The Saga
Begins
Weird Al Yankovic Strikes Again
By Scott (A'Kula) Schimmels
7/2/99
Note: Images are courtesy of Al Yankovic's "The Saga Begins" website and video.
Obi-Wan Al
Yes. He's back. With and attitude and with a vengence. Al Yankovic, who's parodied everything in our society, and the rest of the world, from Michael Jackson's "Beat It" to Jeopardy to Ghandi, is releasing a new album, "Running With Sissors" which is shown on his website. Nothing is sacred to Weird Al, and now Star Wars® has again fallen under his eye. For those who don't recall, Al wrote a short ditty about Yoda back in 1985 which spoofed Luke's time on Dagobah and The Empire Strikes Back® in general. This time, however, we are not treated to a simple parody. Al Yankovic clearly gave much thought and incredible effort into the making of "The Saga Begins", a musical based on Don McLean's "American Pie".
Obi-Wan's Jedi Band
For someone who grew up in the 70s, "American Pie" is a classic and I found Al's video eyecatching, and it kept me entranced. From the minute I saw Obi-Wan Al standing in the desert as day was breaking on Tatooine until the very end when tens of Obi-Wans sang the final stanza, I couldn't help but listen and watch. Many of you by now realize I'm a very BIG fan of Star Wars® and I'm something of a closet wannabe Jedi myself. [g] So this video had me enraptured and I've watched it 50+ times since June 28. Each time, I become more and more impressed with Al's creativity and genius in capturing a unique perspective of George Lucas' Star Wars® mystique. On his "The Saga Begins" website, Al discusses how he came up with the idea for this video/song. As the prequel was coming, Al felt the media build-up was intense and wanted to immortalize this in his video. He wanted to capture some of the great scenery from TPM but didn't have the resources, so instead took the approach of telling the story from young Obi-Wan's point-of-view in a Star Wars® Unplugged format. Always in step with technology, Al has all the latest video feeds available on his website: Quicktime, Real Player and, of course, Media Player. I've used them all and found, surprisingly, the Media Player gives me the smoothest feed. But then, I was viewing these videos on a PII, 350 Mhz PC with a T1 connection. I know, life's not fair is it? [vbg]
Obi-Wan Al Tells His Tale on Tatooine, Day Break
The video starts off with an opening shot of early morning on the Tatooine desert and a single Jedi standing alone. As the camera zooms in, the Jedi removes his hood and there's Obi-Wan Al, complete with short hair and single long braid of a Padawan, singing his story to the tune of "American Pie". He wanders to a sun-worn piano, where Darth Sidious [g] is playing the opening key strokes with great flourish. Then Obi-Wan Al waves his fingers and a steel guitar flies into his hands so he can strum while introducing the chorus:
Darth Sidious Playing a Mean Piano
- Oh my my, this here Anakin guy
- May be Vader someday later - now he's just a small fry
- And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
- Sayin' "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
- "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
Mos Espa Cantina
Local Folks Enjoying the Music
The scene quickly changes to a Mos Espa cantina, where Obi-Wan Al is joined by his Jedi band and a host of aliens and humanoids. This collection of galaxy-wide beings are crowded around Obi-Wan's band, enjoying the music and ambiance of the cantina as the tenor of the music changes to a more energetic pace. Obi-Wan Al continues his tale, his words following "The Phantom Menace" storyline tightly.
Who's That in Mos Espa?
Interspersed in shots of Al telling his story of taking this here Anakin guy and how they made their way off Tatooine (via Jabba's Pod Race) to Coruscant to meet with the Jedi council, you see various aliens and humans dancing and groovin' to the beat. If you watch closely, you might even see a Jedi Council member or two enjoying themselves and the story being told by young Obi-Wan Al. Other TPM cast members make an appearance as Ob-Wan Al continue the story about their time on Coruscant and Qui-Gon's defiance of Yoda's directive "Training we forbid".
