RESEARCH

PROJECT: 4
MAJOR
CHARACTERS
BY: AARON MCLEOD-
TREADWELL
INTRODUCTION

 For this character analysis I'm going to be focusing on the phantom menace which is
episode one of the prequel series. I'm going to go in depth into the characters both in the
book and in the movie. Discussing the difference in things like appearance, attitude,
personality and actions. I believe that characters are a vital part of any good story as having
engaging characters that move the plot forward his crucial. The characters I'm going to be
focusing on from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace are Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan
Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jin and Jar Jar Binks, four incredibly important characters that drive the
plot The Phantom Menace. I believe the most important character to focus on first would be
Qui-Gon Jin as he is the master of Obi-Wan Kenobi and is one of the primary protagonists.
After that I'm going to be discussing Obi Wan Kenobi as he is one of the main driving
points of the plot and is one of the more important characters in the franchise. After that I'm
going to discuss Jar Jar Binks as he spends more time with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gin in The
Phantom Menace than most characters. Finally, I'm going to discuss Anakin's character as
he's only a kid in this one so he's not as prominent as he is later in the franchise.
QUI-GON JIN
THE PHANTOM MENACE MOVIE.
 Qui-Gon starts off stoic and focused on the tasks at hand. This makes sense for his character as he is the stoic Jedi
master who's trained in the ways of the force longer than his student Obi-wan.
 Qui-Gon shows his leadership skills in several parts of the movie by making plans that are unorthodox, but tend to
work well, like when they were escaping to Naboo he said, “Let's split up, stow aboard separate ships and meet
down on the planet.” His quick thinking allows him to get what he wants fast by using Jedi mind tricks in a way that
nobody else notices, even in a room full of people. This shows how intelligent of a master Qui-Gon is. He is also an
excellent negotiator; his negotiation skills has allowed for him and his friends to get out of sticky situations. “You
get all the winnings minus the parts I need. And if we lose you keep my ship. Either way you win.” What Qui-Gon
said to Watto to convince him.
 Qui-Gon is not without his faults, he is quick to be annoyed by characters like Jar Jar, even verbally assaulting them
showing that he's not always stoic and calm, saying things like “The ability to speak does not make you intelligent.”
to Jar Jar right after meeting for the first time.
 Qui-Gon seems to be a great mentor as we see from his training of Obi Wan and how he talks to Anakin seeing the
potential Anakin has and assuring Anakin that he can do great with his power. Qui-Gon shows a lot of compassion
for Anakin’s situation.
 Upon Qui-Gon's first interaction with Darth Maul you can see it on his face he is absolutely terrified of the Sith
who is trained in the ways of the Jedi Knights. He was sweating nervously and even had to escape the fight. This
shows that Qui-Gon is not always calm and collected.
 When Qui-Gon is killed he seems to accept his death well in advance (Later explained as a unique Jedi Technique
he formed to become a Force Ghost), only using his dying breath to make sure Obi-Wan trains Anakin to become a
Jedi.
QUI-GON JIN
THE PHANTOM MENACE NOVEL.
 When we first meet Qui-Gon he's just as stoic as he was in the movie but this time he seems to ponder more, he
asks more questions and theorizes often.
 Qui-Gon seems to enjoy the presence of Obi-Wan's comedic jabs a little bit more in the book it shows a fun side to
Qui-Gon that we don't see a lot of in the movie.
 He shows his intelligence in the book by doing a lot of preparing before the journey. He studied everything that he
needed to know about naboo as he was going to be there for a while. In the book it talks about how he memorized
the names and appearances of the wildlife that inhabit the area.
 We hear in the book from Obi-Wan's perspective that Qui-Gon is always helping people even if he it wasn’t his
business. “Obi-Wan shook his head in frustration, his mentor was too eager to involve himself, but it was not
necessary. He was too quick to adopt causes that were not his own it would cost him time and time again with the
Jedi council and one day it would be his undoing.”
