The Pirates and the Prince is an animated movie that initially came out on VHS in 1997 before being released on DVD in 2004. This movie is a full-length collection of episodes from Droids: specifically, "The Lost Prince", "The New King", "The Pirates of Tarnoonga," and "The Revenge of Kybo Ren."
To create The Pirates and the Prince in 1997, episodes 5 through 8 were edited together. Later, in 2004, episodes 10 through 13 were compiled into Treasure of the Hidden Planet. The Pirates and the Prince combines four out of the five episodes from the Mon Julpa storyline into a cohesive narrative, while Treasure of the Hidden Planet does the same with the four episodes from the Mungo Baobab storyline. Although "Coby and the Starhunters" was originally a part of the Mon Julpa story arc, it was not included in the feature-length version. The original opening credits and theme song were removed from these films, replaced by simple credit sequences and new musical scores composed by Marco D'Ambrosio.
Aside from removing the series' theme song, numerous minor alterations were implemented for the home video releases, most notably changes concerning the soundtrack. The scene depicting Sy Snootles and the Max Rebo Band features them performing a different song compared to the original series. Certain lines of dialogue were either altered or added to each episode to create a smoother transition between them. While the initial episode features the character of Uncle Gundy being voiced by a different actor, the other two episodes incorporate new lines spoken by the character Mon Julpa. The original endings for the first three episodes of the feature have been shortened. Only a few seconds were cut from the first episode ("The Lost Prince"), but the second ("The New King") and third ("The Pirates of Tarnoonga") episodes each have an entire scene removed. One scene shows C-3PO and R2-D2 discussing the medals they received, while the other portrays them enjoying an oil bath and playing with toy bordoks. These omissions, along with the new dialogue, were done to unify the story and provide a more cinematic feel.
Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox initially released the film on VHS in 1997. Fox produced a commercial to promote the newly edited film, alongside its companion Ewoks animated film, The Haunted Village. This commercial was included on the VHS release and was later hidden on the 2004 DVD release. The first shipments of the VHS tapes were distributed to stores in a display bin that had a Star Wars Animated Classics header. A merchandising kit containing shelf danglers, shelf talkers, countertop displays, mobiles, and buttons was also sent to several stores.
The Pirates and the Prince was released on Region 1 DVD on November 23, 2004 under the new name Star Wars Animated Adventures: Droids. It featured both The Pirates and the Prince and Treasure of the Hidden Planet. These compilation movies were subsequently released in several Region 4 countries, for example, Brazil (the Brazilian version came out in 2005, featuring both Region 1 and 4 codes on the same disc), and Australia.
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- An In-Depth Examination of the Ewoks & Droids DVDs on StarWars.com (this content is no longer available; backup link provided)
- " Skywalking " — Star Wars Insider 78