Line #55 WesternAnimation/StarchaserTheLegendOfOrin


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5	[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Starchaser_The_Legend_of_Orin_8629.jpg]]
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7	''Starchaser: The Legend of Orin'' is a 1985 animated SpaceOpera film. The story follows Orin, an escaped slave who must free his people from the DarkLord after being able to wield a sword that OnlyTheChosenMayWield. Helping him along the way are a cigar-chewing smuggler, his neurotic RobotBuddy, a sassy fembot, a governer's daughter and something of a FairyCompanion.
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9	Just from that synopsis one would think that this has something to do with [[Franchise/StarWars a certain famous and successful space saga]]. Indeed, this film is very similar in terms of story and design, but has since become a CultClassic.
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11	----
12	!!Tropes that appear in this film:
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14	* AbsurdlySharpBlade: The blade that belongs on the Hilt, which cuts through everything in those moments when it actually appears. [[spoiler:And when Orin finally understands what it means that ''there never was a blade.'']]
15	* AlwaysChaoticEvil: The man-droids are a bunch of bickering, barely organized scavengers. This works against them.
16	* ArmCannon: Zygon's least humanoid robots have laser guns in place of hands.
17	* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Subverted. When the [[spoiler:other Kha-Khans show up and invite Orin to leave his mortal form and join them, he basically says IChooseToStay.]]
18	* BaldOfEvil: Zygon's more humanlike {{Mooks}} are all entirely bald.
19	* BiggerOnTheInside: From the outside, the Starchaser's entrance ramp seams to lead into its cockpit but on the inside they're two different rooms.
20	* BlackHumour: There's a lot of this in the film. Really, what can you say when one of the funniest scenes is an analogy to [[BlackComedyRape rape]]?
21	* BodyHorror: The man-droids are cyborgs composed of robot and human body parts. ''Rotten'' human body parts, [[SerialProstheses which must be constantly replaced]].
22	* BookEnds:
23	** The film begins with the Furnace of Life (actually the entrance to Zygon's fortress) opening and shows it again in the climax of the film.
24	** On a similar note, Zygon wears his [[CoolHelmet helmet]] in both the beginning and climax of the film, until it gets destroyed by Orin.
25	* {{Captain Ersatz}}: This may take a while:
26	** [[TheHero Orin]] is Luke Skywalker.
27	** [[LovableRogue Dagg]] is Han Solo.
28	** [[PluckyGirl Aviana]] is Leia.
29	** [[BigBad Zygon]] is a mixture of Darth Vader and [[BigBad Emperor Palpatine]].
30	** Zygon's troops are Stormtroopers. [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy They can't aim]].
31	** [[PluckyComicRelief Arthur]] is [=C3PO=].
32	** [[{{Fembot}} Silica]] could be considered [=R2-D2=] given she is the other robotic companion of the main cast and is shown fixing electronics much like Artoo does.
33	** It could be argued that both Silica and Arthur are a DecompositeCharacter of Threepio with Silica having his humanoid body and Arthur his voice and mannerisms.
34	** [[BattleButler Mizzo]], Aviana's personal robot, being a more humanoid robot with an anxious attitude towards his princess master is also rather reminiscent of [=C3PO=]... so this movie technically has ''two'' Threepio stand-ins.
35	** Expands to inanimate objects and vehicles as well, as the [[LaserBlade Hilt]] is a lightsaber, the ''[[CoolStarship Starchaser]]'' is the ''Millenium Falcon'', and the bi-pedal tank during the crystal raid is an AT-ST.
36	** Aside from the obvious ''Star Wars'' analogues, there's also a few related to ''Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse'', with Orin being He-Man, Aviana being Teela, the Hilt being the Power Sword and Zygon's appearance is ''very'' reminiscent of that of MOTU villains, whereas his robot minions wouldn't look out of place amongst Hordak's Horde Troopers.
37	* CigarChomper: Dagg.
38	* CoolSword: Orin's sword. The blade is normally invisible, and can be willed into existence by Orin when he needs it to defeat evil (it notably fails to appear when he tries to stab [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Dagg]] during their initial meeting).
39	* CoversAlwaysLie: [[http://www.impawards.com/1985/posters/starchaser_the_legend_of_orin_xxlg.jpg One poster for the movie]] features Orin, Aviana and Kallie riding on flying horses. No such thing ''ever'' happens in the movie nor do horses ''ever'' appear[[note]]technically a kind of alien “horse” does show up briefly, ridden by Aviana, but it doesn’t look anything like what’s on the poster, and definitely never flies[[/note]] so why they’re even on the poster is a complete mystery.
