Watto - Reception

Reception

In the book The Holy Family and Its Legacy, author Albrecht Koschorke discusses the presence of "The Holy Family" in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, stating that while there was no "solicitous guardian watching over the mother and the holy child," Watto acts in a similar position as a "man who possesses patriarchal powers without being the father."

It has been suggested that this character is offensive because he resembles a stereotypical Jewish caricature. He has a large nose, beady eyes, and speaks in a gravelly, Hebrew-sounding accent and is portrayed as greedy and covetous, another common stereotype of Jews. J. Hoberman of The Village Voice called him a blatant ethnic stereotype due to his hooked nose. Bruce Gottlieb of Slate magazine criticized him as well, comparing his character to the anti-Semitic notion that the Jewish race is "behind the slave trade." Patricia J. Williams of The Nation stated that Watto was also described as a stereotype of Arabs, but that he was "more comprehensively anti-Semitic -- both anti-Arab and anti-Jew." She added that Watto reminded her of an "anti-Semitic caricature published in Vienna at the turn of the 20th century." Jane Prettyman of the American Review noted that after leaving the theater, she heard two young boys describe him as 'that weird little Jewish guy with wings,' describing his depiction as "not at all subtle," and that "it can be counted on to flush out already-formed Jew-haters among young audiences and give them permission to continue their hatred out loud."

Editors for IGN ranked Watto 78th in their list of Star Wars characters. They wrote that he was "one of the most confusing scientific anomalies" due to "the idea that a creature so potbellied is able to stay afloat for so long". They added that he was "no prince" for his unscrupulous deals.