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Iconic Star Wars Vader-Luke scene gets remade with cats

A pair of fuzzy felines participate in a catty homemade re-creation of the confrontation between a Sith dad and his Jedi son.

Few Star Wars scenes are guaranteed to stir fans' hearts more than the ultimate confrontation between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker in "The Empire Strikes Back." What could possibly make it any better? How about some cats? YouTube user Pasdidée reshot the famous scene using a couple of house cats, named it "The Empire Scratches Back" and posted it on Sunday.

Pasdidée presents the shot-by-shot remake in a split-screen form so you can marvel at how accurately it compares with the movie version. The two black and white cats emote as well as can be expected. Even the props are right on. A sisal cat-scratching post fills in for the pole Luke hangs onto during his dramatic conversation with Vader.

The final cry of despair from fur-Luke really brings the scene home. Pasdidée notes that the open-mouth effect was achieved by boring the cat into yawning.

The fuzzy actors occasionally receive an assist from their human, who holds up a paw to simulate Vader's fist-shaking move. Anybody who has ever tried to get a cat to perform on demand will appreciate the time and care that went into the scene remake.


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