Long before galactic strife enveloped his native Naboo, Jar Jar Binks was exiled from the underwater city of Otoh Gunga. His main sin: being clumsy in front of the head of his clan. To hear Jar Jar tell it in his Gungan/Basic pidgin, he "boomed da gasser, and crashed de boss's heyblibber, den banished."

An outcast, the Gungan spent his time in the Naboo swampland, surviving on raw shellfish or just about anything else that the murky ecosystem had to offer. Jar Jar's fate took a twist when the hapless Gungan encountered a pair of Jedi as they eluded enemy forces during the Trade Federation invasion of Naboo.

By Gungan tradition, Jar Jar found himself indebted to Qui-Gon Jinn for saving his life. Jar Jar guided the Jedi to the underwater city of Otoh Gunga, where they secured transport to the Naboo capital of Theed. Jar Jar braved the "nocombackie law" to present Qui-Gon to the Gungan leader, Boss Nass, even though he risked the consequence of being "pounded" to death.

Throughout the adventure of liberating Naboo, Jar Jar tagged along with Qui-Gon. Although his bungling, haphazard mannerisms constantly landed him in hot water, his good nature and loyalty somehow helped him triumph in the end.

Queen Amidala requested that Jar Jar make contact with the Gungans. With Jar Jar's help, the Naboo and the Gungans forged an alliance that liberated the besieged world of Naboo. During the ground battle against the mechanized armies of the Trade Federation, Jar Jar was made a general in the Gungan Grand Army. After the battle, Jar Jar continued to ascend in Gungan society, putting his awkward past as an outcast behind him.

During the Battle of Naboo, Jar Jar was a young Gungan, with mottled, amphibian skin, flipper-like ears, elongated eye-stalks and a rubbery body.