| Jar Jar Binks | |
|---|---|
| Star Wars character | |
| Portrayed by | Ahmed Best (voice, motion capture, some body close-ups, the films, video games, and episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars) BJ Hughes (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, 2008 series) |
| Fictional profile | |
| Species | Gungan |
| Gender | Male |
| Position | General in the Gungan Grand Army, Representative of the Gungan race, Senator of Chommell Sector (substituting for Padmé Amidala) |
| Homeworld | Naboo |
| Affiliation | Gungan Grand Army, Galactic Republic, Galactic Senate, Delegation of 2000, Galactic Empire, Imperial Senate, New Republic |
Jar Jar Binks is a fictional character from the Star Wars Saga ( Appears in: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith), and the television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.[1] His primary role was to provide comic relief, but many reacted negatively to his character. Jar Jar was played by Ahmed Best, and was almost completely computer generated.
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Jar Jar Binks first appears in The Phantom Menace as a bumbling Gungan from the planet Naboo. After his tribe banishes him for his clumsiness, he is nearly killed by a federation transport, only to be saved at the last minute by Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). Qui-Gon and his padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), persuade Jar Jar's tribe to release him to their custody as a guide. He later goes with the Jedi and Queen Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) to the planet Tatooine, where he meets and befriends Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd).
Jar Jar later appears in the film's climactic battle scene, where he leads his fellow Gungans, as a general in the Gungan army, in defeating the Trade Federation. For his boxing prowess, Padmé gives him a ceremonial medal.
Jar Jar's role in Attack of the Clones is much smaller, but his actions are significant. Ten years after helping to save his planet, he is a delegate to the Galactic Senate and as such plays a role in bringing his old friends Obi-Wan and Anakin (Hayden Christensen) back to Coruscant, where he greets them with enthusiasm. Later, on the behalf of Naboo and the Jedi, he gives a speech to the assembled Senate in favor of granting Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) vast emergency powers (and arguably starting the wheel that led to the Clone Wars, Galactic Empire, Galactic Civil War, and all the deaths therein, though Jar Jar cannot be held responsible for it, as he and the rest of the Republic are being manipulated by Palpatine himself).
Jar Jar appears in only a few scenes in Revenge of the Sith.[2] He spoke only once in the film. The big scene he appears in is when he attends the funeral of Padmé Amidala.
It has been claimed that in the final/celebration scene of the special edition DVD version of Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi, Jar Jar can be heard shouting, "we'sah free!" over the rooftops of the large celebrations happening on Naboo. However, sound designer Matthew Wood has stated in an interview with the Forcecast that it was he, rather than Ahmed Best, who provided the voice for the "we'sah free" line, and that in the script it was attributed to a generic celebrating Gungan, not specifically Jar Jar.
Jar Jar Binks is a supporting character in the animated series The Clone Wars, once again voiced by Best. In this series, he is a Senate representative who accompanies the main characters — Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padmé — on their adventures.
Even before the release of The Phantom Menace, Jar Jar Binks became the subject of a great deal of media and popular attention, though not in the way his creators intended. Binks became symbolic of what many reviewers such as Brent Staples (The New York Times),[3] David Edelstein (Slate),[4] and Eric Harrison (Los Angeles Times)[5][6] considered to be creative flaws of the film. The character was widely rejected and often ridiculed,[7] by people who felt that Jar Jar was clearly included in the film solely to appeal to children. One fan, Mike J. Nichols, created and distributed, free of charge, a modified version of the film, entitled The Phantom Edit, which cut out several scenes featuring what Nichols dubbed 'Jar Jar antics.' The character was also lampooned on an episode of the television show South Park entitled "Jackovasaurus", in The Fairly OddParents (Episode: "Abra-Catastrophe!"), as well as the parody Star Wars episodes of Robot Chicken, in which Best reprised the role in voice-over form.[8]
Along with film critics, many have also accused the film's creators of excessive commercialization directed at young children (a criticism first levelled with the introduction of Ewoks in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi).[7] Star Wars creator George Lucas stated that he feels there is a section of the fanbase who get upset with aspects of Star Wars because "[t]he movies are for children but they don't want to admit that... There is a small group of fans that do not like comic sidekicks. They want the films to be tough like The Terminator, and they get very upset and opinionated about anything that has anything to do with being childlike."[9] Rob Coleman, who was the lead on the Industrial Light & Magic animation team, warned Lucas that the team thought Jar Jar's character came across poorly. Lucas told him that he specifically put Jar Jar in the film to appeal to small children.[10]
Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal described the character as a "Rastafarian Stepin Fetchit on platform hoofs, crossed annoyingly with Butterfly McQueen."[11] Patricia J. Williams writes that many aspects of Jar Jar's character are highly reminiscent of the archetypes portrayed in blackface minstrelsy,[12] while others have suggested that the character is a "laid-back clown character" representing a black Caribbean stereotype.[13]
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