Sarlacc
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[[Image:OriginalCarkoonSkirmishSarlaac.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The Great Pit of Carkoon with the original Sarlacc from ''[[Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi|Return of the Jedi]]'' (1983).]]
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The '''Sarlacc''' (plural '''Sarlacci''') is a fictional creature in [[George Lucas]]'s [[science fiction]] saga ''[[Star Wars]]''. It first appeared in the film ''[[Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi]]'' (1983) as a multi-tentacled [[fictional extraterrestrials|alien]] beast whose immense, gaping mouth is lined with several rows of sharp teeth. The Sarlacc in the film inhabits the '''Great Pit of Carkoon''', a depression in the sand of the desert planet [[Tatooine]]. This creature is the largest of several Sarlacci scattered across the ''Star Wars'' [[Star Wars galaxy|galaxy]].<ref name="SarlaccEU">Sarlacc, Expanded Universe, in the [http://www.starwars.com/databank/creature/sarlacc/?id=eu Star Wars Databank]; last accessed [[July 10]], [[2006]].</ref>
In the [[Star Wars#original trilogy|original]] ''Return of the Jedi'', the Sarlacc is simply an inanimate hole in the desert sand which characters fall into and are consumed; some are pulled into the Sarlacc's mouth by its tentacles. Lucas revised the Sarlacc's appearance in the 1997 [[Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi#Special Edition|Special Edition]] of the film by adding [[computer-generated imagery|computer-generated]] tentacles and beak that emerge from the opened mouth. Besides ''Return of the Jedi'', the creature and others like it are featured in [[Star Wars Expanded Universe|''Star Wars'' literature]].
Like other aspects of ''Star Wars'', the Sarlacc became a part of [[popular culture]]. The creature was incorporated into the merchandising campaign that accompanied the release of ''Return of the Jedi''. It is the subject of analysis and humor in works of literature unassociated with ''Star Wars''.<ref name="Biskind">Peter Biskind, ''Gods And Monsters: Movers, Shakers, and Other Casualties of the Hollywood Machine'' (New York: Nation Books, 2004), p. 129, ISBN 1-56025-545-5.</ref><ref name="Demetriou">Stefan Demetriou, ''How to Disappear Completely'' (Oxford, Eng.: Reverb, 2005), p. 166, ISBN 1-905315-06-6.</ref>
== Description and characterization ==
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According to the [[Star Wars Databank]], the Sarlacc is one of the rarer and more mysterious creatures in the ''Star Wars'' universe. Because Sarlacci are very dangerous and inhabit remote, inhospitable locations in the galaxy, few scientists have attempted to observe them. Those who do study the Sarlacc argue over its [[biological classification|taxonomic classification]]. While most strongly agree that the Sarlacc is an [[arthropod]] (as stated in the ''The Essential Guide to Alien Species'' and ''The Wildlife of Star Wars''), others point to its anchored root system and [[spore]]-based method of reproduction as evidence of a plant origin.<ref name="SarlaccEU"/> A Sarlacc reproduces by releasing spores that travel through [[outer space]] and eventually come to rest on a planet or [[asteroid]]'s surface, forming a pit which is used for capturing prey.<ref name="SarlacciSpores">"Sarlacci spores," Stephen J. Sansweet, ''Star Wars Encyclopedia'' (New York: Del Rey, 1998), p. 258, ISBN 0-345-40227-8.</ref>
[[Image:BaradaandSarlaac.jpg|left|thumb|Kithaba is captured by the Sarlacc and drawn into its beak by a tentacle.]]
