R2-D2 (called R2, or "Artoo" for short), is a fictional character in the Star Warsuniverse. R2 is the only character to appear in all six Star Wars films, without changes to appearance or speech. He and his counterpart, C-3PO, are arguably one of the most famous pairs in film history. The original R2-D2 chassis was especially created by Australian firm Petric Engineering and were precision made to a high standard with high tolerances. R2-D2 was played by Kenny Baker in five of the six Star Wars films, (though credited with appearing in Revenge of the Sith, he never filmed any scenes) with many scenes filmed using mechanical and computer-generated imagery (CGI) versions of the character.
Ten years later, in Attack of the Clones, R2 is still in Padmé Amidala's possession, and he accompanies Anakin and Padmé to Naboo when her life is threatened, and then to Tatooine when Anakin tries to rescue his mother. Here, he is reunited with C-3PO, and the two get into various misadventures on Geonosis. This includes a bizarre accident where C-3PO's head is knocked off his body. The head is placed on the body of a battle droid, and a battle droid head is placed on C-3PO's body. R2 later takes C-3PO's head and restores it to his body during the Battle of Geonosis. He and C-3PO are later witnesses to Anakin and Padmé's secret wedding.
In Revenge of the Sith, R2 helps Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi in their mission to rescue Chancellor Palpatine from Count Dooku's capital ship. He is attacked by Super battle droids, but manages to defeat both of them through ingenious tactics. R2 accompanies Anakin throughout the rest of the movie, but does not play a large part in events. Later, C-3PO's memory is wiped clean to keep the knowledge of the locations of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa a secret from their father, who has fallen to the dark side and become Darth Vader. Due to his inability to communicate verbally, however, R2's memory is not wiped. In The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, however, R2 communicates with Luke on the trip to Dagobah via the computer screen of Luke'sX-wingstarfighter. This lack of memory wipe makes R2 the only character by the end of Return of the Jedi who knows the entire story of the Skywalker family. Both R2-D2 and C-3PO end up in the possession of Captain Raymus Antilles onboard the blockade runner Tantive IV at the end of Revenge of the Sith.
In the original trilogy
In A New Hope, both R2-D2 and C-3PO are on board the Tantive IV along with Princess Leia of Alderaan, now an adult, when they come under attack by the Star DestroyerDevastator. Leia slips R2-D2 a disc containing a distress message and the plans for the Death Star battle station.
Once again on the planet Tatooine, R2 and C-3PO are abducted by Jawas and bought by Owen Lars, adoptive uncle of Luke Skywalker. Luke discovers a part of the hidden message but does not act on it, and R2 escapes on his own to seek out Obi-Wan Kenobi. Soon Luke is forced to leave Tatooine with Obi-Wan, Han Solo, and Chewbacca, and they attempt to deliver R2-D2 to the Rebel Alliance. Along the way, they are captured by the Death Star, but eventually rescue Leia and escape. R2-D2 delivers the plans to the Alliance, and becomes Luke's astromech droid during the attack on the station. R2 is severely damaged during the battle, but is restored before the awards ceremony at the end of the film.
In Return of the Jedi, R2-D2 plays a critical role in the rescue of Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, and later joins the Rebel strike team on Endor. He helps bring down the deflector shield so the fleet can destroy the new Death Star.
Behind the scenes
After his appearance in The Phantom Menace, R2 was computer animated in many of his film appearances.
There were a total of 15 R2-D2s on the set of Attack of the Clones. Eight were radio-controlled; two were worn by Baker; the remainder were stunt models that could be moved by puppet strings or towed by wires.
The sound effects for R2-D2's "voice" were created by sound designer Ben Burtt, using an ARP 2600 analog music synthesizer, as well as his own vocalizations processed through other effects.
The two droids establish the comic relief of the series. However, R2 is decisive and courageous in comparison to C-3PO, who tends to panic and dither in the face of danger. For instance, in A New Hope when they realized that their human companions were in jeopardy in a crushing trash compactor, C-3PO was in a panic while R2-D2 quietly and quickly set to work to stop the machine. There has also been speculation as to whether R2-D2 has some special relationship with the Force. In A New Hope, R2-D2 is about to be left behind with the Jawas when, inexplicably, the other R2 unit purchased by Luke Skywalker breaks down and R2-D2 is taken as a replacement. Also, in multiple instances throughout the movie series, R2-D2 is able to calmly roll through a firefight without a scratch (exceptions being the Battle of Yavin, the escape from Bespin [when he is shocked], and the Battle of Endor). Given that affinity for the Force is based on symbiotic creatures that live within living cells it is impossible by the laws of the Star Wars universe for a non-biological entity to have any affinity with the Force, leading to the conclusion that R2-D2 is simply very lucky, goes unnoticed by Imperial troops (who may understandably be more concentrated on the armed Rebels) or that the Imperial Stormtroopers are truly awful shots (see Stormtrooper effect). There is also the possibility that there are things not known about the Force which would allow R2-D2 some connection (as Yoda stated, everything is connected to the Force), though this is just speculation.
R2-D2 is present at the weddings of two generations of Skywalkers: Anakin and Padmé in Attack of the Clones, and Luke and Mara Jade two decades after Return of the Jedi.
