Credit: All photos @starwashchile Disney is starting the year in danger, as the Mouse House is suffering severe backlash after suing a Star Wars-loving small business.
As of late, the conversation surrounding Disney and copyright has been a hot topic. Just a few days ago on January 1, Mickey Mouse entered the public domain, as well as Minnie Mouse, Tigger, and Peter-Pan, joining other infamous characters like Winnie the Pooh. While not all versions of Mickey are in the public domain, on the 1928 Steamboat Willie rendition of the mouse, there is a lot of leeway for creators looking to use Mickey, as the name and iconic features are recognizable by nearly anyone.
In Chile, one car wash decided that their experience needed a stronger theme, and the Star Wars car wash, Star Wash was born. Here, you can have Chewbacca detailing your seats, Darth Vader washing your hood, Boba Fett waxing your exterior, and more. You can even find Din Djarin, The Mandalorian there, and he looks just like Pedro Pascal — it is a true treat for anyone who is a fan of the franchise, and truly a love note to Star Wars.
The Star Wash Chile (@starwashchile) account has been going viral, posting videos of the iconic Star Wars characters cleaning cars, creating a fun and memorable experience for guests at Star Wash.
Life starts to dream like this when you work on what you love ❤️ 🔥 Welcome to Star Wash, an experience from another galaxy 🖤
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Matias Jara tried to register the name Star Wash with the Chilean patent authority, but when he did that, Lucasfilm — the Star Wars production company that Disney bought for $4 billion back in 2012 — filed a lawsuit against it. It seems that Lucasfilm is claiming that the name is too similar to Star Wars, and the company does not want the car wash associated with it.
Star Wash tried to joke about the lawsuit, posting a video of Darth Vader strangling them, and writing, “In a galaxy plagued with conflicts, a legal battle of epic proportions emerges. At the epicenter of this war, “Star Wash”, a modest family business, is caught in a confrontation with the imposing Lucasfilm Empire”.
The New York Post spoke with Jara, who said, “They say our name ‘Star Wash’ leads to confusion as someone can come with the intention to buy a movie, a helmet or a figure they sell. This is not the case. We have a car wash named ‘Star Wash’ as it’s a stellar wash. We don’t make movies or sell their products or anything like that.”
Jara claims the company did not seem to have any issues with the attendants who are dressed up as the characters, and said it was his daughter who came up with the name after visiting one of the theme parks in the United States.
The company is now fighting Lucasfilm, claiming that Lucasfilm’s copyright does not extend to car washes but only to merchandise and toys.
“Of course this lawsuit is affecting us,” Jara said. “We’re a small business, and we’re spending on things we hadn’t budgeted for.”
Now, fans of Star Wars are speaking out, but they are not on the side of Disney.
Favicon (@FaviconX) said, “Praying for Star Wash to win that shit”.
Praying for Star Wash to win that shit pic.twitter.com/gFX0xtnqnE
— Favicon (@FaviconX) January 5, 2024
ETIRE (@Etireed) replied, “Common Disney L, it’s so unbelievably cringe 😭”. 🦇 (@Shadowiscold) saw the actions taken by Disney is against what Star Wars stands for, “George Lucas should’ve never sold Star Wars to Disney”. Hudson (@hudsonwisler) saw Disney as a bully “Huge L @Disney why would you come after this guy”.
Dadicus (@Dadicus_K) noted, “That’s what happens when you’re losing money as a franchise. Sad.” Noah (@bestreviewsevr) chimed in, “Typical exploitative Disney 😔😔”. Overall, fans are not happy to see Disney trying to shut down and ruin a small family business who clearly has a love for the franchise, and is spreading joy to their customers.
As we can read, many are seeing this as a greedy stunt by Disney, attacking the “little guy” out of jealousy. Perhaps Disney wishes they came up with the idea first, so that they could have licensed the business for profit. Or, maybe it burns a little to see a Star Wars-themed business venture succeed after the failure of the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.
Others suggested the car wash was running a better company, after the House of Mouse lost at least $1 billion following a disastrous year at the box office. Disney+ also lost $387 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, while its theme parks continue to see fewer visitors as prices rise.
Disney is working on expanding the Star Wars franchise in 2024, when we will see Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, which is anticipated to be the next Star Wars show on Disney+. We have also heard of a new movie from Ahsoka showrunner Dave Filoni, which will continue plot threads from this show, as well as The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.
Related: ‘Star Wars’ Character Reportedly Axed by Disney, Quietly Removed From Park
For those keeping track, here’s the full lineup of upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows as stated by IGN — including what has been canceled:
- Star Wars Skeleton Crew TV Series (2024)
- Star Wars: The Acolyte TV Series (2024)
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 3 (2024)
- Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi (2024)
- Star Wars: Andor Season 2 (2025/Possibly 2024)
- Taika Waititi’s Star Wars Movie (In Development)
- James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi Movie (In Development)
- Dave Filoni’s Mando-Verse New Republic Movie (In Development)
- Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s New Jedi Order Movie (In Development)
- Star Wars: Rogue Squadron Movie (Status Unknown)
- The Mandalorian: Season 4 / The Book of Boba Fett: Season 2 (Status Unknown)
- Star Wars: Lando Movie (Status Unknown)
- Star Wars: Rangers of the New Republic TV Series (Presumed Canceled)
- Untitled J.D. Dillard/Matt Owens Movie (Presumed Canceled)
- Rian Johnson’s Star Wars Trilogy (Presumed Canceled)
- Kevin Feige’s Star Wars Movie (Canceled)
- David Benioff & DB Weiss’ Star Wars Movies (Canceled)
Inside the Magic has reached out to Star Wash for comment, but has not heard back at the time of this article’s publishing.
Do you think that Disney should have left Star Wash alone?