For a long time, the Star Wars prequels were widely considered to be very bad movies. Wooden performances, a ridiculous script, and CGI that was too ambitious for its time blended together into a perfect storm of terrible filmmaking. Fans of Star Wars were outraged to find that the character of Darth Vader was reduced to whiny Anakin. They came for lightsaber fights featuring Jedi in their prime only to find boring scenes about space politics. The prequels were simply an insult to Star Wars, and it seemed that no one would ever embrace them. Then something changed.

The children who grew up watching the prequels as they released loved them. Why wouldn't they? There were colorful spaceships, Jedi that did sick flips while fighting, and, best of all, podracing! As kids, they didn't care if the movies were actually good. They just wanted them to be fun. And fun they were, even many years later.

Now the kids who grew up with the prequels are adults. And what do adults in the 2010s do with beloved things from their childhoods? Why, make memes about them of course!  All of a sudden, the odd acting and script choices that made the movies so bad make the memes so good. So here are 25 gut-busting creations from fans who  take the high ground, become the senate, and put the "ooba" in "ooba ooba."

24 Shots Fired At EA

via: mimetic.net

If you're a gamer and you've been on the internet in the past week, you know about the Star Wars Battlefront II debacle. Heck, even if you don't consider yourself a gamer (although why would you be on a site called The Gamer?), you have probably heard the story on mainstream news. It's quite a roller coaster of a tale, with the feel-good ending of players taking to the internet to fight off EA's attempt to over-monetize the latest Star Wars game. One of the weapons at the fans' disposal was prequel memes. It was a fun way to use humor to inform other players and point out EA's shady business practices. The best part is, the memes won. At least for now...

23 It Would Explain A Lot

via: reddit.com/user/MurderTheBear

There's a pretty well-known joke in the Game Of Thrones fandom of calling the Night's King "Ice Maul." But this meme takes it a step further. What if the Night's King isn't a snowy version of Darth Maul, but his actual offspring? And who is the most well known woman with ice powers? Elsa, apparently. Maul and Elsa are both owned by Disney, so maybe they met at the annual holiday party. The plot thickens from there, though. After all, why is the child of two Disney parents on an HBO show? Perhaps the Night's King is going through his rebellious phase. Or maybe there's no acceptable head canon and this is just a silly meme. You decide.

22 Not. Yet.

via: reddit.com/user/ranch_brotendo

The ultimate master plan. I'm embarrassed to admit that, as a kid, I forgot that the evil Emperor's name was Palpatine. So I went through Phantom Menace totally believing that Senator Palpatine was just a nice dude. I was happy for him when he was promoted to chancellor. Luckily I brushed up on my lore before Revenge Of The Sith was released, or I would have been in for a shock. Then again, nothing in the prequels was subtle. I probably would have caught on during the Darth Plageuis speech, at the very least. Although it does make me wonder...what was it like for kids who watched the series prequels first? How would it feel to go through a trilogy where Anakin is introduced as a good guy, and have no knowledge who Darth Vader is? Sounds like an experiment to try when I have kids...

21 To Do Or Not To Do...

via: imgur.com/user/DoctorVanillaBear

Somewhere else in the list I mentioned that I temporarily forgot that Palpatine is the evil emperor's name in the original trilogy. Which lead me to speculate when, had I never remembered, I would have caught on to his dark nature. He's pretty unassuming in The Phantom Menace. I don't even remember him being too suspicious in Attack Of The Clones. But he was pretty darn obvious in Revenge Of The Sith. Like, did Anakin just not reflect on the fact that the chancellor of the republic called for an immediate execution? And in a weird voice? Nope. Guess the most logical thing to do is decapitate a helpless Dooku.

20 Official Coffee Of Jedi Masters

via: imgur.com/user/DoctorVanillaBear

Memes are always more fun when the subject of the meme is in on them. So, naturally, I've wondered whether Ewan McGregor is aware of the many memes centered around his portrayal of Obi-Wan. It turns out, he is. Not because he surfs certain parts of the internet, mind you, but because he made the mistake of doing a Reddit AMA. I kid, Reddit is a very fun site. But when McGregor responded to fan questions via Reddit, his responses were trolled with constant quotes from the prequels. Fortunately for the fans, McGregor seemed willing to play along. Who wouldn't, when your decade-old performance is still a source of viral content to this very day?

19 He Didn't See That Coming...

via: reddit.com/user/Tilairgan

Here's a fun fact: the little youngling that this meme is centered on actually has a name. He goes by Sors Bandeam. It seems like every character in Star Wars, no matter how small their part, has a name. There's never Jedi #5 or Rebel Pilot #2. And in fact, many of these named characters come with ridiculously elaborate backstories. Even characters like the dine-owning alien who says "Well, whaddya know?" have rich histories. Sors, unfortunately, was too young to get such treatment. There are no comics or novels that delve into Sors' past. All we know is that he was a padawan and he gets killed. Poor kid. Hopefully, the Fine Bros. treat him better than Anakin did. Yeah, probably not gonna happen.

