Wookiee
A Wookiee is a fictional race of aliens from the Star Wars series of movies. Their home planet is Kashyyyk. The best known Wookiee character is Chewbacca.
Origin[change | change source]
When George Lucas was developing fictional characters for Star Wars, he named Chewbacca after his dog, Chewbacca.[1] The name "Wookiee" came from an ad lib in Lucas's first feature movie, THX 1138. The line was "I think I ran over a Wookiee back there."[1]
Features[change | change source]
On Kashyyyk wookiees build their houses in mile-high trees.[2] They have long arms and legs so they can climb the trees. Chewbacca is over seven feet tall and over 200 years old.[2] By nature they are gentle and intelligent creatures.[3] When angered they can pull a man's arms out of their sockets. Wookiees have a great sense of smell. They are fully covered with a thick coat of hair. Wookiees prize loyalty and bravery above all else.[3]
Language[change | change source]
The Wookiee language is Shyriiwook. Wookiees are capable of understanding English but cannot speak it.[2] In the original Star Wars trilogy Chewbacca showed he could understand humans. His human partner, Han Solo, also shows knowledge of Shyriiwook. In the Star Wars expanded universe books, Chewbacca builds a miniature translator droid ("Em Teedee") for his nephew Lowbacca. When Lowbacca begins training as a Jedi the droid helped him communicate with his fellow students.[4]
References[change | change source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Eric P. Nash (26 January 1997). "The Names Came From Earth". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Jeanne Cavelos, The Science of Star Wars: An Astrophysicist's Independent Examination of... (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999), p. 52
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Wookiee". Lucasfilm Ltd. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ↑ "Lowbacca". The Comic Book Database. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
Other websites[change | change source]
- Wookiee translator Archived 2015-11-18 at the Wayback Machine
- Wookiee, Star Wars Combine