In my previous posts, I shared my adventures of a 2-week Caribbean cruise in our current Covid-riddled world. I made a brief mention of the Yoda Guy Museum on Saint Martin, but as it was one of the highlights of my trip, I thought it was worthy of its own post to share a bit more detail about this interesting attraction.
If you’re not a Star Wars or movie fan, this post won’t resonate with you. If you are a kid of the 80s or 90s (or even part of the new generation finding SW thanks to Disney Plus), please read on. After checking the place out and doing a bit of research, it came as no surprise that The Yoda Guy Museum is the top rated attraction on St. Martin. Obviously unique to an island the size of St. Martin, it's even unique to the entire Caribbean. In fact, there are really only a handful of places like this, tributes to the quintessential sci-if series, anywhere in the world.
Nick Maley opened The Yoda Guy museum on St. Martin in 2007 shortly after retiring to the island after decades working the special effects industry in Hollywood. The place is larger than you’d expect from first glance. You can see from the entrance that it appears to be a small, narrow structure, but in reality, the museum and shop occupy the entire second floor of the neighboring building.
Some of Nick’s earliest work was on the creature design for the original Cantina scene in the first Star Wars film. I loved seeing this schematic from Episode 4 showing the original layout of the Cantina which they used to help create enough creatures to fill the iconic location.
But Nick’s real moment to shine came a couple years later when he was one of the key team members tasked with creating the Yoda puppet for The Empire Strikes Back. It’s endearing from the tour just how fondly Nick recalls this period of his life – and how could he not? Playing such a notable role in such a legendary franchise must be highly satisfying and I suspect anyone who likewise holds a special place in their hearts for cinematic history will appreciate the hour or two spent here.
There are a number of great displays along the walking tour including homages, props and behind the scenes information for films worked on directly by Nick as well as other project he wasn’t directly involved with, but were high-profile movies of the era – often worked on by friends and associates of Mr. Maley. I found the collection of life masks particularly interesting (life masks are most often used to make castings of actors faces so make-up artist can experiment with make-up and prosthetic ideas without the performer being on hand for the countless hours these processes can take.
My only complaint with the museum was the gift shop. Although some very cool specialty pieces quite fitting to the theme of the exhibits, I would have expected some more traditional movie memorabilia, toys and collectibles. Granted, the gift shop area wasn’t expansive, but I had to wonder how many families visiting would have liked a simple stuffed animal or 6” action figure but have no real interest in a storyboard or script page from Return of the Jedi….
I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief introduction and strongly encourage you to check it out the next time you’re in St. Martin. I only hope you find yourself as fortunate enough in your travels as I have. 😊