In general, I try to be fairly positive. I try not to have too many expectations, because typically having them leads to disappointment. I wish I had stuck to my guns about expectations when it came to the movie The Last Airbender.
First, a little background. I was first introduced to Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender a couple of years ago. Yes, the show is a cartoon; yes, I am 30 years old; yes, my friends are of similar age; and yes, we ALL loved watching this show. If you look beyond the animation, there is a great story line to the show.
The general idea is that the world is made up of four nations, with each nation being able to manipulate a certain element: air, earth, wind and fire. The four nations live in harmony with one Avatar, a person with the ability to control all four elements, helping to keep balance in the world. Then one day, the avatar disappeared and the fire nation begins to take over the world. 100 years later, the avatar returns in the form of Aang, a twelve year old boy who is the last airbender. He is discovered by two kids from the southern water tribe, Sokka and Katara. The entire show documents Aang’s journey to accept who he is, master all four elements, and then face the Fire Lord to regain balance and peace in the world.
What makes the show so great, and so appealing to audiences of all ages, is that there is a wonderful light-heartedness and spirit of fun that can entertain both the kids and the adults. There are also subtle lessons and truths for people who are looking for ways that they can grow and develop – such as realizing that all things are connected, as well as the ability to detach from the world so you can have clarity. Great stuff.
So after years of watching the Avatar: The Last Airbender DVDs over and over again, my friends and I were completely excited to learn that they were coming out with Avatar: The Last Airbender the movie. “Woohoo!,” we thought. We waited eagerly for the movie to be released, sustained by awesome movie trailers such as this one:
The movie was released on Friday, July 2nd, and that night, at 9:50PM, the four of us were in our seats, with 3D glasses on, ready to enjoy the movie.
I’ll start with the positive – the effects of the movies are top notch. The way they depict the bending was exciting, colorful and really, really cool.
Now, the not-so-positive stuff. The most obvious thing was that they changed the pronounciation of almost all the names. It should be Avatar, where the “a” is like “apple.” It should be Aang, where the “Aa” is like “angel.” It’s Uncle Iro like “Eye-row” not “ear-row.” I think it’s horrible that they changed the names like that. I mean, can you imagine if they changed “Emma” to something like “Erma”? You especially can’t do it if there is a following to the show where thousands if not millions of people know that the names are supposed to be spoken in a particular way.
I understand that it is very difficult to show a whole season of the show into a condensed, less than 2 hour movie. I get that you’ll have to filter out some scenes and focus on others. However, whoever chose which scenes to show, chose poorly. They selected scenes and then changed them completely. For example, in the original show, it was Katara, not Aang,who tried to inspire the earth benders to break free from their prison. Plus, they were on a large boat, not on land. And then the group did not go town to town with the intent of freeing the towns from fire nation control. I won’t even get into how the entire fight scene at the Northern water tribe was a total let down, where they missed out on the opportunity to show how utterly powerful Aang can be when he’s channeling the avatar powers. In the Nickelodeon show, he did much more than scare the fire nation ships with a tall wave while standing on a wall. Why, M. Night, why would you suck the powerfulness of the scene out and make it so blah?
Maybe M. Night didn’t watch the whole series, because that would be one explanation for why he completely changed the vibe of the whole thing. The Nicklodeon show is bright, fun and happy. The movie is somber, dramatic, and in some instances serious. It lacked the vibrant energy that the show sustained through all the seasons – so much so that I nodded off during a couple scenes. Eek! In the show, both Aang and Sokka are funny and entertaining characters. In the movie, Aang is much more stoic and serious while Sokka is just…well…kind of bland.
Finally, I can’t believe they changed the name of the movie from “Avatar: The Last Airbender” to just “The Last Airbender.” I mean, I know it was because Avatar, the blue people movie, was such a big hit, and you can’t have movies with such similar names, but *sigh.*
I walked out of the movie feeling incredibly disappointed. I can’t understand why the writers and director would make the movie so much worse than the show. My only explanation is that they didn’t actually watch the whole show, and they just didn’t get it.
