Getting on-thread unlike I was earlier, yeah, "it" was the characters and the classic story elements. I mean what boy didn't want to be the hero hot-shot Luke? It was a classic coming-of-age story, a good vs. evil story; it was the hero's journey in which he got to keep his best friends, and it allowed the audience to wonder at the aspects of life that may never be solvable, that will always be mystical, will always be "the Force".