PT Watto Appreciation Thread

I noticed there isn't much threads for this awesome space fly so I thought I would do the honors . I just finished watching TPM for the quadrillionth time and it seems each time Watto grows on me as a character(never cared for him much when I first watched TPM). Lol I just love his interactions with Qui-Jon especially this scene:

My only complaint is I wish he had more screentime. Awesome character overall though

 

I love Watto. He had more character development/personality as a semi-villain in TPM then General Hux did in TFA.

-Darth Plagueis

 

"Credits will do fine"
" No they won't"
"What you think you're some jedi waving your hand like that" Lol love Watto

 

Watto was great, both in TPM and Anakin and Watto´s reunion scene in AotC.

 

I agree love both those scenes I especially liked when he asked Anakin to help him get those that owe him money lol. I just wish he had more screentime in AOTC.

 

I'd say Unkar Plutt is the better comparison with regards to both being seedy alien junk dealer sub-antagonists who held a position of power over the desert-dwelling young hero. I find it extremely ironic they both have one, and especially hilarious when one considers that Simon Pegg of all people wound up playing the one character that whilst intentional or not holds a strong resemblance to someone from The Phantom Menace. (Though don't get me wrong I also prefer him to Hux. lol)

Anyway, Watto is a character that I've really come to appreciate as well. He presents an obstacle and is a slave owner after all, but I think he's interesting in that he's not presented as a total monster and he does seem to have some redeeming attributes. Whether it be stuff like letting Anakin off of work early, or even the something like a proud reaction he has when he sees Anakin for the first time in years in AOTC. Plutt on the other hand (Like Snoke to Palpatine and Hux to Tarkin frankly) almost just feels like a blander xerox of his predecessor. IMO anyway.

 

Exactly! When I was a kid I just saw Watto as a villian. On repeat viewings you do see he has some subtle redeeming qualities.

 

You know, I never have seen Watto as a villain at all. He seemed like a pretty good guy. And he treated Anakin as nice as you could treat a slave.

 

Yeah be was very fair for a slave owner.

 

Watto is hilarious.

 

Seems like Watto's business got slowing down after Anakin's departure.

 

As a character, Watto plays important role in TPM, even in AOTC. I wouldn't say he is exactly villain, because he is not evil at all, but he has a very bad addiction: money and especially gambling. Qui Gon use these flaws in a very smart way and succeed to free Anakin from slavery ( he even tried to free his mother, but... ) Anyway, he is not bad master, but that doesn't mean that slavery is a good thing. And this is one of the crucial moments in TPMM: yes, Watto even leave Anakin to have enough free time, he is not making some heavy works, but slavery is slavery. In AOTC Padme and Anakin were terrified knowing that Watto has sold Shmi. Maybe because he is not a bad master, a difference from others. I think that the problems of Watto in AOTC isn't the business itself (well, Anakin was his bigger treasure with such abilities to fix the things, but maybe Watto didn’t understand that completely) ; the problem was that Watto made some bad bets and lost them, that's all. Everybody who play such games will loose someday, as Qui Gon said. And the lust for gambling really caused trouble in Watto's life.

 

He was as good as one could get for a greedy slave owner. He wasn't as bad as Darth Sidious, but still, you wouldn't want him conducting funeral rites or be your best man at a wedding.

I liked how the first thing he says upon seeing Anakin again for the first time is a panicked "W-whatever it is, I didn't do it!" <knocks a tool off the table which then strikes his foot. He sobs in frustration> Then Anakin quietly fixes the pod droid's head.

Then when he does recognize Anakin (after a few seconds of pause), he's all, "Wow! Little Annie is a Jedi now! Hey, maybe you can help me with a little problem I have, huh?" Then he's so willing to help Anakin out in locating his mother.

 

Watto is the best.

Besides, I love his Italian-New Yorker accent

 

Watto is my favorite supporting character followed by Admiral Akbar. Watto reminds me of Fred Sanford of Sanford and Son, a junk dealer with a scraggly beard and a gruff voice. I had two Don Post latex Watto masks but one of them melted for some reason .

 

I just love when he speaks in Huttese in that accent! XD

 

Watto's like the small-town guy who thinks he's a lot bigger and more important than he actually is. He talks with that Brooklyn accent and walks with a bit of a swagger. He's a bit evil, but he's got his own charm in his own way.

Watto was a great minor character - I always enjoyed seeing him on screen.

"Eh?....Lil' Ani?"

 

Watto should be getting more love in these forums.

Watto reminds me a lot of the warden character from THE MUMMY.

