User:James the Jawa

I Didnt Know What To Do With This Space So I Just Posted An Article On My Favourite Character Yoda

Yoda, the ancient and revered Jedi Master, lived his final years hiding on the swamp planet of Dagobah. Nine hundred years old, Yoda had trained Jedi for eight centuries, and was very powerful in the Force. Among his last pupils were the most important (and reckless) Jedi in recent history, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker.

Before The Phantom Menace When Yoda was 700 years old, he served on a council of Jedi Masters instructing new students aboard the massive Jedi training vessel Chu'unthor. The starship crashed onto the planet of Dathomir. The Jedi Masters attempted to free the vessel from its swampy confines but they were repulsed by the Dathomirian Nightsisters. Much of Yoda's history is unknown. Just prior to the dark times that accompanied the fall of the Republic, Yoda trained the Gannathan royal King Empatojayos Brand in the ways of the Force. Another student of his was the powerful and stern Qu Rahn.

Another tale of Yoda's past involves stopping a swath of destruction cut by Dark Jedi from Bpfassh. One of these dark siders had gotten as far as Dagobah, were Yoda bested him in direct confrontation. The Bpfasshi Jedi died, his dark Force absorbing into and twisting a nearby tree -- forming a dark side nexus. It is believed that Yoda chose Dagobah as his hiding place due to the dark side energies emanating from the tree. From a distance, Force-users like the Emperor would not detect Yoda since the master's bright light side presence would be canceled by the Bpfasshi dark side presence.

Yoda served an important role in the Jedi Council. When young Padawans began their first foray into Jedi training, they did so under Yoda's guidance. Many of the Republic's greatest Jedi trained under Yoda when they were children -- schooled in groupings called clans. Once the Jedi hopefuls grew older, approaching their teenage years, they would then be paired to an elder Jedi Knight or Master to continue training one-on-one.

Episode I: The Phantom Menace In the waning days of the Republic, Yoda was a respected senior member of the Jedi Council. Serving alongside such luminaries as Mace Windu and Ki-Adi-Mundi, Yoda was present during the turbulent events that would eventually unravel the centuries-old Republic and seal the fate of the Jedi order. Yoda was hesitant about the acceptance of Anakin Skywalker into the Jedi ranks. When Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn brought the nine-year old boy before the Council, Yoda sensed much fear in him, and felt his future was clouded. Yet he could not deny that the Force was strong with him. Though Yoda forbade Qui-Gon to train Anakin, he capitulated to the will of the Council after Qui-Gon's death. Fulfilling Jinn's dying wish, Yoda granted Obi-Wan Kenobi to train the boy.

Episode II: Attack of the Clones The pall of the dark side fell over the Republic during its twilight years, and Yoda grew increasingly concerned. The emergence of the dark side created a disturbance in the Force strong enough to cloud the Jedi's insights into important matters. Sensing the grave uncertainty of the future, Yoda recognized the need for answers. The Jedi Council dispatched Obi-Wan Kenobi to investigate an assassination attempt apparently carried out by Separatist forces. What he found was all the more troubling. An entire clone army had been secretly created for the Republic, by decree of a late Jedi, Sifo-Dyas. None in the Council knew of this development, nor had they foreseen it. Further investigation revealed that the Separatists were gearing up for war. Count Dooku, one of Yoda's former Padawans, was consolidating a military force out of the droid armies of the commerce guilds. Something needed to be done.

Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, newly granted emergency powers, took possession of the Clone Army, and ordered the Jedi into action. Yoda voyaged to the distant world of Kamino to gather the newly created Republic Military, and arrived on Geonosis to rescue the survivors of an ill-fated Jedi taskforce.

As Republic clones engaged Separatist droids, the Clone Wars began. Yoda, acting as general, oversaw the battle from the forward command center. The clones handily defeated the Separatists on Geonosis, but many escaped. Yoda followed his instincts to a darkened hangar where Count Dooku had grievously wounded Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.

