"The Haunted Village" represents the second installment within the first season of the animated series Ewoks. This episode, penned by Paul Dini and brought to life by director Raymond Jafelice, was initially broadcasted on September 14, 1985 via the ABC television network.
When the Ewoks realize that the Tulgah Witch named Morag is back to her mischievous ways, they find themselves in a position to defend the village's sunberry trees from Morag's creature, the Mantigrue, by utilizing their shadowroot soap. Simultaneously, the Duloks are plotting their own scheme, intending to pilfer the soap and employ it to frighten the Ewoks.
Wicket together with Kneesaa are in search of sunberries. While they are on their journey, Kneesaa points out that a larger quantity of them are located at the base of a hollow tree. The two then slide down the tree; Kneesaa descends first, followed by Wicket. They end up in the sunberry bushes, where Kneesaa is swiftly captured by a Mantigrue, but Wicket successfully rescues her from the animal. Not knowing what the creature was, the two decide to inform the rest of the village.
They head back to their village, and they once again hear the beast's call. The sound originates from Logray's hut. The two investigate, discovering Logray and Chief Chirpa inside, utilizing a magical device to observe the Mantigrue. Logray elucidates that Morag formerly deployed a Mantigrue to seize the village's sunberries, and they suspect she is attempting a similar act. They then create a strategy to prevent this from happening.
The Ewoks' mission is to coat the trees with shadowroot soap, which will render the sunberry trees invisible until the soap is removed. The elders commence this task. Wicket also wishes to assist, but he is instructed to supervise the woklings and bathe them.
Wicket, Kneesaa, along with the woklings, proceed to a creek, where they playfully engage in bathing. A nearby group of Duloks observe this activity and notice the soap they are utilizing. They desire some of the Ewok soap, asserting it to be the most effective method for repelling bugs, which they appear to be struggling with. At the Dulok's base, the Duloks inform King Gorneesh about their findings. Gorneesh expresses his disappointment in their inability to acquire any soap from the Ewoks. However, he decides that they will soon take it from them.
Upon returning to the Ewok village, Wicket, Kneesaa, and the woklings have concluded their bathing. They return to Logray, who informs them that all the sunberry trees have been concealed. However, Wicket observes that those near the lake remain unhidden. Wicket, Kneesaa, and the woklings implore Logray to permit them to complete the task, to which he eventually consents.
In the meantime, two Duloks are ascending a tree, attempting to reach an Ewok hut situated at the summit. Upon reaching the top, they enter Logray's hut. After some playful antics, they discover a bar of soap and descend the rope toward the group. King Gorneesh—who awaits them at the tree's base—grows impatient with their clumsy behavior and knocks them to the ground. He seizes the soap from the henchmen and returns to the Dulok lair.
At the Dulok lair, several Duloks take baths. But soon they are shocked to discover that their body parts seem to have disappeared. But after one of them falls into the water and resurfaces, they see that the soap can wash off and they can go back to normal. From this, King Gorneesh suggests a plan. He decides that since they have the ability to disappear, they could go into the Ewok village undetected, and give the Ewoks a scare.
Back in the Ewok village, Wicket, Kneesaa and the woklings are working on hiding the sunberry trees with the soap. But Wicket and Kneesaa hear something. They go to investigate. They hear strange noises and voices, but see nothing. Unbeknownst to them, it is the Duloks, on their way to the village. Wicket and Kneesaa go back to the woklings, who they see have now spilt the rest of the soap all over themselves, with more than half of their assigned sunberry trees not hidden.
Up in the treetops part of the Ewok village, a group of Duloks emerge from the darkness of a tree trunk, and walk out onto the decks of the treehouses, undetected because of the soap. The Duloks begin playing tricks on and aggravating the Ewoks. Weechee Warrick notes that they are under attack, but they can't see by who. Logray comes out of his hut wanting to know what is going on. Some of the Duloks then pretend they are tree spirits and tell the Ewoks that they are banished from the forest forever. Some of the Ewoks at first believe this, but Logray reassures them that the tree spirits have always protected the Ewoks, and would do no such thing as banish them.