 In the book were told that Qui-Gon has a different view on what being a Jedi means, as he uses his power to help
anyone regardless and he doesn't care if the Jedi Council sees his ambitions as being reckless and not worth the
council's time. “He repeatedly defied the council on matters that Obi Wan thought barely worthy of championing,
he was possessed by his own peculiar vision of a Jedi's purpose, of the nature of his service and the causes he
should undertake, and he followed their vision with unwavering single mindedness.”
 Qui-Gon gives a lot more advice in the book than he does in the movie, taking several opportunities to teach his
apprentice new ways of looking at things with new perspectives. When Obi-Wan doesn't see a reason to keep
people like Jar Jar and Anakin around, seeing it as their just getting in the way of the Jedi’s mission.
OBI-WAN KANOBI
THE PHANTOM MENACE MOVIE.
 Obi-Wan starts off as unfocused on the mission at hand and is worrying about something else he feels
in the force. Obi Wan states as such when he says, “I have a bad feeling about this.” Implying that he's
worried for something else that has nothing to do with the task at hand.
 Despite the less than stellar conflict they find themselves in, Obi-Wan being the more lighthearted of
the two decides to crack jokes to lighten the mood, saying things like “You were right the negotiations
were short.” The jokes don’t stop there, as the first-time he was near Anakin, he said “Why do I sense
we’ve picked up another pathetic lifeform?”
 Obi-Wan seems to be someone who follows the rules and tends to question why people like Qui-Gon
are so adamant on doing things their own way.
 Obi-Wan starts to show his flaws when he’s shown to trust the Jedi Council over his own master who
he’s spent the entire movie with. He believes in maintaining order through following the rules and not
through compassion for others.
 During the big fight against Darth Maul after seeing the death of his mentor you can really see his
anger and frustration as his graceful fighting style turns to one of brutal slashes with his lightsaber.
 Obi-Wan promises to Qui-Gon that he will mentor young Anakin even though the Jedi Council don't
want Anakin to be mentored. Obi-Wan finds that he would rather honor his master then follow the
rigid rules of the council.
 OBI-WAN KANOBI
THE PHANTOM MENACE NOVEL

 Obi-Wan seems to be a lot more light-hearted in the book. Cracking a few more jokes than
he did in the movie like “Offhand I think this mission is past the negotiation stage.”
 Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon have a much more interesting relationship in the book. Instead of
just being master and apprentice they seem to joke around and talk more like they’re
friends, which makes sense seeing is that they’ve been around each other for quite a few
years before the events of the story.
 In the movie Obi-Wan seemed a little more competent than in book which further
emphasizes that he is an apprentice. He makes more errors and minor mistakes that you
would expect someone who's still learning to make.
 In the movie he's mostly quiet, just listening to his master, while in the book we hear more
of what's going on inside his head, a lot of regret and wondering why Qui-Gon is doing
what he's doing.
 Obi-Wan seems to be a lot more irritated in the book than he is in the movie. He seems to
constantly get annoyed at the detours that the two Jedi are doing, constantly complaining
about Jar Jar and Anakin through the book.
JAR JAR BINKS
THE PHANTOM MENACE MOVIE.
 Jar Jar’s first scene on Naboo he is flailing and fumbling around like an idiot to the point Qui-gon Jin must think
fast and knock him over so that the trade federations vehicles cannot run him over. Jar jar continues to be stupid
by saying things like “more droids, more did you speak?” Even though he just saw a whole bunch of droids a few
minutes ago. he is so clumsy that he ended up getting kicked out of his own city. In his words he says, “mesa
caused one or two accidents, you'd say boom da gasser, the crashed the bosses hibibbler then banished.” So, he
blew up a “Gasser” and crashed his bosses ship, I guess? Jar Jar is hard to understand in the movie. This is a
common trait he shows in the movie.
 He may be dumb, but he surprisingly has his uses, as when the two Jedi are being chased down Jar Jar takes
them to the hidden underwater city in Naboo. Without this the Jedi probably would have been overrun so I
guess he's kind of helpful.
 Jar Jar is shown to be a very paranoid and scared individual most likely due to his roots of being on a safe planet
where there's no real action occurring. He also does not seem to have a great understanding of morals in the
movie as he happily steals food from Anakin and his mother even though they are slaves and food is quite
scarce for them.
