The words “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” have come to have an important meaning, particularly in our pop culture consciousness. The Star Wars films (and the litany of spin-offs, prequels, sequels, books, comics, video games and everything else we can think of) are undeniable pieces of our shared society. But the alien landscapes and fantastical creatures don’t just appear out of nowhere. It takes artistry from the creators, commitment from the stars, and a whole lot of time/money to get these movies made.

Behind-the-scenes, the movies look like a fascinating mess to try and put together into a coherent sci-if opera about laser sword fights, but we gotta admit, it looks all kinds of fun. Here are fifteen unbelievable behind-the-scenes shots from Star Wars.

15 Actual-sized Falcon

It’s important to remember that for the original trilogy of films (which were released between 1976 and 1983), there really weren’t the kind of special effects options that our current generation of moviegoers sometimes take for granted. Green screens weren’t as reliable as they would come to be, and CGI wasn’t really even a concept available to filmmakers. To that end, a lot of special effects wizards would use perspective and angles to try and hide the actual size of something and make it bigger (or smaller) on screen.

It means that a lot of the super cool space ships we all grew up wanting to fly were actually smaller than the action figure versions we all ended up buying from Toys ‘R’ Us (RIP). But that’s what makes this picture all the cooler. It means the Millennium Falcon—we're talking about Millennium Falcon that we all still dream about was constructed in all of its wooden glory. As a crew works on it to bring it fully to life, we just want to stop and appreciate just how cool all of those people are, and how they helped make something truly iconic with that thing.

14 The real R2

Kenny Baker was pushed into entertainment in 1951 when a woman spotted him on the street and offered him a spot in a theatrical troupe that worked with little people. From there, he worked consistently for over two decades as a comedian and nightclub entertainer before he was approached by George Lucas to operate a robot in his upcoming sci-fi film. Initially, Baker turned him down, but he eventually came around, stumbling into the biggest role of his life. Baker (alongside sound designer Ben Burtt, who handled the audio element of the character) brought R2-D2 to life. The loyal and surprisingly resilient repair droid has been passed down through the generations of the Star Wars films to become one of the defining visual codifiers of the franchise.

This picture shows Baker (who was described as a pleasant and jovial guy) outside of his robot suit, and gives us an idea of how the filmmakers were able to get such a realistic set of movements out of the droid instead of using pure animatronics and risking it looking fake. Baker was in the first three films, as well as the prequels, before his age kept him off set for the sequel trilogy. Sadly, Baker passed away in 2016, but at least we’ll always have his work.

13 Join me or bounce!

The climax of The Empire Strikes Back is one of the biggest twists in cinematic history, a massive turning point in the saga of the Skywalker family. Beaten and wounded, Luke spits insults at Darth Vader, who demands Luke join him on the Dark Side. Luke retorts that Vader assassinated his father, but Vader drops the bombshell that he is actually Luke’s father. It’s such a big moment, one that’s been in references and homages constantly over the years.

And that’s what makes this picture just so funny.

The actors (Mark Hamill especially) are giving it their all with that performance, trying to pretend that Mark’s actually in danger of falling to his demise if he can't get back on the walkway. But if you look down, you'll see that as soon as he lets go, he’s going to fall into a mattress store commercial. Look at all of those! That looks so comfy! Hamill is so looking forward to jumping face first into those. It looks like Lando was throwing a slumber party at Cloud City and forgot to tell everyone. It’s just such a funny visual to undercut the drama of the scene. Even that one guy at the bottom of the frame seems to realize how silly this looks.

12 Hold on, Chewie needs a minute

Chewbacca is roughly, what, 75% hair? He’s so defined by that aspect that most of the other characters in the films use it as the first target of jokes whenever they want to make fun of the giant bear man (for some reason). That just seems like a dumb idea to us, especially when everyone was there to hear about how he’ll rip some arms off casually, but it’s their mistakes to make.

All that hair clearly requires some degree of upkeep. Even though it's obviously a costume, the hair on it must get tangled up all of the time. In fact, a strong breeze could possibly cause some glaring bald spots on that thing. So, it makes sense that there’d be at least one make up person who could handle those little alterations that they inevitably needed to adjust for over the course of the story. As this picture shows, the actor playing Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) needed to take some pausing during filming while someone did up his hair right for whatever scene he was in. It’s extra funny if you’re like us and pretend that lady was only on set as the resident Wookie hair stylist, because come on, who wouldn't want that job?

11 That is some prime side-eye, Harrison

By the time of the third Star Wars film, it’d be understandable if anyone was tired of that universe. Famously, Harrison Ford especially wasn’t all that willing to come back for even the final film in the original trilogy, and would have almost preferred it if the character had just died when he was frozen in carbonite at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. But the actor (alongside his fellow stars Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher) returned to give it one last go in the galaxy far, far away. (Of course, he did return to the character many years later in The Force Awakens.)

They just looked like they wanted to be done with it so bad and they do not have the energy to actually deal with it in the slightest.

