It was my moral stance to NOT watch this movie at the cinemas.
But the curiousity devil made me go. Please feel free to blame the curiousity devil.
Spoilers of both movie and animation series beyond this point.
Firstly, the acting wasn’t the best but it wasn’t *that* awful.
So aside from the racist casting… other stuff that irked me…
- Aang didn’t demand to go penguin sledding. Movie Aang is so mopey… it’s. sad. really.
- Sokka’s boomerang wasn’t shiny.
- Cartoon Sokka voice squeaks when he freaks out… adding to funny. Movie Sokka is boring.
- Not enough Appa and Momo character.
- Zuko didn’t have a ponytail. Sokka’s ponytail is too long.
- No hints of Aang’s crush on Katara.
- Uncle Iroh is umm… a bit too skinny.
- NO AIR SCOOTER
- Female Fire Nation soldiers missing.
- General Zhao lost his epic Wolverine side burns. He was no longer General Zhao to me.
- No King Bumi 
- Air Nomad temples have gone co-ed.
- Fire Lord Ozai wasn’t a pretty boy. He’s supposed to be a pretty boy. err man.
- That kid CAN’T be Haru! Haru grows a moustache. That kid is way too young to grow anything on his face.
- Of course, no Momo “earthbending”.
- No meeting with Jeong Jeong the firebending master.
- No mechanist and Teo, our differently abled character.
- No June, the very hot bounty hunter.
- Hindu influenced architecture = Meso American architecture = HUH?
- Why didn’t they just make the entire Northern Water Tribe Vikings since they changed the population to being white anyway? Psuedo Inuit-ish White people aren’t cool… but Vikings were cool… they should have used Vikings.
Those are just the ones I remember. I’m sure there’s more… I remember frowning at the movie screen lots.
Favourite part – Aang hiding behind Zuko after he got captured at the Northern Water Tribe city… that was cute and sneaky… like Cartoon Aang! And the close hand fight/struggle thing seemed far more organic than the elaborate dances-that-do-nothing movements that dominated the other fight scenes.
And I can deal with the absence of cabbage man.
Also noticed that one tiny short scene with the African American earth kingdom village… how Africans and Americans fit into the Avatar world where Africa and America doesn’t exist is left a mystery. Oh… I think he meant Black people!
Gotta admit that I actually agree with M. Night Shyamalan that Noah Ringer does look mixed to me – he reminds me of a Hispanic friend… ok so not exactly Asian… but that’s just my opinion of course.
Crowning Moment of Awesome = Uncle Iroh firebending. Oh yes… Uncle Iroh still rocks even when he doesn’t look anything like Cartoon Uncle Iroh.
For other differences between the film and the tv series, check out The Last Airbender Film: Changes from the Cartoon Series @ www.racebending.com
And omg ONG! OOOONGGG! ARGH! If I hear that one more time, I’m gonna throw something at the screen.
Maybe if the movie was marketed as “having nothing to do with Avatar the cartoon series” then maybe it would have been ok. But by having it constantly compared to the cartoon, it failed miserably.
But the effects were decent.
Maybe the next “books” will be directed by someone else (or Shyamalan does a better job – I have hope, I really do) with a totally different cast. Possible… unlikely… but possible *fingers crossed*
At least the future is not all bleak in terms of Avatar news – the Legend of Korra to come into existence next year!
Legend of Korra = yay!
Oh, another word. People saying that the World of Avatar is NOT Asia therefore the argument for an Asian/Inuit cast is silly… that it is fantasy… Yeah, well so is Middle Earth… so does it make it ok to um… replace the Elves with say… Africans or Asians? Hello, fantasy world! Anyway, I quite like Liv Tyler as Arwen (she was BORN for the role) so I’m not complaining about LOTR casting. AND Pippin and Merry are allowed to be silly and funny in a SERIOUS movie(s)… so why are Movie Aang and Sokka so serious in a KIDS’ movie?
Tags: airbender, avatar aang, cartoons, culture appropriation, erasure & exclusion, legend of korra, movies, racebending, whitewashing, yellowface
Noah Ringer, while he may resemble Aang, is himself not part Asian. If he were, it would have been stated so by Paramount and M. Night to avoid controversy with the casting.
The movie cost over $150 million to make and another $130 million to advertise. Given that this film only RECENTLY made back it’s investment with minimal profit is not what one would cal a ringing endorsement for a two more ‘Books’. Especially given the fact that this film was touted as a ‘tentpole’ film.
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Therese Reply:
September 29th, 2010 at 8:04 am
Who knows… maybe someone like… maybe Robert Rodriguez can save this movie franchise… I have HOPE! *sobs loudly*
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QPG Reply:
September 29th, 2010 at 8:08 am
It’s illegal for anyone in a film company or studio to ask an actor what their race is. His family home-schools the kid and is over protective of him, so the absence of information isn’t a confirmation of his race. It just shows that his family wants to control information about their son who is a minor.
I saw the movie as mixed race kid saves the world with his white side-kicks, against his Indian rival. Never saw Zuko as a bad guy, so my perception of the movie is a bit different.
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According to a Native American poster on LJ Noah Ringer is of NA heritage
Didn’t see this movie because I don’t go to the movies much any more and someone posted a LOLtastic clip from the movie, it was the one where Aang went into the Earthbenders village and declared ‘Earthbenders! Blah blah blah, cringe at my poorly delivered speech’
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