Return of the ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy

The cartooning of American movies may have started with Walt Disney, but it took a new and profitable direction in 1977 when George Lucas let his boyish fantasies zoom beyond the stratosphere.

Lucas sent a group of comic book-size heroes into orbit with “Star Wars,” one of the biggest box-office rockets ever. Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Darth Vader and a couple of robots with attitudes, R2D2 and C3P0, were as colorful (and apparently appealing) as anything Disney could come up with.

Nobody much cared that Lucas’ galaxy-leaping characters had the depth of thimbles or that the plot was hardly more complex than a Flash Gordon episode. They went for all the zip-zap action all dressed-up in bogglingly modernistic special effects. The picture’s charm was its superficial verve, a style where fantasy and escapism merged.

Fueled by fan anticipation, “Star Wars” went on to spawn two very popular sequels, “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi.” The trilogy will screen daily Friday through Thursday at Cinemapolis in Anaheim as a benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Of course, to label the “Star Wars” series as merely simple Hollywood entertainment at its most mainstream is to risk the anger of Skywalker junkies from here to Jupiter. Academicians have even rallied behind it.

The late philosopher and historian Joseph Campbell, a man who knew the mystery and beauty of a myth when he saw it, said Lucas created a contemporary allegory for many of the folk tales that have been passed from generation to generation.

The author of “Hero With a Thousand Faces” described Skywalker’s desire to become one with “the Force,” a stand-in for spiritual transcendence, while struggling to control his evil side, as old a dilemma as ever faced by man. “Star Wars,” Campbell ventured, was just a reflection of Greek, Arthurian and primitive legends that pivoted on that ages-old struggle.

A large thought for such basic (and mostly enjoyable) movies. Actually, Lucas seems to have taken more inspiration from Westerns than any myth anthology; the trilogy is really a shoot-from-the-hip cowboy adventure set in a vast space corral.

We open in “Star Wars” with Luke (Mark Hamill) seeking revenge for the murder of his parents. It’s a decision that puts him on a course of danger and self-discovery. Like any good cowpoke faced with an impossible quest, his asteroid-strewn journey forges his manhood.

After hooking up with Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), a mystic Jedi knight and seer, Luke decides to join the Resistance warriors in their battle with Darth Vader, the frightening leader of the fascistic Empire.

Side benefits are the rescue of the spunky Leia (Carrie Fisher) and some male bonding with dashing renegade Han Solo (Harrison Ford). Han is not only an able fighter and cool ladies’ man, he has amusing pals as well, including Chewbacca, a towering fright wig with a bad temper.

The saga continued with “The Empire Strikes Back” in 1980, easily the better of the sequels. Lucas introduced “Star Wars” followers to Yoda, a huggable swamp thing, who taught Luke the finer points of “the Force,” such as lifting space ships from the bog through brain power.

“Empire” featured the usual ongoing battles and groovy visuals but was also marked by a somewhat fatalistic tone. The film ends with Vader in charge and Han encased in a carbon block.

That led to “Return of the Jedi” in 1983, when, predictably, the Resistance is victorious and harmony is returned to the universe. The picture clears up the relationship between Vader and Luke but cops out on its road to a thickly sweetened resolution.

Lucas also throws in a new set of characters called Ewoks--annoyingly huggable forest fuzzies that soon became a favorite stuffed creature at toy stores.

* What: George Lucas’ “Star Wars,” “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi.”

* When: Daily from Friday, Dec. 10, to Thursday, Dec. 16. “Star Wars” screens at 5:15 p.m., followed by “The Empire Strikes Back” at 7:30 and “Return of the Jedi” at 9:45. Additional shows Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m., 12:15 and 2:30 p.m., respectively.

* Where: Cinemapolis, 5635 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim.

* Whereabouts: Take the Riverside (91) Freeway to Imperial Highway and head north to La Palma Avenue and then turn left.

* Wherewithal: $6.75 (adults) and $3.75 (children under 12) for all three movies. All proceeds go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

* Where to call: (714) 970-6700.