Just look at these faces! This snapshot was probably meant to celebrate the fond memories the cast all share, bringing this sci-fi fantasy to life in the biggest way possible. And not even Mark Hamill can muster the enthusiasm to look like he even remotely wants to be there. At least Carrie Fisher seems to be having fun being snarky. Ford, meanwhile, just wants this to be over and can’t wait to never see another Stormtrooper again. It's funny how they all seemed so ready to get out, but couldn't wait to get back in when Disney decided to continue the series.

10 The man behind the muppet

The seemingly infinite wisdom and teachings of the grand Jedi Master Yoda prove to be a good part of the moral groundwork of the Star Wars movies, across the entire mythos of the story. All three trilogies of films have featured Yoda in some way or another, and typically in his original puppet form. He was only a puppet in one of the prequels, and that is just one of the many reasons that we don’t really talk much about the prequel movies. The character was initially created by George Lucas, but was given life by Frank Oz. The world famous puppeteer who had a hand (ha!) in creating iconic Muppets like Miss Piggy and Gonzo (and directing some stone cold classic comedies like Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Little Shop of Horrors) also served as the voice and prime puppeteer for Yoda, especially during the original trilogy.

This picture does a great job of illustrating what it looks like when one of the principal members of the scene is being commanded by a puppet, and how simultaneously silly and impressive it can look. He brought all that character to a puppet, and that’s really cool. Also ha ha, Oz looks like he needs that cane more than Yoda does.

9 Leia naps

We all really miss Carrie Fisher. Like, a bunch. The actress/writer was an inspiration for an entire generation and popular among her co-stars and fellow actors. She was a very talented actress, who managed to bring a casual charm and personable personality to every set she appeared on. She seemed like she was just having fun with her life and she didn't care what other people thought about her. There are actually a lot of adorable pictures of Fisher on the set of Star Wars alone, basically setting the tone for Instagram decades before the app would ever exist.

There are pictures of Fisher hanging out with Mayhew (while he was still in his wookie costume) and messing around.

There are also plenty of other pictures of her just relaxing in the infamous metal slave bikini and even sunbathing alongside her stunt double. But we really appreciate all the pictures that were taken of Fisher taking naps on the set of the films. We’ve got a soft spot for this one in particular, because she just looks so snuggled and cute in her chair. We really miss Carrie Fisher, and at least we have all these pictures to remind us how cool she was.

8 Such siblings

In Return of the Jedi, Luke (and us watching the movie at home) finds out that he and Princess Leia have been connected far longer than they’ve actually known each other. The two are revealed to actually be twins by Obi-Wan’s force ghost, which plays into his growth during the rest of the movie and also frees up Leia to hook-up with Han Solo at the end of the movie. While Luke says he’s always felt that connection was there, it was less so for members of the audience. It definitely ended being a major twist for the sreies.

But if we had all gotten to see pictures like this, then we would have seen them as brother and sister in seconds. Seen here deciding to mess with Carrie Fisher for the sheer fun of it, Mark Hamill teases her by playing around with her hair, which she probably spent all day getting done in the hair and makeup trailer before heading to set. Fisher just looks so exasperated by the whole thing. You can totally see her running off to their mother to yell about what Luke is doing now, and that’s just hilarious.

7 The Oz connection

Frank Oz might have achieved one of his most famous characters of all time with Yoda, but the character isn’t the only iconic figure that Oz has created over the course of his career. He’s also responsible for a lot of the Muppets, as we mentioned earlier. But what we didn’t mention earlier was that there exists a picture showing some of those creations hanging out on the set of Star Wars, visiting their cousin Yoda in the depths of the Dagobah swamps.

There’s just so much to like about this picture, especially if you imagine Frank Oz going in and out of the different characters.

Kermit the Frog just trying to talk to Yoda, but getting lost in his strange manner of speech. Miss Piggy keeps complaining about how the swamp is ruining her dress and her perfume. Yoda trying to convey the knowledge of the force to a couple of entertainers who don’t care about magic because they just have cartoon physics. And then there’s Mark Hamill, who just is loving every single part of this. It looks like he got the full and undivided attention of Miss Piggy, who’s obviously trying to flirt with him. This looks like a fun time.

6 I’ve fallen and can't get up

Seriously, the costume for C-3PO must have been difficult for Anthony Daniels to deal with, especially during certain chunks of the story that take place in sandy environments. Because of how the costume is made, it's not very easy to move around in. There are plenty of pictures of Baker having to deal with the intense heat and trying to film scenes in a literal metal suit, which couldn’t have been easy for the actor. But this one might be the one that gets the most sympathy for the actor and even the rest of the cast around him, just because of the looks on the faces of both men during it.

Apparently, Daniels fell and needed some help getting back up.

