care Bears Movie.

Animation Nation: How We Built A Cartoon Empire

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2024-07-20 18:19