Did George Lucas rip-off March of the Wooden Soldiers ?

[Mikey]

I never thought about how close Attack of the Clones reminds me of March or the Wooden Soldiers until now

I'm not saying he copied it scene for scene ... but in a very abstract way I can see a resemblance

To refesh your memory, here's the final 4 minutes of "March"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDdhg...eature=related

m

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

Never thought of it either.... I don't think it's a rip; but I think the toy soldier kind of action is subliminally planted in our subconscious as "mechanical man."

Don C.

[Nostalgiabuff]

are you thinking in the way the soliders are robotic? I don't really see much resemblance to AOTC here.

Love March of the Wooden Soldiers though, one of my all time fave holiday movies

[Mikey]

No, nothing to do with robotic per-say

I mean the soldiers were created without proper permission (in MOTWS case by accident) and then later used to save the day in a very heroic way.

[Nostalgiabuff]

okay, I see what you are saying.....bit of a stretch though to compare AOTC to it for that reason. MOTWS had the soldiers made 6 foot high, 100 strong by mistake, as it should have been 600 soldiers 1 foot high. God I love this movie, i remember watching it over and over as a kid

the clones were created with maliscious design

[jwyblejr]

I think a better question is what hasn't George ripped off?

[wyldpny]

I think a better question is what hasn't George ripped off?

You just hit the nail on the head...

[Gorn Captain]

Lucas used lot of inspiration for the SW saga.
Agreed, all of us do, we're constantly being influenced by our predecessors, because that's how history is made. We build on what came before, and no story can really be considered original anymore.

I think the problem with the later SW movies, is that we're much more aware of these earlier sources (through the internet).
I have the DVD of the old Republic serial The Fighting Devil Dogs.
The bad guy is dressed in black, has a skull mask, shoots lightning bolts from his hands, and is called Dark Lightning.

Where do you draw the line between hommage/influence/inspiration and rip-off?
Hard to tell.
The whole Indiana Jones series is a hommage to old serials.
Alien was influenced by The Terror from Beyond Space.
Wrath of Khan used the old "silent running submarine fight" concept.

I think the problem with the SW prequels, and to a smaller degree ROTJ, is that Lucas didn't really try and make it his own anymore, he just used the idea without true adaptation. Honestly? I think he got a bit lazy. I liked him better when he was young and hungrier. It's a bit like Cameron: "I'm a great visionary, and they'll love anything I do."
But no. Fans are intelligent enough to want more. They want the effort of creating "a galaxy far far away."
When in 1983, I heard of a character named Salacious Crumb, I thought "it's a joke, right?"
What's next, Tasty Morcel? Chocolate Surprise?

Another example: the "Sports commentators" in Menace. It's so obviously based on Earth concepts, it's no longer fun, it's no longer "far far away", it's lazy.
What's next? Jawa Baseball?
Homerun! Utini!

They say ultimate power corrupts, and it does.
Creativity flourishes "under pressure".
That's what made Star Wars great.
We don't need 500 Tie Fighters, four will do, as long as you put some "fire" and excitement in the scene.

Creative people can use their sources and mould it into something fresh and new and totally their own.
Terminator was nothing new. But Cameron's drive and fire made it great.

And that, my friends, is Lucas' and Cameron's problem.
Too much money, too many burgers. Not hungry enough.

[ctc]

>We build on what came before, and no story can really be considered original anymore.

Well.... it's been said that you CAN'T have an original idea, and those that seem so are more interesting combinations of stuff you've seen. I agree. And I think one of the problems a lot of entertainment has is that it's become inbred. So if you're a sci-fi creator you've probably spent a great deal of time immersed in sci-fi; probably the "classics" as defined by your peers, and end up with the same pool to draw from as everyone else. Hence why so many films, comics, tv shows, whatever, seem so much alike.

I don't think the clones are a rip of the wooden soldiers 'cos the clones follow the old "secret strike force" template more than the "industry run amok" one. (Even thoguh they come to similar results. That, and the wooden soldiers aren't all Boba fett.

Don C.

[kennermike]

You just hit the nail on the head...

you better believe it!!

[Hector]

Everyone gets influenced by everyone...it's how the world goes around.

[huedell]

Well, whether you believe Lucas ripped people off or not---I challenge
someone else to make movies I like as much as the STAR WARS ones
and to make a billion dollars doing it at the same time

[Hector]

Are you gonna cry watching it again?

[huedell]

Are you gonna cry watching it again?

during Vader's death...
annnnnnd my neck hairs stand on end
when Han swoops in at the end of NEW HOPE.

[Hector]

Stand in the corner...you just lost your...