About the podrace that was an "extra" in the book: I really like how they revealed his age at the very end. For someone who didn't see the movie, this was stunning I'm sure
You know this already from the deleted scenes on the DVD for the movie, but the Rodian that Anakin beats up in the novelization was supposed to be Greedo. It's not mentioned in the novelization because I think George decided on that during filming, but the scene on the DVD has Wald talk to the other Rodian after Qui-Gon and Anakin walk away, and calls him Greedo. Again, you know that already. And I think the reason that Terry Brooks wasn't very descriptive with the action scenes is because most of that was decided upon during filming and post-production and George didn't include that in the script. Same goes for the colours of the lightsabers. George probably didn't know that Qui-Gon would have a green blade until post-production when the VFX were added into the movie. And I think Darth Maul's wasn't necessarily going to be red either. Though Ewan MacGregor probably insisted that Obi-Wan have a blue blade for continuity sake, and of course Samuel L. Jackson asked for a purple blade, even though Mace Windu wouldn't use his lightsaber until Attack of the Clones. As for the novelization itself, I had the Queen Amidala/Jar Jar dust jacket version, AND the Anakin/Watto version as well. I bought the Queen Amidala cover not all that long after I saw the movie for the second time (I saw it twice in theatres), and then years later my best friend found the Anakin cover at a used bookstore and bought it for me. I love movie novelizations.
The novelization was released before the movie. Some of the directorial and visual decisions were during post-production. It was not meant to give you every single detail
Just finished this earlier today and came away quite liking it. I read the 1999 hardcover with Queen Amidala on the front and Jar Jar on the back, in case anyone's wondering. I have to agree with some of your criticism - Brooks really isn't the most descriptive writer, both in his action and IMO also in terms of describing locations. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the added insight not just into the characters' heads, but the "lore" behind everything, too (think the living force vs. unifying force debate, or the rule of two and Darth Bane). Hence why I think it is best enjoyed either immediately before or after watching the movie. If I had to rank it against the OT novelizations, I'd put it above SW '77 and TESB but below ROTJ. Better than a mere adaptation of the screenplay, but not nearly unique or powerful in its language enough to stand its own against Kahn's Return of the Jedi. I reckon someone who doesn't care for TPM probably wouldn't get a lot of enjoyment out of it, but it's my favorite prequel by far, so yeah. Go Gungans!
I was searching for star wars movie novelizations content and I had to click on yours considering this amazing costume (I used to love the Amidala costumes as a teen when the prequels came out!).
I liked the book backdrop for the NJO post-mortem, and thought I'd bring it back occasionally! (There is not a lot of space to move due to...err...furniture and space limitations, but it's fun to switch things up!)
I helped introduce the novelization of the prequels to another Star Wars review channel and she too saw how much better the movie could’ve been with another writers input had Jorge been willing to listen. Also all of the original films books came outa month before the movies. This was just standard publishing back in the day. I read all theee OG Star Wars books before seeing the films and it just made the experience better.
what the author wrote in the novel is george vision its what george wanted the author to put in the book you have do understand that the movie doesn´t give time for george to do everything a novel does stop attacking the movies the movies are great and the novels are better because it expands on what the movies couldn´t expand because there was no time but the movie and the novels are both great
Hey Meg! Found your channel a few weeks ago, love your reviews! Those extra parts with Anakin being angry and also being kind to the tusken really should have been in the film to link his path together better for sure. For a child who's a slave, he shouldn't be running around saying "Yippie!" He should be angrier, and as a child wildly emotional about his situation. There's a good story in the prequels it's just buried under all the "sand."
The point of Anakin is his life was relatively happy and he wouldn't have gone down the path he did had Qui-Gon not died. It's why hes portrayed as a happy child in Phantom Menace, the tidbits of his brewing dark side is his "fear".