[[Steve Sansweet]]'s ''[[Star Wars Encyclopedia]]'' describes the Sarlacc as an "[[omnivore|omnivorous]], multi-tentacled creature with needle-sharp teeth and a large beak".<ref name="SarlaccSWE">"Sarlacc," ''Star Wars Encyclopedia'', p. 258.</ref> The Sarlacc rests at the base of a giant pit where the entirety of its body is buried except for the gaping mouth. The creature's beak blindly gropes along the sloped walls of the pit when the sand is disturbed, searching for prey. The Sarlacc's mouth can reach three meters (9.84 feet) in diameter; it is positioned on its giant, worm-like head.<ref name="SarlaccMovies">Sarlacc, The Movies, in the [http://www.starwars.com/databank/creature/sarlacc/ Star Wars Databank]; last accessed [[July 10]], [[2006]].</ref> [[Astrophysics|Astrophysicist]] and science fiction author [[Jeanne Cavelos]] compares the Sarlacc to the [[antlion]], an insect that burrows a pit in the sand during its [[larva]]l stage. Both creatures catch and consume prey that falls into the pit.<ref>Jeanne Cavelos, ''The Science of Star Wars: An Astrophysicist's Independent Examination of Space Travel, Aliens, Planets, and Robots as Portrayed in the ''Star Wars'' Films and Books''(New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999), p. 71, ISBN 0-312-20958-4.</ref>
Because most Sarlacci inhabit isolated environments and rely on prey to stumble into their pit, they rarely feed. As a result, Sarlacci have evolved an efficient digestive process. The stomach of a Sarlacc slowly dissolves prey into nutrients in a painful process that can last for several thousands of years. Victims are kept alive in the acid-filled stomach throughout digestion and few ever escape.<ref name="SarlaccMovies">Sarlacc, The Movies, Star Wars Databank.</ref> This is one aspect of the Sarlacc that makes it such a feared creature. As the [[droid]] [[C-3PO]] announces (translating for [[Jabba the Hutt]]) in ''Return of the Jedi'', "In his belly, you will find a new definition of pain and suffering as you are slowly digested over a thousand years." If no living prey is available, a Sarlacc relies on its root system to absorb nutrients. One Sarlacc located on an airless moon feeds on [[comet]]ary material rich in oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen that drifts into its mouth.<ref name="Montgomery">J. D. Montgomery, "A Barve Like That: The Tale of Boba Fett," in ''Tales from Jabba's Palace'', ed. Kevin J. Anderson (paperback; New York: Bantam Spectra, 1996), p. 364, ISBN 0-553-56815-9.</ref>
The Sarlacc's stomach is lined with a fibrous network of vessels that attach themselves to a swallowed victim. According to the Star Wars Databank, the prey is incorporated into the Sarlacc's biological system as it is digested. Besides digestive acids, the stomach also contains mind-altering [[neurotoxin]]s which keep victims from struggling and escaping. The toxins induce hallucinations in prey which "suggest that the Sarlacc somehow absorbs the intelligence of all its victims, who live on in disembodied torment."<ref name="SarlaccEU"/> A Sarlacc can communicate with its victims through this stolen [[consciousness]].<ref name="SarlacciSpores"/> In one ''Star Wars'' short story, an old, unnamed [[Jedi]] woman who falls into the Sarlacc on Tatooine explains that "Sarlacci do interesting things with [[messenger RNA]]: over the course of millennia, they can attain a sort of group consciousness, built out of the remains of people they've digested. I talked to such a Sarlacc, once a few decades ago." She too becomes part of the Sarlacc's consciousness.<ref name="Montgomery"/>
== Appearances in ''Star Wars'' fiction ==
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The Sarlacc is a creature in ''Star Wars'' fiction that first appeared in the 1983 film ''Return of the Jedi''. Crimelord [[Jabba the Hutt]] attempts to execute [[Jedi|Jedi knight]] [[Luke Skywalker]] ([[Mark Hamill]]), smuggler [[Han Solo]] ([[Harrison Ford]]), and the [[Wookiee]] [[Chewbacca]] ([[Peter Mayhew]])—dubbed "victims of the almighty Sarlacc"—by dropping them into the creature's gaping maw. Luke frees himself and the others with the aid of [[Lando Calrissian]] ([[Billy Dee Williams]]) and droid [[R2-D2]]. A skirmish ensues ending with the death of Jabba and the ingestion of the notorious bounty hunter [[Boba Fett]] ([[Jeremy Bulloch]]) into the Sarlacc.
[[Image:SarlaccSpore.jpg|right|thumb|A [[List of Star Wars races (F-J)#Jawa|Jawa]] with the [[spore]] of a Sarlacc from "Fortune, Fate, and the Natural History of the Sarlacc," ''[[Star Wars Tales]] 6'' (2000).]]
