There are a ton of famous quotes to come out of the original Star Wars trilogy, like “May the Force be with you,” “I have a bad feeling about this,” “It’s a trap!,” and the often misquoted, “No, I am your father.” Star Wars fans love those lines, but the quote that has the most widespread appeal is Yoda’s famous ”Do or do not. There is no try.” In fact, Yoda’s short, simple, and unique way of talking, aka Yoda-speak, makes him all the more badass.
The Empire Strikes Back turns 45 this May. Over the weekend, Star Wars creator George Lucas appeared at an anniversary screening that was held at the TCM Classic Film Festival. During a Q & A with TCM’s Ben Mankiewicz, he finally shed some light about his decision to give Yoda such a memorable backwards dialect. It was to get people, especially the youths, to pay attention. Or, as Yoda would say: Attention, the kids must pay.
“Yoda had a very distinctive way of talking, and it was done purposely because if you were speaking regular English, people don’t listen that much,” Lucas told TCM’s primetime host Ben Mankiewicz. “But if you have an accent, or it’s really hard to understand what he’s saying, they focus on what he’s saying.”
“He was basically the philosopher of the movie, so he was talking about all the things.” Lucas continued of Yoda’s trait. “I had to figure out a way to get people to actually listen, especially 12 year olds.”
Some of Yoda’s most famous quotes include, “Much to learn, you still have,” and “Patience you must have my young Padawan.”
In 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda is voiced and puppeteered by Frank Oz, who also reprised the role in 1983’s Return of the Jedi, the third film in the series.
Elsewhere during his appearance at the anniversary screening, Lucas discussed how the studio initially showed a lack of support with the deal memo he drafted to make the first movie, “I said, ‘I’ll do it for $50,000, to write and direct and produce … But I do want the sequels.’ And I wanted the rights because I’m going to make those movies no matter what happens to this one,” Lucas explained.
His other condition: “I said, ‘besides that, I’d like licensing.’ They went, ‘What’s licensing?’ They talked to themselves, and they went, ‘He’s never going to be able to do that. It takes them a billion dollars and a year to make a toy or make anything. There’s no money in that at all.’ ”
[From People]
Honestly, this is brilliant. It really did work! The brevity of Yoda’s statements was pretty key, too. It made what he said easy to remember and be all the more quotable (and therefore, all the more marketable). Yoda doesn’t say a lot throughout the course of Episodes I through VI, but what he does say has impact. I’ve always been partial to his poignant explanation of life, ”Luminous beings we are, not this crude matter.” I also find “Many of the truths that we cling to depend on our point of view” to be even more timely with every passing day.
Anyway, I’ve heard George talk about the licensing thing before and the response about there not being any money in making toys has always cracked me up. What a different time! Now, toys come out ahead of movies as a part of marketing, and licensing is a whole different ballgame. There are even different collections of the same action figures, but in different scales (sizes). It is a huge part of a films/franchises making money. Age well, that response did not.
Photos credit: Nicky Nelson/Wenn/Avalon, Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon, Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon, imago stock&people/Avalon, Julie Edwards/Avalon
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