Pretty interesting. The book actually sounds more... What's the word?... Intriguing and entertaining. Great review, Meg! I was also surprised to see you in a costume. A pleasant surprise, i should say. Keep up the good work! May the Force be with you! 😃👍
I've always wondered if the Tusken Raider scene was from an early draft of the script or if Terry Brooks knew what was going to happen in Attack of the Clones with the Tuskens when he wrote it.
I know that Lucas told Brooks a little bit about his plan for the trilogy, but I don't think he shared anything specific--so I suspect that the Tusken Raider scene was to show Anakin's kindness without Brooks having any idea of the AOTC developments, like @none ya said.
I read the novelization of "Star Wars" in 1977 (or whenever the book was actually first released) and though it's been more than four decades, I distinctly recall the opening paragraph of the book stating how Senator Palpatine had become Emperor. There were actually people arguing with me online in 1999 after seeing "The Phantom Menace", insisting that Palpatine was NOT Sidious, even though the first Star Wars book ever written clearly stated that he was the Emperor.
I knew that Palpatine was the Emperor. I do remember hoping that Lucas would come up with a plot twist like he did in the original trilogy (with Luke being the son of Vader) My thought was that since clones are involved in the clone wars, a good plot twist would be if senator Palpatine was a dupe of Sidious. If he was a clone with no memory of being one! This way, he wouldn't be evil, and the Jedi would have a reason for not detecting him as a Sith)
@@SJHFoto The way it subsequently turned out, via the prequels, was that he was not only evil, but possibly one of the most evil characters in fiction. He engineered a war for which he was running both sides, destroying billions of lives in the process to give him power over them after which he could oppress the survivors even further. And while I thoroughly enjoy "The Clone Wars" series and consider it some of the best of Star Wars, knowing he's behind it all is very disturbing and difficult to watch the scenes in which he appears.
I just got a copy to check -- and because I wanted to read it again. My memory is good, but not perfect. It wasn't the opening paragraph, but the fourth paragraph. "Aided and abetted by restless, power-hungry individuals within the government, and the massive organs of commerce, the ambitious Senator Palpatine caused himself to be elected President of the Republic... Once secure in office he declared himself Emperor, shutting himself away from the populace..." Not bad for having only read it once, 45 years ago.
It fleshes out TPM a bit, especially with Anakin, which I appreciated! But yeah, leaving Shmi behind has upset me for 20+ years, and I wish Qui-Gon had tried harder or that any of them had promised to come back afterwards to free her (and much, much sooner than 10 whole years later!).
I personally don't have much of a problem with Anakin's age. I have to say, at about his age, (maybe even a tad younger), I thought I knew the girl I would grow up and marry. And with his stopping the Trade Federation capital ship, he always seemed to naturally have ability, even if he couldn't control, or even fully understand it. His powers didn't make him into a "mary sue" like I felt Rey was. It seems natural to me-as opposed to him being a teen. Then, I think even Qui-Gon would realise that his angst made him unsuitable for training. I do agree with you on the topic of how Anakin's mother was left in the lurch though
the reason anakin is 9 in episode 1 is because as a 9 year old its traumatizing for him to leave his mother while a teenager would be happy to leave home
You look very cute Meg. I love how you are always very presentable in each of your videos. Anyway, thanks for the video. Certainly, a fun novelization.
Meg, as the drama director at our high school, I can appreciate on one level the theatrics with the make-up but unfortunately I found it distracting. With that said, LOVED the review. Very in depth and well balanced of your pros and cons. I usually try and read the novelizations of the 6 movies every 2-3 years. The prequel novels are much better reads than the original trilogy in my opinion. Thanks for reminding me of a few things I've forgotten!
The worst of the prequels. I did enjoy the comic adaptation far better than the film. Ive seen many fan versions of prequel era events and the weakest of them are far better than what Lucas did. Exactly! Anakin should've been far older. I even wrote my own version of an Episode 1. I never liked Qui Gon either, it really pisses me off. Lucas really messed up with the execution of the prequels.