Yoda and Dooku engaged in battle. First, their powers in the Force were put to test, as Dooku attempted to crush the tiny Jedi Master with hurled debris. Yoda easily deflected such assaults, and even repulsed Dooku's Force lightning attacks. The contest came down to a duel of lightsabers. In a climactic battle, the two master combatants displayed amazing speed and agility. Yoda, empowered by the Force, leaped through the air, twirling and battering at Dooku's defenses. Dooku only managed to escape by using the Force to once again jeopardize Anakin and Obi-Wan. Knowing that Yoda's nobility would buy him time, Dooku fled as the ancient Jedi Master saved his younger compatriots.

This first battle of the Clone Wars was a victory for the Republic, but Yoda was troubled. Too much had been clouded by the dark side, and the judgment of the Jedi order was perhaps sullied by complacency and arrogance. Not only had many Jedi died on Geonosis, but the very nature of death itself was now unclear to the wise old master. While meditating, Yoda had felt a traumatic event befall young Anakin Skywalker. At that very moment, he also heard the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn, a Jedi Master slain a decade previous. It was impossible for a Jedi to retain his identity after becoming one with the Force, yet he had heard it.

After Attack of the Clones The disembodied voice from beyond was another dangerous and disturbing puzzle for Yoda to solve while the Republic collapsed around him. Through meditation, he was able to commune with the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn. The dead Jedi Master had discovered an esoteric yet powerful technique to preserve identity even after death. A Force ability honed outside the Jedi order, this method was developed by a Shaman of the Whills. In the years to come, Yoda would study these techniques, learning the ability in a role he had not played in centuries: an apprentice. Like all the Jedi, Yoda became a General in the Clone Wars, leading swarms of Republic clone troopers into battle against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. It was a tumultuous time for the Jedi. Some Jedi, disagreeing with the politics behind the war, left the order in protest. Recognizing that dissension in the Jedi ranks would make the order look weak to both the public and its enemies, Yoda was gravely concerned by these turns of events.

Though Yoda was more widely known as a sage instructor who stayed mostly within the Jedi Temple, he saw frontline combat action during the Clone Wars. He led troops into the field atop a loyal kybuck steed, leading the charge against the Separatists. On Axion, the diminutive Jedi Master defeated a missile-laden hailfire droid with his wits and the power of the Force. Yoda was also instrumental in easing the strained diplomatic relations between the Senate and the Wookiees, keeping Kashyyyk within the Republic during the conflict.

The Clone Wars Yoda and others on the Jedi Council watched with reservation as Anakin Skywalker's star began to rise during the Clone Wars. His repeated victories gained him many accolades, but the Jedi Masters still felt he had much to learn about detachment. As a test of Skywalker's resolve, Yoda assigned him a young Padawan -- the brash 14-year old Togruta named Ahsoka Tano. It was hoped that as Skywalker trained her to Jedi Knighthood, he would have to learn to let her go to become a Jedi in her own right, thus teaching Anakin a valuable lesson. Though Yoda spent much of the war based on Coruscant watching the struggle from afar, he did don the mantle of battlefield general on several occasions. On the neutral coral moon of Rugosa, Yoda had to face off against an entire droid battalion in order to curry the favor of Toydarian King Katuunko, and thus earn a valuable ally.

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith After years of plotting, Darth Sidious emerged and put into motion his final plan to eliminate in the Jedi. Sidious, the shadowy Sith Lord who had escaped Jedi attention for ages, was in fact Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. In his position of increasing power, Palpatine was manipulating events such as the Clone Wars to exterminate the Jedi. With the Jedi scattered across the galaxy leading the clone army, Sidious enacted Order 66. The coded order identified the Jedi as traitors to the Republic, and the loyal clones executed their Jedi leaders in cold blood. Many Jedi died in the assault. Through the Force, Yoda felt the sudden loss of life across the galaxy. It was nearly a crushing blow, but Yoda recovered in time to stop the attempt on his life. It was on Kashyyyk, the home of the Wookiees -- one of the many battlefronts of the Clone Wars -- that troopers turned against Yoda. His once loyal officer, Commander Gree, tried to open fire on Yoda, but the Jedi Master sprung into action and quickly decapitated Gree and his accomplice with his lightsaber. With the help of the Wookiees Tarfful and Chewbacca, Yoda was able to escape Kashyyyk and make contact with Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan.

Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Organa regrouped, having witnessed Palpatine's terribly expedient extermination of the Jedi and their allies. A coded signal emanating from the conquered Jedi Temple was drawing Jedi survivors back to Coruscant into a trap. Kenobi and Yoda were determined to disable this deadly beacon before more Jedi were led to their deaths.

Returning to Coruscant, they infiltrated the Jedi Temple. There, they discovered terrible evidence of what had transpired in their absence from the capital. The Chancellor was now Emperor Palpatine, and the once-promising Jedi warrior Anakin Skywalker was his new apprentice, Darth Vader. As the only known survivors of Order 66, it was up to Yoda and Kenobi to put a stop to the Sith. Kenobi was dispatched to track down Skywalker, now known as Darth Vader. Yoda paid a visit to Emperor Palpatine.

Inside the spacious interior of the Galactic Senate chambers, Yoda challenged the Emperor. The two entered into a spectacular duel -- a contest between the most powerful practitioners of the Force's light and dark sides. The Emperor proved too powerful to defeat. Though Yoda held his own for much of the duel, in the end, the Sith bested him. He realized that directly confronting the Sith would be doomed to failure. Defeated, Yoda slinked away into the shadows of the Senate chamber's cavernous depths, leaping into a waiting getaway speeder piloted by Bail Organa.

The Jedi had failed to stop the Sith, though Kenobi had crippled Vader on the fiery world of Mustafar. A new hope would arrive in the form of newborn twins. Skywalker's wife, Padmé Amidala, was pregnant with Force-powerful children. On the remote sanctuary of Polis Massa, Padmé gave birth to Luke and Leia before dying. Yoda, Bail Organa and Obi-Wan Kenobi were witness to these births, and immediately began planning for the future.

Knowing that these children would pose a threat to the Emperor, the Jedi were determined to keep their existence a secret. The twins were separated -- baby Luke Skywalker was taken to live on the Lars Homestead on Tatooine; baby Leia Organa was spirited to Alderaan to be raised as the adoptive daughter of Bail and his wife, the Queen of Alderaan. The Jedi would bide their time, sensing through the Force when the moment was right to oppose the Empire. In the interim, Yoda and Obi-Wan would study the Shaman of Whills' knowledge from the disembodied form of Qui-Gon Jinn.

Yoda went into hiding on the distant swamp world of Dagobah. There, he waited patiently for a new hope to arise and end the dark side threat to the people of the galaxy.

Before The Empire Strikes Back Early in the Galactic Civil War, Alliance historian Major Arhul Hextrophon was researching stories about the Jedi Master when he came across evidence of Yoda's existence at the University of Charmath. Hextrophon voyaged to Dagobah, where he met Yoda. Yoda was about to erase Arhul's mind of any knowledge of the Jedi Master when he had a change of heart. Instead, he swore Arhul to secrecy, and let him depart. Aside from logging it in his personal journals, it is believed Hextrophon has not told a soul.

