Plot
The Galactic Republic is in a period of decline. In response
to a taxation on trade routes, the Trade Federation organizes a blockade of battleships
around the planet of Naboo. Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum (Terrence Stamp)
dispatches two Jedi Knights, Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson)
and his Jedi apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor),
to negotiate with Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray (Silas Carson)
in hopes of resolving the issue. However, the Sith Lord Darth Sidious orders the Viceroy to kill the Jedi
and invade Naboo with an army of battle droids. The two Jedi escape the attempt
on their lives by stowing aboard landing craft and escaping to Naboo. There,
Qui-Gon saves Gungan outcast Jar Jar Binks (voiced by Ahmed Best)
from being crushed by a Federation tank. Indebted to the Jedi, Jar Jar leads
them to the underwater Gungan city of Otoh Gunga; there, the Jedi
unsuccessfully attempt to persuade the Gungans to help the people of Naboo,
though they are able to obtain a transport to reach the Capital city of Theed
on the surface.
The leader of Naboo, Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman),
is captured by the Federation army, but is rescued by the Jedi. The Queen
escapes Naboo with the Jedi on her personal starship, which is damaged on its
way through the blockade surrounding the planet, forcing them to land on Tatooine, a nearby desert
planet, for repairs. Qui-Gon ventures into the settlement of Mos Espa with Jar
Jar and the astromech droid R2-D2 to a junk shop to purchase a new
hyperdrive generator. The queen allows Padmé, a handmaiden, to journey along
with them. There, they meet a slave child named Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd),
a pilot and engineer who has created his own protocol droid, C-3PO. After spending time
with Anakin, Qui-Gon senses a strong presence of the Force within the boy, and suspects he may be
the "Chosen One" of Jedi prophecy who will bring balance to the
Force. Qui-Gon makes a bet with Anakin's owner, Watto (voiced by Andy Secombe),
to enter him in a podracing tournament; if Anakin wins, he will be freed.
Anakin manages to win the race and joins the group to be trained as a Jedi, but
he is forced to leave his mother Shmi (Pernilla August)
behind, as Qui-Gon was unable to arrange for her release. They are attacked by
Darth Sidious' apprentice, Darth Maul (played by Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz), who was dispatched to
capture the Queen.
Having escaped the attack, the Jedi
escort the Queen to the Republic's capital planet of Coruscant so she can plead her people's case to
the Galactic Senate. Qui-Gon asks the Jedi Council to train Anakin as a Jedi, but is
rejected. Meanwhile, Senator Palpatine of Naboo convinces the Queen to make a motion of no confidence in Valorum in attempt to vote for a
stronger Chancellor who will help end the conflict. She pushes such a vote, but
grows frustrated with the lack of action by the Galactic Senate, ultimately
deciding to return to Naboo with the Jedi.
Back on Naboo, Padmé
reveals herself to be the real Queen Amidala, the other "Queen" (Keira Knightley) having been a decoy. Padmé convinces the Gungans
to form an alliance against the Trade Federation. While Jar Jar leads his
people in a battle against the droid army, the Queen tries to capture Gunray in
Theed, Anakin pilots a vacant starfighter and joins the fight against the
Federation droid control ship in space and destroys the ship, deactivating the
droid army down on Naboo. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon encounter Darth Maul
once more and engage him in a lightsaber fight. Maul mortally wounds Qui-Gon,
but is defeated by Obi-Wan; Qui-Gon's dying request is for Obi-Wan to train
Anakin. Palpatine is elected as the new Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, the
Federation Viceroy is sent to stand trial for his crimes, Obi-Wan is bestowed
the rank of Jedi Knight, and the Jedi Council accepts Anakin as Obi-Wan's
apprentice. However, the Jedi are still mystified by the recent reemergence of
the Sith, and even at Qui-Gon's funeral they're left to wonder if Darth Maul
was a Sith master or merely a master's apprentice. At a festive ceremony, Padmé
presents a gift of appreciation and friendship to the Gungans. During a
Post-credit scene a blank screen is shown with Darth Vader's iconic breathing,
reminding the viewers of the fate of young Anakin Skywalker.