15:30-I know this may not be a popular opinion, but they are lightsabers, not mood rings! I don't know why so many people ascribe so much importance to the colours of the blades. (Sorry, Meg-that's just my opinion)
Because George ascribed so much importance to the color red being bad, and blue green being the “standard.” Don’t blame the fans for following the creators choices.
I will make no secret that I hated the prequels. I was the right age, the right demographic, in the right place at the right time in 1999 for TPM to be a perfect storm. I had read all the novels and comics. I was the absolute perfect specimen. How could it go wrong? Oh. It sucked. The trouble started in 1997. My best friend was so happy to see Jabba the Hutt in A New Hope. He liked the celebration on Corosant. But I was bitter they removed the Yub Nub song. It wasn't the same. It wasn't right. Something was *wrong* Of course, try explaining that to an 11 year old. I didn't have the knowledge, or the words, or the understanding. I still called people by their character name and not the actor when they showed up in other movies. So I got my mom to march me and my sister down to the movie theater (a rare treat for us) in 1999 to watch The Phantom Menace. I had eaten a month's worth of Taco Bell to get all the Pog game pieces (okay, they weren't really Pogs. But they were the right size that they went right into my second-hand Pog collection. Again, poor.) I begged for the DK movie book that had photos from the upcoming movie. This was going to be awesome. And it was. Kind of. Double bladed lightsaber, just like Exar Kun! Duel of Fates! Uh... Young Obi-Wan! But everything else was just... off. Why was there nothing but Jedi? Where was the Han Solo type character? Where were the dogfights? Why was it so BORING?! And then it was over. And we went home. And unlike with PotF a few years earlier, I didn't get any of the toys. I didn't want them. Was I aging out at 13? Maybe. But I still watched Return of the Jedi at least three times a year. And my Transformer collection only yet grew. (And grew. And grew.) The long and the short of it was... The Phantom Menace just wasn't good. It wasn't BAD. I've seen The Last Jedi, and I'm not going to lay that at TPM's feet. But it really wasn't great. And it soured me. How could you have Jacen and Jaina, the best young jedi ever, and then we're treated to concepts like younglings and padawan and trade federation. There have been attempts to retrofit the prequels, to make them better when taken as a whole. But the damage was already done. At least for me. I only saw Revenge of the Sith one time in the theaters. After that we got The Clone Wars, and the long, all-too-rapid decent into error and madness. But looking back, that sharp decline started long before The Last Jedi, or The Clone Wars, or even The Phantom Menace. It started in 1997. It started when one person believed he could "fix" what wasn't broken. I can't help but wonder, had George not divorced Marcia Lucas, what would that future have looked like? If George hadn't surrounded himself with sycophantic yes men, had he had someone with the power to tell him no, and to actually mean it, what would have happened? Because we know what we got. A slow, boring, confusing, continuity-scorning mess.
the prequels are great they don´t suck and you are lying if you say that as a kid you didn´t like the prequels every kid like the prequels everyone like you and worldclassbullshiters that claim they hated the prequels as kids and didn´t want to buy the toys are liars
![[UNCUT]“ฅนตื่นธรรม”ปะทะ“หมอปลา-ปู่มหามุนี-อั๋นโอกิ”สะเทือนกระทรวงเวทมนตร์ Iคนดังนั่งเคลียร์I10 ตค.67](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/peMD_SAkwNc/mqdefault.jpg)
I like the explanation it gives for why Anakin named his droid C-3PO. He was the third member of the family: Shmi, Anakin, and 3PO.
It was such a cool tidbit! (And I liked that Threepio's designation wasn't random or unimportant.)
About the podrace that was an "extra" in the book: I really like how they revealed his age at the very end. For someone who didn't see the movie, this was stunning I'm sure
The prequel novelizations is my preferred way to enjoy these stories, especially with all the EU tie-ins later on.
i love how in depth these reviews are. some of the best reviews out there.
