Troops (film)
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''Troops'' is a 1997
short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...
mockumentary film A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on ...
directed by
Kevin Rubio Kevin Rubio (born December 20, 1967) is an American filmmaker who is best known for his ''Star Wars'' parody film ''Troops''. Education and early career Rubio studied theater and photography throughout his high school years in California, and ma ...
that debuted at
San Diego Comic-Con International San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
on July 18, 1997 and was subsequently distributed via 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 ...
. The film is a parody of '' COPS'', set in the ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' universe. In the film,
Imperial stormtrooper Stormtrooper are soldiers in the fictional ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Introduced in '' Star Wars: A New Hope'' (1977), the stormtroopers are the shock troops/ space marines of the autocratic Galactic Empire, under the ...
s from the infamous Black Sheep Squadron patrolling the
Dune Sea An erg (also sand sea or dune sea, or sand sheet if it lacks dunes) is a broad, flat area of desert covered with wind-swept sand with little or no vegetative cover. The word is derived from the Arabic language, Arabic word ''ʿarq'' (), meaning ...
on the planet
Tatooine Tatooine () is a fictional desert planet that appears in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. It is a beige-colored, desolate world orbiting a pair of binary stars, and inhabited by human settlers and a variety of other life forms. The planet was first ...
run into some very familiar characters while being filmed for the hit Imperial TV show ''Troops''. In a
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in January 2018, Rubio stated that ''Troops'' is acknowledged by
George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...
as a canonical installment in the ''Star Wars'' franchise.I'm The Creator of Tag and Bink -- AMA About Them
/ref> The film jump-started the modern
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 more ...
movement, as it was one of the first short films to bring fan films into the digital age, taking advantage of internet distribution and affordable production and special effects equipment, as well as fans with movie-quality costumes. Rubio shot the film on location on the
El Mirage Dry Lake El Mirage Lake is a dry lake bed in the northwestern Victor Valley of the central Mojave Desert, within San Bernardino County, California. The lake is located about west-northwest of the town of Adelanto and north of Highway 18 in San Bernardi ...
. Rubio finished the film while working at the
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Network, and was able to use well-known
voice talent Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...
in his cast, including
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,
Cam Clarke Cam Clarke is an American voice actor, known for his work in animation, video games and commercials. Among his notable roles are Leonardo and Rocksteady in the 1987 ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' animated series, Shotaro Kaneda in the 1989 ...
, and announcer
Bill Farmer Bill Farmer (born November 14, 1952) is an American voice actor, comedian and impressionist. He has performed the voice of the Disney character Goofy since 1987, and has also been the voice of Pluto and Horace Horsecollar since 1990. Early li ...
.


Plot

An example of the film's comedic tone comes in the opening monologue, which spoofs the opening of ''COPS:'' "TROOPS is filmed on location with the men of the Imperial Forces. All suspects are guilty--period! Otherwise, they wouldn't be suspects, would they?" Adding to the comic tone are the accents from the stormtroopers which is very reminiscent to the accents heard in the movie '' Fargo''. A small visual gag near the beginning of the film is that the stolen Imperial droid recovered from the Jawas is a replica of
Tom Servo Tom Servo is a fictional character from the American science fiction comedy television show ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K''). Tom is one of two wise-cracking, robotic main characters of the show, built by Joel Robinson to act as a com ...
from ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...
''. In ''TROOPS'' there is a notable alternate (tongue-in-cheek) take on the deaths of
Luke Skywalker Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The ...
's Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, presenting their fate as the end result of a domestic dispute gone too far, rather than execution at the hands of Imperial forces. Indeed, the spotlighted members of
Black Sheep Squadron ''Baa Baa Black Sheep'' (renamed ''Black Sheep Squadron'' for the second season) is an American television series that aired on NBC from September 23, 1976, until April 6, 1978. It was part historical drama, period military drama, part comedy. I ...
attempt to mediate the dispute before Beru makes a disastrous move with a
thermal detonator The following is a list of weapons shown in the '' Star Wars'' universe. By type Directed-energy weapons Directed-energy weapons (DEW) figure prominently in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, with the most common type referred to as lasers or blast ...
. The film ends with an incoming message about a possible disturbance in Mos Eisley Cantina.


Reception

The film has proven popular with ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' fans, and was awarded the inaugural Pioneer Award in the
Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the ''Star Wars'' and ' ...
-sponsored 2002 Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards. ''Fan Films Quarterly'' listed ''Troops'' as one of the 10 most pivotal moments in fan film history in its Summer 2006 issue. In August 2010, ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine listed it as one of the Top 10 ''Star Wars'' fanfilms. In 2005, a new film called ''I.M.P.S.'' was released, made by several of the actors from ''TROOPS''. Originally planned as a sequel, the film was first billed as ''TROOPS 2'', but was renamed after fans learned that not only was Rubio not involved with the project, but that over the course of writing and production, the film had evolved into something entirely different (with a serious tone as opposed to the comedic one in ''TROOPS'').


Availability

''Troops'' was released on the free DVD given away with the inaugural edition of ''Total Movie'' magazine, complete with commentary track by Rubio. It was also included as a bonus feature on the 20th anniversary DVD of the TV series '' COPS''.


References


External links


TROOPS at TheForce.Net

IMPS website
* {{Non-canon Star Wars
Troops A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troop Ro ...
1997 independent films 1997 films American mockumentary films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films