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Updated live from Wikipedia, last check: May 18, 2013 12:21 UTC (49 seconds ago)

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A Tusken Raider riding a bantha. This particular shot was filmed in a part of Death Valley named Desolation Canyon, which Star Wars fans call "Bantha Canyon".[1]

Banthas are fictional creatures in the Star Wars universe. They are large elephant-sized mounts, with long furry tails, that are native to the planet of Tatooine.[2]


The first bantha to appear on-screen was in the original 1977 Star Wars. Computer-generated imagery was not used to create the creature. Rather, an elephant was dressed in a costume of fur and fake horns. This proved problematic for George Lucas during filming. The elephant was unaccustomed to heat, and during the filming of Tatooine scenes in Death Valley, California, its costume kept coming off.[3][4][5]

Lucas retained the original shots of the elephant, rather than replacing them with CGI, for the 1997 Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.[6]

The elephant was a female Asian Elephant from Marine World Africa USA, named Mardji. She appeared both in the movie and in television commercials (for Skippy Peanut Butter). In 1995, aged 44, she was euthanized because of an untreatable and painful bone condition in her front legs.[7]

A song entitled "Oh Bantha", which paid tribute to the gastronomy of these fictional characters, was written and performed by popular actor John O'Hurley and released on "Tusken Raider Tunes, Parody Songs from a Galaxy Far Far Away", a limited edition Star Wars-themed novelty album. The first official Star Wars fan publication, Bantha Tracks, which existed for 35 issues from 1978 to 1987, is named after the bantha.[8]

The name "bantha" is very likely a derivation of "banth", the Martian lion in Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series of books.[9]

Further reading

References

A bantha puppet at New York's Village Halloween Parade
  1. ^ Harry Medved (2006). Hollywood Escapes: The Moviegoer's Guide to Exploring Southern California's Great Outdoors. St. Martin's Griffin. pp. 144. ISBN 0312308566. 
  2. ^ Jeanne Cavelos (1999). The Science of Star Wars. St. Martin's Press. pp. 70. ISBN 0312209584. 
  3. ^ Dale Pollock (1983). Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas. Harmony Books. pp. 175. ISBN 0517546779. 
  4. ^ Dana White (2003). George Lucas. Twenty-First Century Books. pp. 84. ISBN 0822549751. 
  5. ^ Peter Hartlaub (2004-05-05). "It takes computer effects to make movie monsters — but elbow grease helps". San Francisco Chronicle (Hearst Communications Inc.). http://sfgate.com./cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/05/05/DDG0J6F0HG1.DTL. 
  6. ^ Gary Arnold (2005-01-01). "The Drama Behind Star Wars". World and I (News World Communications, Inc.). 
  7. ^ ""Star Wars" Elephant Put To Death". Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, California): pp. A03. 1995-11-28. 
  8. ^ Jonathan L. Bowen (2005). Anticipation: The Real Life Story of Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace. iUniverse. pp. 49. ISBN 0595347320. 
  9. ^ Bantha on Wookieepedia: a Star Wars Wiki

External links








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