You know this already from the deleted scenes on the DVD for the movie, but the Rodian that Anakin beats up in the novelization was supposed to be Greedo. It's not mentioned in the novelization because I think George decided on that during filming, but the scene on the DVD has Wald talk to the other Rodian after Qui-Gon and Anakin walk away, and calls him Greedo. Again, you know that already. And I think the reason that Terry Brooks wasn't very descriptive with the action scenes is because most of that was decided upon during filming and post-production and George didn't include that in the script. Same goes for the colours of the lightsabers. George probably didn't know that Qui-Gon would have a green blade until post-production when the VFX were added into the movie. And I think Darth Maul's wasn't necessarily going to be red either. Though Ewan MacGregor probably insisted that Obi-Wan have a blue blade for continuity sake, and of course Samuel L. Jackson asked for a purple blade, even though Mace Windu wouldn't use his lightsaber until Attack of the Clones.
As for the novelization itself, I had the Queen Amidala/Jar Jar dust jacket version, AND the Anakin/Watto version as well. I bought the Queen Amidala cover not all that long after I saw the movie for the second time (I saw it twice in theatres), and then years later my best friend found the Anakin cover at a used bookstore and bought it for me. I love movie novelizations.
This is where the fun begins!
The novelization was released before the movie. Some of the directorial and visual decisions were during post-production. It was not meant to give you every single detail
Just finished this earlier today and came away quite liking it. I read the 1999 hardcover with Queen Amidala on the front and Jar Jar on the back, in case anyone's wondering.
I have to agree with some of your criticism - Brooks really isn't the most descriptive writer, both in his action and IMO also in terms of describing locations. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the added insight not just into the characters' heads, but the "lore" behind everything, too (think the living force vs. unifying force debate, or the rule of two and Darth Bane). Hence why I think it is best enjoyed either immediately before or after watching the movie.
If I had to rank it against the OT novelizations, I'd put it above SW '77 and TESB but below ROTJ. Better than a mere adaptation of the screenplay, but not nearly unique or powerful in its language enough to stand its own against Kahn's Return of the Jedi. I reckon someone who doesn't care for TPM probably wouldn't get a lot of enjoyment out of it, but it's my favorite prequel by far, so yeah. Go Gungans!
I was searching for star wars movie novelizations content and I had to click on yours considering this amazing costume (I used to love the Amidala costumes as a teen when the prequels came out!).
Love the new set up!
I liked the book backdrop for the NJO post-mortem, and thought I'd bring it back occasionally! (There is not a lot of space to move due to...err...furniture and space limitations, but it's fun to switch things up!)
I helped introduce the novelization of the prequels to another Star Wars review channel and she too saw how much better the movie could’ve been with another writers input had Jorge been willing to listen.
Also all of the original films books came outa month before the movies. This was just standard publishing back in the day. I read all theee OG Star Wars books before seeing the films and it just made the experience better.
Can’t wait to see your reaction to the anakin/tusken scene in the book for ATOC.
what the author wrote in the novel is george vision its what george wanted the author to put in the book you have do understand that the movie doesn´t give time for george to do everything a novel does stop attacking the movies the movies are great and the novels are better because it expands on what the movies couldn´t expand because there was no time but the movie and the novels are both great
A very good review, and a very...interesting makeup choice! Hehe!
Love your reviews
I love the novelizations. The Patricia C. Wrede novelization absolutely excellent.
Hey Meg! Found your channel a few weeks ago, love your reviews!
Those extra parts with Anakin being angry and also being kind to the tusken really should have been in the film to link his path together better for sure. For a child who's a slave, he shouldn't be running around saying "Yippie!" He should be angrier, and as a child wildly emotional about his situation.
There's a good story in the prequels it's just buried under all the "sand."
The point of Anakin is his life was relatively happy and he wouldn't have gone down the path he did had Qui-Gon not died. It's why hes portrayed as a happy child in Phantom Menace, the tidbits of his brewing dark side is his "fear".
