''How the Sith Stole Christmas'' is an animated

fan film A fan film is a film or video inspired by a film, television program, comic book, book, or video game created by fans rather than by the source's copyright holders or creators. Fan filmmakers have traditionally been amateurs, but some of the mo ...

from that made its debut on the

internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

in December 2002. Written and directed by Ted Bracewell, the film tells the story of the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

's plans to invade the North Pole and take Santa Claus prisoner. Melvin the Elf ends up in the thick of things, and must help rescue Santa.

Darth Vader Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...

is sent on a separate mission to destroy

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

for the

Ewok The Ewoks (singular: Ewok) are a fictional species There are a number of lists of fictional species: Extraterrestrial *List of fictional extraterrestrials (by media type) *Lists of fictional alien species: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, ...

inhabitants of

Endor Endor or Ein Dor may refer to: Places * Endor (village), from the Hebrew Bible, a Canaanite village where the Witch of Endor lived * Indur, a Palestinian village depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war * Ein Dor, a Kibbutz in modern Israel F ...

, but when an unexpected chain of events leaves him stranded on the planet, Vader is confronted by a vision from the past and sent on an incredible journey through time and space. The film parodies

Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel (;"Seuss"
'' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' is a Christmas children's story by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It follows the Grinch, a grouchy, solitary creature who tries to cancel Christmas by st ...

'' by mixing it with elements of the '' Star Wars'' films, as well as parodying elements of ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ''N ...

'', '' A Charlie Brown Christmas'', and '' Citizen Kane''. The film has a very distinct and lush look, as Bracewell animated the film himself using a combination of painted backgrounds, painted cutout characters, and 3D animation. The released film is subtitled "Jingle Far, Far Away", and is the first part of a trilogy. A trailer has been released for Parts Two and Three ("Silent Night, Jedi Knight" and "A Very Vader Christmas"), but the finished episodes have yet to be released. Part One has proven to be a popular download at TheForce.Net, and has screened at the DragonCon film festival and the 2004 Microcinema Fest. The film was highlighted as a "post-modern" fanfilm in an article on the genre in ''The Weekly Standard''. The film was featured prominently in the September 2004 issue of ''Movie Magic Magazine'', which called the film a "standout" in the genre.

References

External links

Filmmaker's website

''How the Sith Stole Christmas''
at TheForce.net *
''How the Sith Stole Christmas''
at

iFilm iFilm is a discontinued U.S.-based video-sharing website on which users could upload, share and view videos. It was founded by filmmaker Raphael Raphael in 1997. It was later acquired by iFilm.net, a popular online interactive film and media arch ...

''How the Sith Stole Christmas'' review
at ''The Fan Film Menace''

at ''The Fan Film Menace'' 2002 animated films 2002 films American animated short films 2002 independent films 2002 short films American independent films Fan films based on Star Wars Parody films based on Star Wars American Christmas films Films based on works by Dr. Seuss Dr. Seuss parodies Santa Claus in film Films about elves 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{StarWars-stub