Return to Tatooine, Darth's Still There
I Miss Qui-Gon, But I Gotta Train That Boy
As Obi-Wan Al reaches the end of the tale (returning to Naboo) the scene returns to Tatooine, and the sun is setting. Darth Sidious is still stroking the ivories as Obi-Wan Al wraps up his story. We're told of the famous Naboo battle, and Qui-Gon's battle with Darth Maul, and then Obi Wan's task of training young Anakin. Interestingly enough, the video closes with Obi-Wan Al acknolwedging the coming Clone Wars in Episode 2 - we are treated to a panorama of Obi-Wan clones singing the final stanza.
The Shape of Things to Come?
I've always been impressed with Al Yankovic's ability to write a parody that combines well-turned phrases with a song's melody ("Amish Paradise" comes to mind), and how well it ties into the pop culture. But in "The Saga Begins" Al is simply brilliant. He's combined a classic pop song, "American Pie" with a classic film series, Star Wars® and the result is, in my humble opinion, a video classic. Now, if only I can figure a way to download the whole video, and not be stuck with using a streaming mode for watching this video. [bg]
This video is remarkable considering the limited budget Al must have to work with from his recording company. He captures much of the Star Wars® mystique, blends it with his own sardonic humor, and creates a video that pokes fun at much of what is Star Wars, without making the viewer uncomfortable. What is more amazing is how quickly and accurately Al Yankovic captured the essence of TPM in his video, with only a few short weeks of work, given that he didn't have any preview of the movie or script [g]. If you haven't had a chance to see his video, either watch it online (if you have the horsepower in your PC) or watch it on MTV when it airs July 7th on Total Request Live. Get your VCRs primed and queued, as I think you will be impressed with the quality of this video. It may be a parody, but it is a skillful one, and demonstrates the quickness and creativity residing in the mind of one Weird Al Yankovic. Get the CD, it will be worth it if all of Al's songs equal or nearly equal his effort on "The Saga Begins".
For those who are interested, here are the lyrics to The Saga Begins
- A long long time ago
in a galaxy far away
Naboo was under an attack
And I thought me and Qui-Gon Jinn
Could talk the Federation into
Maybe cutting them a little slack
But their response, it didn't thrill us
They locked the doors and tried to kill us
We escaped from that gas
Then met Jar Jar and Boss Nass
We took a bongo from the scene
And we went to Theed to see the queen
We all wound up on Tatooine
That's where we found this boy...
Oh my my, this here Anakin guy
May be Vader someday later - now he's just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin' "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
Did you know this junkyard slave
Isn't even old enough to shave
But he can use the Force they say
Ahh, do you see him hitting on the queen
Though he's just nine and she's fourteen
Yeah, he's probably gonna marry her someday
Well, I know he built C-3PO
And I've heard how fast his pod can go
And we were broke, it's true
So we made a wager or two
He was a prepubescent flyin' ace
And the minute Jabba started off that race
Well, I know who would win first place
Oh yes, it was our boy
We started singin'... My my, this here Anakin guy
May be Vader someday later - now he's just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin' "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
Now we finally got to Coruscant
The Jedi Council we knew would want
To see how good the boy could be
So we took him there and we told the tale
How his midi-chlorians were off the scale
And he might fulfill that prophecy
Oh, the Council was impressed, of course
Could he bring balance to the Force?
They interviewed the kid
Oh, training they forbid
Because Yoda sensed in him much fear
And Qui-Gon said, "Now listen here
Just stick it in your pointy ear
I still will teach this boy"
He was singin'... My my, this here Anakin guy
May be Vader someday later - now he's just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin' "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
We caught a ride back to Naboo
'Cause Queen Amidala wanted to
I frankly would've liked to stay
We all fought in that epic war
And it wasn't long at all before
Little Hotshot flew his plane and saved the day
And in the end some Gungans died
Some ships blew up and some pilots fried
A lot of folks were croakin'
The battle droids were broken
And the Jedi I admire most
Met up with Darth Maul and now he's toast
Well, I'm still here and he's a ghost
I guess I'll train this boy
And I was singin'... My my, this here Anakin guy
May be Vader someday later - now he's just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin' "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
We were singin'... My my, this here Anakin guy
May be Vader someday later - now he's just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin' "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi".
- A long long time ago
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