Get Ready for More Avatar: The Last Airbender
Hands-down my favorite character in the live action adaptation is Ian Ousley's Sokka. He replicates the animated Sokka's cartoonish vibe wonderfully. Of course, Sokka was also my favorite character in the animated series. Full disclosure: my cat is named Sokka.
Gordon Cormier was also excellent as the live action Aang. His voice and his facial expressions do a better job than I'd thought possible of bringing the title character to life. Both Aang's childish playfulness and his precocious solemnity come through in Cormier's acting.
Nobody else will ever be a replacement for the great Mako, who voiced Iroh in the original series. But Paul Sun-Hyung Lee does as good a job as is possible.
I was lukewarm on the portrayals of Katara and Bumi, and both Azula and Gran Gran just did not work at all for me. But Daniel Dae Kim as Fire Lord Ozai works in a way I'd not have expected. Lastly, they cast Matthew Yang King as the voices of Appa and Momo, which excited me, as I was a big fan of his on the GeeksOn podcast twenty years ago. Effects
The most important effects work in the show was always going to be the bending. And in that, the show has succeeded. The water whips, flame sprays, and stone walls all look excellent and realistic. Even Aang's gliding and spiral levitation look good.
Likewise the show's creatures such as Koh the Face Stealer and June's shirshu Nyla look great.
The only complaint I can muster about the special effects is that occasionally when the kids jump high into the air, flipping and whirling, it looks wildly unrealistic. Fan Service
Fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender are wildly devoted and can be somewhat fanatical about adherence to canon. That's why I was so pleased to see characters like Koh the Face Stealer, The Mechanist and his paralyzed son, June the bounty Hunter and her shirshu mount, and Jet the straw-chewing freedom fighter make an appearance.
The Blue Spirit plot, although truncated and slightly altered, was adapted beautifully from the original. And when Azula eventually pulled out the lightning in a somewhat spectacular display, I no longer cared that the actress didn't look or sound like her animated counterpart.
The song Leaves From The Vine , along with Mako's rendition and voice acting of Iroh, has brought many an Avatar fan to tears. Its subtle incorporation into a few select scenes of this adaptation likely went completely unnoticed by many viewers, but those of us who know Lu Ten's story caught the reference.
And although it was altered, even the name Bonzu Pippinpaddleopsicopolis the Third showed up. That one got a huge cheer in my house. But not as large a cheer as when the cabbage merchant showed up in Omashu. Even before he said the words, my family was screaming 'My cabbages!'
But easily my favorite bit of fan service came in episode 4 during the Cave of Two Lovers interlude when the minstrels made an appearance, looking exactly the way they had in the cartoon. It's probably my favorite episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender , and those actors absolutely nailed the role, from the floppy dancing to the stoner vibe of the singer. I only wish he'd had more hilariously idiotic one-liners to drive Sokka crazy.
All I can say at this point is that if Melon Lord doesn't make an appearance in upcoming seasons, I might lose my mind. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
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