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SKot

User Group
Members
Join date
3-Apr-2005
Last activity
22-Dec-2025
Posts
936
Web Site
http://www.starwarsholidayspecial.com

Post History

Post
#279207
Topic
Preserving the...<em>cringe</em>...Star Wars Holiday Special (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/279207/action/topic#279207
Time
Originally posted by: crazyrabbits
AHEM!!!!

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Star-Wars-Holiday-Special-Shooting-Script-Very-Rare_W0QQitemZ160097285444QQcategoryZ18833QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I was in the bid war for this one. I held the high bid for up to the last 15 seconds, and then suddenly it was sniped away out of nowhere by the guy who won it. I couldn't get another bid in.

I suspect bid-sniping software was used. Cheater!!

Anyway, I actually have the script already (though that copy was in better shape and did have a few extra pages that mine doesn't). It's up online and available to download at my site here:

http://www.starwarsholidayspecial.com/text/script.htm

--SKot
Post
#279203
Topic
//Star Wars Begins\\: HD Version Now on Vimeo
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/279203/action/topic#279203
Time
Originally posted by: Jambe Davdar
Taking a look at the original Jabba scene today.

Can anyone send me the available material from the "Making Magic" CD-ROM please? If anyone is able to upload a VOB of it that would be perfect!
I'm hoping that MoveAlong will be able to figure out a way to extract that material from Making Magic so he can get you the clips in the best possible quality. I have some rather good captures of those clips, but even those have some quality loss. However, if for some reason MoveAlong is unable to extract the video directly from the CD-ROM, these will probably be the best versions out there.

Quality on the video clips in Making Magic is actually worse than the quality of the video on Behind The Magic due to earlier (lack of?) technology. But there's still material there that is only available from that source, so it is important to have it.

Any idea what you'll do for the segments that are missing audio, video, or both?

--SKot
Post
#278929
Topic
.:. MoveAlong's - The Lost Scenes .:. Complete &amp; Released
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/278929/action/topic#278929
Time
I just received this disc, and I am extremely pleased with the results.

Those who know me at all know that I have always been obsessed by cut scenes from Star Wars in particular, and particularly the Tosche Station scenes. It's what starwarscutscenes.com was based on when I created the original site nearly 10 years ago. So this particular project is very close to my heart.

As you might imagine, I've seen the cut scenes now countless numbers of times. Even before Behind The Magic came out (which of course I bought the instant it was available), I had seen the scenes already from a bootleg camcorder clip I picked up on Usenet, shot at Comic Con '97 during the one time that footage was ever shown in public. But this time, while watching MoveAlong's DVD, I felt like I was watching the scenes for the first time. Because it was the first time I had ever seen them fill a widescreen TV. It was the first time I had ever seen them play so smoothly. And it was the first time I had ever seen them properly cropped with no annoying extra black space on the edges. It was fantastic. I viewed them all in sequence with a smile on my face the whole time.

I can truly appreciate the effort that MoveAlong put into making this look so good, because I tried myself for years to do something like this. But I never managed to pull it off completely, due to either lack of expertise or lack of technology. I never found a way to pull the material directly out of the files on the CDs. The best I managed to get were some decent video captures with a certain amount of quality loss. Playing the original CD-ROM was okay, but it always required installation, configuration, a computer to play it on, and I had to deal with playback being a little choppy and no real ability to move forward or backward through the material. Also, the Lost Cut cantina footage had Special Edition footage playing along with it for comparison, and while it was interesting the first time, it was annoying every time afterwards. With MoveAlong's preservation, I can finally watch all these scenes in their BEST presentation yet on any DVD player in full anamophic widescreen without any kind of messing around. I can show it to friends and family on their own TVs. It's exactly what I was hoping for.

If that weren't enough, the entire content of the Behind The Magic CD-ROMs is included in the extras folder. I spent literally hours and hours going through those discs in the past, trying to find all of the photos I wanted and painstakingly screen capture them. Now it's as easy as browsing through the jpeg files. I will never give up my original BTM discs, but I'm extremely happy to have an easier way to get right to the meat of the content without wondering if I missed anything.

