Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker introduced us to a brand new alien that we wanted so much more of—Babu Frik. If only Jar Jar Binks had gone the same way.
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker has been meeting mixed reviews since it’s been released, but everyone agrees about one thing—Babu Frik is the man. Or the Anzellan if you want to get technical. He’s the guy we all want more of. Which is great, because all he does is say some things in a funny voice, chip in for the good guys, and other than that, he’s pretty irrelevant.
He’s not the first Star Wars alien character to talk in a funny voice and chip in for the good guys. Jar Jar Binks is another, although if you look at the spectrum of alien success stories, you’ll find Binks at the bottom and Frik at the top. No question about it.
To this day, I maintain that had Jar Jar Binks never happened, the prequel trilogy would have been much more positively received. But alas, the Star Wars universe will be forever marred by the fact that this Gungan clown rose from an outcast to a Senator. Inspiring story right? It would have been. If anyone could stand to see Jar Jar on screen for more than three seconds.
That’s because Frik did all the things that Jar Jar should have done, and nothing more. He came across the good guys by chance, same as Jar Jar. He owed them nothing, but he decided to help them out. Same as Jar Jar.
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There are so many similarities between these two, but one key difference—Jar Jar was overused, Frik was underused. Every time that Jar Jar appeared, we wanted him off. As soon as Frik was gone, I wanted him back.
And Star Wars listened, but they were smart when they brought Frik back. He didn’t fly a spacecraft and shoot down anything in clownish, comedic fashion. He gave a thumbs up, the theater laughed, boom. Done.
Star Wars will probably never have a character that was as much of a miss as Jar Jar because they’ve learned their lesson. But it’s not a lesson they should have had to learn at all. Clown characters are dicey enough. Creating a goofy looking guy that has a funny voice should never be something that you belabor, and that’s exactly what Frik is.
There’s a reason why Frik exploded into the merchandising spectrum, with apparel galore, and why Jar Jar is essentially the vilest creature to ever arise from the same universe that gave us Jabba the Hutt. For different reasons. I truly wonder if Jar Jar had been used in a much more minimalistic capacity if he could have been a much better character.
Or if he just sucked in general.
It makes me happy to think that the Star Wars universe is passed the days of Jar Jar-shaped mishaps. If Babu Frik is the new future of goofy looking, silly sounding aliens, then sign me up for everything.