The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Let's continue the original Star Wars trilogy with The Empire Strikes Back.

The Movie:

The Empire Strikes Back is the second Star Wars movie, though given the series' unconventional numbering system it is Episode V in the saga.  For this film, George Lucas handed over the director's chair to Irvin Kershner, with the screenplay written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan.  Though still a massive box-office hit, The Empire Strikes Back was initially met with mixed reviews from critics.  Over time, the movie has gained a more positive reputation.  The Empire Strikes Back won one competitive and one special Oscar and was nominated for two others.

The Empire Strikes Back opens with the Rebel Alliance in hiding on the ice planet on Hoth.  Following an attack by the Empire, the Rebel fleet scatters with intents to later rendezvous.  Luke Skywalker however does not rejoin the fleet, instead taking his X-Wing and R2-D2 to the planet Dagobah to find the legendary Jedi Master Yoda.  Meanwhile, Han Solo, Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO, aboard the Millennium Falcon, try to avoid capture by Darth Vader and the Imperial fleet.

Unpopular opinion time.  The Empire Strikes Back is my least favorite movie of the original Star Wars trilogy.  Now, I still think it's a good movie, and I know that most people rank it as the best of the three.  However, there's no denying that it is the middle of a trilogy, ending on a cliffhanger.  The story is important to the overall saga, but if I'm going to watch just one movie, I'll take the other two because each of those movies has a more satisfying ending.  Now as I said, it's still a good movie, and The Empire Strikes Back introduces several great characters and has some of the most meorable scenes in the franchise.  This is the movie that brings in Yoda, Boba Fett, and Lando, the AT-ATs, "Do, or do not," and one of the most iconic twists in movie history.

The score is another classic from John Williams.  For The Empire Strikes Back, he reuses several themes from the first movie, plus he introduces several new ones, including Yoda's Theme, the asteroid escape music, Han and Leia's love theme, and the iconic Imperial March.

Presence in the Parks:

We've just about covered most Star Wars at WDW, but let's look at one specific prop related to this movie.  When MGM Studios first opened, there were a couple of additional props in front of Star Tours.  They were a snowspeeder from this movie and a sand skiff from Return of the Jedi.

Snowspeeder, MGM Studios, April 1999

Some time in the early 2000s, the two ships were moved to the tram portion of the Backlot Tour.

Snowspeeder and Sand Skiff, Backlot Tour, MGM Studios, July 2002

When the tour closed, the snowspeeder was moved to the front of the Star Wars merchandise shop, Watto's Grotto.

Snowspeeder, Hollywood Studios, May 2015

Since that area is now closed for the Star Wars Land expansion, I'm not sure if the snowspeeder is still around.  I'll keep an eye out for it on my upcoming trip.

Also, the last time I was at Hollywood Studios, there was a LEGO statue of one of the fan favorite characters from The Empire Strikes Back, Boba Fett.

LEGO Boba Fett, Hollywood Studios, May 2015