Pretty interesting. The book actually sounds more... What's the word?... Intriguing and entertaining. Great review, Meg! I was also surprised to see you in a costume. A pleasant surprise, i should say. Keep up the good work! May the Force be with you! 😃👍
I've always wondered if the Tusken Raider scene was from an early draft of the script or if Terry Brooks knew what was going to happen in Attack of the Clones with the Tuskens when he wrote it.
It was just terry showing anakin as a good kid. There was no plan for aotc at the time he wrote the book.
I know that Lucas told Brooks a little bit about his plan for the trilogy, but I don't think he shared anything specific--so I suspect that the Tusken Raider scene was to show Anakin's kindness without Brooks having any idea of the AOTC developments, like @none ya said.
I read the novelization of "Star Wars" in 1977 (or whenever the book was actually first released) and though it's been more than four decades, I distinctly recall the opening paragraph of the book stating how Senator Palpatine had become Emperor. There were actually people arguing with me online in 1999 after seeing "The Phantom Menace", insisting that Palpatine was NOT Sidious, even though the first Star Wars book ever written clearly stated that he was the Emperor.
I knew that Palpatine was the Emperor. I do remember hoping that Lucas would come up with a plot twist like he did in the original trilogy (with Luke being the son of Vader) My thought was that since clones are involved in the clone wars, a good plot twist would be if senator Palpatine was a dupe of Sidious. If he was a clone with no memory of being one! This way, he wouldn't be evil, and the Jedi would have a reason for not detecting him as a Sith)
@@SJHFoto The way it subsequently turned out, via the prequels, was that he was not only evil, but possibly one of the most evil characters in fiction. He engineered a war for which he was running both sides, destroying billions of lives in the process to give him power over them after which he could oppress the survivors even further.
And while I thoroughly enjoy "The Clone Wars" series and consider it some of the best of Star Wars, knowing he's behind it all is very disturbing and difficult to watch the scenes in which he appears.
I just got a copy to check -- and because I wanted to read it again.
My memory is good, but not perfect. It wasn't the opening paragraph, but the fourth paragraph.
"Aided and abetted by restless, power-hungry individuals within the government, and the massive organs of commerce, the ambitious Senator Palpatine caused himself to be elected President of the Republic... Once secure in office he declared himself Emperor, shutting himself away from the populace..."
Not bad for having only read it once, 45 years ago.
I loved this book's portrayal of the senate scene.
I never read this one. Interesting. I had the same issue about Qui Gon in the film not doing anything to help Shmi as you. Sigh.
It fleshes out TPM a bit, especially with Anakin, which I appreciated! But yeah, leaving Shmi behind has upset me for 20+ years, and I wish Qui-Gon had tried harder or that any of them had promised to come back afterwards to free her (and much, much sooner than 10 whole years later!).
Also love the look as always Meg!
Thanks! I did not want to paint my whole face white (or attempt that elaborate headdress), so I settled for a more casual Amidala look. ;)
Better 2 years than wait a whole decade before deciding "Hey I should try and free the slaves"
I personally don't have much of a problem with Anakin's age. I have to say, at about his age, (maybe even a tad younger), I thought I knew the girl I would grow up and marry. And with his stopping the Trade Federation capital ship, he always seemed to naturally have ability, even if he couldn't control, or even fully understand it. His powers didn't make him into a "mary sue" like I felt Rey was. It seems natural to me-as opposed to him being a teen. Then, I think even Qui-Gon would realise that his angst made him unsuitable for training.
I do agree with you on the topic of how Anakin's mother was left in the lurch though
the reason anakin is 9 in episode 1 is because as a 9 year old its traumatizing for him to leave his mother while a teenager would be happy to leave home
The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones novels are great, both written by fantasy writers.
Love the backround!
You look very cute Meg. I love how you are always very presentable in each of your videos. Anyway, thanks for the video. Certainly, a fun novelization.
