The YIJC works because Indy lives in an unbelievable world where Christian, Jewish and Hindu deities coexist alongside Ancient aliens, in a world where a man can survive all the impossible things Indy survives in the original 3 films. That one man would find both the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant in a two year span is improbable to say the least. That he would uncover the Sankara Stones as well just a year prior is stretching reality. Combine this with him taking on elite German forces in 1936 and 1938 and winning despite being just Indy. All of that stretches one's sense of disbelief; I can live with Indy meeting famous people because his entire life is unbelievable as it is even within the context of the films.
They also work because his life was largely a blank slate. Outside of having a distant relationship with his father and his mother dying when he was young, and he naming himself after a beloved dog, we knew little to nothing else of Jones' life. The YIJC fulfills and fills in those details. We see how the relationship between Henry Sr and Henry Jr widens and becomes strained over time until it finally is severed ("You left just when you were becoming interesting"); We see Henry Sr's distance toward his wife and child because of his obsession ("It was an obsession Dad, I never understood it. Neither did Mom.") We see his mother being worn down and becoming weak and even beginning to be sickly as the two year long trip wore her down, with Henry Sr only having a slight regard for her health. We see where Indy picked up the love and excitement toward archaeology, his early love life and where he picked up being the Don Juan kind of guy in the movies; we see the tragedies and events which shaped him from an idealistic kid to a more jaded man.
The moments we don't see are the moments we probably shouldn't see. We never see him don the leather jacket and khakis for the first time, but we do see "protoypes" of that outfit being worn during his wear years. It'd cheapen the experience to see him put on the jacket and hat for the first time. He wore the scar and hat, and that is enough in terms of attire.
It is also conceivable that he would've served in the military (the earliest conceptions of Raiders have him saying he already served when he's told the men from Army Intelligence want to meet him). The fact that he is very fluent with multiple languages and blends in well with the local surroundings when he needs to (such as when he dons the Nazi Uniforms and fits right in, unnoticed in Raiders) speaks to a high class education and perhaps even being a spy.
The fact is, Indiana Jones didn't come out of the womb with a fedora on his head, a whip in one hand and an artifact in the other. He developed into the man we meet in 1935. The YIJC ends in 1920, with enough time left for the final development of Indy into the guy we meet in Shanghai.
It is not like the SW prequels where information in the original stories are retconned or just forgotten about (for example Obi Wan's lies about Anakin; "And he was a good friend" and the other inconsistencies). The YIJC doesn't retcon or not fit in with anything we're shown in the films.
They also work because his life was largely a blank slate. Outside of having a distant relationship with his father and his mother dying when he was young, and he naming himself after a beloved dog, we knew little to nothing else of Jones' life. The YIJC fulfills and fills in those details. We see how the relationship between Henry Sr and Henry Jr widens and becomes strained over time until it finally is severed ("You left just when you were becoming interesting"); We see Henry Sr's distance toward his wife and child because of his obsession ("It was an obsession Dad, I never understood it. Neither did Mom.") We see his mother being worn down and becoming weak and even beginning to be sickly as the two year long trip wore her down, with Henry Sr only having a slight regard for her health. We see where Indy picked up the love and excitement toward archaeology, his early love life and where he picked up being the Don Juan kind of guy in the movies; we see the tragedies and events which shaped him from an idealistic kid to a more jaded man.
The moments we don't see are the moments we probably shouldn't see. We never see him don the leather jacket and khakis for the first time, but we do see "protoypes" of that outfit being worn during his wear years. It'd cheapen the experience to see him put on the jacket and hat for the first time. He wore the scar and hat, and that is enough in terms of attire.
It is also conceivable that he would've served in the military (the earliest conceptions of Raiders have him saying he already served when he's told the men from Army Intelligence want to meet him). The fact that he is very fluent with multiple languages and blends in well with the local surroundings when he needs to (such as when he dons the Nazi Uniforms and fits right in, unnoticed in Raiders) speaks to a high class education and perhaps even being a spy.
The fact is, Indiana Jones didn't come out of the womb with a fedora on his head, a whip in one hand and an artifact in the other. He developed into the man we meet in 1935. The YIJC ends in 1920, with enough time left for the final development of Indy into the guy we meet in Shanghai.
It is not like the SW prequels where information in the original stories are retconned or just forgotten about (for example Obi Wan's lies about Anakin; "And he was a good friend" and the other inconsistencies). The YIJC doesn't retcon or not fit in with anything we're shown in the films.