View source for Watto

{{short description|Fictional character in Star Wars}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Watto
| series = [[Star Wars]]
| image = Watto EPI TPM.png
| alt = 
| caption = Watto as he appears in ''Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace''
| first = ''[[Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace|The Phantom Menace]]'' (1999)
| firstgame = 
| last = 
| creator = [[George Lucas]]
| voice = {{ubl|[[Andy Secombe]]<br>(''Episode I–II'')|[[Brian Drummond]]<br>(''Droid Tales'')|[[Danny Jacobs (actor)|Danny Jacobs]]<br>(''[[Lego Star Wars Terrifying Tales]]'')}}
| species = Toydarian
| gender = Male
| occupation = Junk store proprietor
| position = 
| lbl21 = Homeworld
| data21 = Toydaria
}}
'''Watto''' is a fictional character in the [[Star Wars|''Star Wars'' franchise]], featured in the films ''[[The Phantom Menace]]'' and ''[[Attack of the Clones]]''. He is [[Computer-generated imagery|computer-generated]] and is voiced by [[voice actor]] [[Andy Secombe]]. He is a mean-tempered, greedy [[Toydarian]], and owner of a second-hand goods store in Mos Espa on the planet [[Tatooine]]. Among Watto's belongings are the [[slave]]s [[Shmi Skywalker]] and her son, [[Darth Vader|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]] when he bets on a competitor, [[Sebulba]], who is defeated by Anakin.

==Concept and creation==
[[George Lucas]] was specific with the [[concept art]] team about what features he envisioned for Watto. Design director [[Doug Chiang]] described the character's design as "this conglomeration of odd things that really didn't fit, but that in the end gave him a very unique and powerful personality".<ref name="bts" /> Lucas dismissed concepts including a pudgy parrot by [[Terryl Whitlatch]] (though Whitlatch recalls one of her designs influencing the direction for the character)<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bouzereau |first1=Laurent |url=https://archive.org/details/starwarsmakingof00bouz/page/17/ |title=Star Wars: The Making of Episode I – The Phantom Menace |last2=Duncan |first2=Jody |publisher=Ballantine |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-345-43119-6 |location=New York |pages=17 |author-link1=Laurent Bouzereau}}</ref> and a four-armed beast with a cigar by Iain Craig.<ref name="bts" /> Chiang repurposed the head from one of his early [[Neimoidian]] designs, featuring a hooked trunk and crooked teeth,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bresman |first=Jonathan |url=https://archive.org/details/artofstarwarsepi00bres/page/155/ |title=The Art of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace |publisher=Del Rey |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-345-43108-0 |location=New York |pages=155}}</ref> and added [[hummingbird]] wings, meeting Lucas's approval. Additionally, Chiang gave Watto a vest and a tool belt, only asking for webbed feet and pants. Modeling supervisor Geoff Campell was skeptical of having a chubby alien with wings, so it was imagined that the Toydarians are filled with gas, with the wings propelling them instead of supporting their weight. Animation supervisor [[Rob Coleman]] realized that the alien's teeth would need some modification, as the 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. His expressions were based on video footage of voice actor [[Andy Secombe]], photographs of Coleman imitating the character, and modeler Steve Alpin saying Watto's lines to a mirror.<ref name=bts>{{cite web |url=https://www.starwars.com/episode-i/bts/production/f19990617/index.html |title=Watto's Character Development&nbsp;– From Concept to CG |date=June 17, 1999 |publisher=StarWars.com |access-date=April 5, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071112000442/http://www.starwars.com/episode-i/bts/production/f19990617/index.html |archive-date=November 12, 2007}}</ref> [[Alec Guinness]] performing as [[Fagin]] in ''[[Oliver Twist (1948 film)|Oliver Twist]]'' was used as an influence in the character's demeanor.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=G Force: George Lucas fires up the next generation of Star Warriors |last=Silberman |first=Steve |issue=5 |date=May 1999 |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |volume=7 |url=https://www.wired.com/1999/05/lucas/ |access-date=July 12, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410184952/http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/7.05/lucas_pr.html |archive-date=April 10, 2014}}</ref> The sound of his wings flapping is a looped recording of sound designer [[Ben Burtt]] opening and closing an [[umbrella]].

