Original Documentary 'Under The Helmet: The Legend Of Boba Fett’ Now On Disney+

No Disintegrations!

By Culture SlatePublished 2 years ago • 3 min read

As part of the push for the upcoming Book of Boba Fett, and celebration of Disney Plus Day, a short documentary is now available on Disney+ focusing on one of the most popular and evolving characters in the Star Wars mythos. Boba Fett's journey from super trooper, to animated rogue, to mysterious bounty hunter, to clone child, and now underworld mob boss, is a story far beyond anything his creators George Lucas, Joe Johnston, and Ralph McQuarrie could have ever dreamed of. The short film gives behind the scenes looks at what went into creating the man in the bucket, while moving at a brisk enough pace to be accessible for more casual fans.

The film comes in at around 20 minutes but manages to cover Boba's history through the original trilogy, the prequels, and his current appearances on Disney+. The fascination with Boba is a testament to the sheer power held in good character design. The sketches from McQuarrie's "Super Trooper" design are iconic enough to be the new lead of a movie or video game franchise, but it is the refinement and casual elegance brought by the combination of his and Johnston's work that makes Boba shine. What would be the tentpole for anyone else is simply a background character for Star Wars. Magic moments are sprinkled throughout the short, going even beyond the films themselves to the franchises' vast merchandising empire, including thousands of Boba Fett figures and memorabilia, footage of screen-used costume parades, and the infamous Holiday Special animation, which helped propel the character to stardom before he was even featured in a film. The short's revelation that Boba had only 6 minutes and 32 seconds of screen time in the original trilogy leaves you in awe at the gigantic Mandalorian mythology and cultural impact such a small presence birthed from the cargo hold.

Tidbits such as that, however, do bring us to a flaw, one that no Star Wars documentary focused on the original trilogy and prequel eras can really avoid. Die hard fans have heard this before. If you are a Boba fanatic, there is little here that has not already been covered in greater detail elsewhere. Both the original and prequel trilogies have received decades of content exploring the making of those films, many of them using the same footage as this short. The Mandalorian itself featured a behind the scenes look at Boba's creation in its Disney Gallery series from the Mandalorian mythology perspective, showcasing the iconic costume and unique body language that goes into portraying a character who cannot emote in the ways we are accustomed to. Furthermore, the Disney Gallery series show details about Boba Fett himself and his return from the grave in greater depth than this short is allowed to delve into. For the super fans expecting mind-shattering facts and never before seen behind the scenes stories, this short may be no good to you.

Speaking as a Star Wars deep diver myself, however, the short is paced well enough that even information I have heard before was never a chore. Temuera Morrison recalling how he and Daniel Logan would refer to each as "Dad" and "Son" to immerse themselves into the roles of Jango and Boba respectively is always going to be heart-warming. The film's true strength, and real value for hardcore and casual fans alike is not in the minutia of how the fictional character of Boba Fett became so cool. It is about paying tribute the to incredible creatives that made it all work in the first place. Jeremy Bulloch, Glenn Randall Jr., the many other stunt men to wear the helmet, Daniel Logan, and Temuera Morrison, were, are, and will always be the “Greatest Bounty Hunters” in the galaxy.

Written By Alfie Taylor

Source(s): Twitter

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