Waddya know, eh?  Here’s Watto.  He’s a Toydarian junk dealer who owned the slave Shmi Skywalker and her son, Anakin Skywalker.  He also had the spare parts to fix the hyperdrive on the Queen’s J-type 327 Nubian royal starship.  Oh, and he also had the cash necessary to enter Anakin into the Boonta Eve Podrace.  He was really a one-stop-shop for Qui-Gon and team.  Some people think that Star Wars hate began with the sequel trilogy, but I recall plenty of nonsense going on when TPM came out.  And I don’t mean the run of the mill “You’re an idiot if you like this movie” type stuff.  There were all kinds of accusations that Lucas’s Episode I characters were based on racist stereotypes.  The Gungans, The Nemoidians, and Watto were cited as examples.  Personally, I felt it was a big stretch, and I certainly didn’t get those vibes while watching TPM on my own, but only became aware there was this pushback after I read about it later on. 

Watto was actually one of my favorite characters in The Phantom Menace.  I thought he was a great implementation of a complete CGI character.  I liked the design, and I liked his attitude.  I loved how he basically told Qui-Gon to shove it with his stupid mind tricks.  Then I felt bad for him.  Sure he was a slave owner, and that’s obviously deplorable, but that was life in Mos Espa, and he seemed to treat Anakin and Padmé as well as could be expected given the circumstances.  Qui-Gon really took advantage of him, which might say more about Qui-Gon’s rogue Jedi ways than it does about Watto himself.  But man, I really felt bad when he popped up in AOTC as someone who really seemed down on his luck.  I thought Lucas did an nice job on his character arc, no matter how minor it may have been in the overall saga.

As much as I enjoy Watto as a character, he’s one of my favorite figures in the Episode I line.  The sculpt is outstanding.  He doesn’t have super-articulation, just swivel joints at the hips, shoulders, wings, and head, but his limbs are so thin, it may be nearly impossible to pull off super-articulation, even with today’s technology.  The basic articulation on such a small figure seems to allow for just enough movement to give him some added personality.  The hip articulation can help him sit, and also get his feet to be fairly flat on the floor.  The sculpting around the body is awesome.  His skin has great texture, and his little jumpsuit looks great.  His wings are separate pieces which, as I mentioned, can move around a bit.  I believe the face sculpt is one of the best in Hasbro’s history.  It’s spot on.  The paint applications also add depth and interest throughout, especially the face.

Watto has a tool of sorts that is sculpted separately.  The power pack plugs into a hole in his back, while the tool acts as its own holster and plugs into a small hole in his left hip.  He can hold the tool nicely in his left hand.  His right hand will also grips the data pad accessory well enough.  There’s nothing on the screen, as there was on Padmé‘s viewpad accessory, but it still interacts well with the figure. 

Watto is just excellent all around, and really holds up well 20 years later.  The only things I would think might be done better would be articulated elbows, and a clear stand like he got with his AOTC figure that helped make it look like he was hovering.  Otherwise, I’m happy to give this figure a 7, which is great for a non-super-articulated figure.  He’s pretty close to definitive other than the couple of suggestions I just mentioned.  He definitely deserves a place in your display.