 He is seen throughout the entire movie constantly getting into trouble due to his stupidity and clumsiness, like
on Tatooine when he accidentally throws food at Sebulba, almost getting him killed if not for Anakin’s quick wit.
Another time is when he almost hurts his allies in the battle for Naboo by being clumsy.
 Jar Jar shows a lot of growth throughout the movie in that he slowly takes up a leadership role for the Gungans
and even becomes a general during the war on Naboo. Overall he definitely shows growth over the story.
JAR JAR BINKS
THE PHANTOM MENACE NOVEL.
 Jar Jar’s feels a little less stupid than he does in the movie, just being a little slower than the
average person. Instead of flailing around like an idiot when the Trade Federation's vehicles
rolled around, he was distracted because he was trying to eat something at the time , meaning he's
less stupid but has issues staying focused.
 Jar Jar at the beginning of the book seems to have a distaste for the people of Nab oo because
they think they're smarter than Gungans. Upon spending more time with the people of Naboo he
starts to gain an understanding that they don't exactly think they're smarter and so he learns to
accept them.
 During the scene with the R2 units Jar Jar seems a lot less stupid and a lot more confused and
curious. We get his perspective on the matter and it's easier to understand where he's coming
from. He was shoved into the storage area and just told don’t move so I see where the confusion
would stick.
 Being able to get Jar Jars perspective in the book really turned the character from a very
annoying stupid individual to one that was just scared and nervous because he was thrusted into
this adventure without knowing what was going on. Which was quite good for his character
because near the end of the book during the war on Naboo it feels less like he's being an idiot
and more like he's trying his best to be better, to help people.
ANAKIN SKYWALKER
THE PHANTOM MENACE MOVIE.
 When we first see Anakin Skywalker it's on the desert planet Tatooine when his slave owner tells him to “Get in here “ he is
shown to be a snarky kid who likes to talk back. Also, in the first scene he shows up in he immediately starts complementing
Padme showing his early interest in the girl. Anakin is a bit of a cocky kid who talks highly about himself to people that he just
met, saying things like “I've been a pilot all my life and one day I'm going to fly off this planet.” even though is very young and
is mostly saying this to impress Padme. He also doesn't like to be identified as just another slave and not a person. When he's
talking with Padme on Tatooine she asks if he's a slave to which he responds. “I am a person named Anakin.” Anakin seems to
have a better relationship with Watto in the movie than he does in the book. With Watto not yelling at him as much, even
allowing him to go home early after doing work. Anakin seems to be a bit of a tinker of sorts as he shows in the movie, he built
C3PO and his pod racer.
 According to the movie Anakin has so many midi-chlorian in his blood that's more than any other Jedi. Which is why he's so
good at the force at such a young age.
 Anakin seems to lean on Padme for emotional support the same way he usually does with his mom even after he left Tatooine
which makes sense he was only a young boy at the time when he left.
 Anakin is in constant fear of his mother being lost seeing is that she is the only person who loved and appreciated him for all
his life the Jedi council believes that he shouldn't be in fear at all of anything because fear leads to anger which is a path down
to the dark side.
 Anakin starts to learn a lot from Qui-Gon in the little time he's with him in the movie, Qui-Gon didn't exactly play by the rules
and Anakin starts to do the same bending Qui-Gons words to have a different meaning. The primary example being when
Anakin must stay in the cockpit and he ends up bending Qui-Gons words by still helping take down the trade federations army
with the ship that he was supposed to stay in saying. “Qui-Gon told me to stay in the cockpit and that's just what I'm going to
do.” He says as he's flying around in the ship. By the end Anakin seems ready and content to be trained in the ways of the
force. As he learned from master Qui-Gon, he knows he's strong with the force and that if he puts in enough dedication, he
can be a Jedi.
ANAKIN SKYWALKER
THE PHANTOM MENACE NOVEL.
 The book starts with Anakin Skywalker pod racing on Tatooine. Which is different from the movie where Anakin
doesn't get introduced until halfway through the movie.