Two [[short story|short stories]] in the [[anthology]] ''[[Tales From Jabba's Palace]]'' (1995) edited by science fiction author [[Kevin J. Anderson]] focus on the Sarlacc of Tatooine. [[Dan'l Danehy Oakes]]' story "Shaara and the Sarlacc: The Skiff Guard's Tale" is told from the point-of-view of one of Jabba the Hutt's unnamed skiff guards. En route to the Sarlacc's pit, the guard tells Boba Fett about his sister Shaara's miraculous escape from the Sarlacc. Shaara and her [[Imperial stormtrooper]] captors are thrown into the pit when their [[landspeeder]] explodes. The Sarlacc swallows the stormtroopers, but expels Shaara. The skiff guard cannot explain why the Sarlacc rejected its prey, but he suspects the creature might possess some kind of primitive intelligence since "[n]obody really knows anything about the Sarlacc."<ref name="Danehy Oakes">Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, "Shaara and the Sarlacc: The Skiff Guard's Tale," ''Tales from Jabba's Palace'', p. 345.</ref>
The skiff guard from Danehy Oakes's story tells Boba Fett, "Stay right here in the skiff and I can promise you a truly amazing view. You may even see what few have seen and lived: the Sarlacc's belly."<ref name="Danehy-Oakes">Danehy-Oakes, "Shaara and the Sarlacc," p. 345.</ref> The skiff guard's promise is kept in the short story "A Barve Like That: The Tale of Boba Fett." Written by [[Daniel Keys Moran]] under the [[pseudonym]] J. D. Montgomery, the story focuses on Boba Fett's struggle to free himself from the belly of the Sarlacc. As Fett is digested, the creature taps into his mind and proceeds to have a conversation with the bounty hunter. The Sarlacc informs Fett, "''[Your] life and death belong to me now, not you; and they serve my purpose. Recognize and understand your place in things, Boba Fett, for you are not even a real thing; merely a collection of thoughts that has deluded itself into a belief in its own existence.''"<ref>Montgomery, "A Barve Like That," pp. 355-356, ''italics'' in the original.</ref> The voice belongs to an alien named Susejo who was eaten by the Sarlacc four thousand years earlier. The Sarlacc absorbed the alien's consciousness and communicates with Fett through him. Despite the hopeless nature of the situation, the bounty hunter manages to ignite his jet pack, causing it to explode; he then uses a [[Hand grenade#Concussion grenades|concussion grenade]] to blast himself free from the Sarlacc. Fett is the only person known to survive being swallowed by a Sarlacc. Years later, Fett returns to Tatooine in a new ship. As he approaches the surface of the planet, he flies past the Pit of Carkoon as a voice in his mind sounds, "YOU!".<ref name="SarlaccEU"/>
The history of the Sarlacc is featured in the [[Star Wars canon|non-canonical]] [[Dark Horse Comics|Dark Horse]] [[comic book]] "Fortune, Fate, and the Natural History of the Sarlacc" written by [[Mark Schultz (comics)|Mark Schultz]] and illustrated by Kellie Strom. The story is printed in ''[[Star Wars Tales]] 6'' (2000). In this story, the Sarlacc seen in ''Return of the Jedi'' is the offspring of an older Sarlacc on Tatooine. Shortly after the execution of an unknown alien named Grubbat Fhilch, the Sarlacc releases a spore that attaches to an [[Imperial stormtrooper]]'s [[dewback]]. The stormtroopers hire a group of [[List of Star Wars races (F-J)#Jawa|Jawa]] scavengers to clean the dewbacks and one of them discovers the spore. Not knowing what it had found, the Jawa places the spore into a jar of water. The spore grows into a young Sarlacc and soon escapes from the jar only to be swallowed by a spider-like creature. The Sarlacc, however, kills the creature and eats it from the inside out. The young Sarlacc buries itself in the sand and forms the Great Pit of Carkoon.<ref>Mark Schultz, "Fortune, Fate, and the Natural History of the Sarlacc," illustrated by Kellie Strom, in ''Star Wars Tales'' 6 (Dark Horse Comics, 2000).</ref>
Sarlacci have made minor appearances in ''Star Wars'' video games such as ''[[Super Star Wars]]'' (1992), ''[[Star Wars: Demolition]]'' (2000), ''[[Star Wars: Bounty Hunter]]'' (2002), ''[[Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike]]'' (2003), and ''[[Star Wars: Battlefront]]'' (2004). The [[Massively multiplayer online role-playing game|MMORPG]] ''[[Star Wars Galaxies]]'' (2003) shows one of the smaller Sarlacci in the ''Star Wars'' galaxy located on the remote planet [[List of Star Wars planets (C-D)#Dathomir|Dathomir]], as well as the Great Pit of Carkoon. It has also made an appearance in [[Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy]] and [[Star Wars: Empire at War]].
