Jar Jar Binks
Jar Jar Binks is a fictional character from the Star Wars saga created by George Lucas. A member of the Gungan race, Jar Jar appears throughout the Star Wars prequel trilogy—as a major character in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, with a supporting role in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and a cameo in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith—as well as having a role in the television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The first fully computer-generated supporting character in a live-action film, he has been voiced by Ahmed Best in most of his appearances, who also acted out the character with prosthetics prior to the CGI work. He also appears in various other media.
Jar Jar's primary role in Episode I was to provide comic relief for the audience. He was met with overwhelming dislike from both audiences and critics, and has been recognized as one of the most hated characters in Star Wars and film history in general, with some commentators arguing that the character was based on stereotypes of black people, especially Jamaicans. The hate affected Best personally, who rejected the idea that the character was based on racist stereotypes.
In 2010, Adult Swim released Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III which included a sketch where Jar Jar, voiced by Ahmed Best himself, revealed that he was a Sith Lord throughout the six films, and had manipulated Palpatine himself. Five years later, in 2015, a Reddit user posted a fan theory that Jar Jar was originally going to be revealed as a manipulative villain, but this plot point was removed due to the character's unpopularity. The theory gained popularity on the internet, and was even encouraged by Best, who implied that it could have been partially true.
The character's reception has changed as he has been championed by fans who had seen the prequels at the time of their release as children. Best cited the audience reaching adulthood as well as their perspective as some of the reasons for the character's reassessment, as well as the newfound appreciation for the prequel trilogy. He has also been defended by members of the prequels' production team.
Conception
was inspired to develop Jar Jar based on the Disney character Goofy. Singer Michael Jackson wanted to play the role, but wished to portray the character using prosthetics while Lucas wanted him to be all CGI. Ahmed Best was cast based on his work in the production of Stomp, as Lucas wanted someone athletic for the role. During his audition he performed several martial arts moves and flips, which according to Best was a contrast to how Lucas pictured the character, more in line with comedic silent actors such as Buster Keaton. After Lucas walked out of the audition, Best felt he had failed it. Terryl Whitlatch created the final designs for the "cowardly and insecure" character.Best wore a prosthetic costume to portray Jar Jar, which cost about $100,000 and served as a reference for the actors to interact with, animators to base the performance on, and digital artists to match the lighting. He was the first computer-generated supporting character in a live-action film, although in a small number of shots, the costume was not replaced with CGI.
Appearances
Films
Jar Jar appears in only the films of the prequel trilogy.''The Phantom Menace''
Jar Jar Binks first appears in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace as a bumbling, foolish Gungan from the planet Naboo who is banished by his tribe as punishment for his clumsiness. He is nearly killed by a Trade Federation transport, only to be saved at the last minute by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. Qui-Gon and his padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, persuade Jar Jar's tribe to release him to their custody as a guide. He later goes with the Jedi and Padmé Amidala to the planet Tatooine, where he meets and befriends nine-year-old slave Anakin Skywalker.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. After the battle, he appears at the funeral of Qui-Gon Jinn and in the ending parade with his fellow Gungans.
''Attack of the Clones''
Jar Jar's role in Attack of the Clones is much smaller, but his actions are significant. Ten years after helping save his planet, he is a delegate to the Galactic Senate and, as such, plays a role in bringing two of his old friends, Obi-Wan and Anakin, back to Coruscant, where he greets them with enthusiasm. Later, on behalf of Naboo, he gives a speech to the assembled Senate in favor of granting Chancellor Palpatine vast emergency powers.''Revenge of the Sith''
Jar Jar appears in only a few scenes in Revenge of the Sith, and he has no dialogue. He was originally given some dialogue in the beginning, but this was cut. Another cut scene would have shown Palpatine mocking Jar Jar for putting him in power before crowning himself emperor. He is most prominently featured in Padmé Amidala's funeral procession at the end of the film, marching sadly behind her coffin alongside Boss Nass.''The Clone Wars'' television series
Jar Jar Binks is a supporting character in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, once again voiced by Best, although Phil LaMarr voiced the character in three season one episodes under the pseudonym BJ Hughes. In this series, he is a Senate representative who sometimes accompanies the main characters—Anakin, Obi-Wan, Padmé, and Anakin's padawan Ahsoka Tano—on their adventures. He and Jedi Master Mace Windu are the two main characters of the two-part episode "The Disappeared" in which they had to search for missing elders and rescue a queen, who was Jar Jar's past love interest.Literature
''Aftermath: Empire's End''
's 2017 novel Star Wars: Aftermath: Empire's End, set after the events of Return of the Jedi, finds Jar Jar as a street performer who entertains refugee children but is loathed by adults who blame him for his part in the rise of the Empire. Chris Taylor of Mashable wrote that the situation reflects real life in that adults disliked Jar Jar in the prequel films, but children were entertained by him.In an interview, director J. J. Abrams suggested that Jar Jar's death might be referenced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but this did not happen.
''Legends''
With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed Star Wars novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film Star Wars were rebranded as Star Wars Legends and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014.In the game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Jar Jar is shown to have been frozen in carbonite by an Imperial officer and kept in his trophy room.
Video games
Jar Jar appears as a playable character in the Lego Star Wars video games, and appears as an Angry Bird with a hook move called "Jar Jar Wings" in Angry Birds Star Wars II.Other appearances
was signed on to portray Binks in the show Star Wars Detours, but the series was never released.Reception
Initial response
Even before the release of The Phantom Menace, Jar Jar Binks became the subject of significant media and popular attention. After the film's release, Binks became symbolic of what many reviewers such as Brent Staples, David Edelstein, and Eric Harrison considered to be creative flaws of the film. The character was widely rejected and often ridiculed by people who felt that Jar Jar was included solely to appeal to children. Bruce Handy of Vanity Fair wrote that "Jar Jar has come to symbolize what many fans see as the faults of the prequel trilogy: characters no one much cares about; a sense of humor geared toward the youngest conceivable audience members; an over-reliance on computer graphics; and story lines devoted to the kinds of convoluted political machinations which wouldn't have been out of place in adaptations of I, Claudius or The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, but which fit less snugly in films with characters like Jar Jar Binks." 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 "Jakovasaurs", in The Fairly OddParents, The Simpsons, as well as the parody Star Wars episodes of Robot Chicken, in which Best reprised the role in voice-over form.In response to the criticism, Star Wars creator George Lucas stated that he feels there is a section of the fanbase upset that "the 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."
In 2018, Best said that the widespread criticism of his character negatively impacted his career and led him to consider suicide. After these comments were reported by The Guardian, fans expressed their support for Best on social media, with many, including Frank Oz, denouncing the vitriol Best experienced. Oz wrote, "I LOVED Jar Jar Binks. I know I'll get raked over the coals for saying that but I just will never understand the harshness of people's dislike of him. I do character work. He is a GREAT character!"