Yoda

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This article is about the Star Wars character. For the infant of the same species, see Grogu. For other uses, see Yoda (disambiguation).

Yoda
Star Wars character
Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
First appearance The Empire Strikes Back
Created by George Lucas
Voiced by
Performed by Frank Oz [h]
In-universe information
Full name Yoda
Species Unknown
Gender Male
Occupation
  •  • Jedi Master [i]
  •  • Grand Master of the Jedi
         High Council [j]
  •  • General in the Grand
         Army of the Republic [k]
Affiliation Jedi Order [3]
Apprentices Count Dooku
 Luke Skywalker
 Numerous others

Yoda (/ˈjoʊdə/) is a character in the Star Wars franchise. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with The Force. He is a Jedi Master and a leader in the Jedi Order. Frank Oz voiced and puppeteered Yoda in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back, which was the character's first appearance. Oz reprised the role in Return of the Jedi (1983), The Phantom Menace (1999), and The Last Jedi (2017). Outside of the films, the character was voiced most frequently by Tom Kane.

Profile

Before his death at the age of 900, the 2.2-foot (0.66 m) tall Yoda spent centuries training Jedi, including Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker. Near the end of the Galactic Republic era, Yoda led the Jedi High Council and trained young Jedi before they were assigned to a master. When the Clone Wars began, he became a general in the Republic's army and led several legions of clone troopers. He was one of the few Jedi to survive the events of Order 66 at the end of the war. After failing to defeat Darth Sidious in a duel, Yoda went into hiding on the planet Dagobah. Yoda's species and homeworld have never been named in any official Star Wars media.[4]

Creation

The Star Wars franchise was created by George Lucas, who wrote and directed the original Star Wars film (1977). He created the character Obi-Wan Kenobi as a mentor for the protagonist Luke Skywalker, and originally planned for Obi-Wan to continue training Luke in the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back. However, Lucas ultimately decided to kill off Obi-Wan in the first film. He then introduced a new mentor character, who was originally a diminutive frog-like creature called "Minch Yoda".[5][6] The name "Yoda" was chosen because Lucas envisioned the character as "a little Dalai Lama", and he wanted him to have an "Eastern-sounding" name.[7] The film's visual effects art director, Joe Johnston, sketched hundreds of different versions of Yoda. The design that Lucas finally settled on was described by Johnson as a combination of a leprechaun, a troll and a gnome.[8][l] Lucas gave Yoda a backward speech pattern because he felt the character needed a unique way of speaking that was more dramatic than an accent.[7]

Puppet

Yoda was originally portrayed by a puppet created by Stuart Freeborn and Wendy Froud.[11] Freeborn based Yoda's face on his own facial features and those of Albert Einstein, hoping the latter inspiration would make the character appear intelligent.[12][13] Lucas asked Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets, to perform the puppeteering for Yoda. Henson was busy with another project, however, and recommended Frank Oz for the role.[14][15] To perform Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back, Oz inserted his hand into the puppet's head to manipulate the mouth and brow. Kathryn Mullen, Wendy Froud and David Barclay operated Yoda's eyes, ears and other body parts using cables, strings, hydraulics and electronic mechanisms.[16] There was also a radio-controlled Yoda puppet that was used when the Jedi Master is riding on Luke's back.[17] For wide shots of Yoda moving around, Deep Roy wore a Yoda costume.[18] Oz provided Yoda's voice in all the films, and was the lead puppeteer for The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace and The Last Jedi.[19][20][21] He also performed vocal cameos as Yoda in The Force Awakens (2015) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019).[22][23]

Other versions

Yoda holding a lightsaber
Yoda was created with CGI in Attack of the Clones

For The Phantom Menace, Yoda was redesigned to look younger. He was created using computer-generated imagery (CGI) for two distant shots in the 1999 release but remained mostly a puppet,[24] with Stuart Freeborn's original design reinterpreted by Nick Dudman. Rendered with computer animation in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Yoda appeared in ways not previously possible, including his participation in elaborate fight scenes. His digital incarnation, overseen by Rob Coleman, was deliberately designed to be consistent with the limitations of the puppet version, including occasional ear movements.[25]

Yoda was recreated in CGI for the 2011 Blu-ray release of The Phantom Menace.[26] A clip of the new CG Yoda from The Phantom Menace was first seen in the featurette The Chosen One, included in the 2005 DVD release of Revenge of the Sith.[27] The 2012 theatrical 3D release of The Phantom Menace matches the 2011 cut featuring the CG version of Yoda.

