Pooh is seen inside his pen during recording sessions. Pooh, a juvenile cinnamon bear, had his vocalizations utilized by Ben Burtt as the foundation for the voice of Chewbacca.
In 1975, Pooh was still a young bear, under the care of animal trainer Monty Cox and his stuntwoman partner Susan Backlinie, residing at an animal farm located near Tehachapi, California.
During his work on Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, Ben Burtt was actively gathering bear sound samples for the purpose of constructing Chewbacca's unique vocalizations. After experiencing limited success with zoos, he made a trip to Cox's farm accompanied by his boom technician, Richard Anderson, and with Backlinie's assistance, spent an entire day within Pooh's enclosure. Cox intentionally deprived Pooh of food, and upon seeing his meal (milk-soaked bread) being withheld, the bear emitted sounds of crying and moaning. Throughout this process, Cox also introduced other animals in Pooh's vicinity, such as a mountain lion on a leash, which prompted the young bear to produce various vocal responses. At one juncture, Pooh stood up and embraced Anderson, who was understandably frightened.
The majority of Chewbacca's voice was derived from Pooh's vocalizations, and Burtt meticulously assembled a collection of these sounds, categorizing them based on the emotions they seemed to convey through their intonation – including anger, fear, joy, and questioning. Burtt enriched this sound library with additional sounds sourced from walruses and dogs.
When it came time to work on The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978), Burtt returned to Cox's farm; however, by this point, Pooh had grown up and was no longer as cooperative.
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