== Concept and creation ==
The design of the Sarlacc creature—originally called the "[[Sloth]] Pit"<ref>Laurent Bouzereau, ''Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays'' (New York: Del Rey, 1997), p. 253, ISBN 0-345-40981-7</ref>—seen in ''Return of the Jedi'' evolved during the concept, creation, and filming processes. Early concept sketches portrayed a Sarlacc creature with several moving tentacles and a pronounced beak. The Sarlacc was designed to be very animated. ''Star Wars'' creator [[George Lucas]], however, did not have the technology or financial resources to realize this concept in the 1983 film.<ref name="SarlaccBTS">Sarlacc, Behind the Scenes, in the [http://www.starwars.com/databank/creature/sarlacc/?id=bts Star Wars Databank]; last accessed [[July 10]], [[2006]].</ref>
[[Image:SarlaccConceptArt.jpg|left|thumb|Concept art for the Sarlacc by [[Industrial Light & Magic]].]]
The creature seen in ''Return of the Jedi'' is very inanimate. Special effects artists [[Stuart Freeborn]], [[Phil Tippett]], and the crew of [[Industrial Light & Magic]] (ILM) constructed a pit in the desert sands of [[Yuma, Arizona]], that contained a gaping mouth and tentacles. At the time, the pit (along with Jabba the Hutt's sail barge) constituted one of the largest motion picture sets ever constructed.<ref>''From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga'', narrated by Mark Hamill (1985; VHS, CBS Fox Video, 1992).</ref> A [[hydraulics|hydraulic]] system was designed to animate the creature, but the blowing sand clogged the mechanism. The film crew instead used poles and wires to move the creature's tentacles.<ref name="SarlaccBTS">Sarlacc, Behind the Scenes, in the [http://www.starwars.com/databank/creature/sarlacc/?id=bts Star Wars Databank].</ref> Lucas was not satisfied with the effect, complaining, "There was nothing alive about the whole thing."<ref name="ROTJSE">George Lucas, commentary, ''Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'' Special Edition (VHS, 20th Century Fox, 1997).</ref>
Working on the giant set was an arduous task, according to the crew members involved. Tippett told ''[[Starlog]]'' magazine, "We were working the creature at the bottom of a [[canyon|gorge]], so we got no breeze. Sand constantly fell down upon us." In addition to operating the Sarlacc, many technicians were standing in as skiff guards in full wardrobe. Tippett remarks, "[We] were covered with [sand and] glue from the costumes. I almost cracked on that one. I think I cried, it was so terrible."<ref>Phil Tippett, interview with ''Starlog'', quoted in Lee Pfeiffer and Michael Lewis, ''The Films of Harrison Ford'' (3rd ed.;New York: Citadel Press, 2002), p. 132, ISBN 0-8065-2364-6.</ref> Actress [[Carrie Fisher]] recalled that many of the crew and stunt men who fell into the creature during filming suffered broken legs and sprained ankles.<ref>Carrie Fisher, commentary, ''Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'', Special Edition (DVD, 20th Century Fox, 2004).</ref> ILM crew members received some satisfaction when they dismantled the set at the conclusion of filming and sold it to [[Mexico]] as scrap. The one condition of the sale was that the materials were not to be resold as souvenirs.<ref>Pfeiffer and Lewis, ''Films of Harrison Ford'', p. 132.</ref>
[[Image:Sarlacc.jpg|right|thumb|The Special Edition version of the Sarlacc with [[Computer-generated imagery|CGI]] beak and tentacles.]]
The Sarlacc design underwent a series of changes when Lucas released the Special Edition of ''Return of the Jedi'' in 1997. Employing the new technology of [[computer-generated imagery]] (CGI), ILM enhanced the creature's appearance with the addition of CGI tentacles and a beak inside the Sarlacc's mouth.<ref name="WhathasChanged?">"''Return of the Jedi'' Special Edition: What has Changed?," January 15, 1997, at [http://www.starwars.com/episode-vi/bts/article/f19970115/indexp2.html StarWars.com]; last accessed [[July 10]], [[2006]].</ref> According to Lucas, it "just looks much more realistic and more threatening ... it helps the scene considerably."<ref name="ROTJSE"/> Subsequent depictions of the Sarlacc in ''Star Wars'' fiction are based on this revised design.