For the radio dramatizations of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Yoda was voiced by John Lithgow, while Tom Kane voiced him in the Clone Wars animated series and several video games.

Appearances

Films

Title Year Portrayal
Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back 1980 Puppet
Star Wars: Episode VI—Return of the Jedi 1983 Puppet
Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace 1999 Puppet
Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones 2002 CGI
Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith 2005 CGI
Star Wars: Episode VIII—The Last Jedi 2017 Puppet

Animated series

Clone Wars (2003)

Yoda appears in the 2003 Cartoon Network 2D-animated television series Star Wars: Clone Wars, voiced by Tom Kane. In the show, Yoda is made a general, like many of the Jedi Knights and Masters. Yoda escorts Padmé on their journey to an unspecified planet, but Yoda senses several Jedi in distress on Ilum. Using the Jedi mind trick to convince Captain Typho to take them to Ilum, Yoda saves two Jedi Knights and finds a message from Count Dooku giving orders to destroy the Jedi Temple on Ilum. In the animated series' final episode, Yoda fights side by side with Mace Windu to defend Coruscant, which is under attack from the Separatists. The two Jedi Masters realize too late that the battle is a distraction; Separatist leader General Grievous truly intends to kidnap Palpatine. The Jedi Master's effort to stop Grievous fails, and Palpatine is taken hostage, thus setting the stage for Revenge of the Sith.

In 2014, the series was deprecated from the Disney canon, in favor of the 3D CGI series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.[28]

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)

Yoda appears in The Clone Wars, again voiced by Tom Kane. In the pilot film, Yoda assigns Anakin Skywalker his own padawan, Ahsoka Tano as he believes that she will help Anakin grow as a Jedi and as a person. Throughout most of the series, Yoda spends his time on Coruscant with the Jedi Council but he occasionally leaves for certain tasks, such as negotiations with King Katuunko on Rugosa and a confrontation with Asajj Ventress's droid army. Yoda also watches over Anakin and Ahsoka throughout the series, pleased that they are both maturing with each other's influence. However, in the final arc of season five, Ahsoka is framed for a crime she didn't commit and Yoda and the Jedi Council turn her over to the Republic military. Along with other members of the council, Yoda observes Ahsoka's trial but Anakin bursts in with the true culprit, fallen Jedi Barriss Offee, before the verdict can be read. Afterwards Yoda, Anakin, and the Council personally invite Ahsoka to rejoin the Order but she refuses and leaves. According to show runner Dave Filoni, Yoda blames himself for Ahsoka's departure as he had made her Anakin's padawan in the first place.

In the final arc of the sixth season, Yoda hears Qui-Gon Jinn speaking to him from beyond the grave. Yoda flees the Jedi Temple with R2-D2 to travel to Dagobah, his future home, to find answers. Shown cryptic visions of the fall of the Jedi, Yoda learns he has been chosen to manifest his consciousness after death as a Force ghost. Yoda is tested by a group of spirit priestesses in order to overcome trials and temptations on his pilgrimage; one of these tests is to face an illusion of ancient Sith lord Darth Bane. Yoda's final test is to resist an attempt by Darth Sidious and Dooku to lure him to the dark side with a false vision of deceased Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas. Yoda engages in a metaphysical battle with Sidious and appears to sacrifice his life in order to save Anakin's–only to awaken and discover that the battle was merely a vision and that he has passed the test. The priestesses inform Yoda that his training will resume in time.