I can understand if you’ve never seen the show and you liked the movie. The movie in and of itself can be entertaining. But when you know what the movie could have been, when you know the quality of material it had to play with, then the movie is a let down.
If you want some real entertainment, don’t spend the $14.50 at the movie theater (remember, 3D adds $3 to the price.) Instead, buy the first book of the series, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
Flufferwuffer says
July 6, 2010 at 6:52 pmThank you thank you thank you for this. A month ago, my boyfriend introduced me to Avatar. The whole series was on Netflix, and we watched the whole thing in about a week. Then I was super-excited for the movie…but when I heard more and more about it, I was really starting to second-guess myself. Thank you for confirming what I already know–that M. Night ruined it! (and, well, everyone else, but I digress) My boyfriend and I were just discussing the other day how M. Night's movie's were going slowly downhill and The Vanishing was a huge drop, and Avatar is probably just his attempt at positive fame again.
Miriam T. says
July 6, 2010 at 7:20 pmHiya Fluffer! Glad to know one of my readers is a fellow member of Team Avatar!
I haven't seen too many of M. Night's movies…I think the last one I saw was Signs…that is until Friday.
Crossing fingers that whoever directs the next book will get it right.
sohamolina says
July 7, 2010 at 3:19 pmMy husband and daughter are a huge fan of the series and when they saw the movie, they were both thrown off by the changes in the pronunciation of the names. It was disappointing to them.
Shaobwon says
July 7, 2010 at 3:44 pmPREACH! The movie lacked the Humor I was looking for. I mean, Sokka wasn't funny at all and he is one of my favorite characters in the cartoon. Aang was the oldest 12 year old ever and where was Iroh's belly? There seemed to be little or no character development. How could he butcher something that he had an easy template to follow. I know that you might have been attempting to make your own version of the TV show but you forgot the key elements of what make Avatar, Avatar. It seems like the only thing that they were focusing on is the bending and in doing so they missed out on the true spirit of kids working together to change the world. KIds, not minature adults! I too hope that someone else pickes up that torch and brings some real fire and fun to one of the greatests shows out there!
Miriam T. says
July 7, 2010 at 3:50 pm🙁 The more I think about it, the more I think the blue people Avatar movie had an influence with regards to pronunciation. The other option is that they were trying to be more authentic somehow? Authentic to what, I have no idea…
Trey says
July 8, 2010 at 9:56 amI am a 30 year old male…I can comfortably say that Avatar: The Last Air Bender Cartoon series is hands down one of the best shows ever made. That's a bold statement and I stand by it ?
However, The Last Air Bender: Movie was hands down one of the most disappointing entertainment experiences I've ever had. The true spirit of the cartoon (which appealed to adults and children alike) was completely sapped from the movie. The movie was very different from the cartoon. In many movie translations, “different” isn't always bad. But in this case, they removed everything that was good about the cartoon and what a person is left with is a dull movie that will hurt the feelings of anyone who is a true fan of the cartoon series. I usually don't get hyped over a movie being less than expected, but because we are talking about Aang and his crew, I'm going to treat myself to a cathartic release of emotion. Bare with me please 🙂
What the heck is up with Fire benders not being able to create their own fire? Zuko looked like a noob biscuit when he showed up to battle Katara, but first had to set fire to the ground with his epic torch. So if the water tribe didn't have handy torches nearby, Zuko would have just been short?! I guess Zuko could run around with a pack of matches all day. But that would have meant nothing in this case because they would have been soaking WET from when he was swimming.
