This comment makes no sense to me. Lucas has always included characters for children in his Star Wars movie - R2 and 3PO, the Ewoks, and Jar Jar. Disney continued this tradition with BB8 and the Porgs. And not everyone loved them. I wasn't a fan of the droids and the Ewoks when I was a teenager and I'm not a fan of the Porgs. But I've never developed this deep-seated hatred for any of these characters the way many have toward Jar Jar. This deep-seated hatred toward Jar Jar Binks, who is nothing more than a clumsy and naive character makes no sense to me. Ahmed Best was nearly driven to suicide? I think the Star Wars fandom had sunk into a level of insanity over their reaction to Jar Jar. I find it ludicrous and extremely irrational. And whenever someone explains why they hate Jar Jar, his or her explanation comes off as irrational or lacking in any logic to me.
Well people did hate the Ewoks quite abit or at least that is the impression I got. I didn't even know I was suppose to hate them until I was a teenager. Jar Jar Binks really is in a different class of being a terrible character. First the movie is bad all around so that doesn't help. Then he is front and center instead of just being used in small doses. Not one Jar Jar funny moment works. Then he feels kind of racist like a few characters in those movies. I think he might be the worst character in movie history and I am not saying that as hyperbole. If I were to make a list Jar Jar would be at the top. Then you would move over to the likes of Tommy Lee Jones as "Two Face" the entire cast of "The Room" and Adam Sandler in that movie were he plays both some guy and his sister. Of course none of this is a excuse to go after a actor and tell him that. Why would anyone think being rude or a asshole is a good thing?. I'm sure they wouldn't like people calling them at home telling them how much they suck at their job. Jason
With the Ewoks there were going more for cutesy type of comedy though the fact that they are cannibals who at the end eat all the captured Storm Troopers for the final party, which I might add seems fine with Luke,Han and Leia to the point where you wonder if they also chowed down, somehow went unnoticed for years at least to me. I guess they were trying that with Jar Jar as well but you none of the jokes really worked. Stepping in poop or sticking your tongue out trying to eat food totally fail. Jason
Part of the difficulty with Jar Jar isn't just the style of humor, but also the over the top CGI. Jar Jar couldn't just walk around-he had to whip his head around so his ears slapped himself in his face. He doesn't just eat-his tongue shoots out and back in and is used for physical comedy multiple times, as is his distress. He, unfortunately, does not come across as a character but as an experiment in digital effects, It's, unfortunately, very difficult to take seriously when his more serious moment shows up.
I found the Ewoks rather annoying back then. However, I did enjoy their fight against the Imperial troops on Endor. Nor did I ever express hatred toward them, the way many have expressed hatred toward Jar Jar. I never had this problem. Nor do I see this as a reason to hate him.
I never had a problem with Jar Jar. He was a little over the top but it never really bugged me. I'm not a huge fan of the character but I don't mind him. I wouldn't buy a Jar Jar novel or comic though.
Did I say I hated Jar Jar? I simply observed why he did not work for me in the context of the story and as a character. I don't believe there is a reason to hate any fictional character beyond the classic villain types, who are designed to be hated.
I agree. I actually think most of the CGI in the prequels looked really bad. Not only did it not age that well I don't even think it looked all that great back in the day. When you compare that stuff to what you would see in "The Matrix" or "Lord of the RIngs" it just looks extra bad. Of course this just another reason people should be bashing the guy. DId they they he made the CGI effects for Jar Jar as well. Jason
Hate is a relative term. There is "I hate vegetables" and "I hate people because of their gender or religion or sexual orientation etc." I think most people who dislike Jar Jar are more in the vegetable example than the latter but then you usually only hear about the worst because people don't write to actors telling them about their mild reactions to their performance. Seems people only do that stuff if you really, really love something or really,really hate something. People with only the most extreme reactions to things seem to get noticed. Jason
Sorry Jason, I don't agree with you. I have noticed a great number of extreme reactions against Jar Jar for nearly 20 years. Not only did I find their reactions extreme, I found it borderline psychotic. And as far as I'm concerned, these fans are off their rocker.
It's such an odd reaction, isn't it? I understand people don't like change, and there are groups of people who dislike new things, but the level of vitriol thrown at Jar Jar was insane. It was overkill. Yeah, I made jokes about him, and he doesn't really bother me, but even if I really disliked him, it would be more an irritation when watching the movies. This whole desire to destroy a very real person over a fictional character is just ludicrous.
It must be the whole anonymity thing, I gather. I remember it being such a minor thing when the movie first came out, some people were disgruntled, but I went away from the film liking it. Yeah, it had serious flaws, and Jar Jar had been a bit annoying at some points (though I did like him overall), but I loved Ewan MacGregor as Obi-Wan (perfect casting choice), was sad that Qui-Gon Jinn had died, and thought the final saber fight between Darth Maul, Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon was fantastic. It certainly wasn't my favorite Star Wars film, but it wasn't awful. Now, though, you'd have thought George Lucas personally grabbed every VHS and DVD copy of the film and broke them right in front of each audience member as they left the theater, swearing that he was going to make a new Star Wars movie with Jar Jar, and womprats, and to forget the movie.
I totally agree they are out there but you noticing them is kind of what I was talking about. These extreme cases will always be noticed because they are such a extreme. More moderate or even balanced views just won't get noticed because they don't call attention to themselves. It's like being in a room with 100 people and most of them are behaving but you have 5 of those people who are assholes and making a scene. Those 5 will be what people notice most and really remember instead those other 95 people. "The Simpsons" sort of made a joke about this with comic book guy who would call stuff "Worst episode ever" or words like that. These people are minority but they seem like the majority because of just how much attention they gather to a point where they become what most people think is what most fans look like. I mean on some level their is a little truth in it because we do take this stuff a little more serious than others. We come to places like here and talk about Sci-FI and we buy the dvd's and toys and all that stuff as well, often. But then you have those who are on another level to a point where they are borderline psychotic like you said. Jason
Well one episode/movie does have to be the worst . Seriously giving a movie F rating isn't a particularly moderate view but also isn't extreme in a toxic or crazy, let alone dangerous way, some movies deserve to get bad reviews and grades, giving that to them doesn't mean you hate the people who made them (though you may, and probably should, avoid watching their future projects).
Can’t find the quote now, but I remember the guy behind Red Letter Media arguing that lots of people didn’t like The Phantom Menace but couldn’t quite express why, so Jar Jar just became an easy focal point for all criticism. I think that’s a good point.
Jar Jar and young Anakin and doing a story about politics I think were the big 3 issues. The thing is for all the people hating it you had just as many people,me including who were kind of in denial and sort of telling yourself it was a good movie because you want the new "Star Wars" to be good and be worth the wait. Of course it is kind of amusing that most people who hate it have seen it more times than many of the movies they do like I suspect. Me included. Everytime I have a "Star Wars" marathon I feel the need to watch them all. That's when you know the studio has a fans number. When they will watch even the bad stuff you make out of brand loyalty. Jason
TMP is also almost inconsequential in the trilogy, almost everything you need to know from it is repeated in Episode 2.