==Appearances==
Watto first appears in ''[[Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace]]'', the first title chronologically in the ''[[Star Wars]]'' 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]], possessing both [[Shmi Skywalker]] and her son [[Anakin Skywalker|Anakin]]. When challenged to a bet for Anakin's freedom by [[Qui-Gon Jinn]] along with what he needs to repair his damaged ship while letting him keep the rest of the winnings, and should Watto win the bet, he can keep Qui-Gon's ship. Watto agrees due to him refusing to take Republic change. After Anakin beats [[Sebulba]] (whom Watto bets on), a competing racer that he challenged throughout the race he participated in, he was let go. However, Watto (who thinks Qui-Gon scammed him) at first considers calling off the bet, but gives in when Qui-Gon threatens to tell the Hutts of his double-crossing. Watto makes a final appearance in the sequel ''[[Episode II – Attack of the Clones]]'', which takes place 10 years after ''The Phantom Menace''. The now-adult Anakin returns to Tatooine to find his mother. Searching Mos Espa, he finds Watto sitting outside the shop at a small stall. They reunite on somewhat amicable terms and Watto tells Anakin that he sold Shmi some years ago to a moisture farmer named [[Cliegg Lars]], who freed and married her. Watto then takes Anakin and [[Padmé]] to look through his records to find her.

Watto makes multiple further appearances in the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe|''Star Wars'' Expanded Universe]]; one such 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 [[Jawa (Star Wars)|Jawa]]s, native to the planet Tatooine. In the [[Star Wars canon|non-canonical]] ''Star Wars'' comic book ''Star Wars: Visionaries'', Watto is shown to have been killed by [[Darth Maul]] (whose appearance here predates the canonical revelation of his survival of the events of ''The Phantom Menace'') during Maul's process of tracking down his nemesis [[Obi-Wan Kenobi]], to gain vengeance for his defeat during the Battle of Naboo.

His son, Blatto, makes an appearance in the non-canonical television special ''[[Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars]]''.

There has been an uncommon amount of Watto merchandise made over the years since 1999. In 2019, the Watto [[Funko Pop]] was first realized at the 2019 Galactic Con as an Exclusive. Watto has also been produced as a [[Lego]] figure and featured in the [[Lego Star Wars|Lego ''Star Wars'']] video games, in addition to numerous other appearances in the form of collectibles and other merchandising.

==Reception==
Editors for [[IGN]] ranked Watto 78th in their list of Top 100 ''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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ign.com/star-wars-characters/78.html |title=Watto |work=[[IGN Entertainment, Inc.]] |access-date=18 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100815225722/http://www.ign.com/star-wars-characters/78.html |archive-date=15 August 2010}}</ref>
In the book ''The Holy Family and Its Legacy'', author Albrecht Koschorke discusses the presence of "The Holy Family" in ''The Phantom Menace'', 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]]al powers without being the father."<ref name="holyfamily">{{cite book |title=The Holy Family and Its Legacy: Religious Imagination from the Gospels to Star Wars |last=Koschorke |first=Albrecht |year=2003 |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |isbn=9780231127561 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yO8vWE_fbvAC |page=183 |access-date=27 February 2015 |translator-first=Thomas |translator-last=Dunlap}}</ref>

===Allegations of antisemitism and anti-Arab sentiment===
It has been suggested that the character is offensive because of his perceived similarities to a [[Jewish stereotype|stereotypical Jew]], having a large hooked nose, beady eyes, unkempt facial hair, speaking in a gravelly voice, and being portrayed as greedy and covetous. [[J. Hoberman]] of ''[[The Village Voice]]'' called him "the most blatant ethnic stereotype" due to his hooked nose.<ref>{{cite news |title=All Droid Up |newspaper=[[The Village Voice]] |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/film/all-droid-up-6419714 |access-date=25 February 2016 |date=May 19–25, 1999 |first=J. |last=Hoberman |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160709135651/http://www.villagevoice.com:80/film/all-droid-up-6419714 |archive-date=9 July 2016}}</ref> Bruce Gottlieb of [[Slate magazine]] criticized him as well, comparing his character to the [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] notion that the Jewish race is "behind the slave trade".<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Merchant of Menace |last=Gottlieb |first=Bruce |journal=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |date=May 27, 1999 |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/1999/05/the-merchant-of-menace.html |access-date=11 June 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051030152814/http://www.slate.com/id/29394/ |archive-date=30 October 2005}}</ref> [[Patricia J. Williams]] of ''[[The Nation]]'' stated that Watto was also described as a [[stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims in the United States|stereotype of Arabs]], but that he was "more comprehensively anti-Semitic—both anti-Arab and anti-Jew."<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/racial-ventriloquism/tnamp/ | title=Racial Ventriloquism }}</ref> She added that Watto reminded her of an "anti-Semitic caricature published in [[Vienna]] at the turn of the 20th century."<ref name="holyfamily"/>

