Curious Kid

"Uncle, what was cut from the movie?", my nephew asks. I had told him 5 minutes before that we were going to watch the original theatrical release of Return of the Jedi. When he asked what I meant his mom told him it means things have been cut from it. He seemed to be satisfied and we went about watching the movie.

"Who is that guy with the things on his head?", he asks next. I answer, "Bib Fortuna. He's a Twileck. Those things are Leku." I think this is the end of the questions, but I am wrong. "Where is he from?" "Ryloth." "What language does he speak?" "I forget. I think there are two languages on Ryloth though. I will have to check." "Where does he sleep?" "In his bedroom in Jabba's palace." "Where is his bedroom?" "They don't show it in the movie, so I don't know." All the while I am struggling to remember the book "Tales From Jabba's Palace", which I read years ago. The questions didn't stop there.

"Why is that guy pushing Leia towards Jabba the Hut?" "She got caught trying to rescue Han. Now she is in trouble." "Why is she in trouble?" "Because Jabba is a bad guy." "'Cause he didn't listen to his mommy and daddy." "That's right." "Who is Jabba's daddy?" "Zorba the Hut." "Who is Jabba's mommy?" "I don't know." "Who are his brothers and sisters?" "I don't know. I will have to check." By this time I had the attention of everybody in the vicinity. This included my wife, parents, and sister.

"Who is that guy with the green face?" "A Gammorean." "What does he speak?" "I think it is called Gammorean. I don't remember if it is something else." "Why is he in the pit with Luke?" "He fell in when Jabba pushed the button." The questions continued to get more entertaining the longer we talked, but I think I covered the gist pretty well. His mom tried to get the video camera out, but I don't think she caught much of the conversation.

Later we were outside playing on the playground at my parents' house. We talked about a few things, and then Star Wars came up again. "I like Anakin because he wins all his fights." "He doesn't win all his fights. He lost to Obi-Wan." "But he killed him in 'A New Hope'." "He didn't win that one. Obi-Wan knew he would become more powerful if he let Vader kill him." "Oh." A few minutes go by when he brings it up again. "I liked it when Vader killed Obi-Wan. I like it when Anakin wins." I don't know about you, but this 4 year old is pretty entertaining to me.

I look forward to answering this set of questions from my son when he is old enough. My son will know that Obi-Wan is the best Jedi though. :)