Maybe Lucasfilm will release these Lost Scenes in perfect quality down the road. Maybe they'll make this project moot soon. We can only hope for that. But in the meantime, MoveAlong is the hero of the day once again.

--SKot
Post
#278732
Topic
FanFiltration’s/... 'Star Wars: Making Magic Preservation' (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/278732/action/topic#278732
Time
With MoveAlong looking into the possibility of extracting the content from Making Magic the same way it was done with Behind The Magic, what are the possibilities of a FanFiltration Making Magic DVD v2.0 using directly ripped content rather than screen-capture content? The original preservation was great, but imagine it with "enhanced" video clips done by MoveAlong the way they were done for his Lost Scenes DVD (properly cropped, anamorphic widescreen, frame doubling so they run at 24fps instead of 12fps, etc.), and images and content taken directly out of the "bundle" file on from the original CD-ROM, rather than from screen captures.

I think this would be an incredible way to revisit this project. Is it a possibility?

--SKot
Post
#278723
Topic
Help: looking for... all the Kenner Toy TV adverts
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/278723/action/topic#278723
Time
I have been working on collecting all the Kenner and Palitoy commercials for my Star Wars Commercials project here. It's been a slow process. There have been a number of collections of mostly Kenner commercials out there, but quality on almost all of them is horrible. The best quality I've managed to find so far (and mind you, it isn't great, but it's watchable) is on Rikter's Star Wars Commercials DVD. You might try contacting Rikter to see about that one.

I know there are more out there, and I know they're out there in better quality as well. But so far nobody else has been forthcoming. I've heard about the 8/16mm films in private collections, and I wish the owners would do the honorable thing and telecine them so the rest of the world can enjoy the content without them having to part with their holy grails.

One of the best ones I've seen was on YouTube, a Kenner commercial for the Early Bird box. But quality was about the worst I've ever seen. Does anybody have this one in any sort of decent quality?

--SKot
Post
#278424
Topic
//Star Wars Begins\\: HD Version Now on Vimeo
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/278424/action/topic#278424
Time
Jambe,

I know you're probably already planning on it, but I wanted to stress that you should use MoveAlong's Lost Scenes project for your source material for all the Behind The Magic stuff. Even though I haven't seen it quite yet (should be soon!), it appears to be the absolute best presentation of the material so far.

On a similar note, you will undoubtedly want to reconstruct the Han/Jabba scene as well. There are many sources containing bits and pieces of this scene, in varying quality, and unfortunately none of them even combined have the entire scene or dialogue. One of the sources is the Making Magic CD, and I've got MoveAlong looking into that to see if the video from there can be extracted the same way the video from Behind The Magic was for his Lost Scenes project. Hopefully it can, and that will be the way to get those particular pieces in the best possible quality. ocpmovie did a nearly complete reconstruction of this scene, the best version of which is found on the Return Of The Ewok DVD. In it he combined pieces from all the known sources, and he wound up layering fullscreen footage over widescreen footage from the SE to achieve widescreen shots for every piece. What I'd like to do is put together a complete list of all the sources of Han/Jabba footage that exist to give us an idea of what's out there, what kind of quality it's in, and whether or not it's widescreen. ocpmovie's version was excellent, but I think it can be done even better since I think we have some better quality footage to work with than he had at the time. I'll get hold of ocpmovie to see if he can list all his sources for me.

My archives are open for this project, of course. I have a bit more knowledge of the first film and maybe more to contribute than I do the others because it's nearer to my heart, and also that's where I've concentrated more of my cut scenes research. So anything I can help with, I will.

On the title front:

Originally posted by: Number20
My title suggestion is Beginning Star Wars. I think this fits in well with Building Empire and Returning to Jedi.
I was really gunning for "Starting Star Wars", as it fits well with the other two titles, and also has that whole "starting wars" implication going on. But now that I think about "Beginning Star Wars", I think that works even better with the other titles:

Beginning Star Wars
Building Empire
Returning To Jedi

First you are Beginning, and with Star Wars it is also THE Beginning.
Then you are Building from there, which is what Lucas was doing as he built on what Star Wars began.
And then you are Returning again, which is where everything comes around full circle.

