Yep, curious George just basically banged his head and not only mis-spelt Mitochondrion but also failed to understand basic cytology. It's all a bit daft anyway. He often commented 'it was just simple Saturday morning cinema' and then goes to try to throw in cod-philosophy like it mattered.

I did go see the 3D remake with 'Offspring B' (11 y/old boy) and he very much enjoyed it again, which is really the point isn't it? Me guffawing at all those outrageous racial stereotypes (Trade Federation = Japanese, Ja Ja = Jamican with Speech Impediment, Floating Blue Bug Thing = Jewish caricature) was something that entertained/appalled me again, so no complaints for $20 value. The 3D was largely pointless, putting aside some studio execs need for more recreational drug money

I didn't interpret it that way at all. Watto to me seemed like a New York Italian/Mafia type.

Oh, I have to be careful really, in that 'eye of the beholder' and all that - plus it's (rightly) a sensitive subject to be flippant about. I just got that Shylock vibe from Watto.

Thinking it might may just be me, and a bad reflection of some prejudice I had, it seems like it was a reaction seen by others:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watto#reception

I guess I was ok with the characters being caricatures like that, and goodness knows there's a limit on what to read in to what is essentially a kids movie, but it just seems like lazy writing.

I certainly didn't mean any offence with it though.

And the obvious oddity:
If they can build an underwater city, take a submersible through the *water* planet core and have shield technology, why do they use catapults? And where were those creatures they rode when underwater?

All this bickering about the merits or lack thereof in the prequels misses the whole point.

How come the most powerful jedi ever (with more mediclorians(sp?) than even master yoda) can only win light saber duels against the young and the really old?

How does the same move that worked for Kenobi in the first movie fail miserably for Anakin in the third?

And how exactly does Anakin bring balance to the force when everything and everyone was killed by the emperor and his minions?

Kiss my butt George ..!..

The 3d release is just a way for him to make more money without any further creative effort. There are so many stories that could be told but that would be hard.

Ok, I might be a little jaded...
S

http://www.gocomics.com/thatababy/2012/02/22

Elf

Wasn't the balance of the force (sorry, The Force) one of those 'laws of unintended consequences' in that the Jedi's had heard of a prophecy of some 'convergence' of the force bringing someone along that would 'balance' to the force in terms of good and evil, i.e. a good thing was coming. What backfired is that Anakin did actually help balance the force, in that the score at the beginning of the New Hope was as follows:

Sith Park Rangers: Emperor and Darth Vader (aka Anakin Skywalker) : 2
Jedi United: Obi wan Kenobi (sp) and Yoda : 2

..so all balanced up because the nasty pantomime villain Palpatine went and did Order 666 and killed off all the other Jedi's using the newly renamed Storm Troopers. Not what the Jedi's thought by balance I guess..

Or something. I'm making some of this up I think.

Edit: Also, if that Anakin leapy over lava move at the end of Revenge of the Sith wasn't going to work, then I guess Obi Wan would be a bad one to try it against - as he did it first.

The only way I've ever been able to make sense of the lightsaber fights is that they are actually engaging in some sort of Force duel as well, and eventually one of them confuses the Force sense of the other, so they do something Really Stupid.
Phantom Menace: Obi-wan leaps over Maul. Maul stands there confused. Obi-wan wins.
Ep 2: Anakin stands there holding his arm out for a stupid long time. Dooku lops it off.

And so on...

I think the easy answer to all of these questions is that Lucas never intended the SW prequels to be analyzed and scrutinized to any significant degree since they were made with a younger audience in mind.

I don't think I agree with the easy answer. I'm sure he had full expectation they'd be picked over thoroughly.

As for the made for kids bit, (a) the installed user base (for lack of a better term) with all the franchise dollars are in the 20-40 bracket, and (b) he can't have cared that much for the kids given the later film's age ratings.

The Jedis portrayed in the original trilogy bear no particular resemblance to the cartoonish superheros in Eps I-III, other than their lightsabers.