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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, November 14, 2002

MIXED MEDIA
Studios weigh Jar-Jar factor in new movies

By Claudia Puig
USA Today

Jar Jar Binks, the amphibious alien who first appeared in 1999's "Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace," is getting some serious competition in the movie sidekick universe. On screen now or coming soon:

  • The animatronic talking reindeer, Comet, in "The Santa Clause 2," who overdoses on chocolate bars and becomes flatulent.
  • The computer-generated Dobby, a whiny and mischievous house elf, in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," out tomorrow.
  • The animated B.E.N., a jabbering robot who literally has lost his mind in "Treasure Planet," coming Nov. 27.

These three join a long tradition of supporting players who provide comic relief, from Jiminy Cricket to the droids in the original "Star Wars" to the squirrelly Scrat in "Ice Age."

But like Jar Jar, the new characters' sometimes-irritating antics could turn parents off, and that could put a dent in ticket sales. After all, parents control the pocketbooks, and if they find characters unbearable, second or third viewings could be off limits.

"You run the risk of alienating the audience that is paying for the ticket and bringing their kids into the theater," says Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co., a box-office tracking firm.