"Beginning Star Wars" has my vote. "Starting Star Wars" would be my second choice.

--SKot
Post
#278393
Topic
[&lt;( The Star Wars TV Commercials Project )&gt;] (* unfinished project * - a host of info)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/278393/action/topic#278393
Time
Originally posted by: Sluggo
SKot, man it is like 2 in the morning!
My god, you're right! And I swore never to post before 4 am...

Anyway, I was considering trying to draw someone's attention at sw.com to the fact that the audio on their commercial clips is getting screwed up. But I'm not certain who to contact, and they're not exactly forthcoming with those kind of details!

--SKot
Post
#278135
Topic
[&lt;( The Star Wars TV Commercials Project )&gt;] (* unfinished project * - a host of info)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/278135/action/topic#278135
Time
Has anybody else noticed that all the PSAs on sw.com have screwed-up audio?

Specifically, sound only comes out of the right channel. When I noticed it with the immunization PSA, I thought it might be a fluke. Now I see both the drunk driving and the anti-smoking PSAs are screwed-up the same way. Apparently nobody official noticed it the first time.

Regarding the project, I'm still collecting material, but at this point it seems unlikely that it could be turned into an actual DVD because of the wildly varying quality of the media and the different formats. It might wind up as a collection of files instead. We'll see...

--SKot
Post
#278134
Topic
<strong>The &quot;EditDroid&quot; Trilogy DVD Info and Feedback Thread</strong> (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/278134/action/topic#278134
Time
Originally posted by: andy_k_250
I am really curious how the EditDroid Team pulled those menus off - how were they created? I wish I knew. Certainly blew my socks off as well when I saw them! They always seem to be one step ahead of the cutting edge.

Also, do they have their sights set on a third project?
I think it is safe to say that EditDroid always has another project in their sights. There is definitely another one in the early stages right now. I'm sure that when the time is right the details will come out, perhaps with the project itself.

As usual, of course.

--SKot
Post
#278113
Topic
Info: The Making of The Empire Strikes Back (Michel Parbot)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/278113/action/topic#278113
Time
The first and most important step in tracking down something is knowledge of its existence.

Prior to Darth Neo's post here, we had no knowledge of the existence of this alternate Making Of special (apart from Mark, who can finally feel vindicated!). Therefore, nobody knew to search for it, and it was not going to be found except by accident. And considering how scarce this show was, and the fact that none of us had run across a copy before, the chances of it being found by accident were pretty slim. Now that Neo has given us information about it and irrefutable proof that it exists, progress is being made towards not only tracking it down, but finding out even more info even down to contacting LFL and the director himself. This is why this forum is so remarkable, and such an important resource for the fanbase. And this is why any argument against Neo's posting about this item even if he was not planning to share it cannot hold water.

Neo, thanks for touching off this information revolution. You came to the right place, and I'm sure you won't regret it. The collective power of this group is amazing when harnessed towards a common goal.

--SKot


P.S. - Neo, you might want to turn on your PM option.
Post
#278085
Topic
.:. MoveAlong's - The Lost Scenes .:. Complete &amp; Released
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/278085/action/topic#278085
Time
I'm out of it for a little while, and everybody gets delusions of grandeur! Well, in this case at least it's justified.

Seriously, I came back after about around a month away and I see this little project. This is awesome.... something I've dreamed about, and made some rudimentary attempts at doing myself. MoveAlong, again you've made me a very happy guy. Anyone who knows me knows my obsession with the cut scenes of Star Wars. I can't wait to get my hands on this, what looks like so far the most watchable version of the cut scenes yet.

And Boba Feta, your restoration work looks great. I am looking forward to seeing what the finished product will be like.

--SKot
Post
#268967
Topic
//RETURNING TO JEDI\\: NTSC &amp; PAL DVD
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/268967/action/topic#268967
Time
Jambe,

Excellent work, once again... you've definitely outdone yourself this time! I was struck with how long it was, and how much material was in there. The footage of the saber that Luke built blew my mind, and the reconstructed sandstorm sequence was well done and a treat to see. This documentary really did make me appreciate more the less-appreciated "weakest chapter" in the original trilogy.

