Starting with the 1977 film A New Hope, Star Wars has become one of the most iconic franchises in Hollywood. The movies under the sci-fi film series are especially known for their impressive special effects. The filmmakers not only used miniatures and puppets but also went on to develop new techniques for the franchise.
However, the concept and visual effects artist Kenneth Ralston came up with a whole new idea of using chewing gum while filming the 1983 film Return of the Jedi and hoped that the filmmaker George Lucas would not notice it.
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Star Wars Used Chewing Gum to Create Pickle Ships
Episode VI – Return of the Jedi was the film that concluded the original Star Wars trilogy, which brought stars like Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carry Fisher to the spotlight. The movie, similar to its predecessors, was a commercial and critical hit.
Along with its cast performances, Return of the Jedi was highly praised for its special effects and action sequences. As per Star Wars Insider, the content and visual effect artist Kenneth Ralston used chewing gum to create the “pickle ships” in the movie. Ralston shared,
“I would call those oddball thingamajigs the ‘pickle ships,’ and when you see a bunch of them in the background, for a couple of those shots, I just took wads of gum and stuck them on glass!”
He shared that he was also amused by how it perfectly worked for the sequence. “That cracked me up ’cause it worked,” he said as he explained that it had some kind of “bulbous quality.” However, the film’s director had yet to review these sequences, and Ralston hoped that he would not notice the use of chewing gum in the movie.
Kenneth Ralston Hoped George Lucas Wouldn’t Notice Chewing Gum Pickle Ships
Kenneth Ralston shared that he was pretty content with the idea and how it turned out, as putting models and paintings on panes of glass in various formations would have required more time and work. “I thought, ‘This is great — who needs models?” he shared.
However, there was still one concern regarding the filmmaker George Lucas‘ opinion on the same, as he reviewed most of the clips. “The tense thing was George [Lucas] saw most dailies, so if some of those shots came up,” he said before adding, “I just hoped he wouldn’t catch on as to what I was doing.”
Thankfully for Ralston, Lucas did not notice the chewing gum pickle ships in the background. Apart from chewing gum, the makers also used tennis shoes and yogurt containers for ships. The visual artist claimed that it would have been impossible for people to make out their shapes as they were so far in the background.
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi is available on Disney+.
