An Ode to the Sound Naboo Blasters Make

Thesonic setting of Star Warsis almost one forlegendary , now recognizablecallouts . The snap - hiss ofan igniting lightsaber . The imbue wail of a TIE Fighter shrieking into opinion , the foreign clamor of Mos Eisley cantina . The prequels added to this catalogue massively , from the quivering bass of podracer locomotive to the thrumming of ray shields . But nothing compares to the sound the chargeman used by Padmé and the Naboo guard in Phantom Menace to me .

I ’ve been thinking about this ever since I fancy Phantom Menacein theaters againthis retiring weekend forits twenty-fifth anniversary . It ’s a film that is really hole - packed with incredible new level to Star Wars ’ sound design , marrying a lot of the iconic sounds we have it off with new noise — from the podracers and shield mentioned above to the holographic atmospherics of Sidious ’ moving comms political program , the click - clapper valve of Battle Droid foot , or that joyful minuscule bounce the Gungan energy balls make as Jar Jar accidentally fix an ammo cart full of them tramp down a pitcher’s mound . But the Naboo blasters , whether it ’s Padmé’ssleek little silver holdoutor the big pistols used by Captain Panaka and the security department forces , are burned into my eardrums as a unequivocal aspect of the prequel trilogy .

It ’s a fascinating transonic choice , in the first place — for the most part , the chargeman fervour from the Trade Federation ’s battle droids sounds similar to theblaster blast we heardin the original Star Wars movies . They voice like , well , blasters : they go “ church bench church bench , ” albeit with a little less percussive punch than we ’re used to , and little red bolt blotch out across the projection screen . The Naboo , who we ’ve repeatedly been secern about as a peaceful , passively diplomatic citizenry , whose culture ’s embrace of art reflect their refined political sympathies , have blaster that sound anything but . It ’s high up cant , it ’s echo - y and light , it reverberates in the air liken to the mingy speech sound of distinctive blaster blast . It ’s a sound that ’s hard to capture in onomatopoeia , it ’s almost like a “ bwah ! ”

Image: Lucasfilm

It ’s ridiculous ! It ’s oddly elegant ! For a people who respect aesthetic and creativity more than warriorlike world power — in spitefulness of the fact that Padmé evidently has like four shooting iron tucked into the armrest of her throne , just because she can!—it just vocalise right . You hear that noise in a shootout scene and can blame it out , but you also go “ oh yeah , that sounds like a triggerman this culture would make . ” That ’s a spate to infer from a “ bwah ! ” but that ’s what makes it such an incredible piece of sound design in the first topographic point . It sounds unlike anything else in Star Wars , but immediately enjoin you so much about the worldbuilding it ’s part of .

The prequels now have almost as rich a transonic bequest as the original films do , adding tons and tons of fascinating routine of level-headed design into the wider arras of the galaxy far , far away . But the Naboo blaster perhaps remain as one of its fine increase : a truly graceful weapon , for a more civilised age .

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