Star Wars Fish
Dateline: 05/24/99Water, and the creatures who live in it, simply can't be denied. Even George Lucas knows it, and he included an aquatic world in the Phantom Menace. Granted we don't get to see nearly enough of it, but what we do see is quite interesting.
The aquatic connection begins with our heroes - Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn, two nicer and more hard working Jedi's you'll never meet. Feeling certain that something is amiss on the planet Naboo, they head there to investigate. Like most out of the way planets, Naboo isn't exactly prime real estate. In fact it's primarily a large swamp, filled with all matter of swampy creatures (including fish ... which we'll get to shortly). Once on Naboo they encounter the Gungans, a race that appears to have originated as the result of a frog eloping with a donkey. Don't laugh .. I'm sure there is a frog connection here. Heck, the name Gungan actually refers to a real live species of frog .
Being heroes, the Jedi naturally arrive just in time to save a Gungan who's having a bad ear day (Gungans don't have hair, but they do have long floppy ears). With the a contingent of droids hot on their trail, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon escape into the swamp waters guided by the rescued Gungan, Jar Jar Binks. They soon arrive at Otoh Gunga, an underwater city made up of large bubble houses. Schools of fish swim lazily around the bubbles (that looked for all the world like goldfish bowls), and I had to wonder if this was a fish dream of role reversal. If only the fish had sprinkled a few flakes of food into the bubbles, I would have been rolling in the aisle. Although the shots of the bubble city are brief it's quite lovely, so keep your eyes open and don't miss it.
Jar Jar escorts his new found friends to the Gungan leader, uniquely named Boss Nass. Nass looks like he might be related to Jabba the Hut, likes to shake his head, and has a salivary problem that keeps all those within 20 paces of him rather damp (a good thing I guess, if you are part frog). He has good reason to shake his head - it seems that Jar Jar was banished for being especially clumsy, and by returning to the city he broke the "nocomebackie law". Nass announces that as punishment Jar Jar will be pounded to death (followed by flouring and pan frying perhaps?). Qui-Gon intervenes and saves the hapless Gungans neck by informing Boss Nass that Jar Jar owes him his life, and must repay him.
Nass has no choice but to let Jar Jar go without a pounding. But he shows his disdain by supplying them with a pathetic excuse for a submarine, called a "bongo". Why do we just know there will be trouble before they get to their destination? Barely out of the city they run into trouble in the form of Opee, a large killer fish who looks like a member of the piranha family - but with rudimentary legs. Opee grabs the sub in his mouth, and is about to make our heroes an appetizer when Mother Nature steps in and sets the food chain to work. Enter from stage right an even larger fish - Sando, the Aqua monster. We don't get to see much of Sando, but from the glimpse I got I'm quite certain that he's one of Godzillas lost progeny.
While Sando munches on Opee our trio is able to escape unscathed, and emerge at an estuary near Theed (the capital of Naboo). Sadly, this is about all the footage there is of the underwater world of Naboo. Even so, it's worth watching once or twice. Perhaps if we are lucky the next movie will feature a few more aquatic scenes and creatures. George if you are out there and read this, keep us fish lovers in mind when you film the next prequel. We'll be waiting.