Lucas did retain some of the special effects from the 1983 film in the Special Edition. The tentacle that captures the skiff guard Kithaba and pulls him into the Sarlacc mouth is from the original film, as well as the tentacle that attaches to Lando Calrissian's leg. The only revision made to the two scenes involved the CGI beak.<ref name="WhathasChanged?"/>
== Sarlacc in popular culture ==
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Like other aspects of ''Star Wars'' fiction, the Sarlacc quickly became part of [[Western culture|Western]] [[popular culture]]. Aside from ''Star Wars'' fiction and [[merchandising]], the creature has appeared in critiques of the ''Star Wars'' films as a sexual metaphor. One popular fiction author uses the Sarlacc as a descriptive term for slowness, a reference to the Sarlacc's extended digestive process.<ref name="Demetriou"/>
The Sarlacc became part of ''Return of the Jedi''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> merchandising campaign that accompanied the theatrical release of the film. [[Parker Brothers]] produced a [[board game]] in 1983 called ''Battle at Sarlacc's Pit'' that was sold in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]]. Players collect points for battling their way through [[List of Star Wars races (F-J)#Gamorrean|Gamorrean Guards]], Boba Fett, and a [[Nikto]] on Jabba the Hutt's sail barge, pushing them overboard into a cardboard Sarlacc.<ref>Description of ''Battle at Sarlacc's Pit'' at [http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/6388 Board Game Geek]; last accessed [[July 10]], [[2006]]; instructions available from [http://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/StarWarsReturnoftheJedi,BattleatSarlacc'sPitt.PDF Hasbro].</ref> The game, which sold for only a few years, is a collector's item.<ref>Geoffrey T Carlton, ''Star Wars Super Collector's Wish Book: Identification & Values'' (Paducah, Ky.: Collector Books, 2003), p. 273, ISBN 1-57432-334-2.</ref>
[[Hollywood, Los Angeles, California|Hollywood]] journalist and humor writer [[Peter Biskind]] muses that George Lucas went to great extremes to remove aspects of sex and sexuality from the plot of the ''Star Wars'' films. Biskind, however, asserts that Lucas created a "nightmarishly explicit image of threatening female sexuality" in the form of the Sarlacc: "The Jabba episode culminates in an explicit ''[[vagina dentata]]'' fantasy, as Luke and his pals have to walk a [[phallus|phallic]] gangplank into the pullulating maw—festooned with long, curved teeth—of the giant Sarlacc in its 'nesting place'."<ref name="Biskind"/> ''[[Premiere (magazine)|Premiere Magazine]]'' reviewer Tim Bissell complained, "Lucas sent his trilogy’s most arresting character [[Boba Fett]] to a "death" so inglorious—falling headlong into the vagina dentata of Tatooine’s Sarlacc—that its only payoff was a burp gag. However, Boba Fett later escapes the Sarlacc."<ref> Tim Bissell, "The Importance of Being Fett: A brief history of one of the most popular characters in the ''Star Wars'' universe," at [http://www.premiere.com/article.asp?section_id=6&article_id=2157 Premiere Magazine]; last accessed [[July 10]], [[2006]].</ref>
British author Stefan Demetriou's novel ''How to Disappear Completely'' (2005) employs the Sarlacc as a [[simile|literary device]] to describe a character's reaction to news that her friend's wife had an affair. Demetriou writes, "Laura exhales in shock, slowly digesting the information as if she were the Sarlacc Pit in ''Return of the Jedi''. I wonder if Laura knows what the Sarlacc Pit in ''Return of the Jedi'' is. I bet I could ask every guy in the office and he'd know." Sarcastically, Demetriou adds, "Weird Tim in the corner would even take off his baseball cap to [show] proper respect at the mention of Boba Fett's demise."<ref name="Demetriou"/>
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
== Further reading ==
<div class="references-small">
*Carrau, Bob. ''The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide''. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2001. ISBN 0-8118-2869-7.
*Lewis, Ann Margaret. ''The Essential Guide to Alien Species''. New York: Del Rey, 2001. ISBN 0-345-44220-2.
*Slavicsek, Bill. ''A Guide to the Star Wars Universe'' 3rd ed.; New York: Del Rey, 2000. ISBN 0-345-42066-7.
</div>
== External links ==
* {{databank|category=creature|subject=sarlacc|text=Sarlacc}}
*{{sww|Sarlacc}}
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