Watto

A shrewd deal-maker, the wily Watto runs a junk shop masquerading as a used parts store in the frontier town of Mos Espa on the arid planet Tatooine. His success as a salvager has allowed him to indulge his passion for gambling. The Toydarian places colossal wagers on the notorious Mos Espa Podrace competitions, and has acquired a small fortune of currency, slaves and other possessions as a result. Squat in stature, and extraordinarily light despite his pudgy appearance, Watto hovers about by way of gas-filled tissues and a pair of frenetically beating wings.

Interestingly, the final design concept for this whimsical junk dealer evolved out of an early portrait of of a Neimoidian, which George Lucas had described as being a pirate/mercenary type of character. The facial features of the illustration caught Lucas' attention, however, and the face was chosen to represent a Toydarian instead. When combined with another drawing of a cherubic, pot-bellied, winged being, Watto was born.