I did have the problem jumping back to the menu, but I'll apply the fix later to take care of that. Luckily I didn't try burning it yet.

One thing puzzled me a bit, though: I was surprised at the lack of references to or footage from Return of the Ewok. There are some prime ROTJ outtakes in there. Was it due to the available footage being so low-quality, or was there another reason it didn't get mentioned? Just curious.

Anyway, congratulations on another fine project. This is a monumental release, to be certain.

--SKot
Post
#268958
Topic
&quot;Banning of OCPMovie&quot;
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/268958/action/topic#268958
Time
Originally posted by: amsnyder
I haven't posted before today, so forgive me if it's not my place to comment, but OCP is the guy who told me about this site and these boards. I've bought dvd's from him before and the prices were pretty much just cost of disc and shipping. Also his work is great, Deleted Magic, Return of the Ewok, the Classic Editions. I can't comment about the issues with him mentioned but it seems to be a shame to lose him.
Hey, Aaron... great to see you around these parts!

I too think it's a shame to not see OCP around here anymore. As you and I both know, he's done some great things for this community, and he was one of the most talented and driven members here. At the same time, he seems to have stepped on the wrong toes to step on around here, and it cost him his membership. All I can really say about that is that it's probably not a very good idea to insult the host in their own house if you ever expect to be welcome there again.

If I could somehow make it so OCP could be here again and play well with others, I would definitely do it. The forum feels incomplete without his input.

--SKot
Post
#267727
Topic
<strong>The &quot;EditDroid&quot; Trilogy DVD Info and Feedback Thread</strong> (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/267727/action/topic#267727
Time
Originally posted by: Darth Mallwalker
As far as I'm aware, official artwork for the first ANH disc (with three soundtracks) hasn't circulated.
If they're feeling generous . . . .
I'll find out about that as well, if I don't have it somewhere. I know I have the art for the trilogy with the revised ANH disc.

Disc art for the Special Features discs should be interesting in that it appears to be Lightscribe, which we can't duplicate exactly without a Lightscribe burner. I assume the original art will look okay when printed normally as well.

--SKot

Post
#267687
Topic
<strong>The &quot;EditDroid&quot; Trilogy DVD Info and Feedback Thread</strong> (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/267687/action/topic#267687
Time
Originally posted by: Sluggo
I'm thinking, before this starts to get out, we ought to ask the EditDroid team for the disc art and cover files so we can throw them on one of the discs as well.

Skot, could you email them and see if they have the files? They always take their time getting back to me, but you seem to get quick results. Lucky.
Hey, that's a good idea. I'm almost certain they didn't include the covers on the discs anywhere. I'll see if we can get those out there. One thing the EditDroid guys do dislike is the idea of their work getting passed around incomplete, or altered somehow, so I'd consider the original cover art to be part of that.

--SKot
Post
#267685
Topic
my memory isn't that bad, is it? (in SW '77 - Luke misses with the grappling hook?)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/267685/action/topic#267685
Time
Scruffy, you said exactly what I was thinking.

The most common claim for these "alternate scenes" in Star Wars is that they were shown on some obscure TV broadcast. But the fact is, none of these broadcasts were really obscure. Star Wars airing on TV was always a big event, especially in the early days, and hundreds, thousands of people taped them every time. And the fact is, out of all of these taped copies of all of the times that Star Wars ever aired on TV, none of them have ever had any alternate footage in them. Not a single one, ever. We've had people going over these videotapes with a fine-toothed comb. There has been an alternate soundtrack aired in the UK (mono), but the footage itself has always been the same.

I will be more than happy to eat crow if someone can produce real evidence (i.e., actual taped footage) otherwise. Somehow, I have a really strong feeling that's not going to happen.

--SKot
Post
#267651
Topic
Hyperspace: Good or bad?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/267651/action/topic#267651
Time
I think the time for Hyperspace is over.

I was a member since the very beginning, and in the beginning it delivered: some great video content, early looks at trailers/etc., and Photoreceptor (which was the main reason I subscribed - all those amazing cut scene photos, behind the scenes looks, weird Holiday Special shots, etc.). It was great at the start, and worth every cent for me.

