When you think Star Wars, you might not immediately think about the holidays. But for those of us that were kids when the original Star Wars hit theaters, you may recall a little something that George Lucas would rather forget: the Star Wars Holiday Special. In it, we’re introduced to a Wookie holiday tradition, “Life Day.” It’s not quite time for Life Day yet, but that doesn’t mean that it’s too early to get ready!
For the last couple of years, Home Depot has been introducing official Star Wars animatronics for the holidays. Last year saw the introduction of Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper, both equipped with Halloween and Christmas accessories. This year they’re adding Chewbacca and R2-D2 to the line. Home Depot recently sent me Chewbacca to check out.
The 7.5 ft. Animated Chewbacca is a lifesize animatronic. It has the following features:
The 7.5 ft. Animated Chewbacca retails for $349, and is currently available through Home Depot for shipping to your local store or directly to your home, and on shelves at most Home Depot stores.
As with the Home Depot Bride of Frankenstein that I reviewed recently, the assembly instructions are conveniently printed right onto the interior box flaps. In addition. a paper set of instructions can be found inside. The parts are carefully packed inside the box with almost no wasted space, so I definitely recommend taking photos as you unpack if you intend on returning your animatronic back to its box after the holidays.
Some of the parts are also found packed inside of the plastic chest piece. You will want to take especial care re-packing the chest, as there are mechanisms and electronics inside.
Unsurprisingly, you’ll start with adding the feet to the base. The build itself is pretty conventional if you’ve assembled Home Depot animatronics before. Chewbacca’s fur is basically a furry onesie that you dress the animatronic’s frame with.
Chewbacca’s head will go on next. Because of Chewie’s height, you’re instructed to lay Chewie down across his box for the next few steps.
After attaching the head, you’ll put Chewbacca’s bandolier on him. This piece also contains the motion control sensor, so you’ll need to locate the gap in the fur on Chewie’s chest, where there’s a piece of Velcro and a hole to run the sensor cord through into the body.
Once all the pieces are attached to the body, you can stand him back up. Even though Chewbacca is almost 8 feet tall, this is easy enough to do with just one person. Finally, you’ll connect the cords from the head and motion sensor to the control box, run out the power cord, and seal up the back of the fur suit. Instead of using Velcro, the fur suit snaps up in the back, likely to avoid fur getting caught in the eye and hook of the Velcro strips.
While the instructions suggest that you attach the Santa hat and candy cane to Chewbacca while he’s laying down, they’re easy enough to add if you use a step stool. I left them off initially to see how Chewie would look without them.
If you’re getting Chewie ready for the holidays, the Santa hat secures to his head via a Velcro strip that is otherwise hidden by his hair.
Even easier, the candy cane slides into Chewbacca’s left hand. There is an adjustable rubber ring on the candy cane which prevents it from sliding too far into Chewie’s hand.
Here’s Chewbacca dressed up for the holidays:
Chewbacca comes with 5 different sounds and animations. I did film a few of them so you could see him in action:
Wow, you really don’t realize how tall Chewbacca is until you build a lifesize replica of him in your living room! But despite the looming height, as a Star Wars fan he’s a delight to have in your home. Much as with Home Depot’s Bride of Frankenstein animatronic that I reviewed last month, the resemblance to the actual Chewbacca is uncanny, especially once he moves around and “speaks.”
Some of you have probably noticed that Chewie has a bit of a case of “bed head,” thanks to his fur suit and head having been packed away in plastic for shipment. If you’re looking for an easy way to get a more screen-accurate appearance, then you can simply use a detangling brush to gently groom his fur. I would suggest doing this before assembly however, so as to not risk damaging any of the gears. You can see how to brush him out, as well as some modifications that you can make to the animatronic to make him look even more as he does on the screen, in this Youtube video from M.M’s Prop Shop:
Chewbacca is another animated decoration that uses servo motors in the head to give more natural movement, and it really pays off. While there is only motion in his head and one arm, it’s more than enough to convey emotion, particularly when Chewie laughs.
The animated Chewbacca brings a lot of festive cheer with his Santa hat and candy cane. And for most homes, he’ll probably stand taller than your Xmas tree! The Stormtrooper and Darth Vader animatronics from Home Depot come with both Halloween and Christmas accessories, and I was somewhat disappointed that Chewbacca only has props for Christmas. However, it would not be difficult to place a Halloween candy bucket in his hand in lieu of the candy cane.
If you’ve been building a Star Wars holiday animatronic collection, or are just getting started with one, then Chewbacca is a fantastic piece to have in your home. Friends and family will be impressed with his imposing presence, and delighted once he comes to life before them. He’s sure to look amazing next to this year’s other Star Wars holiday release, R2-D2, which I’ll hopefully get a chance to take a look at sometime soon. And meanwhile, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for a Mandolorian with Grogu animatronic for 2026!
Home Depot provided a Chewbacca animated prop for evaluation, but had no input into this review.
Source: geekdad.com