Max Rebo Band - Concept and Creation

Concept and Creation

Star Wars creator George Lucas stated that the scene featuring the band was intended to be an elaborate production, but the crew "never really had the time" to film it. Lucas commented, "I thought would be funny in the middle of a Star Wars film."

The original band members—Max, Sy, and Droopy—were puppets designed by Phil Tippett of Industrial Light and Magic's Creature Shop. Lucas was not entirely pleased with the scene, claiming the puppets were too static and motionless, but his options were limited. Special edition producer Rick McCallum concurred that the requirements of the scene were too complex, even for animatronics.

For the 1997 rerelease of Return of the Jedi, Sy Snootles was recreated entirely in CGI and nine new musicians and dancers were added, while Max and Droopy's screen time during the segment was reduced in comparison to the original film. Visual effects supervisor Dave Carson described the process of creating Sy and new character Joh Yowza as similar to sculpting clay models, adding that CGI characters were more like puppets than cartoons and that animators "constantly find limitations: characters don't bend right, or their mass isn't right," problems he claimed that confronted puppeteers.

In addition to the new characters, "Lapti Nek" was replaced with "Jedi Rocks." Lucas insisted that the revised sequence added more atmosphere and quality to the film. However, author and critic Tom Bissell described it as the "most unspeakable sequence in all the films, almost too depressing to discuss at any length." He particularly took umbrage with the decision to feature Boba Fett "flirting with the humanoid tarts who make up Jabba's dancing troupe."