18 Winners Don't Do Death Sticks

via: reddit.com/user/Steamdroid

For some inexplicable reason, the death stick scene is one of my favorite moments in all of Star Wars. I can't put into words why, but that scene always captivates me and makes me laugh no matter how many times I see it. The best part of the scene, however, is that it ended up being the launching point for a whole character arc. The death stick dealer actually has a name: Elan Sel'Sabagno. He makes appearances in various Star Wars comics and novels, which show that he actually does go home and rethink his life. He ends up turning a new leaf, quitting the drug trade and trying to help others do the same. Leave it to Star Wars to take one random dialogue exchange and turn it into a whole meaningful story.

17 The Tragedy Of Power Bank The Charged

via: reddit.com/user/Dota2TradeAccount

When I got my first power bank, I also marveled at the inherent irony in the device. After all, I bought it because I would always forget to charge my phone when I was out. So what good does it do to have another device that I need to remember to charge? Sure enough, I often find myself thinking "I should bring my power bank! Except I forgot to charge it..." Of course, there's not really any other way to make it work. It's not like I can carry infinite energy around with me. My only hope now is wireless charging. Maybe one day a wireless charging pad will be invented and my phone will just charge itself as it sits on the table. A man can dream...

16 Alola There!

via: instagram.com/prequels4life

High ground memes are a dime a dozen. But that doesn't mean they get old. In fact, I'd say the high ground memes get better every time. Maybe I'm just biased because Obi-Wan is my favorite prequel character. Or biased because Exeggcutor is one of my favorite Pokémon. Doubly so with Alolan Exeggcutor. It's actually said in the Pokémon world that Alolan Exeggcutor is the true Exeggcutor, because the tropical rays allowed it to grow to its healthiest height. As for why the true form of a tree of eggs is a dragon type, I have no idea. Maybe having the high ground makes you as strong as a dragon.

15 TFW Bae Calls But General Kenobi

via: reddit.com/user/AxelAbraxas

Oh, General Grievous. Anyone else remember the original Clone Wars animated series? The Genndy Tartakovsky one where the episodes were only five minutes long? That was my, and many others', first introduction to Grievous. And man was he cool. He stalked a group of Jedi like a predatory animal and took them out one by one with his agile fighting style. Then, he stole their lightsabers and held them in his multiple arms. I watched those episodes wide-eyed, and counted the days until Revenge Of The Sith would release and show Grievous in all his bug-budget glory. When it did...well, you probably shared my disappointment when Grievous turned out to be a wimp with a smoking habit. At least his wheel thingy was cool.

14 Nothing To Lose Your Head Over

via: reddit.com/r/PrequelMemes

Speaking of characters that had a lot of buildup and then got embarrassingly destroyed, here's Jango Fett. We should have probably guessed this one, seeing as Boba established the Fett tradition of looking cool but doing nothing of substance. But Jango was shown to be so much more skilled than his son. He actually took out quite a few Jedi with his sweet dual pistols. His armor was also a lot cleaner and better taken care of. But those things were not enough to best the second most powerful member of the Jedi Council. When Mace Windu and Jango Fett fought, only one was allowed to look cool. And I'd bet that Samuel L. Jackson has a clause in his contract that states he must be the coolest guy in every scene.

13 Who's That Prequel Meme?

via: reddit.com/user/Joeobo

Here's a little dark humor for you. When you think about it, Anakin's whole story of doing everything for love but going too far should have been an engaging tale. Instead, the romance between him and Padme ended up being forced and awkward. And when the romance, the entire reason Vader was born, is unbelievable, it kinds of ruins the whole story. It kind of makes me want a re-do of the prequels. Like a version where the story is told right, with actual dramatic acting, rather than just being meme fodder. But Disney will probably never do that. Instead, we're going to get the Solo movie, then probably an R2-D2 movie, and then a Lobot movie to make a new trilogy.

12 Ooba Ooba

via: motherboard.vice.com

Even as a child who was watching the prequels and enjoying the crap out of them, this particular scene always struck me as stupid. Padme died...of a broken heart? I can sort of understand if she lost the will to live and so succumbed to her injuries, but she didn't really have any injuries. Anakin choked her for a few seconds, but not enough to suffocate her or break her neck. So she literally just died because she was upset that her husband turned evil. Also, who loses the will to live after having two children? How does seeing the literal new hope of the galaxy not give you a reason to keep going. It's okay medical droids, I'm on your side. You can't help a patient who wants to die.

