Not a Jake Lloyd or Star Wars is for kids thread. I'm rewatching all SW movies in preparation for IX, and it occurred to me just how much of my problems with the prequel trilogy would be fixed if they made Anakin 14-16 instead of 10-11.
- You can show him starting to pine for Padme, and her rebuffing him because of her duty. Makes it less weird in Ep II where as a senator she can relax and let him in
- Make the whole "too old to train to be a Jedi" a bit more believable, especially because you can show a moody / volatile side to Anakin
- Related to that, in Ep I he's a goody-two-shoes, but everyone acts like he's secretly a monster ("the boy is dangerous!); but nothing in his characterization supports it. If he's a teen, you can show him having a strong, scary reaction to something (and foreshadowing the slaughter in II)
- Also makes it less ridiculous that he never went back for his mom. Ep II Can now believably take place right when Anakin can go back and save his mom, only to find she's dead