Cast
§ Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn:
A Jedi Master and
mentor to Obi-Wan. When he discovers Anakin, he insists that the boy be trained
as a Jedi, despite the protests of the council. Lucas originally envisioned an
American actor in the role, but cast Neeson, who is Irish, because he
considered Neeson to have great skills and presence, describing him as a
"master actor, who the other actors will look up to, who has got the
qualities of strength that the character demands."[3]
§ Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi:
Qui-Gon's young Jedi Padawan apprentice. He holds Qui-Gon in high regard, but
questions his motives at times. McGregor prepared for the role by watching Alec Guinness,
who portrayed the elderly Obi-Wan, in both the original Star Wars trilogy
and Guinness' early work.[3]
§ Natalie Portman as Queen Padmé
Amidala: The young queen of Naboo at 14 years of age, Amidala hopes
to protect her planet from a blockade brought on by the Trade Federation. Over
200 actresses were auditioned for the role,[4] with
production notes stating that "The role required a young woman who could
be believable as the ruler of that planet, but at the same time be vulnerable
and open." Portman was chosen especially for her performances in The Professional(1994)
and Beautiful Girls (1996), which
impressed Lucas.[3] He
stated, "I was looking for someone who was young, strong, along the lines
of Leia [and] Natalie embodied all those
traits and more."[3] The
actress was unfamiliar with Star Wars prior to being cast,[3] but
was enthused over being cast as the Queen of Naboo, a character she expected to
become a role model: "It was wonderful playing a young queen with so much
power. I think it will be good for young women to see a strong woman of action
who is also smart and a leader."[5]
§ Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker a
nine year old who dreams to became a Jedi like Kenobi and Jinn.
§ Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine/Darth
Sidious: The Senator of Naboo, who is eventually elected Chancellor
of the Republic. McDiarmid was surprised when Lucas approached him 16 years
after Return of the Jedi to reprise the role of Palpatine,
because he had assumed that a younger actor would play the part in the prequel
films.[6]
§ Ahmed Best as
the voice of Jar Jar Binks: A clumsy Gungan, exiled from his home but taken in
by Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. He accompanies them throughout the film. Best was hired
after Gurland saw him on a Stomp performance in San Francisco,[7] and
originally was just going to provide motion capturing, but after offering to
also voice the character, was accepted. He wandered in the set in a
foam-and-latex suit and headpiece to provide reference for the actors, with his
filmed performance later replaced by the computer-generated character.[8] Best
frequently improvised movements to make Jar Jar as clumsy and comedic as
possible.[7]
§ Pernilla August as Shmi Skywalker:
Anakin's mother. She is concerned for her son's future, and lets him leave with
the Jedi. August, a veteran of Swedish cinema, was chosen after auditioning
with Liam Neeson, although she was afraid of not being chosen due to her accent.[8]
§ Ray Park as Darth Maul:
A Zabrak Sith apprentice to Darth
Sidious who uses a double-bladed lightsaber. A martial arts champion
with experience in gymnastics and swordfighting, Park was originally only a
member of the stunt crew,[7] and
stunt coordinator Nick Gillard filmed Park to demonstrate how he envisioned the
lightsaber battles. Lucas and McCallum were so impressed with the test tape
that they gave Park the role of Maul. His voice was considered "too
squeaky", leading it to be dubbed over.[8] He
was voiced by Peter Serafinowicz.
