Funked, Ewok haters et al - how old were you when ROTJ came out? I was 7, didn't hate em at all. Just accepted em.
Although I think I watched ROTJ before Empire...that film was dark.
Also, I think the awful tragedy of the newer films is purely down to Rick McCallum. Remember GL brought us the originals, R McC comes along, does a Grima Wormtongue and...