Star Wars Rebels (2014)

Yoda was heard in the Star Wars Rebels episode "Path of the Jedi" with Frank Oz reprising the role for the first time since Revenge of the Sith.[29] He communicates with padawan Ezra Bridger and his master Kanan Jarrus during their experience in an ancient temple on Lothal, helping the pair do some soul-searching to analyze their true motivations. He appears physically for the first time in the season two episode "Shroud of Darkness", in which he appears in a vision of Ezra's and reunites with Ahsoka. His appearance in the series differs from his usual countenance as an homage to an early Ralph McQuarrie design for the character as well as a classic Kenner action figure. This was justified by premise that Ezra is viewing the character through his own imagination,[30] but the decision was confusing to many viewers.[31]

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi (2022)

Yoda is seen in two of the six episodes of Tales of the Jedi, in a non-speaking role. His first appearance can be found in the third episode of the anthology miniseries, titled "Choices", in which he attends the funeral of Jedi Master Katri. The Jedi Grand Master's second appearance in the series can be found within its fifth episode, "Practice Makes Perfect". In this, Yoda is present alongside other Jedi Masters, including Mace Windu, watching Padawan Ahsoka Tano being tested against training remotes designed to simulate battle droids. In his final appearance in the series (within the same episode), Yoda, alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi, lays witness to a conversation between Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, in which Skywalker informs Tano that he will formulate a test more challenging than the one she just partook in.

Literature

Yoda appears extensively in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, mostly in works set during or before the prequel trilogy, including Sean Stewart's 2004 novel Yoda: Dark Rendezvous, in which he sends an impersonator of himself to negotiate a potential treaty with Dooku, suspected his offer to be a feint. He also appears as a supporting character in Dark Horse Comics' Republic, and various other Clone Wars-related titles. In April 2014, following The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of Lucasfilm, all of these works were rebranded as Star Wars Legends and declared non-canon to the rest of the franchise.[32]

Since 2014, Yoda has also been featured in a number of canon books and other works, including Dooku: Jedi Lost and Master & Apprentice, which take place before The Phantom Menace. He appeared in The High Republic Adventures comic, set 200 years before the prequel trilogy.[33]

Other appearances

Yoda was featured in a series of 2012 commercials for Vodafone, which were broadcast in the UK. He was animated by Industrial Light & Magic for the commercials.[34][35][36]

Yoda appears in a television series based on the Lego Star Wars toys, including Lego Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles and The New Yoda Chronicles, of which he is the focus, as well as The Padawan Menace and Droid Tales.[37]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Episodes I–III, V–IX, Star Tours, Star Wars Rebels
  2. ^ The Clone Wars film and series, Star Wars Forces of Destiny and various games
  3. ^ The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi radio dramas
  4. ^ Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
  5. ^ Star Wars: Rebellion [1]
  6. ^ Read-along storybook CDs
  7. ^ Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures [2]
  8. ^ Lead puppeteer, Episodes I, V–VI, VIII
  9. ^ Episodes I–VI
  10. ^ Episodes I–III
  11. ^ Episodes II–III
  12. ^ Yoda has blue skin in some of Johnston's drawings and in the novelization of The Empire Strikes Back.[9][10]