How come Iroh, who is the most powerful fire bender alive, is the only who can produce his own fire. In the cartoon series, even the lowest fire bender soldiers could make their own fire. In the movie, Fire Lord Ozai is getting all excited because when Sozin’s comet they’ll be able to do what EVERY fire bender should be able to do in the first place? WEAK! Speaking of the Firelord, since when did the evil villain father give the slightest care about his banished son? In the movie he asked Admiral Zhao whether there was word from his son….that’s laughable. Note to director: Ozai and Zuko were not pen pals.
And what is up with Aang creating an epic tidal wave only to have the fire nation fleets run away. That’s like the director saying “Let’s build the audience up to seeing the most amazing display of Aang’s “Uvatar” power….play some music that puts you to sleep….. and then…….we’ll have the bad guys run away before ANYTHING happens”. That is not a formula for excitement, and that’s NOT what happened in the show.
Who the heck is SO-ka and Ung and Uvatar and EEE-ro. And what is an Agni-KEE? An Agni-KEE sounds less like a fire national duel and more like a pleasant exchange of tea and crumpets. What the heck! These name changes served no purpose and is just another example of how Hollywood infects a good thing.
In the end, M. Night would have been better off consulting the children and adults who have a love for the cartoon. He could have started by studying the message boards on Nickelodeon. Maybe then, he would have produced an epic movie instead of an epic failure.
Miriam T. says
July 8, 2010 at 10:01 amTrey, I agree with all of your comments whole-heartedly! We should start a petition to get REAL Avatar fans on some consulting/focus group for the next book to movie conversion.
Sodue says
July 8, 2010 at 11:33 amI know it's already been said, but I'm gonna say it too! WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON????? I cannot believe they butchered the true spirit of Avatar, the Last Airbender. I'm not gonna get into the whole mess up with the names, I'm sure they had some reason that they believe was sound. I still don't agree with it.
So let’s get this straight…..you cast characters as somber who are generally light spirited and funny. What gives? You make the Fire Lord out to be someone who cares about his son when in actuality he tried to kill his son with a bolt of lightning! You cast fire benders as being unable to make their own fire!?!?!?! HUHHH!! ……………HUH??? You make Uncle out to be a tall slim dude…when he is really somewhat shorter and plump? At the very least….the guy who played Uncle would have been better to play Fire Lord and vice versa.
Admittedly, Aang isn’t a mean hearted person. He doesn’t like to hurt anyone. And yet!!!!, the fire nations destroyed all in their path including Aangs Air Tribe. Speaking of which….one of the initial scenes that let us know how powerful Aang really is occurred when he found the bones of his Air Tribe ancestors. In the movie, he calmly floated in the air. In the “real” movie he was pissed and almost accidently caused a catastrophic event on the spot. It took Katara to grab his hand and calm him down before he came back to himself. Why did the director take away the power of that scene?
The only way Aang was able to save anybody was to display a powerful show of force which meant some people had to die. He wasn’t’ happy about it, but that’s just the way it was. In this movie, Aang didn’t hurt anyone. In actuality, when General Zhao killed the Moon spirit he died at the hand of Aang..NOT water tribesbmen. Last but definitely not least……Aang wiped out the Fire nation fleet. He didn’t just “scare them away”
Trey says
July 8, 2010 at 1:56 pmI am a 30 year old male…I can comfortably say that Avatar: The Last Air Bender Cartoon series is hands down one of the best shows ever made. That's a bold statement and I stand by it.
However, The Last Air Bender: Movie was hands down one of the most disappointing entertainment experiences I've ever had. The true spirit of the cartoon (which appealed to adults and children alike) was completely sapped from the movie. The movie was very different from the cartoon. In many movie translations, “different” isn't always bad. But in this case, they removed everything that was good about the cartoon and what a person is left with is a dull movie that will hurt the feelings of anyone who is a true fan of the cartoon series. I usually don't get hyped over a movie being less than expected, but because we are talking about Aang and his crew, I'm going to treat myself to a cathartic release of emotion. Bear with me please 🙂
What the heck is up with Fire benders not being able to create their own fire? Zuko looked like a noob biscuit when he showed up to battle Katara, but first had to set fire to the ground with his epic torch. So if the water tribe didn't have handy torches nearby, Zuko would have just been short?! I guess Zuko could run around with a pack of matches all day. But that would have meant nothing in this case because they would have been soaking WET from when he was swimming.