 The book goes in depth into Anakin's love for pod racing because of the thrill and speed he gets through pod racing.
 Anakin's use of the force dates back way before Qui-Gon Jin and Obi Wan Kenobi found him. His first use of the force
is when he could sense his arch enemy’s pod racer try to use an illegal weapon to destroy his pod.
 We get more glimpses into Anakin's home life. Being constantly berated by Watto, as well as the justification Anakin
has for hating his pod racing rival because of how many times his rival has cheated and almost killed him Anakin was
able to use the force to prevent himself from dying several times.
 We get more time to see Anakin and his mother bonding and see how much love and appreciation they have for each
other with his mother always being there for him when he needs her always there to comfort and support him.
 We get more interactions with Anakin's childhood friends Kitster and Wald. We also get a cool moment where Anakin
and his friends talk with an old Republic pilot that acted as a mentor character, giving him advice like “Sometimes
you're born one thing and die something else.”
 The book gives us a reason for why Anakin was building C3PO in the first place, something we never got in the movie.
In the movie it was just explained away as a personal project but in the book C3PO served a different purpose. “It was
enough to do the job he required of it he concluded which was to accompany him on his bartering mission, the Droid
could listen in on the Jawa in their own peculiar language which Anakin did not understand or speak particularly well
by doing so he could let Anakin know if they were trying to slip anything by him.”
 We get a lot more scenes with Anakin through the entire book and we find out a lot more about how he feels towards the
Republic and Tatooine. We start to understand more about his day-to-day life and why he wants to explore and see new
things because his life on Tatooine is not all that good and it further solidifies that in the book .
MOVIE VS NOVEL
WHICH IS BETTER AT PRESENTING THE
CHARACTERS?
 I think when it comes to fight scenes the movie excelled at body language . Being able to see Obi-Wan's
anger in frustration when he sees his best friend and master killed in front of him . His fighting style goes
from trained warrior who studied lightsaber combat to one of someone who just wants to end Darth maul .
Frantically slashing away at him.
 “The sword fights got a lot better too, remember when Darth Vader and Obi-Wan were just kind of
tapping those light sticks together? no this is a straight on battle and it looks amazing it's still impressive
even years later!”- walker, Doug. “Star Wars: Episode I - the Phantom Menace - Disneycember 2015.”
YouTube, YouTube, 16 Dec. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=akx4KUP38Ek.
 However, I personally believe that the book did the characterization of the characters way better . It really
shows how good the characterization is when you end up sympathizing for a character as stupid as Jar Jar
Binks. Being able to get Obi-wan's perspective on things instead of just having him standing in the
background watching things happen like he does in the movie is one of the main reasons I feel like the
book was a lot better at portraying characters.
 I also believe that the book was a lot better at developing Anakin's character because of how many times
we get to see what Anakin's been doing. We get to see his perspective pod racing before the Jedi showed
up, we get to see his experiences on Tatooine before his life changed. Things like his first interaction
with a Tuscan Raider or how he was able to get a hyperdrive converter from a Jawa caravan via trading.
In the movie it didn't even say where they obtained the hyperdrive converter, they just had it .
 I'm not the only one to think this,
“I would recommend The Phantom Menace to all Star Wars fans simply because it fills in the gaps of
narrative information that we don't get in the film, much of which I might add is actually information that
George Lucas couldn't squeeze into the film due to its truncated running time and haphazard
storytelling.”- Hendrickson, Kevis. Review of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace 8 May 2009.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Lucas, George, director. Star Wars the Phantom Menace. Stream Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Nat Geo, 18 May 1999, https://www.disneyplus.com/en-gb/movies/star-wars-the-
phantom-menace-episode-i/2ezYynkgW1AH.
 Brooks, Terry, and George Lucas. The Phantom Menace. Ballantine Pub. Group, 2000.
 walker, Doug. “Star Wars: Episode I - the Phantom Menace - Disneycember 2015.” YouTube, YouTube, 16 Dec. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=akx4KUP38Ek.
 Hendrickson, Kevis. Review of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace 8 May 2009