Ok, I can't let that one pass, Steve.
DISCLAIMER: This post is written by a Star Wars geek, it is kind of long and very geeky.
The Phantom Menace is a MUCH more "childish" movie than A New Hope ever was.
I've recently rewatched the prequels, and gained a new appreciation of them, but I noticed some things:
1. Jar Jar Binks. Where's the equivalent character in A New Hope? Please point out the goofy alien that steps in shit and talks like a six-year old, I must have missed it.
2. Aliens in general. The new alien races presented in The Phantom Menace look universally cartoony and "funny", with only a few exceptions (the Kel Dor being a very notable exception). Granted, there are some "silly" alien races in A New Hope, but most of them are kind of sinister. Also, in A New Hope, aliens speak strange, alien languages. In The Phantom Menace, aliens speak English (or Basic if you will) with stupid accents (this was rectified somewhat in Attack of the Clones, which is superior to The Phantom Menace).
3. Han Solo / Greedo. In the original un-f*cked-with version of A New Hope, Han Solo took Greedo (the Rodian bounty hunter in the Cantina) out before Greedo had the chance to loose a shot. Very cold hearted, but utterly cool.
4. The charred, smoking corpses of Luke's adoptive parents. Would you see that in A Phantom Menace?
5. Character names. When you have your children name your characters, you get names like Jar Jar Binks, Boss Nass, Watto and Yaddle.
If pressured, I will grant you that A New Hope might be a family movie. A Phantom Menace, however, is a movie for kids.
That doesn't mean that I hate A Phantom Menace, though. As I said, it's grown on me (although it's my least favorite Star Wars movie), but I feel I must speak up when people say that the Star Wars movies have always been for kids.
(For those who feel the need to mention Ewoks: in the original script for Star Wars, they were supposed to be Wookies. But Lucas decided to kidify them for Return of the Jedi and changed them into Ewoks,)
> End rant
