While he was the dimutive sidekick of Indy in 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the latest edition of Lucasfilm Defining Moments looks at the choices made by Short Round and how he was every bit the hero that Indiana was, saving the man in the hat on multiple occasions.
Indiana Jones has shown an aptitude for making friends. Shorty becomes his companion after trying to pick his pocket in the streets of Shanghai. The child is self-assured and intensely loyal to the archaeologist. Indy becomes quite affectionate towards Short Round, a sort of father figure. They form a partnership.
After Indy, Short Round, and a third companion – singer Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) – escape Shanghai, they become stranded in the mountains of northern India. Each member of the trio is preoccupied with a specific desire: Indy to return to his university; Willie to return to her glamorous life on the stage; and Short Round to remain at Indy’s side and keep him safe. Only then does a new complication arise. A local village is in need. Their children have been kidnapped and their precious Sankara Stone stolen.
Indy agrees to visit Pankot Palace in order to help solve the mystery, and perhaps uncover an ancient artifact that would bring him“fortune and glory.” As the adventure unfolds and they proceed deep into a perilous temple, Indy’s motivations seem conflicted. They discover the missing children, chained and whipped into forced labor by an evil Thuggee cult. But they also discover the wondrous Sankara Stones. There are hints of compassion within him, but also hints of covetousness. Soon, they are taken prisoner, and Indy is forced into the supernatural “black sleep,” losing his sense of self and becoming an obedient drone.