R2 saves the day
At least once in every film of the Star Wars saga, R2-D2 performs a droid function that rescues one or more of the series’ human protagonists. This is what first made R2 so popular with his allies. One of the most used features of R2-D2 is the ability to tap into computer systems, enemy or not, to operate machinery, such as doors.
Episode I: In his introductory scene, R2 restores power to the shields protecting Padmé's space cruiser as she and her protectors flee Naboo.
Episode II: Stops the production line in the droid factory, saving Padmé from being burned alive by molten metal.
Episode III: Aids Obi-Wan and Anakin while they traverse General Grievous’ ship. He creates a distraction to Grievous allowing Obi-Wan and Anakin to retrieve their lightsabers.
Episode IV: Stops a trash compactor from crushing Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewbacca on the Death Star.
Episode V: Uses an extinguisher to cloud a doorway allowing Leia, Lando, and Chewbacca to escape onto the Millennium Falcon. Reactivates the Falcon’s hyperdrive allowing the ship to escape capture by the Imperial Fleet.
Episode VI: Conceals Luke’s green lightsaber in one of his compartments and passes it to him, allowing Luke to rescue Han and their companions from Jabba the Hutt. R2-D2 also "helps" C-3PO disembark Jabba's exploding ship.
Spoilers end here.
R2-D2 in popular culture
Inspiration
Lucas has stated that Akira Kurosawa's 1958 feature film The Hidden Fortress (USA release 1962) was a strong influence, particularly, Tahei and Matakishi, the two goofy, buffoonish characters that serve as sidekicks to General Makabe.
The name is said to derive from when Lucas was making one of his earlier films, American Graffiti. Sound editor Walter Murch states that he is responsible for the utterance which sparked the name for the droid. Murch asked for Reel 2, Dialog Track 2, in the abbreviated form 'R-2-D-2'. Lucas, who was in the room working on the script for Star Wars, heard the request and, after asking for clarification, stated that it was a "great name".[1]
In some Spanish-speaking countries R2-D2 is frequently referred to as Arturito ("little Arthur"), since it sounds similar to the English Artoodeetoo.
It has been proposed that R2-D2 may have also been partly inspired by the design of Analyzer from the 1972 Japanese anime classic Space Battleship Yamato, known as IQ-9 in its EnglishdubStar Blazers. IQ-9 is a multi-function robot with a short cylindrical body, domed head and tracked wheels, who can fly when necessary, and possesses a wide variety of tools and implements for performing tasks and defending himself. And, like R2-D2, IQ-9 can be quite stubborn.
In the various Star Wars novels and comics, the droid duo have played a small but significant role. During the Black Fleet Crisis, for example, they were mostly out of the way, working with Lando Calrissian and Lobot to discover the mystery behind the Teljkon Vagabond. In the Expanded Universe novel The Swarm War, R2 inadvertently helps Luke and Leia come to grips with their heritage when an electronic glitch unearths long-concealed images of Anakin relating his fear of losing Padmé, and of Padmé's death.
R2-D2 is one of the most well-loved characters in the Star Wars universe. He is especially well-received by the younger fans due to his unthreatening short stature (96 cm) and "kid-friendly" design.
Ewan McGregor, who portrayed Obi-Wan Kenobi in the prequel trilogy, said in an interview, "As soon as Artoo-Detoo comes on the set, everyone goes a bit silly." He recalled how his then four-year-old daughter announced she was in love with R2-D2, and then confessed his own affections for the astromech: "...there is something about him that makes you feel great affection for him. I think it is a combination of his shape, his high-pitched voice. He's just incredibly appealing. In fact, I believe he is George [Lucas]'s favorite actor." Lucas confirms this in the audio commentary of the Episode: III DVD.
The PC video game Sam & Max Hit the Road features a bonus shooting gallery during the ending credit roll, and one of the moving targets is a miniature R2-D2. Sam & Max was published by LucasArts, which explains the cameo.
R2-D2 and C-3PO were the hosts of the Imax film Special Effects.
R2-D2's name appears in The Fairly Oddparents episode "Timmy TV " when Timmy sticks his face in the wet paint outside, R2-D2's name and his "Foot prints" are near Timmy's cement tile.
In the British television comedy series The Goodies, R2-D2 (played by Kenny Baker) guest stars as a robot called EB-GB (Electronic Brain of Great Britain). The episode, "U-Friend or UFO?", is a spoof of the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind and has EB-GB (R2-D2) take on the personality of a Dalek. When asked by one of the Goodies characters, "EB-GB, how do you speak to aliens?" he replies, "Exterminate!"
R2-D2 (along with Chewbacca and C-3PO) made a cameo in "Blind Ambition", an episode of the animated TV show Family Guy. The episode ends with a reenactment of the ending of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, allowing the appearance of these characters.
Animated property; in terms of film production, R2-D2 is an animated property
Notes
Wallace, Daniel. (2002). Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Characters. Del Rey. p.138. ISBN 0-345-44900-2. Note: Canon sources are mixed as to whether R2-D2 has a gender, but Wallace (an official source) indicates that the droid has masculine programming.
R2-D2 and C-3PO are the only beings to survive all six movies.
In Italy, R2-D2's name was changed to C1-P8 in the original trilogy, while it re-assumed the original name in the prequel trilogy.
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