It seems like he's just trying to go limp and not make the situation any more difficult for Harrison Ford. Meanwhile, Ford is trying to be the good guy in the situation and help his fellow actor manage to get back on his feet, despite the obvious weight of the suit he’s wearing not helping matters. But Ford also looks like he can’t believe that this is what his life has become in this moment, and he just wants to be done lifting this giant robot suit.

5 The real Jar Jar Binks

An important difference between the prequel films and the original trilogy comes with the sheer amount of options available to the creators. The limited budget and lengths that the original films went through kept the creators inventive and the effects grounded in reality. And in doing so, the effects ended up being more realistic as a result and aging significantly better than the pure CGI that the prequels ended up using instead.

If anyone wants to argue this point, then just look at the abomination that is the real world Jar Jar Binks. The character has gone on to become one of the most hated characters within the franchise, to the seeming surprise of George Lucas. But one would think that seeing this figure on the set would have given him pause. The additional height doesn’t amount for any weight to the character. They wanted to get the next Chewbacca. Instead, they ended up with this actor in full costume and makeup, plus a giant head piece. The other actors must have been befuddled, with a two-faced (the human face blindfolded apparently?) actor opposite them that seems just as confused. The CGI just wasn’t worth it, George. It just wasn’t worth it.

4 The actual lightsaber fights

Lightsabers are awesome. They’re one of the coolest weapons within the entire Star Wars franchise, and have captured the attention of people from around the world. The bright colors and distinctive sound effect have helped turn it into possibly one of the best fictional weapons of all time. The various lightsaber fights of the movie are some of the best parts of their respective films.

But they do lose a certain amount of their majesty when you see what they look like behind-the-scenes.

Take in this picture of Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson and Ray Park, all trying to play up the scene at the climax of The Phantom Menace. The lightsabers themselves are only a step above the toy lightsabers that we all used when we were children, and they’re basically going all out like it's Halloween and the babysitter is on the phone. The bright blue screen around them just makes the scene feel even more impersonal, although the actors are trying their very best to make it as real as they possibly can. We have to give them credit for that, but we’re not afraid to say that we way prefer how the actors look on an actual set as compared to seeing them in front of an endless blue wall.

3 From the perspective of Ewan McGregor

Ewan McGregor has gone on record about how much he actually enjoyed getting to play Obi-Wan Kenobi, and how much he’d love to come back to the franchise for a proposed Obi-Wan spin-off film. While many of his prequel co-stars ended up turning on the movies over the years or admitted that their opinion of their time in the Star Wars universe didn’t end up being as good as they’d hoped, McGregor has always been upfront about how much he loved being in those movies.

Just look at this picture of him from behind-the-scenes, somehow still finding 100% commitment for the series and the craziness that goes on in it. Even though he just has two blue bodysuit clad stuntmen in front of him, he still brings his all to get ready for them to get into a laser sword fight. Next to him is Hayden Christensen, AKA Darth Vader, who just has the body stance of someone who is already exhausted with the whatever he’s got in front of him. But McGregor is up there, lightsaber in hand, leaning fully into his Alec Guinness impression and generally just being a silly little kid playing pretend on the biggest stage imaginable.

2 A million little dots

The CGI in the prequels haven’t aged nearly as well as the creators initially thought they would, and that’s a shame. So much of those movies were dependent on the special effects, which means once they stop being impressive, they stop working. The sequel trilogy has been better about mixing practical effects with the more advanced CGI, which should help keep the movie looking good even in the years following the release of these movies.

One of the aspects of the current generation of special effects that has helped turn the CGI creations into more realistic and living characters on-screen have been the attention paid towards the facial tics and small movements that really bring the life out of the creation.

A good example is this picture of Lupita Nyong'o, on set for her part, Maz Kanata, in the new Star Wars films.

The character is a complete CGI creation that uses modern facial tracking technology to draw out as much of her performance and put all that personality into the animation. It’s interesting to see how actors have to look during these moments, and impressive to see that they can still give good performances despite all the little balls on them.

1 Into the wild green yonder

This picture taken from the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon shows off the view from the driver’s seat and gives us one last chance to see Harrison Ford flying the ship before he took off to get hit and pushed down a giant hole in a space station. But more than just being a nice chance to see the torch passed from Han to Rey and helping keep the ship as a part of the continued overall story of the series, it also serves as a final view of Ford in that role.

Even if the green screen in front of them kind of detracts from the moment as a whole, it’s still a really sweet thing to see at least one more time. It’s also why these behind-the-scenes pictures can mean so much to the fans of the finished films. It gives the stories that we’ve loved a sense of real-life closure. Even Ford, who has grown into Hollywood’s curmudgeon Grandpa and was publicly exhausted with the Star Wars films, probably got at least a little bit teary-eyed when he realized he was going to get one last chance to be Han Solo. It reminds us of the humanity behind these fantasies, and gives us a glimpse into the reality of the filmmaking process.

References: CNN.com, Ranker.com, Huffington Post.com, CinemaBlend.com, Dorkly.com, Pinterest.com, Looper.com, USAToday.com