11 He's Gonna Be In For A Shock

via: imgur.com/user/DoctorVanillaBear

Of all the characters in Star Wars that get tons of lore and backstory, Yoda is surprisingly not one of them. In fact, Yoda's alien species doesn't even have an official name. And with hundreds of years of life before the Clone Wars even started, one would think that Yoda would be perfect material for a Star Wars anthology movie. A prequel to the prequels. Then again, audiences probably wouldn't want a movie where the main character talks in backwards sentences. It would get annoying after the first twenty minutes. On the plus side, we'd get more action sequences filled with Yoda's sick lightsaber moves. What do you think? Would a Yoda movie be worth it?

10 Not The Gumdrop Button!

via: imgur.com/user/DoctorVanillaBear

I don't remember Revenge Of The Sith being so low-res, even though it is a movie made in the early 2000s. I also don't remember Anakin being so sugary. Maybe this is from one of the director's cuts where George Lucas added a bunch of random CGI things in order to achieve his "vision." It's funny, as a kid I thought the CGI for the battle droids and ships were really advanced. But when I re-watched the prequels recently, they stuck out like a pair of sore thumbs. Particularly the animations of the droids. Time has not been kind to them. But that's how it is, CGI keeps advancing and making the old stuff look like garbage. I wonder when the current year's movie effects are going to start sucking.

9 I See Through The Fries Of The Jedi

via: imgur.com/user/DoctorVanillaBear

I imagine that someone just randomly thought of "Bananakin" one day and was very pleased with themselves. Then, this was born. I love the little detail that, over time, Obi-Wan (Obinana-Wan?) gets more brown. As if he's being corrupted by the act of killing Bananakin. Or that his turn has browned the whole bunch. Meanwhile, what did that lightsaber fight look like? Do fruit Jedi still do ridiculous tricks and spins when the duel? I don't know, but if it looks nearly as awesome as this, I'm sold. Or perhaps its that when they unpeel, they have lightsaber banana cores? Anyway, on to the next one!

8 Only Jedi Masters Will Get It

via: reddit.com/user/ClarkStark117

Mace Windu never struck me as a Jedi with sense of humor. Then again, most Jedi were very serious, monk-like individuals. Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi seemed to be an exception to the rule, what with Obi-Wan's talent for banter and Yoda's habit of trolling Luke Skywalker. Maybe that's why they were among the few Jedi that survived Order 66. They were more flexible in their mindsets and less strict when it came to following the Jedi code. Windu, on the other hand, was a little too set in his ways Perhaps if he learned to crack a joke every now and again, he would still be alive to swing his funky purple lightsaber as part of the Rebellion. But alas, Anakin got the last laugh.

7 Shiskurny Dopot, Sleemo!

via: reddit.com/user/myfajahas400children

This is such a relatable situation that I'm not even sure more needs to be said. Like, what right does a sleemo have to go around calling people dobiella nok? Or bantha poodo for that matter? That Sebulba was a real jerk. One might even say that he was the true villain of the Phantom Menace. Sidious was barely in it. Maul was cool, but he was given a sympathetic arc later on in the Clone Wars cartoon. But Sebulba is the one character that doesn't get a fleshed-out backstory or entire comic series dedicated to his life after the movie. No backstory, no relatable tragedy that excuses his horrendous actions in the movies. He's just a straight-up sleemo.

6 What About The Droid Attack On The Neighborhood?

via: reddit.com/user/nuggetinabuiscuit

Did anyone else enjoy the comedic battle droids in the Clone Wars movie and cartoon? I found them to be amusing. Yes, they were the target of a lot of slapstick humor aimed at children, but I got quite a few laughs from their dialogue. Of course, if you're one of the Star Wars fans that doesn't really like anything outside of the movies, roger roger is still a great meme. It's also the only meme you'll get out of regular battle droids (supers have those wrist rockets, watch out for those). Unless, of course, you love that sequence where C-3P0's head ends up on a battle droid body. Now that right there is some classic comedy. (Only not really)

5 The Ultimate Test

via: imgur.com/user/IrishJet

Just when you think they may have run out of prequel memes, they come up with something else. As it states, you can pretty much use any single word in the Star Wars franchise and turn it into a meme. Interesting fact about Jango Fett, meanwhile. Despite the fact that he wears one of the only sets of Mandalorian armor seen in the movies, Jango is not considered a true Mandalorian. The government of Mandalore does not look kindly upon those who turn their backs on their home world, or engage in shady occupations like bounty hunting. As such, Jango is seen as someone who abandoned his culture, and stole his armor rather than earned it. Now, is that actually all true? Possibly.