But then Photoreceptor stopped. The video content was very sparse, and rarely delivered anything as exciting as the initial hype promised. There were a few other vaguely interesting things, but nothing I should have been paying money for. And the Insider? I totally echo what Erikstormtrooper said about it: for years it's been way too focused on hyping the prequels, in particular the next upcoming film. Content that I used to love (the Wonder Column and David West Reynolds' cut scenes articles were great examples) disappeared in favor of fluff I didn't care about. I used to read every word of the Insider from cover to cover. Now I find myself skimming through, maybe reading the odd article now and again, but mostly finding myself bored because 90% of the content was about the prequels.

Well, now the prequels are over, and there are no upcoming films to hype. The fair weather fans are going to fade away now, leaving the lifetime fans to carry on. It's time to get back to supporting those core fans.

The bottom line is this: there are no more films coming out. Star Wars is no longer the gigantic hype machine it was when new movies were around the corner. There is no reason to expect that people are going to want to pay for content anymore, and Lucasfilm shouldn't be able to get away with charging for it now. It's time for them to go back to all free content again, and for the Insider to get back to the kind of articles that used to make me eager and excited to read each issue.

--SKot
Post
#267517
Topic
<strong>The &quot;EditDroid&quot; Trilogy DVD Info and Feedback Thread</strong> (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/267517/action/topic#267517
Time
Originally posted by: basko1970
Found it... This is the description he had. If anyone knows anything about it, let me know or better yet... post it!

---------------------
SW: Special Features: Four DVD Set (editdroid)
D1-Making of SW as told By R2D2 & C3PO / SPFX (Japanese Laserdiscs)
D2-Classic Creatures: ROTJ / From SW to Jedi (Japanese Laserdiscs)
D3-Trailers / TV / Radio Spots / Definitive Collection Laserdisc transfer
D4-Lost music edited back into the scenes in which they were intended / Commercials & PSAs / Odd stuff - Walter Cronkite, Wolfman Jack, The Rough-Cut Crawl / Vinyl Classics with a virtual record player (Story of for SW, ESB & Jedi - for PC only)
---------------------
I can verify that this does exist, and was the next EditDroid project to follow after their fine release of the original trilogy transfers.

It's funny, remember how long it took for the original EditDroid trilogy discs to surface here after they were made? It's taken over a year after its release for this project to be mentioned here now as well (although I did hint at it once, a while back). EditDroid continues to produce "mysterious mysteries", it seems.

I checked with the EditDroid guys just to make sure they were cool with discussion of the Special Features project here, and they were okay with it. Certainly enough time has passed for the cat to be let out of the bag!

Needless to say, they did a fantastic job on everything in this set, and it is by far their best presentation yet. The menus have 3D animated images, and make their old menus look like kindergarten work.

The four "making of" specials are transferred from the Japanese laserdisc, and have the burned-in subtitles. The transfer is excellent, as should be expected. I'd like to see how they compare to our best current transfers. Chances are they could be the best out there, and possibly the same for the Definitive Collection bonus materials as well.

The trailers collection here is essential. I've noticed that someone made a deliberate effort to include all the trailers that are missing from the official DVD set a while back, while leaving out most of the ones that are already available. Great job!

The lost music is extremely cool to watch and hear. But by far where this disc shines the most is on the extra little odds and ends. The set comes with this great custom app that plays lost SW vinyl, including the "Story Of" discs and the "Lapti Nek" 12 inch single. The commercials are fantastic, and this is the first time the Cantina Drunk Driving PSA has ever surfaced to my knowledge. I'm guessing the YouTube clips came from here. There's also the Anti-Smoking PSA, and a beautiful copy of the Burger Chef poster commercial, which may even be the first Star Wars product commercial ever. I've NEVER seen the Wolfman Jack/Vader appearance before, so that's a real gem.

The discs have labels made with a LightScribe player, I think. And there's a nice wraparound cover for the 4-disc box, though it's not quite as nice as the covers they did for the trilogy. There's also the inclusion of a new official logo for EditDroid, which is perfect.

