Bingowings said:

Character design and brand recognition sadly isn't the same thing as character and story.

Exactly,...it is a pity that the character design for Jir-Jir & Darth Meul are very good, but sadly their brand recognition doesn't hold with the public and their characteristics and story is forgettable.

Nat Portman is a beautiful woman, she has shown that she can act (well before she appeared in any Star Wars movie and since) but her character was written poorly, she was there to explain the parentage of the Skywalker Twins.

She showed potential in AOTC, but disappeared into the CG background in ROTS

Its a shame you have this mindset, using the ST to connect to the weakest strand of the PT just to try and elevate the PT..........!

Cut that strand and use the strong elements of the OT = Success