To start the new year, Disney+ released the latest chapter in the Star Wars series Skeleton Crew. In search of their home planet At Attin, the four kids Wim, Fern, Neel and KB are still trapped on the planet Lanupa, where, in addition to dangerous pirates, there are also some scary creatures.
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Star Wars fans are thrilled: Skeleton Crew Episode 6 unleashes a huge or small stop-motion crab
The 6th episode of Skeleton Crew features some dramatic events and teaches our group, which is now split into two camps, an important lesson. You can only make progress if you pay attention to each other instead of pushing through your own ideas. This teamwork will also be important in the end.
Before Wim and Co. can escape from Lanupa with the Onyx Cinder, they have to face a monstrous alien like a giant crab sitting in the icy environment and looking forward to an early lunch. At first glance, the creature looks like one of many CGI creatures in Star Wars. However, there is more to it.
A short excerpt from a making-of video for Skeleton Crew is currently making the rounds on X (formerly Twitter), which shows that the crab was brought to life using stop-motion technology, among other things. “The fact that it’s stop motion blows me away, this show really has everything”writes one fan enthusiastically.
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Another fan notes: “Holy shit. That was really good work. Normally you can tell straight away if something is stop motion, but this was smooth, like it was CGI.”
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With the Star Wars crab, Skeleton Crew seems to have hit the nerve of fans who long for handmade effects. “I love it. Brings back the old movie magic that AI can’t reproduce”it says elsewhere.
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“Man, that’s impressive work. Hats off to the animators.” But who are the animators? Even before the start of the series, Collider reported that stop-motion mastermind Phil Tippett, among others, was involved in Skeleton Crew.
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The effort was clearly worth it. There are mostly positive reactions from Star Wars fans: “Oh, great!!! Practical effects add the authentic touch.”
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At the same time, it should be emphasized that such a production is not about hand-made vs. computer-generated effects. Neel is the best example of this. Because he is created from a number of different techniqueswhich have been combined with each other to achieve the best possible result. It will have been similar with the crab.
Since we’ve only gotten very few behind-the-scenes glimpses of Skeleton Crew, it’s safe to assume that stop-motion work forms the core of the sequence, while advanced (digital) effects were used. The result is convincing and makes for one of the most impressive moments in the series so far.
When does Skeleton Crew continue with episode 7?
The 7th episode of the 1st season of Skeleton Crew will be released on January 8, 2025 on Disney+. This time, Lee takes Isaac Chung’s place in the director’s chair, who was already on board as director for the third season of The Mandalorian. He also thrilled audiences with the indie drama Minari and brought the action blockbuster Twisters to the cinema.