Star Wars - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Recently, I re-watched the original Star Wars trilogy for research for my Star Wars blog.  (I'm still in the midst of writing about The Clone Wars, so I'm publishing this post here instead.)  Re-watching Return of the Jedi reminded me of a realization I had about the title last year:  it's ambiguous who that titular Jedi is.

I think I'd always understood the "Jedi" in the title to refer to Luke, either specifically or as a representation of the whole Jedi order.  Yoda tells Luke that he will be a Jedi only after he confronts Vader.  Since he does confront him, he earns the title.  As he tells the Emperor, "I am a Jedi, like my father before me."  By the end of the movie, the Sith have been defeated and the Emperor has lost his hold on the galaxy, so, in a broader sense of the title, the entire Jedi order can return from near extinction.  Luke is free to follow Yoda's instructions and "pass on what you have learned."

Last year, I realized that the "Jedi" in the title could also refer to Anakin.  He had been a Jedi and turned to the dark side, but near the end of the movie, he returns to the light side and becomes a Jedi again.

Toy Story That Time Forgot

Because it's getting close to the holiday season, Toy Story That Time Forgot has been on television fairly often in the last few weeks.  I was going to watch it two weeks ago, but then I discovered that last year I'd taped it off television (or whatever the digital equivalent of taping is).  I watched that instead (no commercials!), and I noticed what I think is a reference to Star Wars - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

In an arena-style battle, the battlesaurs release the Goliathon, who then eats Woody and Buzz.  For a few seconds, Woody's arm is shown sticking out of the Goliathon's teeth:

(Because I taped this off television, the quality's not that great.)

This same thing happens in Return of the Jedi, after the rancor eats a Gamorrean guard.  The guard's arm sticks out, and the rancor slurps up the rest of it as he turns to face Luke Sywalker:

(I have only the full screen edition of Return of the Jedi.)

Both creatures are positioned in the frame the same way (that is, they're looking the same direction), and the shape of their heads is fairly similar.  It's mostly just a mouth, with some tiny eyes just above it.

Beyond the visual similarity, there's something else that makes me pretty confident that this is an intentional Star Wars reference.  Earlier in Toy Story That Time Forgot, the Cleric comments on how Woody, Buzz, Rex, and Trixie have no armor:  "I find their lack of armor disturbing."  There's a very similar line in Star Wars -  Episode IV: A New Hope: "I find your lack of faith disturbing."