So, there are some more details on the set. EditDroid have definitely not been resting on their laurels, and this release proves it. A lot of time, work, research, and archive digging went into this one.

Perhaps I should start a new thread for this release.

--SKot
Post
#267513
Topic
Need help on this custom cover for ROTE...
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/267513/action/topic#267513
Time
As the originator on the ROTE project, I really do like this cover.

I do think the Orange Cow logo should make an appearance somewhere, though, out of respect to ocpmovie's fine work. But I agree that it looks funny on the spine. Maybe a very small one on the back somewhere, near all the other logos? Or above the Hyperspace logo, maybe, very small? Somewhere unobtrusive, yet still present.

Oh, one minor wording technicality: the blurb starts out "...a second production was underway/This is Return of the Ewok..." probably should read "This was Return of the Ewok".

But otherwise, I'd be happy to print that one out and put it on my shelf. Not that my JediSluggo cover is bad right now, but like he said, it was just a quick sketch.

--SKot
Post
#266951
Topic
Rad (1986) (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/266951/action/topic#266951
Time
notbond007:

Count me in for requesting a reseed on Rad. Looks like I missed it as well, but I'm reg'd on both torrent sites now.
Originally posted by: Zeromancer
Now all I need to do is find a copy of Bones Brigade - Search for Animal Chin
By the way, not long ago they released a Special Edition DVD of The Search for Animal Chin with extras, a documentary, etc. I think it's a 2 disc set. Spendy (like $40-50 I think), but I plan to pick it up sometime.

--SKot
Post
#260808
Topic
Preserving the...<em>cringe</em>...Star Wars Holiday Special (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/260808/action/topic#260808
Time
Originally posted by: Puggo - Jar Jar's "Yoda"
The other Special Editions all include some dressed-up "cutting room floor" footage. I can only IMAGINE what the outtakes of the Holiday Special must have been like... the footage that wasn't good enough to make it into the final show. As a B-shlock movie fan, I drool at the possibility of a Lucas-produced Holiday Special SE!!!


Some conjectures on cutting room floor footage from the HS:

LUMPY'S MISSTEP
While climbing up on the railing around the Wookiee house, Lumpy loses his balance in this outtake and plummets to the ground far below. Or in this case, 8 feet to the studio floor. Raucous laughter on the set nearly drowns out the director yelling "Cut!!"

TOILET TRAINING
Malla promises Lumpy another helping of Wookiee-Ookies if today he learns to use the potty like a big Wookiee. Here we get a rare view of mother-and-son bonding as Malla encourages Lumpy to do his duties on the throne.

THE RETURN OF THE MEAN-SOUNDING IMPERIAL GUARD
Later in the day, before heading out to visit Chewbacca's family, trader Saun Dann is detained by the same Imperial Guard he sold a personal groomer to earlier because the Guard now wants to return it. Saun Dann verbally fumbles his way through a merchandise exchange, but the Guard only wants money back. More hilarity ensues because we know he never paid for it in the first place.

KRELMAN'S SONG
This scene, which was trimmed as the director felt it was too sentimental, features Krelman (Harvey Korman) lifting his head up from the bar and launching into a song professing his love for Ackmena (Bea Arthur). As the rest of the cantina sings the chorus, Krelman dances across tabletops, jumping from one to the other, before sliding down the bar on his knees in front of Ackmena. At this point, Tork the bouncer clubs him on the head from behind and drops him back onto a chair where he remains until the end of the cantina segment.

THE LIGHTSABER NEAR-BATTLE SCENE
As Luke Skywalker and his friends are about to enter the celestial Wookiee ceremony area from out of nowhere somehow, a really evil Death Star Gunner also appears out of nowhere and blocks their path. Luke pulls out his lightsaber handle and acts like he is about to activate it. Startled, the Death Star Gunner stumbles back and falls to his doom in the stars or fog or whatever below.

THE WOOKIEE DINNER SCENE (ALTERNATE ENDING)
Cut from the production for time, this heart-warming final scene features 30 minutes of chomping, chewing, slurps and grunts as the camera follows each member of the Wookiee family devouring individual bites of their Bantha Surprise Life Day Meal.

--SKot