Creating an icon from mere maniacal cackling is a challenge, but it's one Star Wars achieved in 1983 with the introduction of Salacious B. Crumb(opens in a new tab).
This muppet-like onlooker, who lounged around Jabba the Hutt's palace in Return of the Jedi, functions mostly to taunt the crime lord's adversaries with his weaselly giggle. The voice is a major contrast to Jabba's stentorian guffaw (which Crumb also mocks at one point).
Jabba's court jester may look like a little beaked gremlin with winged ears and a long tail. In universe, however, he is a Kowakian monkey-lizard from the Outer Rim planet Kowak. And to this weirdly enthusiastic fan's absolute delight, these strange little creatures turn up again in Season 3 of The Mandalorian.
In Season 3, episode 1 of The Mandalorian, our favourite tiny green gurgler, Baby Yoda Grogu, isn't where we left him, heading off to train with Luke Skywalker, but has instead reunited with papa Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal). Coasting in his little hovering orb pram through the now-respectable streets of Outer Rim trading hub Nevarro, Grogu spots a tree populated with a monkey-like creature which cackles at Grogu, a presence which made me Pointing Rick Dalton meme(opens in a new tab) furiously from my couch (blink and you'll miss it at the 12:30 mark of the episode).
Sure, I should be focusing on our helmeted protagonist's quest to find redemption in the Living Waters beneath the mysterious mines of Mandalore, but look at 'em!
"These impish creatures hailing from planet Kowak are known for their shrill laughter and sophisticated senses of humor," according to Lucasfilm's official website(opens in a new tab). "Kowakian monkey-lizards come in a variety of colors ranging from browns and yellows to reds and blues. They seem to be a favored pet among denizens of the underworld."
A brief history of Salacious B. Crumb and Kowakian monkey-lizards
Dedicated to his sluggish gang boss Jabba and likely brimming with court secrets, the original Salacious B. Crumb was created in ILM's renowned Creature Shop run by Phil Tippett, visual effects supervisor on the first three Star Wars movies. Crumb was modeled for Return of the Jedi by sculptor Tony McVey, who also sculpted the Kowakian monkey-lizards for The Mandalorian, voiced by Mark Dodson, and controlled by puppeteer Tim Rose — who also famously controlled the puppet for Admiral "It's A Trap!" Ackbar.
Tippett told last year's Star Wars Celebration(opens in a new tab) he came up with the creature's name accidentally after trying to describe his undone shoelaces after a few beers at a Mexican restaurant. Which, lol. In an interview with Dicejunkies(opens in a new tab), Rose referred to the Salacious B. Crumb puppet as "what Kermit the Frog would look like if he’d taken too many steroids…If you were to take the skin off Salacious and the skin off Kermit they are exactly the same, the bodies, the way they were manipulated, were exact copies of each other."
According to the official website(opens in a new tab), the Salacious one is 70 centimetres tall. But don't let that size fool you — in Return of the Jedi, Crumb uses his little sharp beak to rip C-3PO's eye out, and he would have gouged out the other one if R2-D2 hadn't interrupted him.
And that laugh? It's not a mild chuckle. "In the wild on planet Kowak, Kowakian monkey-lizards use laughing as a way to scare off any predators," ForceCenter(opens in a new tab) podcast host and creator Jennifer Landa explains on the Star Wars blog(opens in a new tab). "Their laugh has power, and perhaps the reason why is because it is so haunting. Some might say it’s also annoying.
"Regardless, that shrill shriek definitely leaves a lasting impression. Just imagine being dropped into the rancor pit and the last thing you hear before facing your fate is the cackle of a Kowakian monkey-lizard."
Other Kowakian monkey-lizards that have appeared in Star Wars include brothers Pikk Mukmuk and Pilf, pets owned by Weequay pirate Hondo Ohnaka in The Clone Wars series.
"Equally irritating but differing in color, these two assist the Weequay pirate gang with everything from pouring drinks to swiping lightsabers from visiting Jedi and Sith Lords," writes Dana Jennings, associate producer for (opens in a new tab)StarWars.com(opens in a new tab). "Their names are a clever play on 'pilfering' and 'pickpocketing,' two of their most developed skills."
Nevarro, then and now.
Though the Kowakian monkey-lizards do nothing but stare and cackle at Grogu on Nevarro, it's a neat creature inclusion in the season's opening episode. And their appearance encapsulates what Din remarks to Grogu: "A lot has changed around here."
And he's right. The Mandalorian started in Nevarro(opens in a new tab) in Season 1, where it was the headquarters for the Bounty Hunters Guild, the hidden location for Din's Mandalorian covert, and home to an Imperial base in the days of the New Republic.
Since then, former Bounty Hunters Guild expeditor turned magistrate Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) has transformed Nevarro into an above-board trading centre "no longer friendly to pirates," brimming with "respectable" traders, a school where the old dodgy cantina was, and new creature residents (albeit ones with no moral allegiance to anyone, so, Nevarro gonna Nevarro).
With the presence of Kowakian monkey-lizards on Nevarro, however, you could say life has, uh, found The Way.
The Mandalorian is now streaming on Disney+ with new Season 3 episodes weekly.(opens in a new tab)
