Fun Fact for the Day!
Monday, January 25th, 2010
Did you know that George Lucas’ inspiration for Chewbacca was his loyal pet Alaskan malamute, Indiana, who would also inspire the name of a globetrotting archaeologist several years later. Chewie’s original suit — made of knitted mohair and yak hair, was designed by Stuart Freeborn. Numerous versions of the suit were made to handle the wear and tear of filmmaking. The suits were borrowed from the Lucasfilm Archives during the making of Episode I and slightly redressed to become Senator Yarua of Kashyyyk.
Chewie’s voice was a combination of numerous animal sounds from Sound Designer Ben Burtt’s personal library. Walruses, camels, bears and badgers were all blended in different ratios to come up with Chewbacca’s various utterances. One of the key ingredients in the mix was the sound of Tarik, a black bear from the Happy Hollow Zoo in San Jose, California. Tarik passed away in 1994 due to congestive heart failure.
See dogs can inspire anyone!