One day I'm gonna buy all the novelizations for all he Star Wars films... But it is not this day. ;)
You need to go back and read plagueis before you go any further since it ties directly into the phantom menace
Meg, as the drama director at our high school, I can appreciate on one level the theatrics with the make-up but unfortunately I found it distracting.
With that said, LOVED the review. Very in depth and well balanced of your pros and cons. I usually try and read the novelizations of the 6 movies every 2-3 years. The prequel novels are much better reads than the original trilogy in my opinion. Thanks for reminding me of a few things I've forgotten!
I am reading it. I'm halfway through. I already like it more than the movie. But man, I really dislike Jar Jar, even in this medium.
The worst of the prequels. I did enjoy the comic adaptation far better than the film. Ive seen many fan versions of prequel era events and the weakest of them are far better than what Lucas did. Exactly! Anakin should've been far older. I even wrote my own version of an Episode 1. I never liked Qui Gon either, it really pisses me off. Lucas really messed up with the execution of the prequels.
15:30-I know this may not be a popular opinion, but they are lightsabers, not mood rings! I don't know why so many people ascribe so much importance to the colours of the blades. (Sorry, Meg-that's just my opinion)
Because George ascribed so much importance to the color red being bad, and blue green being the “standard.” Don’t blame the fans for following the creators choices.
I will make no secret that I hated the prequels. I was the right age, the right demographic, in the right place at the right time in 1999 for TPM to be a perfect storm. I had read all the novels and comics. I was the absolute perfect specimen. How could it go wrong?
Oh. It sucked.
The trouble started in 1997. My best friend was so happy to see Jabba the Hutt in A New Hope. He liked the celebration on Corosant. But I was bitter they removed the Yub Nub song. It wasn't the same. It wasn't right. Something was *wrong*
Of course, try explaining that to an 11 year old. I didn't have the knowledge, or the words, or the understanding. I still called people by their character name and not the actor when they showed up in other movies. So I got my mom to march me and my sister down to the movie theater (a rare treat for us) in 1999 to watch The Phantom Menace. I had eaten a month's worth of Taco Bell to get all the Pog game pieces (okay, they weren't really Pogs. But they were the right size that they went right into my second-hand Pog collection. Again, poor.) I begged for the DK movie book that had photos from the upcoming movie. This was going to be awesome.
And it was. Kind of. Double bladed lightsaber, just like Exar Kun! Duel of Fates! Uh... Young Obi-Wan! But everything else was just... off. Why was there nothing but Jedi? Where was the Han Solo type character? Where were the dogfights? Why was it so BORING?! And then it was over. And we went home. And unlike with PotF a few years earlier, I didn't get any of the toys. I didn't want them. Was I aging out at 13? Maybe. But I still watched Return of the Jedi at least three times a year. And my Transformer collection only yet grew. (And grew. And grew.) The long and the short of it was... The Phantom Menace just wasn't good. It wasn't BAD. I've seen The Last Jedi, and I'm not going to lay that at TPM's feet. But it really wasn't great. And it soured me. How could you have Jacen and Jaina, the best young jedi ever, and then we're treated to concepts like younglings and padawan and trade federation.
There have been attempts to retrofit the prequels, to make them better when taken as a whole. But the damage was already done. At least for me. I only saw Revenge of the Sith one time in the theaters. After that we got The Clone Wars, and the long, all-too-rapid decent into error and madness. But looking back, that sharp decline started long before The Last Jedi, or The Clone Wars, or even The Phantom Menace. It started in 1997. It started when one person believed he could "fix" what wasn't broken.
I can't help but wonder, had George not divorced Marcia Lucas, what would that future have looked like? If George hadn't surrounded himself with sycophantic yes men, had he had someone with the power to tell him no, and to actually mean it, what would have happened? Because we know what we got. A slow, boring, confusing, continuity-scorning mess.
Okay.
the prequels are great they don´t suck and you are lying if you say that as a kid you didn´t like the prequels every kid like the prequels everyone like you and worldclassbullshiters that claim they hated the prequels as kids and didn´t want to buy the toys are liars