 

I'm not the only one then. I was thinking about this, about how bad actually is Watto? Yes he owns slaves, but he lives in a society where this is normal. His treatment of Schmi and Anakin seems to be incredibly good. It doesn't appear that Schmi is of much use to him, it seems to be Anakin that is most helpful in the store - but he hasn't sought to sell her and separate the two (as far as I can tell). He is willing to bet her (as opposed to Anakin), which kind of backs up my point, that Anakin is the useful slave. he ends up betting Anakin, but I don't think he believes he's going to lose the bet anyway.

He seems genuinely fond of Anakin, and lets him finish early and have a life outside of the store. He has housed Schmi and Anakin in not terrible accommodation - and has clearly never intruded on the privacy of that home (or he would have become aware of just how much Anakin has purloined from the store). In AOTC he seems genuinely pleased for Schmi that she was freed by her new owner.

I struggle to view Watto as a villain.

 

Honestly, if it weren't for the slavery and willing to put a child's life in danger in a podracing match, you could almost view Watto as a strange father-figure for Anakin. This gruff, rough-around-the-edges, greedy bastard who is clearly willing to let the single mother and child live with relative decency and privacy.

And way I see it, his greedy personality is essential if he wants to survive on Tatooine. It's a lawless wasteland, after all.

 

He was a fine character that wasn't voiced by Brian Blessed, so he's not the best character

 

TPM is a pretty bad movie , Watto is one of the few bright spots.

 

His morality was a broken mess, but there were glimpses of kindness here and there. Beyond the sickening injustice of owning them in the first place (which is more than enough to condemn him, let's be clear) he doesn't appear to have mistreated Anakin or Shmi. They aren't beaten or bruised, or malnourished. He clearly wasn't making Shmi do anything distasteful. Some of his dialogue with Anakin was akin to co-worker banter; when he grumbled about outlanders, he said, "they think we know nothing" and then accepted Anakin's counterpoint without getting angry (in fact, based on Anakin's reaction, I've always thought Watto was letting him go early that day). He knew the kid had skills, and while he may have exploited them, he acknowledged and respected them, calling Anakin a "credit" to Qui-Gon's race.

He's one of the more interesting characters to consider when thinking about the state of the GFFA. I reckon he illustrates a sort of, "that's just the way things are here" mentality that defines not only the Outer Rim, but also the complacency that ultimately led to the Republic's downfall. He's not outwardly evil or sadistic, and one might argue that he's not even cruel. He's just a greedy lil' so-and-so who's out for himself, playing the same game as everybody else.

 

Seriously? I’m reading that Watto was a kind slave owner?

he repeatedly put Anakin in harms way for financial gain despite the suffering of Shmi “I die every time watto makes you do it.”

he treats them both like well, slaves., then allows their family to get ripped apart because he lost the race. He repeatedly berates and makes fun of Anakin. He later disposes of Shmi like yesterday’s garbage and sells her to Cliegg Lars who frees her. He refuses to part with Anakin not because he likes him but because he’s a possession and knows Qui-gon wants his freedom.

They’re under fear for their lives because of the explosives supposedly put in their bodies should they try to escape.

Watto is a villain, albeit a minor antagonist like Sebulba, Greedo, DJ, etc. his brutality is inferred but not shown on screen because it’s a Star Wars movie that’s rated PG.

I’ll add — I liked the character — as a villain. If George wanted me to dislike the character because of his greed and disdain for others, it worked. Now I need the new pop vinyl of Watto that was released.

 

So, getting the child Anakin to participate in pod-racing is villainous - but Qui-Gon does exactly that (as does Schmi, actually)

He treats them like slaves? He has clearly never breached the privacy of their home (which I assume he has provided)...otherwise he'd be aware of how much stuff Anakin has helped himself to from Watto's store (including a fully operational protocol droid...). I'm not sure what Schmi actually does but yet he doesn't seem to have attempted to sell her and thus split up the family. This only happens because Qui-Gon wants to take the boy, not because it is right to free him, but because he believes him to be someone significant.

He lets Anakin answer back, I just don't see this repeated berating and insulting that you claim, and even lets him finish early and have a life outside of the store - obviously enough that not only has he almost completed the repairs on a protocol droid but has also managed to build a (very good) pod-racer. You think Anakin and Schmi are treated like slaves, I say I am amazed at how un-slave like their circumstances are.

So, where is this brutality inferred exactly?

Like I said, he is a slave owner in a society that sees this as normal and acceptable. That doesn't make the slavery right, but...you'll find that many of the truths we cling to, depend greatly our own point of view.

Do you also see Qui-Gon as a villain, just out of interest? Given that many of the attributes you claim make Watto a villain are shared by Qui-Gon