Chewbacca and His Wookie Family Wear Snuggies!

Over the weekend I was watching my bootleg copy of The Star Wars Holiday Special. For those of you who are not familiar with this demented classic, The Star Wars Holiday Special was a TV program aired on CBS in November 1978. This piece of video is a superb example of something so awful it’s actually hilarious. The “plot” of this things, such as it were, centers around Chewbacca’s efforts to get back to his home planet of Kashyyyk to spend the wookie holiday “Life Day” with his family. Although members of the original cast do appear—including Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill—much of the time the viewer is forced to watch Chewbacca’s family (wife Malla, son Lumpy, and gross-looking father Itchy) grunt onscreen. The Star Wars Holiday Special is basically a 1970s variety show with the plot about “Life Day” tossed in as a framing device. So there are several musical segments and unfunny comedy bits. Some lowlights of this show include:

• Bea Arthur sings in the Tatooine cantina
• In a tour de force, Harvey Korman plays three different roles, including a space alien who hits on Bea Arthur—perhaps the most implausible creature in the entire Star Wars universe!
• Mark Hamill wears so much make-up that he looks like he’ll break into a show tune at any moment.
• Carrie Fisher sings lyrics to the Star Wars theme. Look at her eyes and it’s hard not to come to the conclusion that she’s high on cocaine.
• Chewbacca’s father has cybersex.

But for fans of infomercials the most interesting bit may come at the end of the program. As part of the “Life Day” rituals, wookies don red garments. Seeing this I turned to my friend and declared, “Chewbacca and his family are wearing Snuggies!” Indeed, the Snuggie Blanket with Sleeves looks much like the ceremonial Life Day robes worn by the wookies.

So the Snuggie is great for all sorts of outdoor activities. Not only going to campouts and football games—but also for carrying mystical snow globes while walking into the sun. The Snuggie fleece is warm enough to keep wookies cozy while they inexplicably walk through outer space—and we all know how cold it can get out there! Even with a thick coat of fur wookies still need a “blanket with sleeves” to keep them warm during the holiday.

Most likely Chewbacca’s wife Malla bought Snuggies for her family from trader Saun Dann (played by Art Carney). I just hope she didn’t get ripped off on the shipping charges!