Jane Prettyman of ''American Review'' noted that after leaving the theater, she heard two young boys describe him as "that weird little Jew guy with wings". Prettyman described his depiction as "not at all subtle", and said 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."<ref>{{cite journal |title=George Lucas serves up anti-Semitic stereotype in Star Wars Episode I |journal=[[American Review (website)|American Review]] |url=http://www.americanreview.us/back71.htm |access-date=11 June 2006 |date=June 3, 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060512082325/http://www.americanreview.us/back71.htm |archive-date=May 12, 2006 |first=Jane |last=Prettyman}}</ref> 

Others have disagreed with this interpretation.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kempshall |first1=Chris |title=The History and Politics of Star Wars Death Stars and Democracy |date=2022 |publisher=Taylor & Francis}}</ref> Andrew Howe states that Watto's "nose seems less a cultural referent to Shylock or Fagin than to an elephant's trunk".<ref>Douglas Brode and Leah Deyneka, Sex, Politics, and Religion in Star Wars: An Anthology , Lanham, Scarecrow Press, 2012, p.20</ref> Others have described Watto's accent as Italian, and not Jewish.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cocca |first1=Carolyn |title=Superwomen Gender, Power, and Representation |date=2018 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]] |page=119}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Canepari |first1=Michela |title=A New Paradigm for Translators of Literary and Non-Literary Texts |date=2022 |publisher=Brill |page=85}}</ref> Andy Secombe himself, who provided the voice of Watto, when asked about the similarities between the character and Fagin, stated that Watto is not Jewish, and the accent he used for voicing the character is Italian. He also cited [[Michael Ripper]]'s performance in [[Hammer Film Productions|Hammer films]] as inspiration.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Andy Secombe interview {{!}} Watto {{!}} Star Wars |url=http://starwarsinterviews1.blogspot.com/2010/01/andy-secombe-interview.html |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=Andy Secombe interview {{!}} Watto {{!}} Star Wars}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-08-19 |title=Interview with Andy Secombe, the voice behind WATTO! |url=https://cambridgestarwarssoc.wordpress.com/2020/08/19/interview-with-andy-secombe-the-voice-behind-watto/ |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=CUSWS |language=en}}</ref>

===Appearances in other media===
''[[Crazy Watto]]'' is a two-minute-long [[fan film]] that made its debut on the [[Internet]] in 2000. The film is a [[Parody|spoof]] of used car deal [[advertising|ads]] shown on [[television]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/pickle/archives/2005/05/crazy-watto-str.shtml|title='Crazy Watto' striking deals at Cannes|last=Pickle|first=Betsy|date=May 16, 2005|publisher=[[Knoxville News Sentinel]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100828013459/http://blogs.knoxnews.com/pickle/archives/2005/05/crazy-watto-str.shtml|archive-date=August 28, 2010|access-date=July 9, 2019}}</ref> featuring Watto. He offers up for sale familiar objects such as an [[X-wing]].<ref>{{cite web|date=February 23, 2003|title="CRAZY WATTO" review|url=https://www.runleiarun.com/fanfilms/crazywatto.html|access-date=July 9, 2019|website=RunLeiaRun.com}}</ref> The film played at the [[2005 Cannes Film Festival]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/events/star-wars-fans-to-play-cannes/|title=Star Wars Fans to Play Cannes|last=Ball|first=Ryan|date=May 12, 2005|publisher=[[Animation Magazine]]|access-date=July 9, 2019}}</ref> and is a popular fan film at many [[science fiction convention]]s. The film was originally hosted by [[TheForce.Net]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theforce.net/fanfilms/shortfilms/crazywatto/|title=TFN FanFilms - Short Films - Crazy Watto|website=[[TheForce.Net]]|access-date=July 9, 2019}}</ref> but is now part of [[The Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards]] on [[AtomFilms]].

Actor [[Griffin Newman]] portrays a version of the character as the co-host on ''[[The George Lucas Talk Show]]'', where he is the cantankerous, somewhat prankish sidekick to [[Connor Ratliff]]'s [[George Lucas]]. Newman has performed the character onstage and over numerous streaming performances, often clad in a tight blue spandex costume.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Star Wars Databank |subject=watto|text=Watto}}
* {{Wookieepedia|Watto}}

{{Star Wars prequel trilogy}}
{{Star Wars universe}}

[[Category:Characters created by George Lucas]]
[[Category:Fictional businesspeople]]
[[Category:Fictional gamblers]]
[[Category:Fictional shopkeepers]]
[[Category:Fictional slave owners]]
[[Category:Film characters introduced in 1999]]
[[Category:Male characters in film]]
[[Category:Race-related controversies in film]]
[[Category:Star Wars animated characters]]
[[Category:Star Wars Skywalker Saga characters]]