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Avatar can’t breathe on movies. Not the blue cat people franchise that makes at least a billion dollars every time, mind you – even this hugely successful series is part of what makes Avatar: The Last Airbender, the Nickelodeon animation that led to the release of a similar movie, similar to James Cameron’s. Following the anime-inspired, fan-favorite show’s three-year run on cable, the material was adapted into an action-packed sequel, The Last Airbender, directed by no less than M Night Shyamalan, released six months after Cameron’s megahit. The Last Airbender was a huge success, but hated by fans and critics alike – even Shyamalan’s current inspirations don’t have much good to say about it – and it failed to launch the series of films it was expected to do. (Netflix has made inconsistent changes to events like TV show.)
Recently, Paramount announced that the sequel, Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, following the characters a few years after the events of the series, will arrive in theaters – only to delay the release and finally return to its theaters, turning it into a direct film. The video was downloaded from the internet, before it happened. Now it’s getting a two-city theater sign, at the same time as Paramount +, to ensure that it qualifies for the Oscars this year. Considering the franchise’s cinematic success so far, the filmmakers may not need to prepare the shelf just yet.
But this has nothing to do with the quality of the movie itself, which should have more actors than it does, and it seems more interesting than several of the nominees that were nominated for the best this year. Avatar: The Last Airbender was always a visually stunning show, its flagship movies in Japan limited to TV budgets, but Avatar Aang takes its fantasy design to the next level, with classic hand-drawn characters that are enhanced by the stunning computer graphics and backgrounds. It’s a beautiful design, which is so naturally fun that fans of the animation will want to check it out even if they don’t know much about its source material.
If the audience is into Avatar Aang, they shouldn’t be too lost. Like many TV adaptations and movies, the film seems to be clear to the beginners, quickly explaining that the young Aang (Eric Nam) belongs to a dying line of “airbenders” in a world where some very powerful tribes can control water, fire, and the earth. Aang, as established in the series and reiterated here, is also the legendary “avatar” who can command all four elements. Ever since he stopped the century war at the end of the series, Aang has remained with his childhood sweetheart Katara (Jessica Matten) as he tries to rebuild the world in harmony. The film also features Aang and Katara now growing up with their longtime friends Toph (Dionne Quan), a walker; Zuko (Steven Yeun), a fireman; and Katara’s unhinged brother, Sokka (Román Zaragoza) to find an ancient artefact a restless group known as The Denied can claim as theirs. Along the way, he unexpectedly meets Tagah (Dave Bautista), another pilot who has been frozen for years, as Aang was at the beginning of the series.
None of this is as difficult to follow as it may sound. Whether it will completely agree with the fans on an emotional level is another question – and perhaps beside the point, considering that this is a sequel to the TV series of three seasons (and, therefore, all the characters are attractive at the same time). What’s more important is that if the film ends up in a relationship like a reboot it will make the film less satisfying to those who know and love the characters.
Once again, Avatar Aang deals with a good TV-to-movie translation: all the beloved characters are present and accounted for (like a few but equally interesting actors), but they don’t feel like they’re getting what they want from a movie that should focus on the relationship between Aang and his new friend Tagah. Worse, Tagah’s appearance will be familiar not only to Avatar viewers, but to anyone who has seen a movie where a mysterious new character is introduced and appears as the lead mentor. Where does this lead?
Well, mostly for the well-crafted multiverse, which will be second nature to anyone who has followed these characters through the previous 61 episodes. But there’s something new and refreshing about revisiting a group of friends that’s been around for a decade or more, and the theater-appropriate animation provides that extra element that’s missing from a full-fledged story. While TV seems like the right fit to continue following Aang and the rest, the prospect of a series of movies like Star Trek, where the most compelling stories of Avatar can be told on the big screen, remains exciting. If Avatar Aang is supposed to be proof that this world can work on the big screen, consider it mission accomplished.
