is a fictional character in the ''''. He is
Computer-generated and
Voiced by
Andy Secombe .
A mean-tempered, greedy
Toydarian , he is the owner of a second-hand goods store in
Mos Espa on the planet
Tatooine . While one of the minor stores of Mos Espa, Watto's junkyard was nevertheless a wealth of surplus equipment and spare parts.
Amongst Watto's belongings were the
Slave s
Shmi Skywalker and her son,
Anakin . He acquired them after winning a
Podracing bet with
Gardulla The Hutt , and he put them both to work in his store. Anakin demonstrated an incredible aptitude for equipment repair, and Watto took a liking to the youngster. Despite being unprincipled enough to own slaves in the first place, Watto was a reasonable master. It most likely had to do with the point that the boy was a major source of profits for Watto, not only in servicing his machinery, but also contending for Watto in the podraces.
Anakin was an astonishing pilot, the only human to participate in the treacherous sport of podracing. However, whenever Anakin would race against the scheming
Dug Sebulba , Watto would always put money on Sebulba, who always won.
Watto's greed and gambling got the better of him when the
Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and the young
Queen Amidala of
Naboo crossed his path. Watto wagered all his money -- and Anakin as well – on Sebulba, who lost the
Boonta Eve Classic to Anakin.
Watto ultimately sold Shmi Skywalker -- in an effort to recover some of his losses -- to a moisture farmer named
Cliegg Lars . Lars reported as much to a grown Anakin Skywalker, when he revisited
Tatooine a decade later to see his mother.
It has been suggested that this character is offensive because he portrays an old
Semitic (
Jewish or
Arab )
Stereotype . He has a large nose, beady eyes, and speaks in a gravelly,
Yiddish -sounding accent and is also greedy and covetous, another stereotype of Jews.
Other "Star Wars" characters have also been alleged to represent offensive ethnic stereotypes. Another example is
Jar Jar Binks .
Prior to coming to Tatooine, Watto was part of the Ossiki Confederacy Army during the conflicts of his homeworld of Toydaria. In one battle, Watto suffered injuries that left him with a broken tusk and a disabled leg.
On Tatooine, Watto learned much of his business savvy from dealing with the native
Jawas . Not only does he have a talent for haggling, but also cannot be affected by Jedi mind tricks. His preferred targets were outlanders -- whom he regarded as easy marks. Though Watto's junkyard is one of Mos Espa's smaller stores, he stocks such a broad collection of machinery that it is well patronized. If Watto didn't persistently gamble away his earnings it would turn a tidy profit.
The tracked
Obi-Wan Kenobi to Tatooine, seeking revenge for his defeat in the
Battle Of Naboo .
Initial designs for Watto were of a more bird-like nature, including plumage and a beak. Another design had tentacles and a cigar. Watto's face originated in an early
Neimoidian picture by design director
Doug Chiang . The hooked trunk and crooked teeth were carried over to the Toydarian design.
Animation supervisor
Rob Coleman realized that the alien's dental work would need some modification when the time came to create Watto on screen, as Watto's craggy teeth made lip-sync easier said than done. To solve the problem, Coleman broke off one of Watto's incisors, giving him a 'corner-of-the-mouth' vernacular.
The sound of his wings flapping is a looped recording of sound designer
Ben Burtt opening and closing an
Umbrella .