How come Iroh, who is the most powerful fire bender alive, is the only who can produce his own fire. In the cartoon series, even the lowest fire bender soldiers could make their own fire. In the movie, Fire Lord Ozai is getting all excited because when Sozin’s comet comes they’ll be able to do what EVERY fire bender should be able to do in the first place? WEAK! Speaking of the Firelord, since when did the evil villain father give the slightest care about his banished son? In the movie he asked Admiral Zhao whether there was word from his son….that’s laughable. Note to director: Ozai and Zuko were not pen pals.
And what is up with Aang creating an epic tidal wave only to have the fire nation fleets run away. That’s like the director saying “Let’s build the audience up to seeing the most amazing display of Aang’s “Uvatar” power….play some music that puts you to sleep….. and then…….we’ll have the bad guys run away before ANYTHING happens”. That is not a formula for excitement, and that’s NOT what happened in the show.
Who the heck is SO-ka and Ung and Uvatar and EEE-ro. And what is an Agni-KEE? An Agni-KEE sounds less like a fire national duel and more like a pleasant exchange of tea and crumpets. What the heck! These name changes served no purpose and is just another example of how Hollywood infects a good thing.
In the end, M. Night would have been better off consulting the children and adults who have a love for the cartoon. He could have started by studying the message boards on Nickelodeon. Maybe then, he would have produced an epic movie instead of an epic failure.
Miriam T. says
July 8, 2010 at 2:01 pmTrey, I agree with all of your comments whole-heartedly! We should start a petition to get REAL Avatar fans on some consulting/focus group for the next book to movie conversion.
Sodue says
July 8, 2010 at 3:33 pmI know it's already been said, but I'm gonna say it too! WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON????? I cannot believe they butchered the true spirit of Avatar, the Last Airbender. I'm not gonna get into the whole mess up with the names, I'm sure they had some reason that they believe was sound. I still don't agree with it.
So let’s get this straight…..you cast characters as somber who are generally light spirited and funny. What gives? You make the Fire Lord out to be someone who cares about his son when in actuality he tried to kill his son with a bolt of lightning! You cast fire benders as being unable to make their own fire!?!?!?! HUHHH!! ……………HUH??? You make Uncle out to be a tall slim dude…when he is really somewhat shorter and plump? At the very least….the guy who played Uncle would have been better to play Fire Lord and vice versa.
Admittedly, Aang isn’t a mean hearted person. He doesn’t like to hurt anyone. And yet!!!!, the fire nations destroyed all in their path including Aangs Air Tribe. Speaking of which….one of the initial scenes that let us know how powerful Aang really is occurred when he found the bones of his Air Tribe ancestors. In the movie, he calmly floated in the air. In the “real” movie he was pissed and almost accidently caused a catastrophic event on the spot. It took Katara to grab his hand and calm him down before he came back to himself. Why did the director take away the power of that scene?
The only way Aang was able to save anybody was to display a powerful show of force which meant some people had to die. He wasn’t’ happy about it, but that’s just the way it was. In this movie, Aang didn’t hurt anyone. In actuality, when General Zhao killed the Moon spirit he died at the hand of Aang..NOT water tribesbmen. Last but definitely not least……Aang wiped out the Fire nation fleet. He didn’t just “scare them away”
Benjamin Edge says
September 26, 2011 at 3:04 pmWhile the subject of pronouncing Aang may be a hot issue, one name that should be pronounced correctly is “Moog.” “Moog” isn’t really pronounced as it is spelled (you know, IPA /mu:g/), but rather the name should rhyme with “rogue,” hence “Mohg.”