I may have made this clear already, but just in case I hadn’t: I’m not going to see the new Avatar: The Last Airbender movie.
Part of this is because I take issue with the movie’s overall Fail at changing the races of Aang, Katara, and Sokka, leaving Zuko as the only non-white character. Part of it is also because I don’t trust M. Night Shymalan to take three seasons’ worth of awesome cartoon–or even the first season, if they’re doing a thing of ‘one movie per season’–and distill it down to only two hours and still have something coherent.
But part of it is really just based on what I’ve seen of the trailers being unremittingly dark and grim. If you’ve seen the actual Airbender cartoon at all, you’ll know that young Aang is NOT a dark, grim character. So very much of his portrayal is full of boyish glee that it’s really heartwarming to watch; hell, one of the iconic moments in the opening credits of every episode is how a giggling Aang, riding a rotating ball of air like a top, slams into a statue. The Aang in the cartoon, despite being the most powerful person on the planet and having, as the series progresses, to stand up to some truly terrifying challenges, remains joyous at heart.
And I’m not seeing the slightest sign of this in the trailers. So yeah. Not going there. I really don’t need to spend two hours of unremitting grim in the theaters, not when it’s not going to be a story I don’t even trust to be good to begin with.
In fact, I’m feeling an urge to re-watch the actual cartoon coming on. If any of y’all out there might be thinking of taking children to this film, may I encourage you to do the same? Maybe have parties to watch the cartoon. It’ll be cheaper, and odds are you’ll have better snacks for small persons at home anyway.
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AND note that the entire series is currently streamable on Netflix!
R
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Netflix for the win! The Murkworks loves us some Netflix. :)
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I KNOW, Anna!!! I was so pissed when I found out Katara and Sokka were white, and *I’m* a white girl! DX
Although, I would kind of like a “darker” spin on the story. Because it was such an envelope pushing cartoon. But that’s just my personality/cup of tea.
Jury’s out on whether or not my morals will let me see it…or whether my friends will disown me if I don’t. :[
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I wouldn’t necessarily have minded a grimmer spin on the story if all of the other aspects of the production weren’t full of fail. But aside from everything else, I just don’t trust that this grimmer spin on the story will actually be good, y’know?
I’m also hearing reports that the 3D is getting grafted on after the fact, similar to what happened with the Clash of the Titans remake earlier this year. Which is another signal of Fail to me.
If it helps, I certainly won’t disown anybody who does go to see it, although if you do, I urge you to doublecheck reviews first. ;) I certainly would be if I had any intention of seeing the thing–and I may anyway out of curiosity.
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I still think, based on all the trailers and promo shots, the guy they have playing Zuko should really be playing Sokka. He LOOKS like Sokka.
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You really think so? I’ve only seen the boy playing Zuko a couple of times, but he hasn’t seemed particularly Sokka-like to me. I dunno, maybe with totally different hair. :)
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My girlfriends and I would have Anime nights during college and Avatar was a fav. When I talked to them about the upcoming movie, they were all kind of unsure about it, too, but I think they were planning to see it anyway.
Me, I’ll probably wait until it comes out on DVD. :P
P.S. Have you ever seen “Fullmetal Alchemist?”
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Wait, are you only just a couple years out of college, then? :)
I’ve never actually watched Fullmetal Alchemist, although I am aware of it!
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Guilty as charged. :) Of course, I was a total masochist and took to many credits, so I got my 6 yr major + minor in under 4 yrs. So, yeah. I guess I’m a young whipper-snapper! :P
OMG, if you like anime at all, you should TOTALLY see Fullmetal Alchemist. It’s like… steampunk on steroids. With magic. Seriously awesome. I just saw the complete season one on sale at Wally World for just shy of $50, and I’m drooling sooooooooo badly it’s not funny, lol.
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Ha okay, I suck at judging people’s ages online, so I had no real idea at all. Cool. :)
Noted about Fullmetal Alchemist! I’m not really a huge “fan” of anime per se although I’m very aware of a lot of it; more like, I’m an active fan of a few specific things (like Miyazaki movies and certain things I watched when I was a kid), and a dabbler in everything else. :)
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Hee! Don’t worry about it. Most people think I’m waaayyy older, anyway. :)
And Miyazaki… *happy sigh* Goooooooood stuff!
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Heh, now the fun part will be when you get to be my age and people think you’re a lot younger. ;)
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