Graphic courtesy of TUDUM by Netflix.
After much anticipation, Netflix’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender” live action series has been released.
The Nickelodeon adaptation is not the first attempt at a live action production for the incredible animated series that hit the scene in 2005. The 2010 film directed by M. Night Shyamalan left many fans dissatisfied and wanting. Complaints spanned from questionable casting choices and acting performances to the less-than-stellar CGI and special effects for bending. Many fans have been anxious to see if Netflix can learn from Shyamalan’s mistakes and give “Avatar: The Last Airbender” an adaptation worthy of the incredible story. And as a fan of the original cartoon, it’s my opinion that they did, for the most part.
There are many things Netflix did to avoid some of the same pitfalls as the film, especially in regard to casting. With a majority Asian and Native American leading cast of heavy hitters like Daniel Dae Kim, Casey Camp-Horinek and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, this series gives us the representation that the animated show implied with its setting and cultural inspiration.
And despite some fan concerns as news of the live action hit the internet since its announcement in 2018, especially after the original creators of the cartoon left the production in 2020 due to creative differences, the show manages to hang onto the sense of nostalgia with the return of fan-favorite characters like the beloved Cabbage Man, Appa and Momo, along with stellar performances by its host of talented actors like Dallas James Liu who truly brings Zuko to life. It also maintains its older kid friendliness while still engaging its original audience with lore drops that viewers didn’t get in the original series, and incredible combat sequences akin the level we typically see from HBO that works for the live action in a way that the animated sequel series “The Legend of Korra” touched on with its more gruesome deaths.
Sure, the effects for the bending are a little cheesy, but the rest of the show itself is still visually stunning, capturing the beauty of the complex world-building as is evident by the creatures, costuming and set design. Fans should be glad to know the live action series also maintains and even dives deeper into the emotional complexities of people living through a war and everything that comes with it that the original didn’t shy away from, in addition to the storylines of characters we didn’t get to explore in the cartoon, like Azula and the tense and demanding relationship between her and her father Fire Lord Ozai.
I advise fans to not expect everything to be the same as the cartoon. As is the case with any live action adaptation, it takes some creative liberties and diverges from the original canon with a few plotlines to help condense the original 20-episode plot into eight 40-minute episodes. Smaller details known to fans of the cartoon were implied, but there isn’t much that new fans are missing out on.
No announcement has been made yet by Netflix on whether there will be a second season, but if it is greenlit for one, I’m definitely interested to see how the series will handle the cartoon’s major themes of redemption and growth when it comes to characters like Zuko and Aang when some of the key elements of the characters’ flaws and their defining moments have been adapted or even omitted from the live action to better suit time and perhaps adapt to the tastes of a more modern and diverse audience.
On the whole, fans of the original cartoon need not shy away from the Netflix live action ATLA. Though some things should be taken with a grain of salt, if viewers are willing to see past some plot changes and look at it as its own project, it holds up as a fairly solid remake that is highly entertaining and executed better than the film that is widely agreed upon in the fandom not to talk about.