40	** The poster also boasts that the movie is “A magical movie experience in the tradition of ''[[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteandtheSevenDwarfs Snow White]]'' and ''[[Film/TheDarkCrystal Dark Crystal]]''” when the movie couldn’t be any more different from those movies. They could’ve said that it was in the tradition of ''[[Franchise/StarWars Star Wa-]]'' oh wait...
41	** Really, the poster just makes the movie sound like some magical fantasy movie for the whole family instead of the dark and brutal PG-rated sci-fi epic it really is... which is downright ''strange'' given how fantasy movies at the time did pretty badly at the box-office compared to sci-fi movies so it makes this marketing decision all the weirder.
42	* CrystalDragonJesus: The Kha-Khan, of whom Orin is the latest incarnation. In this case, though, he's as much Moses (leading his people out of bondage) as Jesus. [[spoiler:Orin is formally invited to [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence join his forbearers]] in the end, but he declines, at least for now.]]
43	* {{Cyborg}}: The Man-Droids, and in the most grotesque ways. It's not even clear whether they started their existence as organic beings or robots.
44	* DeadpanSnarker: Dagg, at all times.
45	--> '''Orin:''' ''(spotting Aviana being taken aboard one of Zygon's ships)'' "There she is!"
46	--> '''Dagg:''' "Well, that's great. How the hell are we going to get to her without getting our heads shot off?"
47	--> '''Orin:''' ''(determined)'' "We'll just have to do our best!"
48	--> '''Dagg:''' ''(unimpressed)'' "Gee, why didn't I think of that?"
49	* DeathByPragmatism: Toward the end, one of Zygon's officers realizes that things are going badly and tries to run away. This puts him right into the path of a crashing spaceship.
50	* DeathSeeker: Hopps, Elan's grandfather. In the movie's opening, Elan tries to persuade him to dig more slowly, as he's too old to keep up such a pace. Hopps tiredly retorts that he's been digging for 70 years, and slowing down now will only prolong his suffering.
51	* DistractedByTheSexy: Silica uses her "charms" to help the heroes get the drop on Zygon's mooks at one point.
52	* EternalHero: Orin is the latest incarnation of the Kha-Khan, a messianic figure with mystical powers who has appeared throughout galactic history to save humanity from evil.
53	* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: This film is very dark and violent, especially by 80’s cartoon standards. An old man is killed by burn damage from a laser whip, a slave is crushed by a cave in, and a young woman is strangled partly on screen, the man-droids (who are already frightening before things get violent) end up being killed pretty graphically, desert men being nuked, and so on.
54	* GodGuise: Zygon masquerades as a fearsome deity to further cow his slaves into obedience.
55	* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: The fate of ''a lot'' of the villains, particularly [[spoiler:Zygon, who is cut in half and falls into lava]].
56	* HandStomp: Zygon does this [[spoiler:to Orin when he's hanging over the lava at the end]].
57	* HealingHands: At the end, [[spoiler:Orin, who has proven himself to be the [[CrystalDragonJesus Kha-Khan]], cures Kallie's blindness with a touch.]]
58	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Elan's elderly father attacks the Mine-Masters to keep them from learning about the hilt.]]
59	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: The desert dwellers that bought crystals from Dagg hid a TimeBomb in the chest containing his payment. When the heroes discover this, they fly back to the desert camp and return the chest to its previous owners, who barely have time to share a look of dismay before they get obliterated by their own bomb.
60	* IAmTheNoun: When Zygon's true nature is revealed, he proudly boasts that he isn't just ''a'' robot: he is ''the'' robot.
61	* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Zygon's guards can't hit anything.
62	* IndyPloy: Lampshaded when Aviana and [[RobotBuddy Mizzo]] are visiting Zygon, and she gains access to his pyramid only by having Mizzo blast an ObstructiveBureaucrat robot.
63	--> '''Mizzo:''' "I hope you know what you're doing."
64	--> '''Aviana:''' "So do I."
