One ofStar Wars’most controversial characters also represented one of Hollywood’s most revolutionary technological advancements. WhenStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menacewas first released, critics and older audiences widely panned the inclusion of Ahmed Best’s character,Jar Jar Binks, resorting to calling the character goofy, unintelligible, and unnecessary. The criticism soon snowballed, however, attacking Best personally, to the point that it became detrimental to his mental health.
Nowadays, thankfully, Best’s performance is being re-evaluated by older and newer audiences alike, and his recent return to the franchise, both as Jar Jar and asJedi Master Kelleran Beq, has been a triumph. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the second season ofLight & Magic, Lucasfilm’s documentary about the history of Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the visual effects company George Lucas founded to help him produceStar Wars.Best’s legacy arguably changed Hollywood forever.
The second season ofLight & Magicexplores how ILM’s focus slowly shifted from optical and practical effects to digital effects. George Lucas’ vision for the secondStar Warstrilogy was immense; he knew it couldn’t be made with traditional analogue techniques. Instead, he opted to wait roughly 15 years afterReturn of the Jedito start working onThe Phantom Menace.
One of the biggest obstacles in eventually creatingThe Phantom Menacewas bringing the character of Jar Jar Binks to life. They had Ahmed Best for the physicality and the voice, but the design required something that had never been done before. Not to that extent, at least, as explained by animation supervisor Rob Coleman:
“Having that character sharing a screen with Ewan and Liam and Natalie, who are alive and breathing and naturally engaging for the audience, and having to have that digital character holding his own, that was a very tall order for us at the time … George wanted Jar Jar driven, absolutely physically, by Ahmed.”
AsLight & Magicseason 2 explores, ILM researched several techniques, which originally included merely animating parts of Jar Jar’s body, especially from the neck up. They did this until it became clear that it was easier (and probably cheaper) to animate the entire thing. That’s whenmotion capture became involved, putting Best in that“revealing catsuit”with the little pompoms – otherwise known as targets – we all know so well. The rest is history.
What they made changed how CGI characters were used in action-adventure movies forever. Nothing had ever been done on that scale before.
“It was so experimental at the time,“Best says in the documentary, “None of us knew what would work and what wouldn’t work. But because we were all together and because George had so much faith in it, we really made something special.”
What they made changed how CGI characters were used in action-adventure movies forever. Nothing had ever been done on that scale before, butit paved the way for beloved and extremely realistic CGI characterslike Yoda in the otherStar Warsprequel movies, Gollum inThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy, Davy Jones inPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,Thanos in the MCU, and so many more, to be brought to life.
Our Take On Jar Jar Binks In The Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
In the ILM documentary, Best reveals how the acerbic backlash against his performance and the character made him feel isolated and depressed. People praised the movie’s digital effects, butthe use of full-body CGI somehow made it even harder for audiences to separate the actor from the character he was portraying. This is an issue that remains prevalent today. Disliking a character isn’t a reason to go after the actor playing them; they’re just doing their job. Best explained his point of view in the documentary’s second episode:
“It really was just draining, you know, to constantly have to defend the work. Even if you talk about the character, you’re talking about me. But it wasn’t just me as Jar Jar. We were Jar Jar. ILM was Jar Jar. George was Jar Jar. I’m the face of it, but it was all of us. I felt as if I let everybody down. I felt it was my fault. I was 26. What should have felt like the beginning of something quite wonderful felt like the end.
I think the lesson that was learned from everyone who does CGI characters now is to talk about the actor, and not just the character, as if the actors don’t exist. The hardest part about it is, I was the first person to do this, and I was the first Black man to do this. The erasure of artists, especially African-American artists, as pioneers in the industry is something that has been pervasive since the industry’s inception. And it’s something that needs to be talked about, and it’s something that needs to be rectified.”
Jar Jar Binks may have been too slapstick at times, too goofy, but there’s no denying that Ahmed Best gave it his all, and his passion forStar Warsis infectious throughout the documentary. Additionally, as Lucas points out inLight & Magic, Jar Jar was a big hit, even then, with the demographic Lucas originally madeStar Warsfor: 12-year-old kids. Jar Jar played an important role in the prequel trilogy – he made theStar Warsgalaxy feel more alien, lived in, and fantastical.
All episodes ofLight & Magicseason 2 are now streaming on Disney+.
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