We continue our analysis of the Phantom Menace screenplay with this scene, wherein Jar Jar Binks leads Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn to the Gungan City.
Screenplay excerpted from this site:
http://www.supershadow.com/star_wars/episode_1/the_phantom_menace/script.html
script copyright George Lucas
EXT. NABOO SWAMP LAKE - TWILIGHT
QUI-GON, OBI-WAN and JAR JAR run into a murky lake and stop
as JAR JAR tries to catch his breath. The TRANSPORTS ARE
HEARD in the distance.
QUI-GON
Much farther?
JAR JAR
Wesa goen underwater, okeyday?
QUI-GON and OBI-WAN pull out small capsule from their utility
belts that turn into breathing masks.
JAR JAR
My warning yous. Gungans no liken
outlaunders. Don't expict a wern
welcome.
OBI-WAN
Don't worry, this has not been our
day for warm welcomes.
JAR JAR jumps, does a double somersault with a twist, and
dives into the water.
Breath masks on, QUI-GON and OBI-WAN wade in after him.
EXT. NABOO LAKE - UNDERWATER
QUI-GON and OBI-WAN swim behind JAR JAR, who is very much at
home in the water. Down they swim into murky depths. In the
distance the glow of Otoh Gunga, an underwater city made up
of large bubbles, becomes more distinct.
They approach the strange, art nouveau habitat. JAR JAR swims
magically through one of the bubble membranes, which seals
behind him. OBI-WAN and QUI-GON follow.
INT. OTOH GUNGA - CITY SQUARE
GUNGANS in the square scatter when they see the strange JEDI.
Four GUARDS armed with long electro-poles ride two-legged
KAADUS into the square. The GUARDS, led by CAPTAIN TARPALS,
point their lethal poles at the dripping trio.
JAR JAR
Heyo-dalee, Cap'n Tarpals, Mesa back!
CAPT. TARPALS
Noah gain, Jar Jar. Yousa goen tada
Bosses. Yousa in big dudu this time.
CAPT. TARPALS gives JAR JAR a slight zap with his power pole.
JAR JAR jumps and moves off, followed by the two JEDI.
JAR JAR
How wude.
INT. OTOH GUNGA - HIGH TOWER BOARD ROOM
The Bosses' Board Room has bubble walls, with small lighted
fish swimming around outside like moving stars. A long
circular judge's bench filled with GUNGAN OFFICIALS dominates
the room. OBI-WAN and QUI-GON stand facing BOSS NASS, who
sits on a bench higher than the others.
BOSS NASS
Yousa cannot bees hair. Dis army of
mackineeks up dare tis new weesong!
QUI-GON
That droid army is about to attack
the Naboo. We must warn them.
BOSS NASS
Wesa no like da Naboo! Un dey no
like uss-ens. Da Naboo tink day so
smarty den us-ens. Day tink day brains
so big.
OBI-WAN
After those droids take control of
the surface, they will come here and
take control of you.
BOSS NASS
No, mesa no tink so. Mesa scant talkie
witda Naboo, and no nutten talkie it
outlaunders. Dos mackineeks no comen
here! Dey not know of uss-en.
OBI-WAN
You and the Naboo form a symbiont
circle. What happens to noe of you
will affect the other. You must
understand this.
BOSS NASS
Wesa wish no nutten in yousa tings,
outlaunder, and wesa no care-n about
da Naboo.
QUI-GON
(waves his hand)
Then speed us on our way.
BOSS NASS
Wesa gonna speed yousaway.
QUI-GON
We need a transport.
BOSS NASS
Wesa give yousa una bongo. Da speedest
way tooda Naboo tis goen through da
core. Now go.
QUI-GON
Thank you for your help. We go in
peace.
QUI-GON and OBI-WAN turn to leave.
OBI-WAN
Master, whats a bongo?
QUI-GON
A transport, I hope.
The JEDI notice JAR JAR in chains to one side, waiting to
hear his verdict.
QUI-GON stops. JAR JAR gives him a forlorn look.
JAR JAR
Daza setten yous up. Goen through da
planet core is bad bombin!!
QUI-GON
Thank you, my friend.
JAR JAR
Ahhh...any hep hair would be hot.
JAR JAR's soulful look is counterpointed by a sheepish grin.
OBI-WAN
We are short of time, Master.
QUI-GON
We'll need a navigator to get us
through the planet's core. This Gungan
my be of help.
QUI-GON walks bact to BOSS NASS.
QUI-GON
What is to become of Jar Jar Binks
here?
BOSS NASS
Binkss brokeen the nocombackie law.
Hisen to be pune-ished.
QUI-GON
He has been a great help to us. I
hope the punishment will not be too
severe.
BOSS NASS
Pounded unto death.
JAR JAR
(grimacing)
Oooooh...Ouch!
OBI-WAN looks concerned. QUI-GON is thinking.
QUI-GON
We need a navigator to get us through
the planet's core. I have saved Jar
Jar Binks' life. He owes me what you
call a "life debt."
BOSS NASS
Binks. Yousa havena liveplay with
thisen hisen?
JAR JAR nods and joins the JEDI. QUI-GON waves his hand.
QUI-GON
Your gods demand that his life belongs
to me now.
BOSS NASS
Hisen live tis yos, outlauder. Begone
wit him.