Wicket runs up to Logray, wanting to know what happened. He is followed by the woklings, who are covered in soap. Although he at first tells them "not now," when he sees the woklings, Chief Chirpa wants to know what happened to them. Wicket explains that they had a "little accident" with the soap. Kneesaa then points out a cart of spilt sunberries, which reveal the feet tracks of Duloks. Wicket says that he thought he heard Duloks in the forest, but that there was no one there.
Logray corrects him, explaining that there were Duloks there. Logray explains that the Duloks must have been the ones who stole his last bar of shadowroot soap. Wicket explains that, because the soap was spilt, they could not finish hiding the trees with it. Logray is worried, because he says that when the Mantigrue comes back and sees even one sunberry tree, then the beast would destroy it and the rest, and maybe the Ewoks too.
At Mount Thunderstone, Morag prepares her Mantigrue for its upcoming mission.
Back at the Ewok village, the Ewoks are upset about the problem with the soap. Wicket wonders why they wanted soap, since they were naturally so dirty, and Kneesaa mentions the bugs that are constantly flying around them. Logray then realizes that the Duloks must of been after the soap the Ewoks use to keep their fur clean, because they wanted to keep the bugs away. Logray forms a plan. He tells Wicket and Kneesaa to go with their friends and gather as many bugs (big and small) as they could in sacks. Meanwhile, Logray would have a little surprise for the Duloks.
Back at Morag's lair, she releases her Mantigrue into the forest, and it heads for the Ewok village.
Logray, Paploo, Chief Chirpa, and Wicket journey to—and hide near—the Dulok village and wait just outside it. Logray tells Wicket to take a different bar of soap of his and replace the shadowroot soap with it. Wicket, in his attempt to do this, hears the Duloks proclaim that they wish to haunt the Ewok village again. Just as Wicket reaches to swap the soap, he is caught in the act by King Gorneesh, who, with his minions, subsequently chase Wicket. Logray blows a horn, sounding the alarm, and he, Paploo, and Chief Chirpa run from the Duloks. In the ensuing chase, the shadowroot soap passes from hand to hand, from the Ewoks to Duloks, back and forth.
It ends up in the Ewoks' hands, but is accidentally dropped into a puddle of water. A Dulok corners Wicket and takes his soap, mistakenly thinking it is the Shadowroot soap. The Duloks go into the swamp, happy to have what they think is the shadowroot soap, and they put it all over themselves. Logray then tells the Ewoks to release the flies he had Wicket, Kneesaa, and the others to get for him earlier. He explains that the soap he gave Wicket that the Duloks were now covered in will attract the bugs like a magnet. The flies then cover the Duloks, who are shocked to be covered in flies rather than being invisible.
The Ewoks had defeated the Duloks, but the shadowroot soap had fallen into the puddle of water and separated. They now had to somehow hide the sunberry trees before it was too late. Wicket comes up with an idea. He gathers up the water with the deteriorated soap into a bag. He then takes the bag up into a tree with him and ties it to him. He pokes holes in the bag, and swings on a vine across the remaining sunberry trees, which the soap water falls onto and they disappear.
Just as he is doing this, the Mantigrue arrives. Wicket jumps off the vine and into the invisible bushes. The Mantigrue flies around the forest, but does not find any trees, and flies back to Morag's lair. The Ewoks are happy that they have fooled the Mantigrue and saved the sunberry trees. Chirpa declares the day a holiday. Before the soap is washed off the trees, Wicket decides that there is one more thing he has to know. His results are positive; he states that "Invisible sunberries taste just as good as regular ones".
"The Haunted Village" was adapted into a children's book of the same name in 1987. It was also partially adapted in a 1985 coloring book.
The episode was released on DVD in 2004 as part of the feature film The Haunted Village. It can be found on side 2 of the disc. Although the episode takes place second in the series' chronology, it is presented first on the DVD.