65	* InnocentlyInsensitive: Early on, Orin asks Dagg why he risks his life stealing crystals, and the latter replies "Because, my little [[AffectionateNickname Water Snake]], the tax collectors of this galaxy turn an honest worker into a slave". Orin doesn't call him on it, but that's a rather insensitive metaphor to use when you're talking to a guy who was ''literally'' a slave for almost his whole life.
66	* InsignificantLittleBluePlanet: Zygon makes an allusion to a planet which is probably Earth, but doesn't mention it by name.
67	--> '''Zygon:''' "Thousands of years ago, on some obscure planet, a primitive chess computer was the first inorganic mind to beat man."
68	* {{Jerkass}}:
69	** Dagg, and how! He [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold softens]] a bit during the movie though.
70	** Raymo, Orin's fellow slave who willingly collaborates with the minemasters. He's no less eager to make Orin and Elan suffer than the slaving robots are.
71	* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown:
72	** Dagg does this to Orin when they meet. In fairness to Dagg, Orin had just tripped, and Dagg had every reason to want to keep him pinned until he could figure out what this wild-eyed lone human is doing in a Mandroid-infested swamp.
73	** A minemaster does this to Kallie, Orin's little brother, after the cave-in near the beginning. [[BigBrotherInstinct Orin attacks the robot and almost gets killed in retaliation]] before everyone is interrupted by the summoning to Zygon's mass.
74	* LaserBlade: The usually-invisible blade to Orin's Hilt. [[spoiler:Eventually it turns out the hilt was just a placebo and the power to create the blade...ItWasWithYouAllAlong.]]
75	* TheLegendOfX
76	* LiveActionAdaptation: Rilean Pictures announced a live-action remake in 2012, to be produced by Jonathan Saba and Juan Iglesias.
77	* ALongTimeAgoInAGalaxyFarFarAway: It's a fairly standard example, copying ''Star Wars'' with humans and only one veiled reference to Earth.
78	* LovableRogue: Dagg is what you'd get if Burt Reynolds had been cast as Han Solo (and permitted to be a little more edgy).
79	* MagicFeather: [[spoiler:The Hilt, it turns out. The magical blade was a power Orin had by himself the whole time, and he unleashes it with no placebo to finally defeat Zygon.]]
80	* MechaMooks: Zygon's ''entire'' robot army.
81	* MessianicArchetype: Downplayed, but present. Orin saves his people and even [[spoiler:cures the blind]].
82	* AMoltenDateWithDeath: Happens to both halves of Zygon at the end, as well as several Minemasters.
83	* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: The Hilt. For most of the movie, it's merely an {{Expy}} LaserBlade. [[spoiler: Then at the end, Orin frees his people from the Mine-World by ''hurling the Hilt at the ceiling'', which somehow causes a colossal fissure to open.]]
84	* NightmareFace:
85	** The leader of the man-droids has a skull like face with [[RedEyesTakeWarning large red eyes]]
86	** The last man-droid Dagg kills has a skeletal face with sunken-in, barely visible eyes.
87	* OralFixation: Does Dagg ever finish his cigar?
88	* PlotHole: The crystals are very volatile and ignite by laser fire, and yet the slaves mine them with what seem to be laser jackhammers. [[FridgeHorror Unless that's the point...]]
89	** Orin reacts at one point like if he knows what vacuum is. How would he know if he's been a slave in a subterranean world all his life?
90	* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: Zygon and his minions' outfits and insignias are mainly those colors.
91	* RefusalOfTheCall: Played with. Orin escapes the Mine-World with all the determination befitting a rebellious slave in a sci-fi flick. Shortly afterwards, though, when he is captured by the man-droids, Orin can briefly be heard ''apologizing'' for escaping and promising to go back to the mines if they will spare his life. [[CantRefuseTheCallAnymore By then, of course, it is far too late.]]
92	* ReplacementGoldfish: Elan [[spoiler:is somewhat-shockingly killed]] near the start of the movie. She's soon replaced by Aviana who has a similar look and the ''same voice actress''.
93	* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized:
94	** The slaves push all of the minemasters into the lava when rebelling at the end. Not that anyone can blame them, after literal millennia of brutal enslavement.
95	** On the villains' side of things, Zygon is attempting to start his ''own'' [[RobotWar revolution of sorts]], is perfectly prepared to kill, maim, or torture to get his way, and has kept the entire population of a planet enslaved for thousands of years because of his dislike for humans.