References

Citations

  1. ^ "Yoda Voice - Star Wars: Rebellion (Video Game)". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  2. ^ "Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures Will Premiere May the Fourth". Gizmodo. February 9, 2023. Archived from the original on February 12, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  3. ^ "Yoda". StarWars.com. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  4. ^ Newby, Richard (November 15, 2019). "Will 'The Mandalorian' Answer One Question George Lucas Never Did?". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  5. ^ Rinzler 2010, pp. 22, 34.
  6. ^ "Unscripted With Hayden Christensen and George Lucas". Moviefone. May 19, 2005. Event occurs at 5:22. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Rinzler 2010, p. 241.
  8. ^ Rinzler 2010, p. 165.
  9. ^ Rinzler 2010, p. 218.
  10. ^ Guynes & Hassler-Forest, p. 77.
  11. ^ Rinzler 2010, p. 1677.
  12. ^ "Star Wars make-up artist Stuart Freeborn dies aged 98". BBC News. February 6, 2013. Archived from the original on April 7, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  13. ^ Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy (2004). 20th Century Fox Television. Event occurs at 1 hour and 40 minutes.
  14. ^ Jones, Brian Jay (2015). Jim Henson: The Biography. New York: Ballantine Books. p. 308. ISBN 978-0-345-52612-0. Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  15. ^ Rinzler 2010, p. 392.
  16. ^ Rinzler 2010, p. 564, 1159.
  17. ^ Nick Maley (November 29, 2020). Insider story of the creation of Yoda. Event occurs at 38 minutes. Retrieved May 4, 2024 via YouTube.
  18. ^ Rinzler 2010, p. 1229.
  19. ^ McCluskey, Megan (December 15, 2017). "An All-Time Favorite Star Wars Character Makes an Epic Cameo in The Last Jedi". Time. Time Inc. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  20. ^ Breznican, Anthony (December 16, 2017). "The Last Jedi spoiler talk: How an old-school Star Wars character made a surprising return". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. p. 2. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  21. ^ Evans, Nick (January 2018). "Why Star Wars: The Last Jedi Used A Puppet For Yoda". Cinema Blend. Archived from the original on April 12, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  22. ^ Bryant, Jacob (December 21, 2015). "Obi-Wan, Yoda Secretly in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'". Variety. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  23. ^ "'Star Wars' fans rejoice: Beloved character Yoda will return". New York Daily News. April 14, 2018. Archived from the original on April 15, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  24. ^ Desowitz, Bill (June 14, 2002). "Yoda as We've Never Seen Him Before". Animation World Magazine. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2008.
  25. ^ Coleman, Rob (2002). Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones audio commentary (DVD). 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Event occurs at 6.
  26. ^ Logan, Tom (August 25, 2011). "Yoda Goes CGI in 'Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace' on Blu-ray". Hi-Def Digest. Archived from the original on June 11, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  27. ^ Gould, Chris. "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith". dvdactive. Archived from the original on August 28, 2008. Retrieved March 4, 2009. 'The Chosen One' is another short documentary [...] [It] also feature[s] a scene from The Phantom Menace in which Yoda is presented as an entirely computer generated 'actor', perhaps warming up for a re-release somewhere down the line.
  28. ^ Cotter, Padraig (May 23, 2019). "Why Genndy Tartakovsky's Star Wars: Clone Wars Isn't Canon". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  29. ^ "Exclusive: Yoda Returns for Star Wars Rebels". tvguide.com. December 15, 2014. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  30. ^ Breznican, Anthony (January 16, 2016). "'Star Wars: Rebels' — A deep dive into the shocking new trailer with creator Dave Filoni". EW.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  31. ^ David, Margaret (December 12, 2020). "Why Yoda Looked SO Different on Star Wars Rebels". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on December 20, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  32. ^ "The Legendary Star Wars Expanded Universe Turns a New Page". StarWars.com. April 25, 2014. Archived from the original on September 10, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  33. ^ Brooks, Dan (September 1, 2020). "Inside Star Wars: The High Republic: Meet Yoda". StarWars.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  34. ^ Laughlin, Andrew (January 19, 2012). "Yodafone: Jedi Master signs up for Vodafone TV ad campaign - video". DigitalSpy. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  35. ^ Nissim, Mayer (July 30, 2012). "Yoda Strikes Back: Star Wars returns in new Vodafone ad - video". DigitalSpy. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  36. ^ Lepitak, Stephen (January 19, 2012). "Yoda features in Vodafone campaign to promote RED box transfer service". The Drum. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  37. ^ Lego Group (September 21, 2020). "The LEGO Group Reveals LEGO Star Wars The Child Construction Set". Lego.com. Lego. Archived from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2021.

Works cited

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yoda.
Look up Yoda in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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