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back Three years after the Battle of Yavin, it arrived. Guided to Dagobah by a vision of his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker discovered Yoda without even knowing it. Stranded on the swampy world, Luke met a comical elfin creature that promised him aid. The creature's antics wore thin on Luke's short patience, but it was the first of many tests -- tests that Luke would fail. Revealing himself to be Yoda, the Jedi Master began Luke's training in earnest. Telekinetic challenges, challenges of the will and body, more challenges than Luke had ever faced before helped mold the reckless youth into a Jedi. Still, Luke failed to "unlearn" his preconceptions. When asked to raise his sunken starfighter from the Dagobah swamps with the power of his mind alone, he responded he would try. "No," scolded Yoda. "Do, or do not. There is no try." Luke did not believe the Force could lift such a massive object. He was proven wrong when Yoda telekinetically lifted the X-wing fighter and placed it on dry land. Again, Luke was incredulous -- he did not believe; that is why he failed.

When Yoda taught Luke how to "farsee" into the future, a chilling vision of his friends in danger caused the young Skywalker to abandon his training. Luke promised he would return, and rocketed off to rescue his friends. In the end, Luke failed, having to be rescued himself. Yoda feared all would be lost in the effort to stop Vader and the Emperor.

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi About a year later, Luke did return to conclude his training. Having faced the hardship of confrontation with Vader, and having learned that Vader was actually his father, Luke learned from Yoda that his training was complete. In Luke's absence, Yoda had become quite ill. As he lay dying, Yoda shed some light on Luke's distant past: there was another Skywalker. Yoda died shortly thereafter, disappearing as his body became one with the Force. Luke would learn that Leia Organa was his sister, and he would also reclaim his father from the dark side. At the celebration after the Battle of Endor, Luke saw the specter of Yoda, joined by ghostly images of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker, his father, who had died in the light.

Behind the Scenes Designing Yoda was a painstaking and risky venture for all those involved. The world of fantasy filmmaking was quite different in the late '70s, and the notion of having a supporting character with significant screen time played by a puppet was unheard of. Unlike the successful Muppets, Yoda was to be seen as a living, breathing alien creature, and not a whimsical creation. Furthermore, the character was meant to deliver ancient philosophies and timeless wisdom. Would it work? In the early story development of Yoda, the initial descriptions varied from a large alien being to a tiny one. The diminutive direction ultimately won out, and Empire's concept artists developed illustrations of gnome-like and elfin creatures. In the story treatment, Yoda's full name was Minch Yoda, and in the first draft, he was known only as Minch. Once the design was settled, Yoda was realized by make up and creatures supervisor Stuart Freeborn, who designed the alien as an intricately detailed puppet. Yoda was brought to life by the vocal and puppeteering performance of Frank Oz, a veteran collaborator of Jim Henson.

Yoda was meant to continue the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi, whom George Lucas had killed off due to dramatic necessity in A New Hope. Given the freedom to create a new character, Lucas devised Yoda as an odd, ancient and incredibly wise mystic. He tied the two characters together, though, by having Yoda be one of Obi-Wan's instructors in his youth.

For Yoda's return in Episode I, a new "younger" puppet was crafted by Nick Dudman's animatronics crew. For two shots in The Phantom Menace, Yoda was realized as a computer generated character

For Episode II, Lucas again took a gamble by taking a beloved character and recreating him not as his original puppet form, but instead as entirely computer-generated. Early in production, it became clear that the show-stopping duel between Yoda and Dooku could only be carried out with a CG Yoda, but Animation Director Rob Coleman determinedly pursued realizing the Jedi Master as an animated character throughout the entire film.

Coleman's crew secretly developed animation tests using key scenes from The Empire Strikes Back. They animated Yoda delivering memorable lines of dialogue, but also shots of the Jedi Master without dialogue, to demonstrate the ability to convey a performance even when silent. Based on the strength of these animated tests, Coleman's crew got the greenlight to create a digital Yoda.

The ILM animators took great efforts to not outdo Frank Oz's puppeteering skills, so they actually toned down the biological realism in their animation. Rather than have true, realistic lip sync and eye blinks, Yoda would instead have more of a "jaw sync" and slower blinks. Other imperfections, like the constant wiggling of Yoda's rubber ears -- which Oz always viewed as a mistake on his part -- were painstakingly recreated in the computer-generated form.