Had a thought. Harry Potter is a fun, action packed fantasy that is aimed at an audience younger than SW, but it still found time to deal with slavery. Dobby the house-elf is gobsmacked when Harry treats him like a "Human being". Then Hermoine forms a committee to campaign for Elf rights.
It's all quite lighthearted but the slavery issue is dealt with, reflecting well on our hereos and throwing the wickedness of the villains into sharp relief.
Luke's the only character that really shows any love and care for the droids. Like when he thinks R2 has been eaten by the Dagobah giant fish thing. I always got the feeling R2 was luke's best friend.
