To be completely charitable, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is…divisive among fans. It’s not many people’s favorite in the franchise, often citing the weird, stilted acting, convoluted plot, and some poorly judged comedy relief. But even those of us who say it’s the worst in the saga have two things we can agree on. First, the “Duel of the Fates” lightsaber battle and accompanying piece of music rule. And two, the podrace scene is pretty cool. The latter features some nifty designs, fast-paced action, and typically wild sound effects. Like all Star Wars sounds, it’s fun to replicate them with your mouth.
Which, as all good segues do, leads me to the subject of this article. A YouTube channel called Liam’s Newly Rebranded Entertainment Franchise has released a series of videos in which all the electronic and mechanical noises of the podracers instead come from a human mouth.
Simply because he could, this Liam person also redubs all the dialogue and alien grunts. Why not? As silly as the premise is, this is very impressive. I’ve always enjoyed the sound of Sebulba’s enormous engines and the doppler effect of the racers going passed the camera like they actually exist. It’s a fun bit of emersion. Really, the prequels, for all their faults, do have outstanding sound design. I also particularly enjoy the sound of the seismic charges Jango Fett launches in the asteroid field in Attack of the Clones. The best part of that movie? Debatable.
Not much works about The Phantom Menace, but even with a guy just doing sounds with his mouth, the podrace sequence is a blast to watch. Poor that one guy who absolutely explodes in the cave. Surprised he didn’t see it coming, but fog of war and all that.
In any case, these videos (all four of them) are a delight, and he promises to make more for the later movies too. So stay tuned!
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.
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