Star Wars: 20 Worst Franchise Moments (So Far)
4. The Ewoks Arrive
Film: Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
The reason why Return of the Jedi is seen as the worst of the original trilogy is the Ewoks. It really does come down to that one thing.
George Lucas has said the inspiration for this subplot was natives fighting back in the Vietnam War and this was a very interesting plot idea, but it's fair to say making said natives a bunch of teddy bears was a terrible idea. The various plot developments involving them, such as them thinking C-3PO is a god and the others nearly getting eaten just slows the entire film down and makes it feel like some terrible kids film about talking teddy bears.
The eventual final battle is fine, but the fact that these small stuffed toys were able to beat some of the Empire's finest soldiers is stretching things too far even by Star Wars standards. This will all be cute for the younger viewers, but as one grows older this subplot becomes extremely grating and delays the action far too much. Jar Jar Binks certainly wasn't the first terrible merchandising opportunity to be introduced in Star Wars.