96	* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: This movie is a huge example of this trope, as its various robot characters express just about every emotion that could possibly come up in an animated action b-movie (sarcasm, hysteria, cheering, evil laughter, frustration, indignation about being reprogrammed through circuits located in their metal asses, ''getting seduced by feminine robots'', and so on).
97	* RoboticReveal: [[spoiler:When Orin slashes Zygon's cheek with the sword. Orin is shocked at this, but it really shouldn't have been a surprise, as he already knew that Zygon leads a private robot empire and is strong enough to do a one-handed NeckLift.]]
98	* RobotWar: Zygon's ultimate goal is the subjugation of all organic life, but unlike most examples of this trope, he hopes to defeat humanity in one quick, unexpected strike.
99	* SapientShip: Arthur, the AI that controls the ''Starchaser'', is clearly sapient and often bickers with Dagg.
100	* SceneryPorn: After escaping Mine-World, Orin gets to see some very beautiful environments... until he meets the man-droids.
101	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Zygon's MookLieutenant, Major Tagani tries to do this at the end, but takes [[ItMakesSenseInContext a spaceship to the face]] the second he makes it through the door.
102	* SerialProstheses: The Man-Droids' [[PlanetOfHats hat]].
103	* SignificantGreenEyedRedhead: Aviana.
104	* {{Stripperific}}: Zygon's outfit, which one review joked looked like something an evil overlord might wear if he moonlighted as a Chippendales dancer.
105	* SurroundedByIdiots: At one point, after his minions have once again failed to catch Orin, Zygon lambasts their intelligence, rhetorically asking if he needs to personally reprogram every robot.
106	* SwampsAreEvil: The man-droids live there, so this trope is in full action.
107	* TakeThat: A rather unsubtle one used not in the movie but on some of the promotional posters as a tagline: “The Search for [[Franchise/StarWars the Force]] is Over. The Adventure is About to Begin.”
108	* ATasteOfTheLash: The minemasters ''really'' love using their laser whips against underperforming slaves.
109	* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: [[spoiler:Zygon]] gets bisected and falls in lava. The lava is boiling for several seconds as if to reassure us that he's [[DeaderThanDead gone for good.]]
110	* ThrownOutTheAirlock: Orin accidentally opens a hangar's airlock, venting all the robots into space.
111	* ToThePain: The laser torture is described in such terms:
112	--> '''Zygon''' (to Dag): "Try to imagine a needle, the thickness of a human hair, slowly thrust between your eyes and penetrating your skull."
113	* TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: One of the earliest animation projects to blend traditional animation with computer-rendered models for the vehicles and some other effects.
114	* VenturousSmuggler: Dagg is a smuggler who makes his money by stealing shipments of crystals from Zygon's mines and selling them to criminals.
115	* AVillainNamedZrg: Zygon.
116	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: While aboard the flagship, Orin and Dag hide behind a corner as some robot guards walk past, heading somewhere. After this, they jettison the flagship's ground forces, then storm the bridge and kill the admiral and his crew. But where did those guys walking past them go? Not into the main bay with the main forces, nor to the bridge. They're just forgotten about.
117	* TheWorldIsJustAwesome: When Orin escapes the Mine-World, his first sight of the "magnificent universe" above brings tears to his eyes.
118	--> '''Orin''': "It's not a lie... it's NOT A LIE!"
119	* VillainWithGoodPublicity: When Aviana and Orin arrive at the mines again, she greets Zygon as the facility's administrator when he meets them at the hangar, and seems to be on the fence concerning Orin's claims about the slave mines. [[spoiler:It's not until Orin slashes Zygon's face with the Sword and reveals he's a robot that she realizes Orin was telling the truth.]]
120	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Silica is reprogrammed without her consent, and the heroes sure do kill off Zygon's MechaMooks rather wantonly, despite them having distinct personalities and sentience. [[spoiler:No wonder Zygon hates humans so much!]]
121	* WholePlotReference: It's an obvious ripoff of ''Franchise/StarWars''. There are a few changes that keep it from being a direct copy, but the plot (to an extent) as well as many characters, locations, and sequences are clearly lifted straight from ''Star Wars''. Even some of the sound effects are sampled from ''Star Wars'', such as the ''Starchaser'' sounding exactly like the ''Millenium Falcon''.
122	%%** To some extent, the movie also seems to want to follow in ''WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal'''s footsteps.

Context WesternAnimation / StarchaserTheLegendOfOrin