The Courtship of Princess Leia (film)

"Never concede to evil.... When we concede to evil, even in a small way, we feed it, and it grows stronger."

- The film's tagline

The Courtship of Princess Leia (also known as Star Wars: The Courtship of Princess Leia) is a 1994 American animated epic space opera film co-written and directed by, produced by and Lucasfilm Feature Animation association with  and , and released by. Based on by, it is the fourth fully animated film in the  franchise and it is set four years after the events of , and it deals with the downfall of Warlord Zsinj and the circumstances leading to the wedding of  and. The film features an ensemble voice cast that includes, , , , Brandy Sweeney, and.

The Courtship of Princess Leia was released on May 17, 1994, to mixed reactions from reviewers, who praised its story, animation, voice performances, action sequences, visual effects, and music, but criticized its story with its lack of focus on tone. With an initial worldwide gross of over $963 million, it finished its theatrical run as the highest-grossing film of 1994 and the first-highest-grossing film of all time, behind . The film is still the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of all time, as well as the best-selling film on home video, having sold over 55 million copies worldwide. It received two, as well as the.

Plot
, who had been aboard the Mon Remonda continuing the search for this hidden fortress, is wearily returning to the recently captured Coruscant and expecting an end to the long separation from his beloved,, the head of the New Republic. To his great surprise, when his vessel drops out of hyperspace and into the Coruscant system, he encounters a number of fearsome Imperial Star Destroyers, Hapan Battle Dragons, and a Nova-class battle cruiser. Han soon learns that the Hapes Cluster has sent a delegation of some kind to the New Republic to meet with its representative. Upon entering the Imperial Palace, Han enlists the help of C-3PO to translate and comment on the formal diplomatic reception. While observing the reception, Han watches as the Hapes delegation presents Leia with a number of stunning gifts from each world in the Hapes cluster, among them the dozen Star Destroyers Han had seen, a Hapan gun of command, a small plant resembling a bonsai which promotes longevity and intelligence and, most shockingly of all, the hand of Prince Isolder, the son of Ta'a Chume (the current ruler of the Hapes cluster), in marriage.

When Leia nearly accepts this startling proposal, Han is driven into a frenzy of fear and jealousy. Guided by his desperation, Han wanders into a dive of a cantina in the lower reaches of Coruscant, where he participates in a high-stakes sabacc game. During the game, one of Han's opponents runs out of liquid financial instruments and instead proffers real estate in the form of a deed to an entire habitable planet, Dathomir. Thinking he has found a gift which would prove his worthiness to Leia and compare favorably with the gifts of Isolder (providing a place to resettle the expatriates of Alderaan to boot), he immediately rushes to her side to present his winnings. When Leia examines his gift and points out playfully that he has been conned (since Dathomir is in the section of the galaxy controlled by Zsinj), Han is devastated. To add insult to injury, Isolder denigrates the Millennium Falcon and offers Han a Nova battle cruiser if he abandons his quest to win Leia's heart. This last slight is enough to drive Han over the edge; he abducts Leia using the Gun of Command, and flees with her and Chewbacca, aboard his recently refitted Millennium Falcon, to Dathomir.

Upon discovering the abduction, Prince Isolder pursues Han with his Hapan Battle Dragon and arrives at Dathomir shortly after Solo despite his head start. Isolder was able to track Han with the assistance of the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker who had returned from his mission to Toola having found only a despoiled Jedi archive. Luke aided Isolder by using his Force powers to navigate a shorter (but still safe) path through hyperspace, shaving time off other conventional routes. Arriving on Dathomir, Luke and Isolder discover that Zsinj had truly laid claim to Dathomir by establishing in the planet's orbit the Iron Fist, a number of other capital ships, and the complete orbital shipyard Han had hunted for so long.

By this time, the Millennium Falcon has been forced to land on Dathomir itself, where it is captured by the Imperial garrison Zsinj had marooned on the surface years ago. Isolder immediately sets out in his Miy'til starfighter accompanied by Luke's X-wing while the Hapan fleet provide cover fire before leaving to inform the New Republic, Imperial Remnant, and the Hapes Consortium of the whereabouts of Zsinj (which had long been unknown).

On the surface, Isolder and Luke discover the remnants of the star-borne Jedi training academy, the Chu'unthor. Luke remembers having seen recordings of Yoda and a number of other Jedi knights failing to retrieve the library of the Chu'unthor due to interference by the Witches of Dathomir. Despite their intentions, the best the other Jedi had been able to do was seal the vessel thoroughly; so thoroughly that only centuries later the first intruder would need a lightsaber to break in. While attempting to gain access to the ship Luke is captured by a Dathomiri witch. Luke and Isolder, who was also captured only moments earlier, are taken back to her village.

Meanwhile, Zsinj, who has also learned about Han Solo's presence on the planet, offers both an ultimatum and exchange to the head of the Nightsisters, Gethzerion. If the sisters will release Han to him to torture and execute as he likes, he will reward them with a Imperial shuttle to leave the planet. If they do not comply, however, he will keep his "nightcloak" (an interconnected network of geostationary satellites, which reflect all solar emissions back into space) intact, which will slowly freeze Dathomir until no life can continue to survive.

Han and Leia soon infiltrate the Imperial garrison and steal the Falcon, piloting it out into the ongoing Battle of Dathomir. Han purposely allows the Iron Fist to acquire the Falcon with a tractor beam; once he is within the deflector shields, he breaks free of the beam lock and pilots his ship over the superstructure of the gigantic vessel. Once on the main bridge, he launches two concussion missiles which destroy the bridge, kill Zsinj, and knock out the ventral shields. With Iron Fist now completely exposed, the Hapan Battle Dragons move into position with their ion cannons, and disable the station. In the face of this catastrophic defeat, Zsinj's empire soon crumbles.

Shortly thereafter, Solo and Leia marry, having realized during their intrepid journey together that they do indeed love each other. Isolder also gets his happy ending as it is revealed that he has fallen in love with his captor, Teneniel Djo, and asks her to marry him.

Voice cast

 * as
 * as
 * as Prince Isolder
 * as Zsinj
 * Brandy Sweeney as Ta'a Chume
 * as Gethzerion
 * as
 * as
 * as Teneniel Djo
 * Isla Wood as Baritha
 * as Barukka
 * as Augwynne Djo
 * Henry Frazier as Threkin Horm
 * as Tosh and Ichor
 * as General Melvar
 * as Mon Mothma
 * as Captain Onoma
 * Matt Boyer as Corporal Reezen
 * as
 * as Mother Rell
 * as Carlist Rieekan
 * as Kirana Ti
 * as the Ri'Dar Casino Manager
 * as