§ Anthony Daniels voices C-3PO: A protocol droid
built by Anakin, he lacks a metal covering in this film, which R2-D2 refers to
as being "naked". A puppeteer – dressed in a color close to the one
seen in the background, similar to the Japanese puppet
theater Bunraku,
so he could be erased during post-production – manipulated a skeletal C-3PO
figure attached to his front, while Daniels read his lines off-camera.[7][9]
§ Kenny Baker as R2-D2: An astromech droid,
notable for saving Queen Amidala's ship when all other droids fail. Before the
production of The Phantom Menace started, fans campaigned on
the Internet to retain Baker as R2, to which Lucas replied that the actor would
remain. Baker is used for scenes where R2 bends forwards and backwards and
wobble from side to side, while actual robots and a digital replica are used
otherwise (see Effects,
below).[10]
§ Silas Carson as Nute Gunray:
The Viceroy of the Trade Federation who leads the invasion of Naboo and tries
to force Queen Amidala to sign a treaty to legitimize the occupation. Carson
also portrays three minor characters: Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi,
Trade Federation Senator Lott Dod, and an ill-fated pilot (which was the role Carson
originally auditioned for).[11] Carson
got the role because another actor was uncomfortable with the costumes used by
the Trade Federation characters – which were hot, exerted a lot of
pressure on the bearer, and took about 15 minutes to apply. The Thai accent
used by the character was chosen after Lucas and McCallum listened to various
languages to pick how the Neimodians would speak.[12]
§ Hugh Quarshie as Captain Panaka:
Queen Amidala's chief of security at Theed Palace. Quarshie accepted the part
for considering it "a good career move" and a production that would
be fun to make.[13]
§ Andy Secombe voices Watto: A junk dealer on
Tatooine who owns Anakin and his mother as slaves. With a design that was an
amalgalm of various rejected ideas, Watto's expressions were based on video
footage of Secombe doing the voice acting, photos of animation supervisor Rob
Coleman imitating the character, and modeler Steve Alpin saying Watto's lines
to the mirror.[14]
§ Lewis MacLeod voices Sebulba:
An aggressive, scheming Podracer and rival of Anakin. Sebulba's design was
described by Lucas as "a spider crossed with an orangutan crossed with a
sloth",[15] with
a camel-like face, and clothing inspired by medieval armor.[16]
§ Frank Oz as
the voice of Yoda:
The centuries old leader of the Jedi Council who is apprehensive about allowing
Anakin to be trained. Yoda was mostly portrayed as a puppet designed by Nick
Dudman, based on Stuart Freeborn's original design, with Oz
controlling the mouth and other parts controlled by the puppeteers using remote
controls.[8] A
computer-generated Yoda is featured in two distant shots and Warwick Davis portrays
him in the scene in which Obi-Wan becomes a Jedi Knight.[17]
§ Samuel L.
Jackson as Mace Windu:
A member of the Jedi Council who also opposes the idea of training Anakin.
After Jackson expressed interest in appearing in a Star Wars film,
he was approached by cast director Robin Gurland to play Windu.[7]
§ Terence Stamp as Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum: The
current Chancellor who commissions Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon to negotiate with the
Trade Federation Viceroy. Lucas described the character as a "good man but
he's beleaguered – a bit like [Bill] Clinton".[18]
§ Brian Blessed voices Boss Nass:
The leader of the Gungan tribe who allies with the Naboo and defeats the Trade Federation.
Blessed originally auditioned for Sio Bibble,
the Governor of Naboo,[19] for
which he was considered "too loud".[20] Blessed
described Nass as a "reluctant hero",[20] and
a fun role to play.[21]
§ Greg Proops and Scott Capurro voice
Fode and Beed, the two headed announcer of the Boonta's Eve Race. The actors
were filmed wearing make-up and blue bodysuits, so their heads would be joined
in a computer-generated body. The visual effects crew did not like the original
results, and ended up crafting Fode and Beed as an entirely computer generated
alien.[22]
§ Keira Knightley as Sabé:
Queen Amidala's body double and decoy. The role was originally going to be
filled by a stand-in, until casting director Robin Gurland came across
Knightley, who bore a striking resemblance to Natalie Portman. Knightley's role
was kept quiet by The Phantom Menace's marketing department in
order to heighten the surprise of there being a decoy Queen when the film was
released. The Queen's costumes were specifically designed to hide any height
and shape differences between Knightley and Portman, so much so that Portman's
mother could not distinguish between the two on set.
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