10 years of The Phantom Menace

This Tuesday marks the 10th anniversary of the release of "Star Wars Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace." It's hard to believe that it's been that long. I remember going on the opening day. My office pretty much shut down and we all went to an afternoon show together. It was such a thrill being in a packed theater and having every single person in the audience cheer when the words "Star Wars" appeared on the screen. The look of the title and the "a long time ago..." lead in were exactly the same as the three original films. I didn't fully believe I was seeing a new Star Wars film until the words "Episode I" scrolled up.

Many people were less than thrilled with this new creation from the mind of Lucas. I had a great time at the movies that day, and I still enjoy the film today. I admit it is probably the weakest of the Star Wars films, but the way the current generation has responded to this film and it's sequels over the last few years I think proves that it is not the films that changed, but the audience. Simply put, the children of the 70's grew up and many were unwilling to approach these films as they did when they were young.

So, in celebration of the film's 10th anniversary, here are a few of the things I love about The Phantom Menace:

- Giant Monsters

It must be the Godzilla fan in me, but I loved the giant undersea creatures that Qui Gon, Obi Wan, and Jar Jar encounter during their underwater bongo trip to Theed. Giant monsters are a Star Wars tradition, so it was fun to meet some of the aquatic variety.

- Watto

Watto, the junk dealer who owns Anakin and his mother, is a great character. I love his design...pot bellied, unshaven, broken teeth that won't fit behind his mouth...he looks like a guy who's spent too much time at the race track. He's also got one of the best character voices of the series. I wish we we could've seen more of him as the saga progressed.

- Pod Racing

The pod race sequence is one of the best action scenes in any of the Star Wars films. This is Lucas' imagination working on all cylinders. Just the idea of racers being dragged along by two giant engines at dizzying speeds is wonderfully insane by itself, but there's so much more to like about this race. The cast of alien drivers make this Episode 1's version of the cantina scene. The nods to the other Star Wars films are great...buzzing by some Jawas, Jabba the Hutt falling asleep at the race, and best of all, Tusken Raiders taking pot shots at the racers. Ingenious! But as good as the pod race is, it may not be the film's best moment, which leads us to...

- Duel of the Fates

It turns out that after all those years we really had no concept of what a real lightsaber battle was like. The moment when Darth Maul ignites his double-edged lightsaber had appeared in the first trailer for the film, so fans had played and replayed it hundred of times in the six months leading up to the film's release, yet there were still audible gasps in the audience when the moment came. The battle that followed was beyond what anyone had imagined. You've got to hand it to Lucas for not giving Darth Maul the same sort of sword fighting chit chat that Darth Vader was fond of in the original trilogy. It helped make this villain a creature of pure rage. I think my favorite moment of the duel is when, to open a door, Darth Maul points at an object on the floor, then points at a control panel to send the item hurling into it, thus opening the door. The music for this sequence also represents on of John Williams' finest moments in either of the trilogies.

So happy 10th anniversay Phantom Menace! Everyone grab your double-edged lightsaber and party like it's 1999, or at least watch the movie again.

Who hasn't seen "Star Wars"

You've heard "Star Wars" according to a 3 year old...well now, here's "Star Wars" according to someone who hasn't seen it.


Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

Star Wars ABC's

Over at Flickr, an artist going by the name of Tweetlebop has posted some great Star Wars related art. They are pages of a children's alphabet book using B & C level Star Wars characters to represent the different letters. It's a lot fun, check it out here.

Happy Vader?

The kids were off school today and I ended up staying home with them. So I did what any good Dad does on a day like that, we went to McDonalds!

I was thrilled to see that there were "Star Wars" toys in the Happy Meals. A kindly Mc-employee even gave me one which will soon take up residence in my office. I was struck though when I looked at one of the Happy Meal boxes my kids got. It featured the head of Darth Vader and in big letters the words "Happy Meal." It just seemed a bit strange seeing Vader and the word "Happy" in such close proximity. I mean, Darth Vader just isn't a happy guy. But I suppose the folks in the Mc-marketing department figured that calling it the "Burned to a crisp and stuffed into a walking iron lung meal" just didn't have the same ring to it.

A Long Time Ago at an Olympics Far Far Away

This evening I've been watching the opening ceremonies for the Beijing Olympics. First a side note, there is something seriously wrong with the world when BMX biking is an Olympic event but not baseball. OK, off the soap box.

I always find the creativity of the opening presentation to be interesting, if not a little weird, and this year was no exception. But as I was watching tonight I started to feel like something looked familiar. I saw this giant glowing ball with people floating and swirling around it and suddenly I'm picturing Star Wars Episode III. Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Pagueis the Wise?

I suppose my Star Wars geek brain has cooked in the Tatooine suns too much, but this year's opening ceremonies had me picturing Episode III's "opera." That scene had me scratching my head a bit. I mean it looked a bit like they were watching some sort of soap bubble performance artist being accompanied by the chants of Tibetan monks. Turns out it may have been the opening ceremonies of the Coruscant Olympics.

Image of Stars Wars Muppets Released

A few months ago it was announced that some figures of the Muppets playing different Star Wars characters were on the way. Some concept art has been available online for awhile, but today an image of the figures popped up over at starwars.com. So check out the link and see Kermit as Luke, Miss Piggy as Princess Leia, Fozzie Bear as Chewbacca, Gonzo as Darth Vader, Beaker as C3-PO and Rizzo the Rat as Yoda.

Here's the link: Star Wars Muppets

These will only be available at Disney Theme parks...Grrr. So if you're Magic Kingdom bound you know what to bring back for me.

Don't Talk back to Darth Vader

Say "Hello" to the internet's latest celebrity. Here is "Star Wars" according to a 3 year old

Darth Vader Cell Phone Spot

Earlier this week the MPAA held a screening of "Star Wars." This "turn off your cell phones" spot ran before the film. I think they should put this one in every theater.

"What message? The one you're carrying inside your rusty innards!"

The postal service is doing a promotion along with the 30th anniversary of Star Wars. There will be mailboxes all over the country made up to look like R2-D2! Check out this link over to TheForce.net to see a picture of one.

R2-D2 Mailbox