'Skeleton Crew' Breakdown: How Amblin And 'The Wizard Of Oz' Helped Inspire The Series

Star Wars

Feb 13

In several interviews before and after the release of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, the show's creators, directors, and behind-the-scenes figures mentioned the childhood adventure films of Steven Speilberg and Amblin Entertainment. But there is also a silent adventure classic that almost certainly impacted the series.

In our final article on the major inspirations for Skeleton Crew, we’ll review the three childhood adventure films that inspired and engaged these creatives while hopefully revealing some interesting connections and details along the way.

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The Goonies

We’ll begin with the similarities between The Goonies and Skeleton Crew. In both pieces of media, we see a focus on a cast of child characters on a mission involving their home. While the At Attiners are trying to get back home, both groups also have the narrative detail of saving their home, in one case from looming financial issues and the other, from an attack by pirates. While there are many more characters in The Goonies, there are a few parallels with the cast in Skeleton Crew, such as Ke Huy Quan’s Richard Wang and Kyriana Kratter’s KB both being technology-focused characters and Martha Plimpton’s Stephanie Steinbrenner serving as a distant match to Ryan Kiera Armstrong’s Fern, as both are tomboys.

There is also the parallel of two female friends, one more of a tomboy and the other not, who make up the group, mimicking Andrea and Stephanie through Fern and KB. We also have the element of treasure and maps, with the Goonies in possession of a physical map that will lead them to treasure, while the kids of Skeleton Crew instead follow guides and markers leading them to the map they need, and to locate a treasure they know little about before the end of the series. Finally, there are the pirate elements of both stories. In The Goonies, it is the flavor of the treasure and the final set-piece, while in Skeleton Crew, it is far more of the total story. The criminals are pirates, and they remain a threat until the very end.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

While it gets mentioned less than The Goonies, Amblin Entertainment’s E.T. is another film that had an impact on Skeleton Crew, though one that is less obvious or prominent than The Goonies and our third area of discussion. Regardless, there are parallels. The first, most obviously, is the focus on returning home, shared by both pieces of media. Both also involve the wearing of disguises during that quest, via “The Most Wise Elders” the kids of At Attin pretend to be and the Halloween sequence of E.T..

Both also see significant nighttime scenes occurring in the forest with communication connections, with E.T.’s attempt to contact his kind and the At Attin kid’s parents launching a probe to help their children find their way home. The forest also sees some cinematography similarities between the security droids with their lights marching through the forest in Skeleton Crew, and various shots of the federal agents doing the same in E.T.. The prominence of bikes in both media is also significant, the fact that they are hoverbikes in Skeleton Crew brings them close to the levitating bikes during the Amblin film.

The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz is the final source of major inspiration many viewers noticed while watching Skeleton Crew. While it has gone relatively unmentioned in most coverage, the parallels appear compelling and provide a lot of interesting considerations for the characters. Unlike in other sections, we’ll have to break down each character in a short point-form discussion.

KB as the Tin Man: From the metallic nature of their forms, to how they seize up and can freeze without proper maintenance, there are several similarities between these two characters. We know that KB isn’t lacking a heart either literally or metaphorically (indeed, she is a kind soul). But, Jod's specific comments about not thinking with her head, using calculations and the like, and going with her gut instead may be a wink and a nod to the idea of KB “lacking” one since the gut is commonly associated with feelings and thus, the heart.
Neel as the Cowardly Lion: With his gentle nature and his desire for a lack of conflict, generally being ineffective in a fight anyway, Neel and the Lion share many traits. Neel’s story in Skeleton Crew is also a story about gaining courage much like it is the case for the Lion in The Wizard of Oz. Thanks to Hayna, Neel does learn the value of fighting for what he believes in and gains the knowledge and courage to battle the pirates in the season’s final episode…now to hope his courage allows him to find and finally talk with Roona.
Wim as the Scarecrow and Toto: The Scarecrow shares several traits with Wim, though some might wonder what of Toto could be found in Wim. Well, the Scarecrow lives a sheltered, insular life just like Wim, with big dreams and hopes that see him join Dorothy’s quest so he can gain a brain. While Wim is not stupid, having some very clever moments, his naivete does get the quartet of kids into trouble or doesn’t help with most situations. This final trait, of causing trouble, links him to Toto, who has loyalty to Dorothy yet still causes trouble and almost ends up lost forever from the home he once knew. But he also has puppy traits in his relentless energy and constant optimism even if he has some moments of sadness.
Fern as Dorothy: While it might seem strange to assign Fern as the role of Dorothy instead of Wim, the main character to the audience of Skeleton Crew, the parallels are profuse. While Fern does not have unique footwear, she does have a stylish unique jacket that makes her stand out among other children. Fern is also incredibly determined to get the crew back home, just as Dorothy is to get back home to Kansas, to her aunt and uncle. Fara and Fern’s connection is also deep and becomes the crux of the season’s final episode, where Fara has to follow Fern’s bold lead. In the same vein, Fern is also a leader of the group much like Dorothy, helping to keep the group organized and focused on their end goal even if she sometimes loses control of the situation.
SM-33 as the Tin Man: While we made links between KB and the Tin Man earlier on, SM-33 also has a hat to throw into the ring. Not only is he a literal mechanical man, who goes offline an awful lot throughout Skeleton Crew like a certain metal woodsman who can freeze up fast without oil, but he also needs a heart he seems to find with the At Attin kids. Many fans have speculated that his acceptance of claimsies in Episode 7 was part of his grown affection for the four kids and not something that would be truly acceptable under the Pirate Code. He’d previously expressed regret at having to obey Jod’s command to tie the kids up at the end of Episode 5 after Jod took the captaincy from Fern, and given that his turn took place in orbit of “Oz,” there might be something to this idea.
The Supervisor and At Attin as the Wizard and Oz: As was just mentioned, At Attin serves as a great metaphor for Oz. Not only is it a land of abundance ruled over by a mysterious leader, but the Barrier is green, much like the gleaming, strange city Dorothy travels to. There is also a direct link confirmed through the episode guide for Episode 8 on StarWars.com that the Supervisor pays homage to The Wizard of Oz.

Conclusion

Skeleton Crew is full of so many great nods, references and inspirations which have helped to shape it into the stellar end-product it is today. These three stories of childhood adventure, wonder mixed with a bit of fright and mystery, are part of the great tapestry, and especially help us to see traits and ideas as they often relate to the show’s characters. Hopefully, a second season of the show draws from a bag of influences that are just as diverse.

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