The Star Wars prequel trilogy has become a beloved and widely appreciated part of the franchise in recent times. The more computer-based creation of the films was one of the reasons it got a lot of hate, however, this is something that has become more forgiven as time has gone on. Yet, just because the movies have been done with so much advanced tech does not mean that it saves them from the odd production goof.
The original trilogy was full of fun minor mistakes, such as the stormtrooper head-bump, and while the prequel trilogy does not have an error that iconic, it still has its fair share of quirky, head-scratching moments.
The Repeated Coruscant Traffic
Coruscant is such an incredible planet in Star Wars and there is such depth to it. The city-covered world is the heart and capital of the Galaxy and a vibrant place, with many levels to it and bustling traffic everywhere. However, this traffic often looks very similar.
By paying attention to the traffic at points in The Phantom Menace, it is blatantly clear that the computer-generated aerial traffic is on some sort of loop, with repeated cars and movements. It is obviously no big deal, affecting the movie in no way, but it is still funny as it does feel like they might be traveling in circles together.
Ki-Adi-Mundi's Changing Lightsaber
Lightsabers are always the source of a fun production goof in Star Wars, from the New York manufacturer on Luke's saber to the wires coming from Obi-Wan's. Attack Of The Clones saw Ki-Adi-Mundi fall victim to a funny mishap.
During the iconic Battle of Geonosis, Ki-Adi-Mundi starts with a blue lightsaber before Yoda, and the troops arrive, prompting the blade to turn green. When Ki-Adi joins Mace and Yoda on a LAAT gunship, his lightsaber has turned blue again. Now, this either means he is clumsily dropping and chucking his weapon about or it's an error on the creators' behalf.
The Multi-Purpose Button On Padmé's Ship
Technology in Star Wars is always a bit of a mystery. Being a fantasy franchise, a lot of the tech will never make sense to audiences, and it does not need to. However, it does raise some questions, just as it does in Attack Of The Clones.
When Obi-Wan contacts Padmé and Anakin, Padmé pushes a red button to transmit the message to the Jedi back on Coruscant. Moments later, she presses the exact same button to pull up a map, showing how close they are to Geonosis. It is possible this button somehow does both these things without anything happening between presses, but unlikely.
Palpatine Switching Lightsabers
The entire sequence of Palpatine being confronted and then dueling the Jedi led by Mace Windu has some iconic stuff, from the line "I am the Senate" to Palpatine's ludicrous scream (which all add to why the battle is so liked by prequel Star Wars fans. It also has another lightsaber mistake.
Sidious, of course, fights this fun battle with his lightsaber - mostly. At one point, the hilt of his blade is clearly that of Anakin's, the iconic Skywalker lightsaber. Whether it was a simple mistake on the production's behalf is up for debate, but there was a rumor that Palpatine was meant to defend himself with Anakin's lightsaber in the original Revenge of the Sith script.
Anakin's Mouth Movement & Dialogue Not Matching Up
Throughout Star Wars, there are times when an actor's voice can be heard speaking the dialogue, but the actor's mouth is not quite matching up upon closer inspection. There are numerous examples of this in the prequels, including in Revenge Of The Sith.
While Padmé pleads with Anakin on Mustafar, the dialogue spoken by Anakin is "And I'm doing it for you, to protect you." while his mouth movements clearly are saying, "And I'm doing it because I love you, to protect you." It is noticeable on-screen and begs the question of why it was changed when the two lines are so similar?
The Disappearing Vent-Like Object When Obi-Wan Confronts Grievous
There are few scenes in the Star Wars prequel trilogy more iconic than Obi-Wan and General Grievous' duel. From "Hello, there." to "So uncivilized." it is a meme goldmine. It also has a couple of little goofs.
One comes right before the start of the battle when Obi-Wan uses the Force to rip down a vent-like object on top of a couple of Magna Guards. When the battle begins, the object magically disappears. Since Obi-Wan had to pull it down from above, it is doubtful a couple of battle droids could have removed it while everyone was fighting.
Darth Maul's Human Neck
It can be commonly misconceived that the Star Wars prequels entirely do away with practical elements, which is not true. There are many practical effects in each movie, and character costumes and make-up were obviously never done on a computer.
Maul, at the time still using the Darth title, is a character with an incredibly iconic look, but that look also has an easy-t0-miss mishap in The Phantom Menace. While talking with Palpatine about going to Tatooine, there is a moment where Maul's neck is visible, and it is pretty clearly just a human neck, that of Ray Park, having been matching his skin for the rest of the film.
Reusing The Same Shot Of Anakin
Chase scenes are done in various fun ways throughout franchise, and Attack Of The Clones gives one to audiences right at the start as the iconic Star Wars duo of Anakin and Obi-Wan chase Zam Wessell through the aerial traffic, and then the streets of Coruscant.
While Anakin is running after Zam, the camera cuts between the two, except it is clear that the same shot of Anakin running has been used twice as he pushes past hoards of people. The costumes are the same, the movements are the same, and the lighting is the same. It is a literal copy-and-pasted shot, which is kind of lazy, but also pretty funny upon realizing the mistake.
No Water For Jar Jar
Shmi Skywalker is one of the most underrated characters of the prequels. She is played so wonderfully and warmly by the unsung Pernilla August and is perceived to be motherly and kind (shown as soon as fans meet her in The Phantom Menace, where she feeds Qui-Gon, Padmé, and Jar).
As everyone is eating, Shmi goes around the table and pours water for everybody except Jar Jar. While the sound of pouring water can distinctly be heard, there is none going into Jar Jar's cup. Either Shmi disliked Gungan's or CGI water missed the cut for things to get put into the movie.
The Nexu Attack On Padmé
Padmé Amidala has gotten a ton of criticism over the years for the writing, performance, and overall quality of the character. The character has been built upon and improved significantly since the prequels, but those films still have a couple of glaring mistakes involving her.
Attack Of The Clones perhaps has the worst one as, during the Battle of Geonosis, Padmé gets attacked by a Nexu. Somehow the claws of the Nexu perfectly slice across her back and on part of Padmé's iconic outfit. However, the pretty brutal cuts on Padmé's back are never bleeding, and, in fact, leave no red stains on her white gear. Nobody really cares about these details in a movie franchise like Star Wars as they do not hurt the movie or ruin the experience, but they do look funny and odd when noticing upon rewatch.