JAR JAR
Count mesa outta dis! Better dead
here, den deader in da core...Yee
guds, whata mesa sayin?!
Deep cleansing breaths to get past Gunganspeak...
ReplyDeleteSo, THAT'S what a kaadu is and how to spell it.
I cannot accept that Jar Jar can turn a double somersault. I get that we're supposed to believe that he's graceful underwater and only a total douchebag on land, but air != water.
Other than that and the fact that this visit lasts all of twenty seconds, I only have two major objections.
1) I don't think Obi-wan understands what symbiotes are. I have the distinct impression that these two societies could completely ignore each other for all eternity and neither would suffer.
2) Through the planet's core?!? Underwater. I... I just can't.
I can accept that Jar Jar is stupid but I see no reason why Boss Nass is stupid, other than Lucas is saying the Gungans are stupid, in WHICH case I don't see how they built this awesome underwater city.
ReplyDeleteThis scene is way too cartoony for me. Jar Jar is in deep dudu? REALLY? We're using that term in a freaking Star Wars movie?
Some of the Gungan jive talk is incomprehensible. Unnecessary.
It appears that Lucas's understanding of symbiosis is surpassed only by his expertise in the terms "android" and "parsec."
Ok, yes, the fact that the entire species is stupid is Main Objection #3. I mean, I suppose it's possible, but as you point out, their tech begs to differ.
DeleteOoo! Ooo! Unless they got their tech from the Naboo, symbiotically! What do they give in return?
Uncanny wisdom and maturity in their teenage girls?
DeleteWell, we don't knowingly see any female gungans, do we?
ReplyDeleteWhat does this mean anyway:
ReplyDelete"Dis army of
mackineeks up dare tis new weesong!"
Lucas's effort to be cute has rendered him inpenetrable.
Here's a question: When did Lucas's ability to cute jump the shark?
He cuted brilliantly in Star Wars. R2D2, the Jawas, both cute but not to the point of sickening. Both also have a bit of the sinister in them. The Jawas are thieves/scavengers. R2D2 is cranky and likes to zap things. There's some balance there. Plus the Jawas getting freaking murdered en masse.
Empire comes along. Yoda is cute for his first scene, and then suddenly transforms himself from daft and immature troglodyte to, well, Yoda. Again balance.
Alright, Return of the Jedi. Now, I admit I love muppets and accordingly am greatly entertained by Jabba's wacky pet, Salacious Crumb. But Salacious Crumb has no place in a Star Wars movie. I'd hate to lose him. I would miss him and wish he was there. But he should not be there. NONETHELESS, the rest of Jabba's retinue is so vicious and bloodthirsty and decidedly not funny, I could let ol' Salacious slide even if I didn't like him.
Okay, that leads us to the most aggregious cuteness in the Trilogy, the Ewoks. We've all speculated for years about how awesome it would have been if the Wookies could have brought their LifeDay celebrations to Endor and partied with the stormtroopers. I guess that population of natives had to be stone age, so that the Empire would not have even considered them a threat, and that precluded the Wookies (with their laser rifles and their Jefferson Starship videos). Given that, though, there was no reason to make the Ewoks as cute and lovable as they were. I think Lucas gave it a shot, actually--there is some tension about whether or not the Ewoks are going to eat Han Solo after all, but it's still difficult to envision them REALLY taking out all those Jango Fett clones. Over cuteness, bordering on criminal. But at least the Ewoks are legitimately cute.
Lucas has clearly caught the cute bug, though, and if it's not yet a terminal case as of the shooting of Jedi, it's clearly worsening, as we see in Willow a few years later.
But I digress.
By the time of Phantom Lucas has gone through cute and out the other side. Jar Jar is like a caricature of cute that comes out as stupid. He's like a sugar-coated, disturbing cross between Ren & Stimpy and The Teletubbies.
where by aggregious I mean egregious
ReplyDeleteSo I know how everyone (except me) hates the Ewoks, but how can Jar Jar be soooo much worse? I like Ewoks and can't stand Jar Jar. For some reason I had never thought of Jawas as cute, until you mentioned it.
ReplyDeleteI adored the jawas. I enjoyed the ewoks as a kid, and came to hate them later. Jar Jar... I just can't even parse. I like cte's Cute Progression Theory.
ReplyDeleteI'm sticking with my (new) theory that the Gungans get their tech from the Naboo, and give them tasty, tasty seaweed or something.
NEXT!
The Ewoks were made for Happy Meals. It is the only explanation. And don't get me started on stone age vs. technology. There's a reason technology ascends.
ReplyDeletethe Gungans are caricatures based on the blackface traditions of Vaudeville and the early movies. I cannot see how the studio approved them.
As ctelendil, wrote, if they are that stupid, how did they build a city underwater? But then maybe we judge to quickly. If the only humans you saw were a buffoon like Jar Jar and an inner city politician, humans would look pretty badly as well.
Maybe they're like the piggies, and the wives make all the real decisions. They let Boss Nass strut around with all the "governing" while the wives are off making fancy underwater cities and moving energy shields to be deployed in mass land battles.
ReplyDeletewait, what piggies? We talking Speaker for the Dead here? Because I don't remember it that well, except for the piggies growing trees out of their navels.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Gungans, that sergeant-at-arms dude does seem relatively normal.