Watto
Encyclopedia
Watto is a fictional character in the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...

universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....

, featured in the films The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...

and Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. It is the fifth film to be released in the Star Wars saga and the second in terms of the series' internal chronology...

. He is computer-generated
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...

 and played by voice actor Andy Secombe
Andy Secombe
Andrew Secombe , better known as Andy Secombe, is a Welsh actor, voice actor, and author.He played Rover the Dog in the Channel 4 children's series Chips Comic....

. He is a mean-tempered, greedy Toydarian, and owner of a second-hand goods store in Mos Espa on the planet Tatooine
Tatooine
Tatooine is a fictional planet and setting for many key scenes in the Star Wars saga, appearing in every Star Wars film except The Empire Strikes Back, although it is mentioned at the end of the movie...

. Among Watto's belongings are the slave
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

s Shmi Skywalker and her son, Anakin. He acquires them after winning a podracing bet with Gardulla the Hutt, and he puts them both to work in his store. Anakin demonstrates an incredible aptitude for equipment repair, and Watto decides to profit from it by having the boy fix various broken equipment in the store. He eventually loses Anakin in a podracing bet with Qui-Gon Jinn
Qui-Gon Jinn
Qui-Gon Jinn is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, and a main protagonist of the 1999 film Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, portrayed by Liam Neeson. He also appears in the Star Wars Expanded Universe of comic books, video games, and novels...

 when he bets on a competitor, Sebulba, who is defeated by Anakin.

Watto has been criticized for being an apparent anti-Semitic stereotype of Jewish people, due to his sloped nose, accent, stubble, slave-ownership, and greed.

Concept and creation

Initial designs for Watto were of a more bird-like nature, including plumage and a beak. Another design included tentacles and a cigar. Watto's face originated in an early Neimoidian picture by design director Doug Chiang
Doug Chiang
Doug Chiang is an American film designer and artist. He was born in Taipei, Taiwan in 1962 and grew up in the United States.Chiang studied film at UCLA and industrial design at the College for Creative Studies. During the late 1980s he worked at various production studios including Rhythm and Hues...

. The hooked trunk and crooked teeth were carried over to the Toydarian design. Animation supervisor Rob Coleman realized that the alien's dental work would need some modification when the time came to create Watto on screen, as Watto's craggy teeth made lip-syncing difficult. To solve the problem, Coleman broke off one of Watto's incisors, giving him a "corner-of-the-mouth" vernacular. The sound of his wings flapping is a looped recording of sound designer Ben Burtt
Ben Burtt
Benjamin "Ben" Burtt, Jr. is an American sound designer who has worked on various films including: the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, Invasion of the Body Snatchers , E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , and WALL-E...

 opening and closing an umbrella
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain...

.

Appearances

Watto first appears in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...

, the first title chronologically in the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...

series. He has both an ability for haggling and a resistance to the "Jedi mind trick," a technique used to persuade people. He is both a junk dealer and slave owner on the planet Tatooine
Tatooine
Tatooine is a fictional planet and setting for many key scenes in the Star Wars saga, appearing in every Star Wars film except The Empire Strikes Back, although it is mentioned at the end of the movie...

, possessing both Shmi Skywalker and her son Anakin. When challenged to a bet for Anakin's freedom, Watto agrees. After Anakin beats Sebulba, a competing racer that he challenged throughout the race he participated in, he was let go. Watto makes a final appearance in the sequel Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. It is the fifth film to be released in the Star Wars saga and the second in terms of the series' internal chronology...

, which takes place 10 years after the original film. Watto had since sold Shmi to a moisture farmer named Cliegg Lars.

Watto makes multiple appearances in the Star Wars series' Expanded Universe
Expanded Universe
The term Expanded Universe is generally used to denote the 'extension' of a media franchise with other media...

. One appearance details his time on his home planet before he came to Tatooine during a war. It also tells how he sustained his broken tusk and disabled leg. He later learns his business savvy from the Jawas, native to the planet Tatooine. His final appearance is in the non-canonical
Star Wars canon
The Star Wars canon consists of the six Star Wars feature films, along with all officially licensed, non-contradicting spin-off works to the six films. As once defined by Lucas Licensing:- History :...

 Star Wars comic book Star Wars: Visionaries, which reveals that Watto is killed when Darth Maul
Darth Maul
Darth Maul is a fictional character in the science fiction saga Star Wars. He is one of the main antagonists of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, portrayed by martial artist Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz....

, antagonist of The Phantom Menace, encounters him after tracking down his nemesis, Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is one of several primary characters in the Star Wars series. Along with Darth Vader, R2-D2, and C-3PO, he is one of the few major characters to appear in all six Star Wars films...

, to gain vengeance for his defeat during the Battle of Naboo.

Reception

In the book The Holy Family and Its Legacy, author Albrecht Koschorke discusses the presence of "The Holy Family" in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...

, stating that while there was no "solicitous guardian watching over the mother and the holy child," Watto acts in a similar position as a "man who possesses patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...

al powers without being the father."

It has been suggested that this character is offensive because he resembles a stereotypical Jewish caricature. He has a large nose, beady eyes, and speaks in a gravelly, Jewish-sounding accent and is portrayed as greedy and covetous, another common stereotype of Jews. J. Hoberman of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...

called him a blatant ethnic stereotype due to his hooked nose. Bruce Gottlieb of Slate magazine criticized him as well, comparing his character to the anti-Semitic notion that the Jewish race is "behind the slave trade." Patricia J. Williams of The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...

stated that Watto was also described as a stereotype of Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

s, but that he was "more comprehensively anti-Semitic -- both anti-Arab and anti-Jew." She added that Watto reminded her of an "anti-Semitic caricature published in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 at the turn of the 20th century." Jane Prettyman of the American Review noted that after leaving the theater, she heard two young boys describe him as 'that weird little Jewish guy with wings,' describing his depiction as "not at all subtle," and that "it can be counted on to flush out already-formed Jew-haters among young audiences and give them permission to continue their hatred out loud." Editors for IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

ranked Watto 78th in their list of Star Wars characters. They wrote that he was "one of the most confusing scientific anomalies" due to "the idea that a creature so potbellied is able to stay afloat for so long". They added that he was "no prince" for his unscrupulous deals.
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